and when he buys, lenient when he pays, and lenient when he seeks payment.” (1) Thus, it may be a means of being included in the Prophet’s supplication for mercy. Therefore, if your brother comes to you remorseful and says, “I bought this item from you. There is no option period between us, and the contract is binding, but I regret it, so I ask you to annul the contract,” then we say: It is recommended for you to annul it, in hope of this reward—that Allah, Exalted is He, will pardon your lapse on the Day of Resurrection.
Moreover, it is a witnessed and tangible reality that, in most cases, when a person grants his brother rescission, Allah, Exalted is He, blesses the item sold for him and its value increases. How many people have rescinded their sales, only for prices subsequently to rise, so that they sold the items for more than their original price. This is an immediate worldly reward. As for the party requesting rescission, doing so is permissible and there is no blame in it; it is not among blameworthy requests. A comparable case is lending: it is permissible for the borrower and recommended for the lender. The reason in both cases is that they constitute kindness.
His statement, “Annulment”: this is its declaratory legal ruling; that is, it is an annulment, not a sale. We distinguish three matters: voidance, annulment, and a new contract. The difference is that if we say it is voidance, this means that the original contract is rendered void. If we say it is annulment, the original contract remains valid, and the annulment takes effect from the time of the rescission by mutual agreement. Accordingly, any increase or yield accruing between the sale and the rescission belongs to the buyer, and any defect that arises is borne by the buyer. If we say that it is a contract, the conditions of sale apply to it, as though it were a new sale. If it is a new sale, then the conditions of sale must be observed. But the correct view is that rescission by mutual agreement is an annulment, for before the rescission the item remains the property of the buyer, whereas after the rescission it is not voidance