Hadith 42

Mishkat al-Masabih

Book 11: Business Transactions

Chapter 3

Conditional Bargains* - Section 1

باب الخيار - الفصل الأول

Translator's Note: * The word used is khiyar which means "choice”. That does not seem a very suitable word in English to indicate the subject of the chapter, as it is rather vague, and so I have taken the liberty of using a more explanatory phrase. The chapter deals with the kind of transaction where either party has in certain circumstances the right to annul it. "Option” would have been a good translation, but I wish to use this as part of the translation of shuf'a in Chapter 12.
Mishkat al-Masabih 2803
وَعَنِ ابْنِ عُمَرَ قَالَ: قَالَ رَجُلٌ لِلنَّبِيِّ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ إِنِّي أُخْدَعُ فِي الْبُيُوعِ فَقَالَ: فَكَانَ الرجل يَقُوله
" إِذَا بَايَعْتَ فَقُلْ: لَا خلابة "
Ibn ‘Umar said that a man told the Prophet that he was being deceived in business transactions, and he replied, "When you make a bargain say, 'There is no attempt to deceive'*.” Then the man made a habit of saying that. (Bukhari and Muslim.) * He was to say this to protect himself because he was not expert enough to detect defects in what he was buying. Some hold that one who says this has the right to cancel the transaction if any defect is discovered within three days. Some say this applied only to the man who spoke to the Prophet; others say it applies to anyone.