Is an agreement valid where the rent for hiring a porter to Egypt varies based on intermediate stops (Damascus or Raqqa)?
General Chapter
Al-Mughni
Book of Leasing
Primary text
When a contract for hiring a porter to Egypt at forty dinars is conditioned upon stopping at Damascus (rent thirty dinars) or Raqqa (rent twenty dinars), the agreement is permissible if structured as successive valid contracts: hiring to Raqqa for twenty, then from Raqqa to Damascus for ten, and finally from Damascus to Egypt for ten. This structure permits the transaction without invalidating the initial contract based on the principle of two sales in one sale.
Supporting text
The apparent position gathered from the general narrations attributed to Ahmad concerning this type of conditional contract suggests the initial contract itself is invalid because it resembles two sales in one sale, as the hirer is given an option between three distinct contracts.