Section

It is stipulated that the leased property be known by inspection or description, except in the case of a house and similar property.

His statement, “It is stipulated that the leased property be known by inspection or description”: This is the first of the conditions pertaining to the leased property: it must be known through inspection, because the Prophet ﷺ forbade transactions involving excessive uncertainty (1). Moreover, ignorance of it leads to dispute, and whatever leads to dispute is prohibited by the Sacred Law. For example, if you lease a car from someone, you must see it, or he must describe it to you in a way that distinguishes it from others and precisely identifies it.

His statement, “except in the case of a house and similar property”: With respect to a house and the like, a description is insufficient; it must be inspected. In the case of a car, for example, a description is sufficient; likewise, for a camel or any animal that one leases, a description is sufficient. But a house and similar property—such as land intended for cultivation and the like—may only be leased after being seen firsthand, because no description can fully encompass it. Even if someone who was exceptionally precise in describing things came to you, he could not fully describe a house. If he were to say to you, for example, “The house has ten rooms, a courtyard, and bathrooms,” you still would not be able to form a complete picture of it. Indeed, some people may be among the most exact in their descriptions, yet when you enter the house, you find yourself distressed. Some houses—glory be to Allah—make a person happy when he enters them, while others make him feel distressed. Therefore, one must inspect a house before leasing it.

Likewise, with land: if one leases land for cultivation, he must see it himself;