he has already begun to put it to work in trade, even if all he has yet done is outfit himself with food or clothing for the journey. Should the owner then die and the heirs wish to revoke the qarad, they simply take back those very provisions and do not hold the agent liable for any loss in their value.

If the agent dies before setting out, the capital reverts to its owner. But if he has travelled with it, engaged in commerce, and a profit has accrued, and then he dies, the agent’s heirs step into his place with respect to the capital and its reckoning until the investment is liquidated into cash on the same terms as the qarad their predecessor contracted—so long as the heirs are legally competent. If they are prodigal or minors and present a trustworthy person to act on their behalf, that arrangement is accepted; otherwise, they must hand the capital over to its owner, who alone bears its gains and its losses, while they receive no share of the profit.