to return it on account of the defect while the goods are still in his possession; once he has handed them over to the principal, he may not do so without the latter’s permission.
It is permissible to appoint an agent to conclude a ṣarf (currency-exchange) or salam (advance-payment) contract. If the agent parts from the counter-party before possession is taken, the contract is rendered void; the principal’s own absence is immaterial.
When a purchasing agent pays the price from his own funds and then takes delivery, he may seek reimbursement from the principal. Should the merchandise perish in his hand before he detains it as security, the loss is borne by the principal and the price remains payable.
The agent is entitled to hold the goods until he is repaid; if he does so and they are destroyed, liability is that of a pledged item according to Abū Yūsuf and that of sold property according to Muḥammad.
If two men are appointed jointly, neither may act alone in the matter entrusted to them—unless they are authorised to litigate, to effect an uncompensated divorce of the principal’s wife, to return a deposit he holds, or to settle a debt he owes.
An agent may not sub-appoint someone else for the very task assigned to him, unless the principal permits it or tells him, “Act according to your discretion.” Should he deputise another without such permission and the substitute concludes the transaction in his presence, it is valid; if it is concluded in his absence but the first agent later ratifies it, it is likewise valid.
The principal may dismiss the agent, yet until the dismissal reaches the agent he remains authorised and his acts stand.
The agency is annulled by the principal’s death, his falling into permanent insanity, or his joining the dār al-ḥarb (enemy territory) as an apostate. It is likewise nullified if a mukātab (contracted slave) who appointed an agent later defaults on his contract, if a slave previously authorised to trade is subsequently interdicted, or if partners who appointed an agent dissolve their partnership—whether or not the agent is aware of these developments.
If the agent dies or becomes permanently insane, the agency lapses; and if he defects to the enemy territory as an apostate, he may not act until he returns as a Muslim. When a principal deputes another and then personally carries out the very act he had delegated, the agency is extinguished. Moreover, an agent appointed to sell or buy is not permitted to conclude the contract, according to Abū—