if he had already delivered it to him; but if he had not delivered it to him, it is discharged from his liability.

When the signs of ripeness appear in fruit and the grain has hardened, its sale is permissible without any condition, or on condition that it be left in place. The purchaser may leave it until the harvest and the picking of the fruit, and the seller is obliged to water it if it needs watering, even if this harms the tree.

His statement, “When the signs of ripeness appear in fruit,” refers to the fruit of date palms, grapes, and everything that is called fruit—that is, what trees produce. What grows from trees is fruit, whereas what grows from the ground is crops.

His statement, “and the grain has hardened,” means the grain of crops.

His statement, “its sale is permissible without any condition,” means without a stipulation. The evidence for its permissibility is that the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, prohibited the sale of fruit until its ripeness becomes apparent (1), and the sale of grain until it has hardened (2). The point of evidence is that “until” indicates an endpoint, and what comes after the endpoint differs from what comes before it. Thus, if selling before ripeness appears and before the grain hardens is forbidden, selling after that is permissible.

His statement, “its sale is permissible without any condition,” clarifies the unrestricted nature of his statement, “and on condition that it be left in place.” Selling it on condition that it be cut is even more clearly permissible. Accordingly, the sale of fruits after their ripeness has appeared, and of grain after it has hardened, has three cases:

The first case is that he sells it on condition that it be cut. The sale is valid, and it must be cut.

The second case is that he sells it on condition that it be left in place. This is permissible.

The third case is that he sells it without stipulating anything. This too is permissible. The evidence is the Prophet’s prohibition of selling fruits until their ripeness becomes apparent, and of selling grain until it has hardened.