Is it a condition for the validity of an 'Araya sale that the fruit sold must have been gifted (*mawhuba*) to the seller?
Chapter on Riba (Usury) and Exchange (Sarf)
Al-Mughni
Book of Sales
Primary text
It is not a prerequisite for the validity of an 'Araya sale that the fruit be one that was previously gifted to the seller. This is the apparent view of the Hanbali scholars and Al-Shafi'i. The rationale is that the evidence (Hadith of Zayd ibn Thabit) permits selling the 'Araya to whomever one wishes, not exclusively to the original giver. Moreover, if the condition were tied to the need of the giver, the restriction to five *wasq* would not apply, as need is not restricted to that amount. The ruling is based on the buyer's need to eat the fresh dates when he possesses no cash but only dates.
Supporting text
The apparent view of Al-Kharqi suggests that it is a condition. Malik stipulated that the permissible sale of 'Araya involves the owner gifting specific date palms to someone, and the owner is then permitted to purchase the fruit from the recipient to avoid causing offense to the recipient's household by entering the property unannounced. Abu Ubayd explains linguistically that *I'raa* means dedicating the fruit of one's palm for that year.