the seller, who is not obliged to hand it over unless the buyer stipulates this. Stipulating an option of a week or so for a male or female slave, or a month or two for a house, does not establish that the buyer intended only to test it. The time needed to seek advice likewise varies according to the item sold. Investigating and making enquiries about a house that one wishes to acquire and live in, and that would be difficult to replace if it proved unsuitable, is not like doing so concerning a slave or servant. Nor is a slave or servant like goods that one can sell and replace without difficulty.
Section
The seller has precisely the same right as the buyer to stipulate an option. If either party alone stipulates it, that party alone has the right to confirm or rescind the sale. They may also both stipulate it. If they agree to rescind or confirm the sale, their agreement is valid. If they disagree, with one wishing to proceed with the sale and the other wishing to rescind it, the decision rests with the one who wishes to rescind it. The sale is not concluded unless both agree to confirm it. This is because the party wishing to proceed with the sale, whether seller or buyer, waives his right to rescind, whereas the one of them who wants the sale is exercising his right rather than waiving it. His right is therefore not extinguished by the other party’s waiver of his own right in wishing to proceed with the sale. This is clear.
Section
Since the reason for permitting a sale subject to an option is people’s need to seek advice and test the item, its duration is limited to the time needed to test the item, consider the matter, and seek advice. This varies according to the kind of item and how quickly or slowly its condition changes. An option of one, two, or three days is therefore permissible for riding animals, but no longer, because their condition changes quickly, and because they can be tested and their condition ascertained within this period. They are not creatures possessed of discernment, such that one might fear they would conceal undesirable traits and defects that would make them unappealing, while displaying qualities that would make them desirable. Likewise, an option for goods and garments is permissible for one day