the agent to appoint a deputy, he must choose someone trustworthy, unless the principal himself designates another. If the deputy was originally upright but later becomes openly disobedient, the agent, according to the sounder view, has no right to dismiss him. And Allah knows best.

Section

If the principal says, “Sell to a particular person,” or “during a particular time,” or “in a particular place,” that specification becomes binding; as for the place, one opinion waives the requirement when no purpose is served by it. If he says, “Sell for one hundred,” the agent may not sell for less, though he may sell for more unless the principal expressly forbids it.

Suppose he says, “Buy a sheep with this dinar,” describing its qualities, and the agent buys two sheep of that description with the same dinar. If neither sheep is worth an entire dinar, the purchase is invalid for the principal; but if each is worth a dinar, the stronger opinion holds that the purchase is valid and that ownership of both sheep passes to the principal.

If the principal orders him to purchase with a specified asset and the agent instead buys on credit, the transaction is not counted for the principal—and vice-versa, according to the sounder view. Whenever the agent deviates from the principal’s instructions in selling his property or in purchasing a designated item, his act is void.

If the agent buys on credit without naming the principal, the purchase is attributed to the agent. Even if he does name him, so that the seller says, “I have sold to you,” and the agent replies, “I have purchased on behalf of So-and-so,” the same ruling applies, according to the sounder view. And if the seller says, “I have sold to your principal Zayd,” and the agent replies, “I have purchased for him,” the authoritative opinion is that the contract is invalid.

The agent’s possession is that of a trustee, even when he is paid. Should he exceed the mandate he is liable, yet—according to the sounder view—he is not thereby dismissed.

The legal effects of the contract attach to the agent, not to the principal: the requirement of seeing the merchandise, the contract’s becoming binding upon the parties’ separation, and the immediate exchange where it is stipulated are all assessed with respect to the agent, not the principal.

When the agent buys something, the seller may demand the price from him if the principal had handed it over to him; otherwise he may not, provided the price was a specific sum. If the price is on credit, the seller may sue the agent when he denies his agency or says he is unaware of it, and—even when he admits it—he may still sue him, according to the sounder view, just as he may sue the principal. In that case the agent is treated like a guarantor and the principal like the primary debtor.

If the agent receives the price from the buyer and it is lost while in his possession, and the sold article later proves to belong to someone else, the buyer has recourse against the agent—even if the latter acknowledges his agency, according to the sounder opinion—and the agent then turns back to the principal for reimbursement.