Sub-Section One:
On identifying the contracts in which the discovery of a defect gives rise to a legal remedy, and those in which it does not.

Sub-Section Two:
On identifying the defects that necessitate a remedy and the condition that renders them actionable.

Sub-Section Three:
On determining the ruling when a qualifying defect is found and the article sold has not been altered.

Sub-Section Four:
On enumerating the kinds of alterations that may occur while the goods are with the buyer and the ruling pertaining to each.

Sub-Section Five:
On judicial procedure when the two contracting parties differ over this matter—though, strictly speaking, that belongs in the Book of Adjudication.

[Sub-Section One: Contracts in which a defect unquestionably entails a legal remedy, and those in which it does not]

Contracts for which the presence of a defect, by unanimous agreement, calls for a legal remedy are those whose very purpose is exchange (muʿāwaḍah). Likewise, there is no disagreement that contracts whose purpose is not exchange are untouched by defects, such as gratuitous gifts and charitable donations. As for contracts that stand between these two categories—namely, those that combine the intention of generosity with an element of exchange, like a gift given in expectation of recompense—the dominant view in the school is that a defect gives rise to no remedy. A secondary view, however, holds that a ruling is issued if the defect is destructive.

[Sub-Section Two: The defects that necessitate a remedy and the condition that makes them actionable]

This sub-section comprises two inquiries:

1. The defects that necessitate a remedy.
2. The condition that makes the remedy operative.

First inquiry—Defects that necessitate a remedy:
Defects are either moral or physical. Among the physical defects are some that are deemed defects only because their opposites were expressly stipulated in the sale; these are called stipulation-based defects. Others require a remedy even when their opposites were not stipulated, for their absence constitutes a deficiency in the creature’s original form. As for the remaining defects, their opposites are perfections, and the lack of those perfections is no deficiency—such as professional skills. This last type is found mostly in personal attributes, though it may also occur in bodily attributes.

Physical defects fall into two classes: those found in living creatures and those found in inanimate objects. According to all jurists, the defects that affect the contract are whatever departs from the natural state of creation or from