What is the remedy available to a buyer if a garment purchased is discovered to have a defect after the buyer has dyed it?
Chapter on Selling the Musarrah (Animal with milk retained in udder)
Al-Mughni
Book of Sales
Primary text
If a buyer purchases a garment and subsequently dyes it, and a defect subsequently appears, the buyer is entitled only to the price reduction (Arsh) for the defect, and nothing else. This view is held by Abu Hanifa. The justification is that the dyeing constitutes an exchange (mu'awadah), and the seller is not compelled to accept the return of the garment which has undergone a change due to an exchange, similar to other transactions. The analogy to added fat (suman) or acquired earnings (kasb) is inapplicable because no compensation is given for the fat, and the earnings belong solely to the buyer without compensation or return.
Supporting text
A view attributed to Ahmad permits the buyer to return the garment entirely and keep any value gained from the dyeing, based on the principle that the added value is an increment that does not prevent return, similar to added fat or acquired earnings. Al-Shafi'i holds that the buyer only has the right to return the item because the buyer had the option to return it before the alteration (dyeing), thus forfeiting the right to the price reduction, similar to cases where a slave gains fat or earnings before return.