then its loss is yours, exactly as stipulated. It has also been said that the loss falls on the buyer once the contract takes effect and the item is sound, whether or not that was expressly stated—unless the buyer places a condition on the seller that “its loss is on you until I myself take possession of it, or my agent does.” Both opinions are attributed to Mālik. The first view is that of Saʿīd ibn al-Musayyab; the second, that of Sulaymān ibn Yasār. The first opinion is preferred by the majority of scholars.

With respect to every type of merchandise that is present at the time of sale, if the goods perish before the purchaser takes possession, they follow the same rule as a pledged item: when the destruction is evident, the loss is borne by the buyer and the price remains due; when the destruction is concealed, the loss is borne by the seller. Mālik further held that if the seller withholds the goods until the buyer brings the price and they are then lost, the loss is on the seller; but if the buyer leaves them with the seller and the latter does not prevent him from taking them, Mālik considered the loss to fall on the buyer, for the goods are then like a deposit.

There is no objection to selling bales of cloth and consignments of perfume on the basis of the manifest, even though they have not been opened, provided their contents are described, their measurements given, and all their other characteristics specified. The sale is binding on both seller and buyer when the merchandise thus described is found to accord with the description; but if it contradicts the description, the buyer has the option either to accept it or to return it.

Likewise, there is no harm in selling cloth, cotton, and linen while they are still in their bales without