Is the admission valid if conditioned upon a created being's will or a future event?
General Chapter
Al-Mughni
Book of Acknowledgment of Rights
Primary text
If one says, 'I owe you a thousand, if you wish' or 'if Zayd wishes,' the admission is invalid because it is suspended upon a condition that is knowable, which violates the nature of admission as a report of a preexisting right. This is different from conditioning it upon the Will of Allah. If one says, 'I owe you a thousand unless Allah wills,' the admission is valid because the admission is made, and then the removal of the admission is suspended on an unknown matter, meaning it does not cease to be an admission. If one says, 'I owe you a thousand if so-and-so arrives,' it is not obligatory, because no admission of debt was made in the present; that which is not obligatory now cannot become obligatory upon the fulfillment of a condition.
Supporting text
The opinion is held that saying, 'I owe you a thousand, if Zayd wishes,' is valid according to the Qadi because the admission is followed by something that revokes it, and thus the admission itself is sound, while the revoking part is void, similar to excepting the entire amount or the statement 'if Allah wills.' However, the preferred view is that since it is conditioned on a knowable event, it is invalid, similar to conditioning it on someone testifying.