Question:
What is said about the option in sale?
Answer:
If two persons are engaged in buying and selling, both retain the option to uphold or cancel the sale until the assembly is dissolved. As soon as the assembly separates, the option to cancel the sale ends. In jurisprudential terminology, this is called tafarruq. The option in sale is related to the dissolution of the assembly, which is called al-tafarruq bil-abdan, and this is the belief of the majority of scholars.
Contrarily, one opinion is that once the sale is concluded, the option in the sale ends, whether the assembly dissolves or not; this is called al-tafarruq bil-kalam. This belief is against authentic hadiths, the practices of the Companions, and the consensus of the majority of scholars.
Sayyiduna Abdullah bin Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) narrates that the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) said:
إن المتبايعين بالخيار فى بيعهما ما لم يتفرقا، أو يكون البيع خيارا، قال نافع: وكان ابن عمر إذا اشترى شيئا يعجبه فارق صاحبه
The buyer and the seller have the option as long as they have not separated from each other, except when the sale is with khiyar (i.e., the option to break the sale is given). Nafi’ (may Allah have mercy on him) says: When Sayyiduna Abdullah bin Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) bought something, he wished to separate from the seller.
❀ The words of Sahih Muslim are:
كان إذا بايع رجلا، فأراد أن لا يقيله، قام فمشى هنيهة، ثم رجع إليه
When Sayyiduna Abdullah bin Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) bought something from someone and did not intend to return it, he would get up and walk a little, then return to that person.
❀ Imam Abdullah bin Mubarak (may Allah have mercy on him)
says:
الحديث فى البيعين بالخيار ما لم يتفرقا أثبت من هذه الأساطين
The hadith which mentions the option in sale until separation is stronger than these pillars.
❀ Hafiz Ibn Abd al-Barr (may Allah have mercy on him)
says:
أجمع العلماء على أن هذا الحديث ثابت عن النبى صلى الله عليه وسلم وأنه من أثبت ما نقل الآحاد العدول
There is a consensus among scholars that this hadith is established from the Prophet (peace be upon him), and it is also the strongest narration among the solitary reports narrated by just narrators.
❀ Imam Tirmidhi (may Allah have mercy on him)
says:
العمل على هذا عند بعض أهل العلم من أصحاب النبى صلى الله عليه وسلم وغيرهم، وهو قول الشافعي، وأحمد، وإسحاق، وقالوا: الفرقة بالأبدان لا بالكلام، وقد قال بعض أهل العلم: معنى قول النبى صلى الله عليه وسلم ما لم يتفرقا، يعني الفرقة بالكلام، والقول الأول أصح لأن ابن عمر هو روى عن النبى صلى الله عليه وسلم وهو أعلم بمعنى ما روى
The Companions and some later scholars acted upon this hadith. Imam Shafi’i (may Allah have mercy on him), Imam Ahmad (may Allah have mercy on him), and Imam Ishaq bin Rahwayh (may Allah have mercy on him) hold this belief, that the separation here means physical separation, not the change of the subject of conversation. However, some scholars have said that the Prophetic statement “until they separate” means the change of the subject of conversation. The first opinion is correct because Sayyiduna Abdullah bin Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) is the narrator of this hadith and he knows the meaning of his narration better.
❀ Abu al-Wafa (may Allah have mercy on him) narrates:
غزونا غزاة لنا فنزلنا منزلا فباع صاحب لنا فرسا من رجل بعبد فلبثا بقية يومهما وليلتهما حتى أصبحا قال: فلما حضر الرحل قام الرجل إلى فرسه ليسرجه وندم قال: فأخذه الرجل بالبيعة فأتيا أبا برزة رضى الله عنه فقصا عليه قصتهما فقال: أترضيان أن أقضي بينكما بقضاء رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم؟ قال رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم: البيعان بالخيار ما لم يتفرقا
We participated in a battle and camped at a place. During that time, one of our companions sold a horse in exchange for a slave. They spent the remaining part of the day and night there. When it was time to move, the man got up to saddle his horse but regretted selling it. Since the other man had bought the horse, he took hold of it. Both came to Abu Barzah (may Allah be pleased with him) and told him the story. He said: If I decide between you according to the judgment of the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him), will you accept it? The Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) said: The buyer and the seller have the option as long as they have not separated from each other.
