the car, when sound, is worth one hundred thousand and, when defective, eighty thousand. Thus, the proportion is one-fifth, and forty thousand is deducted from the price.

His statement, “Or he may return it and take the price,” means that you may return the purchased item, rescind the sale, and take back the price. Thus, the buyer has the choice. This is the view adopted by the jurists, may Allah have mercy on them. But Shaykh al-Islam holds that the buyer must either take it without compensation or return it. As for the arsh, the seller’s consent is necessary, because it constitutes an exchange. The seller may say: “I sold you this item; either you take it or you return it. As for an arsh, that amounts to a new contract.” What the Shaykh held is sound, unless we know that the seller practised deception—that is, he knew of the defect but concealed it. In that case, the buyer has the choice between keeping it with an arsh or returning it, treating the seller according to the stricter of the two alternatives. The same applies to the option arising from deception and the option arising from unfair price disparity.

If he sells it on the condition that he is exempt from liability for defects, it has already been mentioned that, if the buyer absolves him after the contract, the absolution is valid. It is also said that, according to the madhhab, the contract itself is invalid.

It was previously stated that the correct view is that if the buyer absolves him while the seller has practised deception, he is not absolved, whether this occurs before or after the contract. If he has not practised deception, it is valid, whether before the contract or after it.

“And if the purchased item perishes, or the slave is emancipated, the arsh becomes mandatory. If someone purchases something whose defect cannot be known without breaking it, such as coconuts or ostrich eggs, then breaks it and finds it spoiled, if he keeps it, he is entitled to its arsh; and if he returns it, he must compensate for the breakage . . .”

His statement, “And if the purchased item perishes, or the slave is emancipated, the arsh becomes mandatory,” means that the buyer has two options: either to return it or to take the arsh. However, the arsh becomes mandatory when return is no longer possible. The rule, then, is this: when return is no longer possible, the arsh becomes mandatory. Return is no longer possible when the defective purchased item has perished; in that case, the arsh becomes mandatory.

For example, a man buys a she-camel and finds a defect in it, but the she-camel dies before he returns it. In that case, the arsh becomes mandatory.