there is nothing further to discuss. If, however, the sale has been rescinded, they may demand repayment of the price from the agent, who may in turn recover it from the principal.

The shaykh—may Allah have mercy on him—was asked:

An agent sold his principal’s share in a shop on his behalf. The buyer then made that share an endowment. Both the sale and the endowment were established, and the endowment was judicially ruled valid. Subsequently, it was established that the agent had been dismissed before the date of the sale, and his dismissal was judicially upheld. Does this establish that the sale and the endowment were invalid, or are both valid? If they prove invalid, is the principal entitled to claim rent for that share for the period it remained in the possession of the buyer who endowed it, or not?

He replied:

Praise be to Allah, Lord of all worlds.

There is a well-known disagreement concerning this issue: if an agent’s principal dies or dismisses him, and the agent acts before learning of this, does his agency terminate before he learns of it?

Scholars in the schools of al-Shāfiʿī, Imam Ahmad, and others hold three views:

The first is that his agency terminates before he learns of it. This is the well-known position in the schools of al-Shāfiʿī, Ahmad, and others, and one view in the school of Mālik. According to this view, the sale proves to have been invalid. Nevertheless, the agent bears no liability, because he was not negligent. As for the buyer, he is