Book of Bankruptcy and Judicial Interdiction
Chapter: A bankrupt whose creditor finds all or part of his merchandise still with him

In the name of Allah, the Most Compassionate, the Most Merciful.
May Allah bestow His blessings and peace upon our master Muhammad, his family, and his Companions.

When a merchant becomes so burdened by people’s debts that the ruler restrains him and declares him bankrupt at the instigation of his creditors—because what they are owed envelops the whole of his estate—then any creditor who discovers his own merchandise still intact has a choice. If he wishes, he may reclaim his goods for the very price at which he sold them, in which case he has a stronger right to them than the other creditors; this is permissible for him. Alternatively, he may leave the goods and be treated on equal footing with the rest of the creditors, sharing in their price together with the remaining assets of the bankrupt and whatever else may afterwards accrue to him.

Should the seller have already received part of the price, yet decide to return what he has collected so that he may repossess his merchandise, he is entitled to do so. If, however, part of the merchandise has passed out of the buyer’s possession—or that of someone else—and the seller then chooses to take