Chapter on the Sale of Real Estate and Fruit

Shaykh al-Islām—may Allah have mercy on him and be pleased with him—was asked:

A man purchased a house that had no projecting structure. He then demolished and rebuilt it, adding a projecting structure, a stairway, and a doorway in a dead-end alley. He feared being sued and having to swear oaths by Allah Most High that he had made no alterations to this house. He therefore transferred ownership to someone else, stating that he had sold it on deferred payment terms. He arranged this sale as a collusive ruse to defeat the rightful claim. Is the person who made the alterations and then sold the house required to take the oath, or is the buyer required to take it, even though he made no alterations?

He replied:

Praise be to Allah. Selling the house does not extinguish the claim or the obligation to take an oath arising from it. The holder of the right may bring a claim against the buyer, who has possession of the additions, to have them removed. He may also bring a claim against the seller, who made the additions and enabled the buyer to take possession of them. Whichever of the two he sues, his claim is valid.