trading.’ The Prophet then said, ‘If you are not going to stop selling, then say: hā hā and no deception.’

2 – This ḥadith confirms the option of rescission due to gross overreaching (khiyār al-ghabn) for anyone who is unable to bargain properly or to ascertain market value. Should he be cheated in buying or selling, he may return the item to its owner and recover the price he paid; the same applies if he sells his own goods and is similarly cheated.

3 – The option of rescission concerns only the kind of overreaching that exceeds customary practice. Minor price differences that ordinarily occur between buyers and sellers carry no legal weight.

4 – The majority of jurists—including the Ḥanafis and Shāfiʿis—do not recognize an option based solely on overreaching, citing the general proofs that a sale is binding without distinguishing between cases of overreaching and others. They explain this ḥadith by noting that the man suffered from mental weakness, so his dealings resemble those of a minor who has been permitted to trade; the report, therefore, is a special case with no general application. Imāms Mālik and Aḥmad, by contrast, hold that the option exists whenever a person is cheated in buying or selling in a way that departs from the norm. As for the slight overreaching people habitually overlook—something that occurs frequently in their transactions—it does not establish any option, for it is deemed insignificant.

5 – Overreaching is forbidden because it involves endangering the other party and amounts to fraud, both of which are prohibited; accordingly, pursuing its causes is also unlawful.

6 – A contract tainted by overreaching remains valid. If the cheated party chooses to uphold the sale, he is not entitled to any compensation while keeping the item, for the Lawgiver has not granted such a remedy and he has lost no part of the commodity itself.