His statement, “a trustworthy person is appointed to receive from them both and to deliver the item sold first and then the price”: “is appointed” is in the passive voice, and the one who appoints him is the Islamic judge. That is, these two parties to the sale bring their dispute before the judge, who then appoints a man to receive from them both. He then delivers the item sold first, and the price second.

For example, one man purchases a watch from another. The buyer says, “Give me the watch and I will give you the price,” while the seller says, “Give me the price and I will give you the watch.” They dispute, so we say: Go to the judge in the Islamic court. The judge must then appoint a trustworthy and reliable man, who takes the watch from the seller and the price from the buyer; he then gives the watch to the buyer and the price to the seller. This is the view followed by the author.

His statement, “But if it is a presently due debt, the seller is compelled first, then the buyer, if the price is present at the session”: the pronoun in his words, “if it is,” refers to the price, because he first said, “and the price is a specific item.” Thus, if it is a presently due debt, the seller is compelled first, then the buyer, if the price is present at the session. This is the second scenario.

His statement, “But if it is a debt,” means that the contract was not concluded upon that specific item itself. A specified price is one upon which the contract was concluded as a particular item, whereas a price upon which the contract was not concluded as a particular item is called a debt. Thus, if you say, “Sell me this watch for these dirhams,” the price is specified. But if you say, “Sell it to me for ten,” and he says, “I sell it to you for ten,” then the price here is a debt, because it is unspecified. According to the jurists, a debt is not