What is required if the buyer discovers the withholding before milking the animal, for example, if the seller admits it?
Chapter on Selling the Musarrah (Animal with milk retained in udder)
Al-Mughni
Book of Sales
Primary text
If the withholding is known before milking, such as by the seller's admission or credible testimony, the buyer has the right to return the animal without returning anything in compensation. This is because the obligation to return a measure of dates is specified as compensation for the milk that was actually extracted. Since no milk was taken, no substitute is due.
Supporting text
This is the position of Malik, and it is a point of undisputed agreement according to Ibn Abd al-Barr. If the buyer milks the animal, leaves the milk aside, and then returns it while the milk remains unchanged, they must return the milk, and no compensation (dates) is owed because the original item is present and returned, similar to other contracts where the object is returned.