The scholars, moreover, have excelled and benefited the ummah by rebutting those spurious arguments with which some tried to reject hadiths that are sound, explicit, and crystal-clear. Allah alone grants success.

Secondly, they interpreted the word “parting” (tafarruq) as a mere verbal disengagement, i.e. finishing the contract, and they treated “the two sellers and buyers” (al-mutabāyiʿān) as if they were only bargainers still in the opening stage of haggling. This is misplaced, for the masters of the Arabic language unanimously affirm that tafarruq means physical separation, and the very wording of the hadith refuses any other construction.

In one version it states: “The two contracting parties hold the option so long as they have not parted—except in a sale with an option.” Here the clause “except in a sale with an option” is an exception to the end-limit implied in the phrase “so long as they have not parted.” The meaning, therefore, is: the two parties have the option until they separate; once they separate, the option lapses and the sale becomes binding—except when an option was stipulated at the time of sale. In that case the option remains in force until the specified period for the stipulated option expires.

In any event, disagreement over this issue is ancient. Voluminous pages record the debates and proofs advanced by both sides. What has been presented above is merely a concise digest of the discussion together with an indication of the view that is, in our judgment, the stronger.