Chapter: Selling an Unseen Item on the Basis of Description, the ruling when it perishes before or after possession, the ruling when a present item perishes after the contract, and the sale of what is concealed in the earth or elsewhere when only part of it has been seen.

There is no objection to selling a house, an animal, a slave, or any other merchandise provided the seller and the purchaser agree upon a description that people knowledgeable in the field can recognize should a dispute arise.

Immediate payment is not permitted in the sale of an absent animal unless the absence is slight—about a day or two—in which case paying cash is acceptable. The practical course in such circumstances is for the price to be reduced. If, upon delivery, the goods are found sound and in keeping with that description, the sale becomes binding on the purchaser; he then has no right of withdrawal and the seller takes the price. If the goods are found not to match the description, the purchaser may either ratify the sale or cancel it.

According to Mālik, the right of rescission on account of not having seen the item applies only to one who has expressly stipulated it.

There is no harm in advancing payment for houses and land because such property is secure, and the same rule applies to every other commodity that is considered secure.

If the unseen item sold on the basis of description perishes before the purchaser takes possession, the loss is always borne by the seller until it reaches the purchaser—unless the seller stipulates to the purchaser that, should the bargain take effect while the item is alive and sound in the manner I have detailed to you, and it is then damaged after the transaction is concluded but before it reaches you.