Is the seller entitled to take back a garment after the buyer has shortened it, if the value increased?
General Chapter
Al-Mughni
Book of the Insolvent (Bankruptcy)
Primary text
If the buyer shortens a garment and its value increases due to this alteration, the seller does not have the right to reclaim it, according to the established view leaning on the opinion of Al-Kharqi. This is because the garment has undergone an increment that cannot be distinctly separated, preventing the seller's right of recourse, similar to when a slave gains weight. Furthermore, the seller does not find the distinct essence of his property separate from the addition, precluding reclamation, like a seller of dye who dyes with it or olive oil used to make sweetmeats.
Supporting text
Al-Qadi and his associates hold that the seller does have the right to reclaim the garment because he found his chattel in its essential form, its name unaltered, and its essence undiminished. Under this view, if the shortening was done by a bankrupt person or an artisan whose fee was paid, the artisan and the seller become partners in the garment. If the garment's original value was five and it is now worth six, the bankrupt person is entitled to one-sixth, and the seller to five-sixths. If the original seller chooses to pay the value of the increase to the bankrupt person, the bankrupt person must accept it to avoid the detriment of co-ownership without incurring harm, resembling a co-owner paying the value of construction to the buyer.