And Muhammad. Abu Hanifa said: It is permissible if he made the agency general, based on his principle that a general agent has the right to sell as he wishes. Our position is that the principal suffers harm by the parceling, and there is neither explicit nor customary permission for it, so it is not permitted, just as if he were appointed to purchase a slave and he bought half of him.

Section: If he is appointed as an agent to purchase a specific slave for one hundred, and he buys him for fifty, or for less than one hundred, it is valid and binding upon the principal because it is permitted by custom. If he said: "Do not buy him for less than one hundred," and he contravened this, it is not valid because he violated his explicit command, and his explicit statement takes precedence over the implication of custom. If he said: "Buy him for one hundred, and do not buy him for fifty," it is permissible for him to buy him for any amount above fifty, because his permission to buy for one hundred indicates, by custom, permission to buy for less than that; the amount of fifty is excluded by the explicit prohibition, while anything above it remains in accordance with the requirements of the permission. If he buys him for less than fifty, there are two views: One, that it is permissible, for the same reason, and because he did not violate his explicit prohibition, resembling the case of what is more than fifty. The second, that it is not permissible, because he forbade him from fifty, considering it specifically, which serves as a warning against prohibiting anything less than it, just as permission to buy for one hundred is permission for anything less than it; thus, it functions as his explicit prohibition, for the implication of a statement is like its explicit text. If he said: "Buy him for one hundred dinars," and he buys him for one hundred dirhams, the ruling is the same as if he said: "Sell him for one hundred dirhams," and he sold him for one hundred dinars, according to the opinion already mentioned regarding that. If he said: "Buy me half of him for one hundred," and he buys the whole of him or more than half for one hundred, it is permissible because it is permitted by custom. If he said: "Buy me half of him for one hundred, and do not buy the whole of him," and he bought more than half and less than the whole for one hundred, it is valid according to the analogy of the previous issue, because the implication of custom mandates permission to buy everything exceeding the half, while the whole is excluded by his explicit prohibition, so everything else remains in accordance with the requirements of the permission.

Section: If he is appointed to purchase a described slave for one hundred, and he buys him according to the description for less than that,