What specific details must be known when leasing a house or bathhouse (hammam)?

General Chapter

Al-Mughni

Book of Leasing

Book 25 · Issue 3 · Bab 1

Open in Qurani

Primary text

If the subject is a house or a bathhouse, viewing the individual rooms is necessary because the intended purpose varies based on their size and amenities. The size of the bathhouse must be viewed to determine its smallness or largeness. Knowledge of the water source is required—whether from an aqueduct or a well. If from a well, the well must be viewed to ascertain its depth and the effort required to draw water. Furthermore, the oven (atoon), the ash disposal area, the refuse heap (zabal), and the drainage point for the bathhouse water must be viewed. Failure to specify this, or part of it, invalidates the lease due to unknown elements that affect the intended purpose.

Supporting text

The necessity of detailed viewing stems from the established rule in sales transactions, where the property must be known via sight because description alone is insufficient to establish certainty.