peace and blessings of Allah be upon him: "The statement is what the seller says." In another wording: "The statement is what the seller says, and the buyer has the option [to choose]." Narrated by Imam Ahmad. Its meaning is: if he wishes, he accepts [the seller's claim], and if he wishes, he swears [an oath]. This is because the seller's position is stronger, for if they both perform mutual swearing (tahaluf), the sold item returns to him, so he is stronger, like the possessor (owner). We have already explained that each one of them is a denier, so they are equal in this respect. When the seller refuses to swear, it is equivalent to the buyer refusing to swear; the other party then swears, and judgment is rendered in his favor, so they are equal.

Third section: When the seller swears and the buyer refuses the oath, judgment is passed against him (the buyer). If the seller refuses, the buyer swears and judgment is passed in his favor. If both of them swear, the sale is not rescinded merely by the act of mutual swearing, because it is a valid contract; their dispute and contradictory claims do not rescind it, just as if each of them brought evidence for what he claimed. However, if one of them is satisfied with what his companion said, the contract is affirmed between them. If they are not satisfied, each of them has the right to rescind it. This is the apparent view from the words of Ahmad. It is possible that the rescission is contingent upon the judge (hakim). This is the apparent school of al-Shafi'i, because the contract is valid and one of them is an oppressor, and the judge only rescinds it because it is impossible to execute it under the law. This is similar to the marriage of a woman if two guardians marry her off and it is unknown which of them was earlier. Our evidence is the statement of the Prophet, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him: "Or they shall rescind the sale." Its apparent meaning is their independence in doing so. In the story, it is narrated that Ibn Mas'ud, may Allah be pleased with him, sold some slaves from the public treasury (riqiq al-imara) to al-Ash'ath ibn Qays. Abdullah (Ibn Mas'ud) said: "I sold them to you for twenty thousand." Al-Ash'ath said: "I bought them from you for ten thousand." Abdullah said: "I heard the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, say: 'If the two parties to a sale disagree, and there is no evidence between them, and the sale is still intact, the statement is what the seller says, or they shall rescind the sale.'" He said: "Then I rescind the sale." Narrated by Sa'id, from Hushaym, from Ibn Abi Layla, from al-Qasim ibn Abd al-Rahman, from Ibn Mas'ud.