May a father contract to buy something for himself from the property of his minor son under his guardianship?
General Chapter
Al-Mughni
Book of Agency
Primary text
A father is permitted to purchase something for himself from his son's property in his custody and to sell his son's property. This view is held by Abu Hanifa, Al-Shafi'i, Malik, and Al-Awza'i, who also extended this permission to the paternal grandfather. The justification is that the father deals with the transaction in his own capacity, and thus may represent both parties to the contract, similar to a father marrying off his daughter to his young slave or a master marrying his slave girl to his male slave. Furthermore, the element of suspicion (Tuhmah) is absent between the father and son due to natural affection and the tendency to prioritize the son's interest over his own.
Supporting text
Zafar holds that this is impermissible because the rights of the contract relate to the contracting party, making it impossible for two contradictory rulings to attach to him simultaneously. He argues one cannot be both the obligor and the acceptor in one contract, citing the prohibition of marrying one's cousin’s daughter on one's own behalf. The paternal grandfather lacks guardianship over his son's son and is treated as a non-relative, thus the presumption of suspicion applies to him, unlike the father.