Does the right of rescission (rujoo') lapse if a purchased grain becomes a crop, or if eggs hatch into chicks?

General Chapter

Al-Mughni

Book of the Insolvent (Bankruptcy)

Book 14 · Issue 1 · Bab 1

Open in Qurani

Primary text

The right of rescission lapses when the subject of a sale undergoes a transformation, such as grain becoming a crop, or eggs becoming chicks. This is because the seller cannot find the original substance of his property. This is analogous to a situation where the property is destroyed by a third party, in which case the seller would only be entitled to the monetary value. Furthermore, grain, and subsequently the resulting crop or chick, are substances created by Allah that did not exist at the time of the sale.

Supporting text

The view of Al-Qadi is that the right of rescission does not lapse in these situations. This is one of two reported opinions among the followers of Al-Shafi'i, based on the reasoning that the crop is the essence of the grain, and the chick is the essence of the egg.