Chapter: The Rulings of Stipulations in Sales

Stipulations in sales are commonplace, and both parties—or either one of them—may find it necessary to attach one or more conditions. It is therefore essential to discuss these stipulations and clarify which of them are valid and binding and which are not.

The jurists, may Allah have mercy on them, define a stipulation in a sales contract as an obligation imposed by one of the two contracting parties on the other, by virtue of the contract, from which the imposer derives a benefit. In their view, a stipulation in a sale is effective only when it is incorporated into the very wording of the contract itself; a condition stipulated before or after the contract has no legal force.

Stipulations in sales fall into two categories: valid and invalid.

First: Valid stipulations—those that do not contradict the essential nature of the contract. Compliance with such conditions is obligatory, in accordance with the Prophet’s ﷺ saying, “The Muslims are bound by their conditions,” and because the default ruling regarding stipulations is validity, except for what the Lawgiver has declared null and prohibited.