In the name of Allah, and may Allah bless our master Muhammad, his family, and his Companions, and grant them peace.

Chapter: A Comprehensive Discussion of Returning Goods on Account of Hidden Defects

If someone buys a ewe for its milk at a time when its milk yield is already apparent, the animal not being muṣarrāh (one whose udder has been tied to make it seem more productive), and the seller does not disclose how much it actually yields, then the buyer milks it and is dissatisfied because the milk is scant, he has the right to return it—provided that a ewe of the same kind would normally produce more. This is deemed a concealed defect of which the seller was aware but kept silent, just as if he had sold grain in bulk whose measure he knew yet withheld. Such is the view of Ibn al-Qāsim.

If the sheep was purchased outside its normal milking season, the buyer may not return it, for he has effectively bought it for its meat and other uses, and people routinely pay a higher price for a lactating ewe precisely because of its milk.

Likewise, if the first buyer purchased the animal and then sold it immediately without milking it or knowing its yield, the person who bought it from him has no right to return it for lack of milk, because no guarantee was stipulated in his favor. Nevertheless, anyone who discovers that the animal he purchased produces too little milk may return it on that ground, for no specific condition was set for him. In general, whenever a purchaser finds in what he has bought a defect that existed while the seller still possessed the item—whatever that defect may be—he has the option of returning it.