Whose responsibility is damage caused by natural calamity (Ja'iha) to harvested fruits before delivery?
Chapter on Selling Assets and Fruits
Al-Mughni
Book of Sales
Primary text
Damage caused by natural calamity to the fruits after the sale but before complete transfer of possession rests with the seller. This is the opinion held by the majority of the people of Medina, including Yahya ibn Sa'id al-Ansari, Malik, Abu Ubayd, a group of Hadith scholars, and Al-Shafi'i in his old opinion (al-Qadim). The evidence is the narration by Muslim from Jabir that the Prophet, peace be upon him, ordered the setting aside of losses from calamities (jawaih). Furthermore, the Prophet, peace be upon him, stated, 'If you sell fruit to your brother and a calamity strikes it, it is not lawful for you to take anything from him; are you taking your brother's property without right?' This narration is explicit regarding the ruling.
Supporting text
Abu Hanifa and Al-Shafi'i (in his new opinion, al-Jadid) hold that the loss rests with the buyer. Their evidence is a narration concerning a woman whose son bought fruit that was destroyed by calamity, and the Prophet, peace be upon him, commented on the seller's refusal to remit the cost by saying, 'So-and-so has sworn an oath not to do good.' They argue that since granting remission (wad') is meritorious and if it were obligatory, he would be compelled, then the guarantee (daman) should be attached to the allowance of disposition (takhliyah), similar to transfer and removal. They also argue that if a human destroys it, the seller is not liable, so similarly, he should not be liable for destruction by something else.