—a specific commodity, and the principal later finds a defect in it, recourse lies against the original owner; the agent is not bound to return the item. If an agent sells property that is later taken by its rightful claimant, the purchaser may turn to the principal, not to the agent.

Ismāʿīl added: If the agent has already received the price from the purchaser and the purchaser demands it back, the agent and the principal are brought together until the purchaser is reimbursed. This holds provided the agency was valid or the purchaser knew of it.

If someone deputes another to collect a debt and the agent says, “I received it and it was lost,” Mālik does not accept that statement as clearing the debtor; it clears only the agent himself, and the debt remains upon the original debtor unless the agent produces proof of payment. The majority of jurists, apart from Mālik, regard such a claim as discharging the payer and accept the agent’s word. Mālik himself voiced a similar position when he said: If the agent had been given full discretion in buying, selling, and collecting, his word would be accepted and the debtor would be released.