Does an agent authorized to sell an item possess the authority to forgive the price owed by the buyer?

General Chapter

Al-Mughni

Book of Agency

Book 19 · Issue 2 · Bab 1

Open in Qurani

Primary text

The agent authorized for the sale does not possess the authority to forgive the purchase price. Forgiveness of the price is not part of the sale itself nor its completion; therefore, authorization for the sale does not constitute authorization for the forgiveness of the price, just as it would not constitute authorization to forgive a debt unrelated to the price of the item.

Supporting text

Abu Hanifa is cited as holding that the agent possesses this authority, though this view is contradicted by the primary reasoning provided.