both receipt of the goods and their subsequent destruction. Nor is the one who handed them over absolved merely by presenting witnesses to that effect—unless the recipient is a fully empowered agent or a testamentary executor; in such a case his statement is accepted, unlike the ruling for a restricted agent.

When an executor says, “I collected from the deceased’s debtor what he owed, and it was later lost,” he is believed and the debtor is discharged. If the creditors claim that they paid the executor and he denies it, he must swear; should he refuse the oath, he is liable, according to Ibn Hurmuz and Ibn al-Qāsim, whether the sum involved is small or large. Mālik gives the same ruling for small amounts but withholds judgment on large ones.

Whoever appoints an agent to sell merchandise and the agent sells it at a price that is out of line with customary market transactions is liable for the deficiency. The same applies when an agent is commissioned to purchase something and buys it at a price that people would not ordinarily accept; he is liable. An agent may not sell on credit without the owner’s permission, nor may he depart in any respect from the instructions he has been given. Thus, if the owner tells him to buy a particular kind of goods and he buys something else, he is liable, and any profit or loss that arises belongs to him alone, not to the owner.

If he does purchase the specified type but enters into the transaction in partnership with another person, then should the venture yield a profit or a loss, the loss is his while the profit belongs to the owner.

When someone is deputed to buy an item for a stated price and he secures it for less, the mandate stands and the principal has no option to revoke it. If, however, he buys it for more, the principal may either ratify the transaction or hold the agent liable for the excess he has paid.