What is the liability of a tailor if a cloth owner instructs cutting based on a condition of sufficiency, and the cloth proves insufficient?

General Chapter

Al-Mughni

Book of Leasing

Book 25 · Issue 1 · Bab 1

Open in Qurani

Primary text

If a cloth owner delivers a garment to a tailor stating, 'If this makes a shirt, then cut it,' and the tailor confirms it suffices and cuts it, but it proves insufficient, the tailor is liable for its value. This ruling is held because the permission to cut was conditional upon the cloth being sufficient, and the tailor acted despite the condition not being met. The liability arises not from deception (*taghrir*), but from acting without valid permission, as the permission was restricted by the sufficiency condition.

Supporting text

Abu Thur holds that the tailor is not liable in this scenario because if the tailor deceived the owner in the first instance, deception would also be implied in the second instance where sufficiency was affirmed.