693 – Abu Hurayrah (may Allah be pleased with him) narrated that the Prophet ﷺ said:

“Do not withhold the milk of camels and sheep by tying their udders. Whoever buys such an animal thereafter may, once he has milked it, choose between two alternatives: if he wishes, he keeps it; and if he wishes, he returns it along with one sāʿ of dates.” Agreed upon.

Muslim’s wording adds: “He remains at liberty to choose for three days.”

Another report in Muslim, cited by al-Bukhari without a continuous chain, states: “He must return it together with one sāʿ of food—other than reddish (wheat).” Al-Bukhari commented: “Dates are more common.” ⦗1⦘

Vocabulary of the ḥadīth
• “Do not withhold the milk of camels” (lā tuṣarrū l-ibil): The verb tuṣarrū is pronounced with ḍamma on the tā, fatḥa on the ṣād, and a doubled rā with ḍamma. It derives from taṣriya; one says ṣarā yaṣrī, “he held back the milk in her udder.” The basic sense is “to collect.” Al-muṣarrāh (lit. “the bound one”) is the animal whose teats are tied so the milk gathers, thereby deceiving the buyer. Ibn Daqīq al-ʿĪd noted that no authentic variant omits the wāw in tuṣarrū. Al-Bukhari said: “The essence of taṣriya is confining the milk in the udder of cloven-hoofed livestock.”

• “Whoever purchases it”: i.e., whoever buys the muṣarrāh animal. In Arabic, the verbs for selling and buying can interchange: typically the seller offers the goods while the buyer offers the price.

• “He may choose the better of the two options”: The phrase means he reflects on the matter so as to select between keeping or returning the animal. Thus, if he wishes he keeps it, and if he wishes he returns it.

• “After he has milked it”: One recension reads with a kasra on in, making it conditional—“if he wishes, after milking it…”—so yaḥlibhā is then in the jussive. Ḥalaba