Book of Sales
Introduction
- Conditions related to the exchange of wording
The contract requires an offer (ijab) such as, “I sell it to you,” or “I transfer ownership to you,” and an acceptance (qabul) such as, “I buy it,” “I take possession of it,” or “I accept.” The buyer’s wording may come first; thus, if he says, “Sell it to me,” and the seller replies, “I have sold it to you,” the sale is concluded on the preponderant view. An implicit formulation—e.g., “I have made it yours for such-and-such”—also suffices according to the sounder opinion. No lengthy interval may separate the two statements, and the acceptance must conform to the offer: were the seller to say, “I sold it to you for one thousand clipped coins,” and the buyer to respond, “I accept for one thousand full-weight coins,” the contract would be invalid. A mute person’s signed gestures have the same legal force as spoken words, and the contracting party must be of sound judgment.
I add: he must also be free of wrongful coercion.
It is invalid for a non-Muslim to purchase a Qur’an or a Muslim slave—except when the purchase results in the slave’s emancipation, in which case it is valid on the sounder opinion—and likewise for a belligerent non-Muslim to acquire weapons. Allah knows best.
- Conditions related to the object of sale
(a) Intrinsic purity. One may not sell a dog, wine, or any impure item that cannot be purified, such as vinegar or milk that has absorbed impurity, nor fat or oil in the sounder view.
(b) Benefit. The sale of insects, any predatory animal from which no benefit is derived, two kernels of wheat or the like, or instruments of amusement is invalid. A secondary opinion allows musical instruments if their scrap metal is deemed property of value. On the preponderant view, it is permissible to sell water at a riverbank and soil in an open desert.
(c) Possibility of delivery. Thus it is invalid to sell a stray animal, a runaway slave, or a usurped item. If, however, he sells it to someone capable of