in the morning and does not return until nightfall. If this slave is known for running away, then that is a defect, because he escapes and is thus lost to his master. There is no doubt that running away diminishes the value of the item sold.

His statement, “and his urinating in bed”: if he urinates in bed, this is a defect. The jurists set its limit at ten years of age, but this should be qualified by saying that he has reached an age at which those like him do not urinate in bed. If one purchases a slave who is still a child, a child will inevitably urinate in bed. Thus, what is meant by the phrase, “and his urinating in bed,” is that he has reached an age at which those like him do not urinate in bed. In al-Rawḍ, it is qualified as having reached ten years of age (1). But if we hold that a defect is whatever customarily diminishes the value of the item sold, then the matter should be referred back to customary practice. It appears that if a child urinates in bed at the age of eight, people consider this a defect. If he has urinary incontinence, then this is both a defect and an illness.

Likewise, being left-handed means that he cannot use his right hand in the usual manner, while he uses his left hand more than his right: he writes with his left hand, throws with his left hand, and strikes with his left hand. His left hand is the one that has strength, whereas he does not know how to use his right hand for anything except eating. Were it not that eating with the left hand is prohibited, he would eat with his left hand. Such a person is called left-handed. Thus, if one buys a slave and finds that he is left-handed, this is a defect.

Some scholars said that it is not a defect if he uses his left hand as a person who is not left-handed would use his right hand, for that does not diminish his value; indeed, his use of the left hand may be stronger. Hence, some people say, “This is a stronger blow,” and the stronger striker is the left-handed person who strikes only with his left hand.