—the disconnected reports, which are as follows:

1. First report: “Whoever comes upon his very property in the possession of a man who has gone bankrupt has a stronger claim to it than anyone else.” This version is agreed upon, and therefore needs no further discussion; it is narrated by all the major compilers.

2. Second report: the disconnected transmission from Abu Bakr ibn ʿAbd al-Rahman in the wording, “If any man sells merchandise and the purchaser is declared bankrupt….” Al-Bayhaqi supplied it with a continuous chain, yet al-Shāfiʿī and Abu Dāwud preferred the disconnected form. Al-Bayhaqi remarked, “Its connected chain is not sound.”

I say: Other routes corroborate the ḥadith, so it is sound by virtue of supporting evidence.

Gloss of terms in the ḥadith
– bi-ʿaynihi (“in its very substance”): meaning that none of its qualities has changed, whether by increase or decrease.
– uswah (with either ḍammah or kasrah on the hamzah): i.e., he is equal to them, like one of them—he receives what they receive and is barred from what they are barred from.
– al-ghuramāʾ (plural of gharīm): creditors, those to whom money is owed.

Points derived from the ḥadith

1. Whoever finds his goods with a person who has gone bankrupt is entitled to repossess them, subject to conditions that the scholars have extracted from this and other aḥādīth, and partly from their understanding of the Lawgiver’s intent. Ibn Daqīq said, “Its implication is strong, and most scholars have acted upon it.” Al-Isṭakhrī, of the Shāfiʿī school, stated, “If a judge were to rule contrary to it, his judgment would be annulled.”

2. The “owner of the goods” in the ḥadith primarily denotes the seller, but it also includes the lender and others involved in reciprocal contracts; the general wording of the ḥadith embraces them all.