❀ Imam Ibn al-Jarood (may Allah have mercy on him)
declared this hadith authentic.
Sayyiduna Abdullah bin Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) narrates that the Prophet (peace be upon him) said:
البائع والمبتاع بالخيار ما لم يتفرقا إلا أن تكون صفقة خيار ولا يحل له أن يفارقه خشية أن يستقيله
The buyer and the seller have the option as long as they have not separated from each other, except when the sale is with khiyar (i.e., the option to break the sale is given), and it is not permissible to separate quickly due to fear of returning the transaction.
Imam Tirmidhi (may Allah have mercy on him) declared this hadith hasan, and Imam Ibn al-Jarood (may Allah have mercy on him)
declared it authentic. In Sunan Dar Qutni
, Ibn Ajlan’s following of Bakir bin Abdullah Ashaj with Talib Musalsal is recorded.
❀ Imam Tirmidhi (may Allah have mercy on him)
says:
معنى هذا: أن يفارقه بعد البيع خشية أن يستقيله، ولو كانت الفرقة بالكلام ولم يكن له خيار بعد البيع لم يكن لهذا الحديث معنى، حيث قال صلى الله عليه وسلم: ولا يحل له أن يفارقه خشية أن يستقيله
The meaning of this hadith is that the buyer should not separate after the sale due to the fear that the seller will take back the item. If separation meant the change of the subject of conversation and the option would not exist after the sale, then this hadith would have no meaning because the Prophet (peace be upon him) said: It is not permissible for the buyer to separate from the seller with the fear that he will take back the item.
Sayyiduna Abdullah bin Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) and Sayyiduna Abu Barzah al-Aslami (may Allah be pleased with him) are both narrators of this hadith. Their knowledge and understanding indicate that separation does not mean the change of conversation but physical separation. When the assembly dissolves, the option ends.
❀ Imam of lexicography Abu Mansur Azhari (may Allah have mercy on him)
says:
سئل أحمد بن يحيى عن الفرق بين الإفتراق والتفرق فقال: أخبرني ابن الأعرابي عن المفضل قال: فرقت بين الكلامين مخففا فافترقا وفرقت بين اثنين مشددا فتفرقا فأراه جعل الإفتراق فى القول والتفرق بالأبدان
Ahmed bin Yahya Thalab (may Allah have mercy on him) was asked about the difference between iftirāq and tafarruq. He said that Ibn al-A’rabi narrated from Mufaddal (may Allah have mercy on him) that he said: “I differentiated between two speeches lightly, so they separated (iftaraqa), and I differentiated between two things strongly, so they separated (tafarraqa).” Thus, I understood that iftirāq relates to speech, and tafarruq relates to physical things.
❀ Hafiz Khattabi (may Allah have mercy on him)
says:
قوله: وكانا جميعا يبطل كل تأويل يتأوله من خالف ظاهر الحديث من أهل العراق وغيرهم، وكذلك قوله: وإن تفرقا بعد أن يتبايعا ولم يترك واحد منهما البيع فقد وجب البيع وفيه أبين دلالة على أن التفرق بالأبدان هو القاطع للخيار، وأن للمتبايعين أن يتركا البيع بعد عقده ما داما فى مجلسهما ولو كان معناه: التفرق بالأداء لخلا الحديث عن الفائدة
The Prophetic statement: The buyer and the seller are together invalidates every interpretation made by the people of Iraq and others that contradicts the apparent meaning of this hadith. Similarly, the Prophetic statement: If after the sale both separate and neither of them has abandoned the sale, then the sale becomes obligatory, is also clear evidence that the option ends with tafarruq bil-abdan (physical separation). Moreover, this hadith is proof that the buyer and seller have the option to break the sale after concluding it as long as they are present in the same assembly. If this hadith meant tafarruq bil-ada’ (change of conversation), then the hadith would have no benefit.
❀ Hafiz Ibn Hajar (may Allah have mercy on him)
says:
إن ابن عمر حمله على التفرق بالأبدان وكذلك أبو برزة الأسلمي ولا يعرف لهما مخالف من الصحابة
Undoubtedly, Abdullah bin Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) interpreted this hadith as tafarruq bil-abdan, and so did Abu Barzah al-Aslami (may Allah be pleased with him). Among the Companions, no one opposed them.
