owns that right. Thus, if the pledgee says, “I release you from your pledge; take back the pledged item—you are free of any obligation,” the debt remains unsecured, with no pledge attached to it.

But will the pledgee be rewarded for doing this, or not?

The answer is that the matter depends on the circumstances. If there is a benefit in doing so—for instance, if the pledgor needs the pledged item, and he is a sensible person whom we know to be prudent in his affairs and not to mishandle money—then we may say that it is beneficial for the pledgee to relinquish the pledge so that its owner may benefit from it. But if we know that the pledgor is wasteful and foolish, such that, if we were to release the pledged item to him, he would sell it, dispose of it, compromise his financial standing, and squander the rights of others, then we say that it is better not to relinquish the pledge. For Allah the Exalted says concerning pardon—which is among that which Allah loves: “But whoever pardons and makes reconciliation, his reward is with Allah” [al-Shura 42:40]. Without bringing about reform, however, withholding pardon is what is better and more proper.

Thus, the author has shown us that a pledge is a binding contract in one respect and a revocable contract in another. There is another category of contracts that are binding upon both parties, such as a sale contract, due to the Prophet’s statement: “If they part after having concluded a sale, and neither of them has revoked the sale, then the sale has become binding.” (1) “Has become binding” means that it is binding upon both sides.

There are also contracts that are revocable for both parties, such as an agency contract: a person appoints someone to buy a car for him, and either the agent or the principal may revoke the agency. But if it were to involve