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Sold the wrong edition of a book – options of misdescription

Answered as per Hanafi Fiqh by Qibla.com

Answered by Shaykh Faraz Rabbani

I sold a book online and the buyer thought it was the edition she wanted, but it wasn’t. It was my fault because I put the book under the wrong edition, but in the comment area I made sure I stated what edition it was. I didn’t mean to deceive her. She had a chance to return it, but she didn’t. Should I buy the book back from her if I can, or is it not my fault?

Answer:
In the Name of Allah, Most Gracious, Most Merciful

Walaikum assalam wa rahmatullah,

The basis of sales and contracts is mutual consent, agreement and contractual clarity. Allah Most High said,

“O you who believe! Consume not your goods between you in vanity, except there be trading, by your agreeing together.” [Qur’an, 4.29]

When an item is sold with a desired attribute significantly different to contractual agreement or expectation, this ‘mutual agreement’ is lost. Thus, the buyer has an option to cancel when they become aware of this difference.

If they do not exercise this option, this right ends and the contract becomes fully binding. [Ibn Abidin, Radd al-Muhtar (4.548, Ilmiyya ed.); Majallat al-Ahkam al-Adliyya (items 310-312) with Ali Haydar’s Durar al-Hukkam Sharh Majallat al-Ahkam (1.306-308)]

Religiously, it would be proper for the seller to inform the buyer of such a difference when it would be reasonably expected to be significant.

The details of this are outlined in Majallat al-Ahkam al-Adliyya, the Ottoman Hanafi commercial law code:

Section II: Option for Misdescription

310. If the vendor sells property as possessing a certain desirable quality and such property proves to be devoid of such quality, the purchaser has the option of either canceling the sale, or of accepting the thing sold for the whole of the fixed price. This is called option for misdescription. Examples:-

1. If a cow is sold described as giving milk and it proves that she has ceased to give milk, the purchaser acquires an option.

2. If a stone sold at night-time as a red ruby proves to be yellow ruby, the purchaser acquires an option.

311. The option for misdescription is transmissible by way of inheritance. That is to say, that if on the death of the purchaser who has an option for misdescription, it turns out that the thing sold does not conform to the description given, the heir also has the power of canceling the sale.

312. If the purchaser having an option for misdescription deals with the thing sold in manner indicative of a right of ownership over such thing, he loses his option thereby.

And Allah alone gives success.

Wassalam,

Faraz Rabbani

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