Another example: a man purchases a slave, emancipates him, and then discovers a defect in him. In that case, the arsh becomes mandatory, because return is no longer possible.

If someone were to ask: “The slave still exists, so how can return be impossible?”

We would answer: Because his state of slavery has now ceased; thus, in reality, his monetary value has perished.

Return likewise becomes mandatory when the arsh would result in usury. For example, if someone sells gold jewellery in exchange for dinars equal to its weight, and the buyer then finds a defect in the jewellery, he cannot take the arsh, because that would entail falling into usury: the buyer would possess gold equal in weight to the gold he paid, with the arsh added on top.

Thus, the governing rule is: when return is no longer possible, the arsh becomes mandatory; and when the arsh would entail usury, return becomes mandatory.

The one who finds a defect in the jewellery is therefore told: “Either return it, or keep it without an arsh, for if you were to take the arsh, that would entail usury and would therefore be impermissible.”

His statement: “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.” If he purchases something whose defect cannot be known without breaking it, such as a coconut—which is large—or an ostrich egg and the like, what is meant is that which is