Taysir al-Latif al-Mannan fi Khulasat Tafsir al-Quran - Abd al-Rahman al-Sadi’ - (الكتاب/203)

Taysir al-Latif al-Mannan fi Khulasat Tafsir al-QuranAbd al-Rahman al-Sadi’

• and, likewise, when a debtor’s assets are divided among several creditors and the estate is insufficient to meet all their claims, each creditor is paid in proportion to the amount he is owed, so long as none of them enjoys a preferential right such as a pledge or similar security.

• The same proportional principle applies to co-owners: any profit or increment that accrues to the property is distributed according to their respective shares, and any loss is borne in the same proportion—whether the loss stems from a rightful charge on the property, from damage, commercial loss, or even from wrongful interference. Thus they share both gains and losses in line with the extent of their ownership.

Among his universal rulings is the establishment of the option to rescind (khiyār) in every contract where a defect appears in the specified consideration or in the item received in exchange that diminishes its value. If restitution is impossible, a compensatory allowance (arsh) (1) must be provided to make up for the deficiency. According to the soundest opinion, this applies equally to sales and to all other contracts, for it is grounded in the principle of justice.
Another overarching ruling is that what is unknown is treated as non-existent. Falling under this principle are:
• assets whose owners are unknown—these are given in charity on their behalf, or spent for public benefit in their stead;
• the ownership of found property (luqatah);
• and the estate of anyone who dies leaving no heir by prescribed share, no agnatic heir, and no relative: such an estate (2) is placed in the Bayt al-māl (public treasury) for the common good, treating the unknown owner as though he did not exist.
A further comprehensive ruling is to revert to customary practice whenever precise specification cannot be determined by scripture or explicit wording—for example, in fixing the maintenance due to wives, relatives, and employees; in the customary stipulations that people routinely include in their contracts; and in defining what counts as delivery, secure possession, and countless similar matters.

(1) Arsh: the sum recovered by the buyer from the seller when a defect in the sold item is discovered (Lisan al-Arab, 6:263). (2) The Kh manuscript inserts before this word: *tujʿal* (“is to be placed”).

• وكقسمةِ المالِ بينَ الغرماءِ إذا لم يفِ بحقوقِهم، يُعطونَ على قدرِ حقوقِهم إذا لم يكنْ لأحدِهم مزيةُ رهنٍ ونحوهِ. • وكاشتراكِ الملَّاكِ في الزيادةِ المترتبةِ عليها على قدرِ أملاكِهم، والنقصِ على قدرِ أملاكِهم إذا اعتراها نقصٌ، وسواءٌ كان النقصُ بحقٍّ تعلَّقَ بها، أو بتلفٍ، أو خسارةٍ، أو وقعَ ظلمًا؛ فإنهم يشتركونَ في الزيادةِ والنقصِ على قدرِ أملاكِهم. * ومن أحكامهِ الكليةِ: إثباتُ الخيارِ في كلِّ عقدٍ ظهَرَ في العِوضِ المعينِ أو المعوَّضِ عيبٌ ينقصهُ؛ وأنهُ إذا لم يمكن الردُّ تعيَّنَ الأَرْشُ (١) وإسقاطُ النقصِ. وعلى الصحيحِ لا فرقَ بينَ البيوعِ وغيرِها؛ فإنَّ هذا من قاعدةِ العدلِ. * ومن أحكامهِ الكليةِ: جَعْلُ المجهولِ كالمعدومِ. ويندرجُ تحتَ هذا الأصلِ: • الأموالُ التي جهلَ ملاكُها أنهُ يتصدَّقُ بها عنهم، أو تُبذلُ في المصالحِ نيابةً عنهم. • وتملكُ اللقطةِ. • ومن ماتَ لا وارثَ لهُ بفرضٍ ولا تعصيبٍ ولا رحمٍ؛ تَرِكَتُهُ (٢) في بيتِ المالِ للمصالحِ العامةِ؛ جعلًا للمجهولِ في ذلكَ كالمعدومِ. * ومن أحكامهِ الكليةِ: الرجوعُ إلى العرفِ إذا تعذرَ التعيينُ شرعًا ولفظًا، كالرجوعِ للعرفِ في نفقةِ الزوجاتِ والأقاربِ والأُجَراءِ، وكالشروطِ العرفيةِ في المعاملاتِ إذا اطردَتْ بينَ الناسِ، وكالقبضِ والحرزِ ونحوِها مما لا يعدُّ ولا يُحصَى.

(١) الأرش: «الذي يأخذه المشتري من البائع إذا اطلع على عيب في المبيع» (لسان العرب: ٦/ ٢٦٣). (٢) قبلها في (خ): تُجعل.