❀ Allama Abdul Hay Lakhnawi Hanafi (may Allah have mercy on him)
says:
لعل المنصف غير المتعصب يستيقن بعد إحاطة الكلام من الجوانب فى هذا البحث والمتأمل فيما ذكرنا وما سنذكره أن أولى الأقوال هو ما فهمه الصحابيان الجليلان، وفهم الصحابي وإن لم يكن حجة لكنه أولى من فهم غيره بلا شبهة
A non-biased and just person who thoroughly covers this issue will believe, and one who reflects on our presented arguments will know that the most appropriate and correct view in this issue is what these two Companions (Abdullah bin Umar and Abu Barzah al-Aslami) understood. The understanding of a Companion is not necessarily a proof, but it is undoubtedly better than the understanding of a non-Companion.
❀ Allama Mahmood al-Hasan Deobandi (may Allah have mercy on him) says:
الحاصل أن مسألة الخيار من مهمات المسائل، فخالف أبو حنيفة فيها الجمهور، وكثيرا من الناس من المتقدمين والمتأخرين، وصنفوا فى ترجيح مذهب الشافعي، من جهة الأحاديث والنصوص، وكذلك قال شيخنا مد ظله: يترجح مذهبه، وقال: الحق والإنصاف إن الترجيح للشافعي فى هذا المسألة ونحن مقلدون يجب علينا تقليد إمامنا أبى حنيفة
The conclusion of the discussion is that the issue of khiyar (option) is among the important issues. Imam Abu Hanifa (may Allah have mercy on him) opposed the majority and many predecessors and successors on this issue. They wrote refutations against Imam Abu Hanifa’s view on this issue. Mawlana Shah Waliullah Muhaddith Dehlawi (may Allah sanctify his secret) preferred the Shafi’i view in his Risail Madhhab Shafi’i based on hadiths and texts. Similarly, our Sheikh (may Allah prolong his shadow) said that the Shafi’i madhhab is the most correct. He also said that the truth and justice is that the Shafi’i madhhab is preferred in this issue, but we are followers and it is obligatory for us to follow our Imam Abu Hanifa.
Sayyiduna Abu Hurairah (may Allah be pleased with him) narrates that the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) said:
البيعان بالخيار ما لم يتفرقا من بيعهما
The buyer and the seller have the option as long as they have not finished talking about the sale.
The chain is weak; Ayub bin Utbah is weak.
❀ Imam Abu Hatim Razi (may Allah have mercy on him)
says:
فيه لين قدم بغداد ولم يكن معه كتبه فكان يحدث من حفظه على التوهم فيغلط
He is a weak narrator. When he came to Baghdad, he had no books and started narrating from his memory, making mistakes.
❀ Hafiz Hashim (may Allah have mercy on him) says:
ضعفه الجمهور
He has been declared weak by the majority.
❀ It is narrated from Ibrahim Nakha’i (may Allah have mercy on him):
إذا وجبت الصفقة فلا خيار
Once the transaction is concluded, the option ends.
The chain is weak. It is the narration of Hashim bin Bashir. It is the narration of Mughira bin Muqsim Dhibi.
❀ Muhammad bin Fudail (may Allah have mercy on him) says:
كان المغيرة يدلس؛ فكنا لا نكتب عنه إلا ما قال: حدثنا إبراهيم
Mughira bin Muqsim used to practice tadlis (concealing defects in narration), so we used to write only those narrations from him in which he explicitly heard from Ibrahim Nakha’i (may Allah have mercy on him).
❀ Imam Malik (may Allah have mercy on him)
says:
ليس لهذا عندنا حد معروف، ولا أمر معمول به فيه
This hadith (of Ibn Umar) is not known to us in any form, nor is it acted upon.
In response to Imam Malik, Hafiz Dhahabi (may Allah have mercy on him)
says:
قد عمل جمهور الأئمة بمقتضاه، أولهم عبد الله بن عمر راوي الحديث
The majority of Imams acted upon this hadith, and the first among them is the narrator of the hadith, Sayyiduna Abdullah bin Umar (may Allah be pleased with him).
