has cast the buyer into darkness, preventing him from seeing the merchandise for what it truly is. Fraud of this sort is of two kinds.

The first is to conceal a defect in the goods.

The second is to adorn or polish them in a way that artificially drives up the price.

Such fraud is forbidden, and the Sacred Law grants the buyer the right to rescind the sale, for he only paid his money on the basis of the qualities the seller displayed; had he known the reality was otherwise, he would not have spent his wealth on it.

An oft-cited example is the practice of taṣriya: withholding the milk of sheep, cattle, or camels so that their udders swell before they are offered for sale, leading the buyer to assume they are always high-yield. The Prophet ﷺ said, “Do not practice taṣriya with camels and sheep. Whoever buys such an animal has two choices after milking it: if he wishes he may keep it, and if he wishes he may return it along with a sâʿ of dates.”

Other instances of fraud include refurbishing a defective house to entice a buyer or tenant, or touching up a used car so that it appears unused, and similar forms of deception.

A Muslim must be truthful and disclose the facts. The Messenger of Allah ﷺ said, “The two parties to a sale have the option (of confirming or cancelling) so long as they have not separated. If they are truthful and transparent, their transaction will be blessed; but if they lie and conceal, the blessing of their trade will be wiped out.” He ﷺ thus taught that honesty in buying and selling is one of