so that liability is lifted from the purchaser with respect to every type of fruit and grain, the effective cause being universally applicable. This is the view favored by al-Majd and by his grandson, Shaykh al-Islam.
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If the fruit or crop is destroyed through the action of a human being, the buyer may choose either to annul the sale and reclaim his payment, or to let the sale stand and demand a replacement from the party who caused the damage. Allah knows best.
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Concerning the phrase, “He forbade the seller and the buyer,” the seller was forbidden so that he would not take the buyer’s money without giving anything in return, while the buyer was forbidden so as to shield him from taking such a risk and exposing his wealth to harm.
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The prohibition of selling fruit before its soundness is evident and grain before the kernels harden is the position of the vast majority of scholars among the Companions, their Followers, and the leading Imams. The reason is that fruit and grain are liable to perish at that early, fragile stage; should they be ruined, the buyer would be left with nothing for the price he has paid. This is the meaning of the Prophet’s saying: “He forbade the sale of dates until they blush and of ears of grain until they whiten and one is safe from blight” (reported by Muslim 1535).