until his dismissal is duly established for him.

If someone instructs another person to sell a commodity on his behalf, and then both the principal and the agent proceed to sell it, the buyer who concluded the sale first has the superior claim to the item—unless the later buyer has already taken possession of it, in which case he has the stronger right. This was also the view of Rabīʿah, on the grounds that the agent has assumed liability for the goods. Others, however, dispute this position, and one aspect of the issue has already been mentioned earlier.