before taking possession, then it is the seller’s liability; after possession has been taken, it becomes the buyer’s liability.

For example, I sell you this sack of wheat at ten dirhams per sāʿ, and before we measure it out, it is destroyed—whether through theft, rains that carry it away, or the like. The liability rests with the seller, because the buyer has not yet received it in full. The Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, said: “Entitlement to profit goes along with liability.” (1) Thus, just as the Lawgiver has prevented me from selling it and profiting from it, its liability rests with the one in whose ownership it initially remains. This may seem problematic, since ownership passed to the buyer upon conclusion of the contract. However, because the item still requires the buyer’s right to full delivery, the Lawgiver has prohibited its disposal and placed its liability upon the seller.

His statement, “If it is destroyed by a heavenly calamity, the sale is invalidated”: “invalidated” here means that the contract is dissolved. This destruction brings about dissolution, not invalidity. Invalidity results from the absence of a condition or the presence of an impediment, whereas here no condition is absent and no impediment exists. Therefore, “invalidity” must be understood to mean dissolution. This is like his earlier statement: “They both swear oaths, and the sale is invalidated,” regarding which we said that the correct expression is that the sale is dissolved.

His statement, “If it is destroyed by a heavenly calamity, the sale is invalidated”: a heavenly calamity is anything in which no human action is involved, such as rains that destroy it, lightning that burns it, winds that carry it away, and so forth. Thus, a heavenly calamity is that in which human beings have played no part.