We have already noted that, by unanimous agreement of the Muslims, liability for the purchased property passes to the buyer once he has taken possession—except in two matters: defects subject to warranty (al-ʿuhda) and losses caused by destructive calamities (al-jawāʾiḥ). Since the former has been discussed, we must now turn to the latter.

Statement on Jawāʾiḥ
The jurists differed about the application of the rule of jawāʾiḥ to fruit crops. Mālik and his colleagues held that relief is to be granted, whereas Abū Ḥanīfah, al-Thawrī, al-Shāfiʿī in his later view, and al-Layth denied it.

Those who uphold relief rely chiefly on the ḥadīth of Jābir in which the Messenger of Allah—peace and blessings be upon him—said:

“Whoever sells fruit and it is struck by a calamity, let him not take anything from his brother. On what basis would one of you take his brother’s wealth?”

Muslim narrated this on the authority of Jābir. They also cite the report in which Jābir said:

“The Messenger of Allah—peace and blessings be upon him—commanded that losses due to calamities be remitted.”

Their evidence, therefore, is these two ḥadīths of Jābir, reinforced by analogical reasoning: the crop remains something for which the seller must still render full delivery, as shown by his obligation to irrigate it until it ripens. Accordingly, its guarantee should remain with him, just as with any sale where an obligation of completion persists. They further argue that this sale is expressly permitted by the Sharʿiah even though the subject-matter is not yet complete; it is therefore an exception to the prohibition on selling what does not yet exist, and its rules of liability should likewise differ from other sales.

Those who deny relief reason by assimilating this transaction to all other sales and holding that merely placing the fruit at the buyer’s disposal (takhliyah) counts as possession. They point out the consensus that, after possession, liability rests with the buyer.

They also cite the ḥadīth transmitted by Abū Saʿīd al-Khudrī:

“A man’s fruit crop—already purchased—was ruined, and his debts became heavy. The Messenger of Allah—peace and blessings be upon him—said, ‘Give charity to him.’ They did so, yet it was not enough to settle his debts. The Messenger of Allah—peace and blessings be upon him—then said, ‘Take what you find; you have nothing beyond that.’”

They contend that the Prophet—peace and blessings be upon him—did not apply the rule of jawāʾiḥ in this instance.

The root of the disagreement, then, lies in the apparent conflict among the transmitted reports and in the opposing analogies employed. Each party endeavors to interpret away the ḥadīth that challenges the narration it takes as primary.

Those who refuse to apply jawāʾiḥ say that the relevant command was issued only in connection with the prohibition on selling fruit before its soundness appears. They argue that when complaints about crop disasters multiplied, the Prophet ordered that fruit not be sold until its fitness was evident—as found in the well-known ḥadīth of Zayd ibn Thābit.

Those who permit relief, responding to the ḥadīth of Abū Saʿīd, say: it is possible that the seller was insolvent, and therefore the Prophet did not