Yet another report from him allows the transaction.

It has been said, however, that Abū Ḥanīfah’s stance arises from giving precedence to analogical reasoning over the ḥadīth. He diverges from the prophetic reports in several respects, one of which is that he does not call the exchange a “sale,” even though the Lawgiver explicitly named it a sale.

Another point is that the ḥadīth states the Prophet—peace and blessings be upon him—prohibited muzābanah but granted a concession for ʿarāyā; under Abū Ḥanīfah’s doctrine, the ʿarīyah would not count as an exception to muzābanah, because muzābanah, in his view, takes place only in sales.

What is astonishing is that he readily exempts the ʿarīyah from the ban on revoking a gift—despite the absence of any textual exception—yet finds it hard to exempt it from what the Lawgiver Himself exempted it, namely muzābanah. Allah knows best.