attributed to Ibn Umar. Malik said: It is permissible for two or three days and similar [periods], but if it is twenty nights, the sale is rescinded. Al-Shafi'i and Zufar said: The sale is invalid, because he conditioned the rescission of the sale upon uncertainty (gharar), so it is not valid, just as if he had conditioned it upon the arrival of Zayd. As for our position, this is narrated from Umar, may Allah be pleased with him, and because he conditioned the lifting of the contract on an event that occurs within the option period, so it is permissible, just as if he had stipulated the option. Furthermore, it is a type of sale, so it is permissible for it to be rescinded by delaying the possession, like an exchange (sarf). Moreover, this is in the same meaning as the condition of the option; because just as one needs to deliberate in the sale—whether he will agree to it or not—he needs to deliberate regarding the price—whether it will be paid or not. They are the same in meaning, though different in form, except that in the option one needs to rescind, while here it rescinds itself if he does not pay, because he made it so.

Section: Contracts are of four types (35). The first is a binding contract intended for compensation (iwad), which is sale and what is in its meaning. It is of two kinds. The first is one in which both options are established: the option of the session (khiyar al-majlis) and the option of stipulation (khiyar al-shart). This is the sale in cases where possession is not required to be taken at the session, along with reconciliation (sulh) in the sense of a sale, the gift in exchange for compensation according to one of the two narrations, and leasing in the liability (ijarah fi al-dhimma), such as saying: "I have hired you to sew this garment for me," and the like. The option is established in this because the report (36) came regarding the sale, and this (37) is in its meaning. As for the specified lease, if its period starts from the time of the contract, the option of the session enters it, but not the option of stipulation; because its entry leads to the loss of some of the benefits contracted upon, or to their fulfillment during the option period, and both are impermissible. This is the school of al-Shafi'i. The Qadi mentioned this once, and another time he said: Both options are established in it by analogy to the sale. We have already mentioned what necessitates the difference between them. As for pre-emption (shuf'a), there is no option in it; because the sold item is taken from the purchaser by force, and the pre-emptor