Is it permissible to incur excessive financial risk in a transaction, even if not intending to deceive the preemption right?
General Chapter
Al-Mughni
Book of Preemption (Shuf'ah)
Primary text
If a buyer incurs evident financial loss (Gharar) by purchasing an item for a price vastly exceeding its known value (e.g., buying something worth ten for a hundred, or something worth one hundred Dirhams for one hundred Dinars), this risk falls upon the buyer according to the apparent judgment, as he affirmed this amount upon himself. This applies even if the transaction was not purely a stratagem for preemption, based on the principle that actions are judged by intentions. If the intent behind a transaction involving an unknown price or a conditional gift (as part of the arrangement) is violated, the party who acted contrary to the agreed-upon underlying understanding does not benefit from that deviation in the sight of God, as the initial consent was contingent upon the secret agreement.
Supporting text
If the parties in a transaction involving mutual conditional gifts (like a gift of the remaining share of the property contingent upon the seller gifting the rest of the price) disagree on fulfilling the conditional gifts, the matter is judged based on which party initiated the promise of the gift; if one fails to fulfill their part, the other is not bound.