consent. If he learns that he has been overcharged and consents, there is nothing wrong with that. But if he is dissatisfied with the fair market price, his dissatisfaction is disregarded. For this reason, the Lawgiver established the option to rescind for someone who was unaware of a defect or deceptive concealment. The presumption in a sale is that the goods are sound and that their actual condition matches their outward appearance. When someone buys on that basis, his consent is known only to extend to that condition. If the goods prove to involve deception or a defect, this is like describing them as having a particular quality when they turn out otherwise: he may consent, or he may not. If he consents, the sale stands; otherwise, he rescinds it.

In the two Sahīh collections, Hakīm ibn Hizām reports that the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said:

“The buyer and seller each have the option to rescind so long as they have not parted. If they are truthful and disclose the relevant facts, their transaction will be blessed. If they lie and conceal them, the blessing of their transaction will be erased.”

The Sunan collections relate:

“A man owned a tree on another man’s land. The landowner suffered harm from the tree owner entering his property, so he complained to the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace. He instructed the tree owner to accept something in exchange for it from the landowner, or to give it to him freely. When he refused, he permitted the landowner to uproot it and told the tree owner: ‘You are only causing harm.’”

Here, he required him to sell the tree if he would not give it freely. This indicates that selling becomes obligatory when the buyer needs the item. Yet how does this man’s need compare with the general public’s need for food?

The same applies to those who trade in food through milling and baking. Likewise, it applies to the operator of an inn, a market hall, or a bathhouse when people need to use these facilities and he has taken them on only as a commercial venture. If he were to refuse people entry unless they paid whatever he demanded, while they