What is the ruling when the divorce consideration is a specified item promised in a debt (salaf) transaction?
General Chapter
Al-Mughni
Book of Khul' (Redemption Divorce)
Primary text
If the divorce is agreed upon in exchange for a specified good promised in debt, provided the description fully meets the conditions of *salaf* (forward sale), the agreement is valid. The wife must deliver a sound item because the general statement implies soundness, similar to sale and dower contracts. If she delivers a defective or incomplete item, the husband has the choice to keep it or return it and demand a sound item matching the stipulated description, because what was due to him was sound and fully described. If she delivers an item matching the description but with a defect, the divorce takes effect because the condition was met. The judge states the husband may choose to keep it or return it and claim its value. This is the view of Al-Shafi'i, who also has a position that the husband reverts to claiming the mahr al-mithl.
Supporting text
If the husband states, 'If you give me a cloth, or a slave, or this cloth, or this slave,' and she gives him a defective one, the divorce occurs, and he has no claim other than the item itself. This implies that in cases where the divorce is conditioned upon the giving of a specific item, if she gives it to him, he has no claim for its replacement or value, as he is not entitled to anything else because the divorce was conditioned upon the physical delivery, not the fulfillment of a guaranteed obligation.