I say: According to the sounder view, the buyer may proceed directly against the principal from the outset. And Allah knows best.

Section
Agency is revocable by either party. Thus, if the principal dismisses the agent in his presence, or says, “I have cancelled the agency,” “I have invalidated it,” or “I have removed you from it,” the dismissal takes immediate effect. If he removes him while absent, the agency likewise terminates at once, though one opinion holds that it does not lapse until the news reaches the agent.

If the agent himself says, “I have withdrawn,” or “I resign from the agency,” he is discharged. The agency is also terminated when either party loses legal capacity through death or insanity—and, according to the sounder view, through loss of consciousness—as well as when the object of the transaction leaves the principal’s ownership.

An agent’s denial of the agency because he has forgotten, or in order to conceal it, does not end the mandate; but if the denial is deliberate and gratuitous, the agency is annulled.

When a dispute arises over the very existence of the agency or over its terms—for example, the agent says, “You authorized me to sell on credit,” or, “to buy for twenty,” while the principal responds, “Rather, it was for cash,” or, “for ten”—the principal is believed upon his oath.

Suppose the agent buys a slave-girl for twenty, claiming that the principal so instructed him, and the principal replies, “Yes, but only for ten,” and swears to that. If the agent paid with the principal’s own money and named him in the contract, or, after the fact, said, “I bought her for so-and-so and the money was his,” and the seller confirms this, the sale is void. If the seller denies it, he swears that he knows nothing of any agency, and the purchase is attributed to the agent. The same applies if the agent bought on credit without naming the principal, and likewise if he did name him but the seller rejects the claim—according to the sounder view; whereas, if the seller affirms it, the sale is invalid.

Whenever judgment attributes the purchase to the agent, it is recommended that the judge show consideration to the principal by saying to the agent, “If I truly instructed you to buy it for twenty, I now sell it to you for that price,” whereupon the agent replies, “I accept,” so that ownership lawfully passes to him.

If the agent asserts, “I carried out the authorized transaction,” and the principal denies it, the principal is believed; another opinion gives credence to the agent. The agent’s statement concerning the loss of the property is accepted upon his oath, and likewise his claim that he has returned it—although some restrict this ruling to an unpaid agency. If he maintains that he returned it to the principal’s messenger and the messenger denies it, the messenger is believed, and, on the sound position, the principal is not obliged to accept the agent’s word.

If the agent says, “I took the price and it was lost,” and the principal disputes him, the principal is believed if the claim concerns a period before delivery of the sold item; otherwise, the agent’s word prevails, according to the school’s authoritative view. And if the principal deputes him to settle a debt, and the agent then says, “I have paid it,” while the creditor denies this, the creditor is believed upon his oath.