Section

The following rulings follow from this principle.

A calamity means a natural hazard for which no one can be held liable, such as wind, cold, heat, rain, frost, lightning, and the like—just as when such hazards destroy property other than the produce sold here.

If a person who can be held liable destroys the fruit, or someone wrongfully seizes it, our jurists, including al-Qādī and others, state that this is treated like the destruction of sold property before the buyer is able to take possession of it. The buyer may choose either to uphold the sale or to rescind it, as explained above.

If it is destroyed by people who cannot be held liable, such as armies that plunder it or thieves who lay it waste, they have derived two views:

The first is that this does not constitute a calamity, because it results from human action.

The second—which accords with the principles of the school—is that it does constitute a calamity. This is also Mālik’s position. We have taken a similar position regarding the benefits due under a lease, because the determining consideration is whether anyone can be held liable. Thus, if the destruction is caused by armies of unbelievers or people at war with the Muslims, it is treated like a natural hazard. Although armies and thieves act wrongfully, if they cannot be held liable, they are effectively like the cold.

If the calamity damages the produce without destroying it, this is treated like a defect