of us." (4) Ibn Majah also narrated in his Sunan (5), from the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) that he said: "The selling of al-muhaffalat (animals with withheld milk) is a form of deception (khilaba), and deception is not lawful for a Muslim." Ibn 'Abd al-Barr narrated it as: "And deception is not lawful for a Muslim."

739 - Issue: He said: (And if he buys a musarrah [animal with withheld milk] while he is unaware, he has the option between accepting it or returning it along with a sa' [measure] of dates.)

The discussion on this issue is in three sections. First: That whoever buys a musarrah from the cattle, and did not know of its tasriya [withholding of milk], and subsequently learned of it, he has the option of returning it or keeping it. This was narrated from Ibn Mas'ud, Ibn 'Umar, Abu Hurayrah, and Anas. This is the view held by Malik, Ibn Abi Layla, al-Shafi'i, Ishaq, Abu Yusuf, and the generality of the scholars. Abu Hanifah and Muhammad held that he has no option, because this is not a defect, evidenced by the fact that if it were not a musarrah, and he found it to have less milk than its peers, he would not possess the right to return it; and deception regarding something that is not a defect does not establish an option, just as if one fed it fodder and its belly swelled, so the buyer thought it was pregnant. Our evidence is what Abu Hurayrah narrated from the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) that he said: "Do not practice tasriya on camels and sheep, and whoever buys them thereafter has the choice of the two considerations after he milks it; if he wishes, he may keep it, and if he wishes, he may return it along with a sa' of dates." This is agreed upon (2). Ibn 'Umar also narrated from the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) that he said: "Whoever buys a muhaffalah has an option for three days; if he returns it, he shall return with it a similar amount or two similar amounts of its milk in wheat." Narrated by Abu Dawud (3). Furthermore, this is a deception regarding something that changes the price based on its variance; therefore, return is mandatory due to it, just as if...