Branch: If the seller says, “I will not hand over the merchandise until I receive its price,” while the buyer likewise insists, with respect to the price, “I will not pay until I receive the merchandise,” then, according to one opinion, the seller is compelled to perform; according to a second, the buyer is compelled; according to a third opinion neither is compelled, so that whichever party performs first thereby obliges the other; and a fourth opinion holds that both are compelled simultaneously.

I (the author) say: If the price is an individually designated object, the first two opinions lapse, and the sounder view is that both parties are compelled. Allah knows best.

Once the seller has delivered the goods, the buyer is compelled to pay provided the price is on hand. If it is not, and he is insolvent, the seller may rescind the sale. In the case of an insolvent buyer, or of a solvent buyer whose property is in the same town or at a nearby distance, the judge places his assets under legal interdiction until he pays. If the property lies at a distance that permits shortening the prayer, the seller is not required to wait for it to be brought; the sounder view is that he may annul the sale. Should he choose to wait, the interdiction applies as described.

The seller has the right to retain the merchandise until he takes the price if he fears its loss, and there is unanimous agreement on this. The differing opinions relate only to the situation in which he does not fear its loss and the dispute concerns which of the two must initiate performance.