What is the ruling on including a stipulation in a sale contract that grants the seller the right to buy back the item at the original price if the buyer later sells it?
Chapter on Selling Assets and Fruits
Al-Mughni
Book of Sales
Primary text
The sale incorporating the stipulation that if the buyer sells the item, the original seller has the right to repurchase it for the original price is invalid. This invalidity stems from the Prophet's prohibition against 'two conditions in one sale.' This stipulation contradicts the essence of the contract, as it restricts the buyer's right to dispose of the property, similar to stipulating that the item must only be sold to a specific person or not sold at all. This interpretation is derived from one account of Ahmad's view regarding the hadith of Ibn Mas'ud concerning his wife Zaynab.
Supporting text
An alternative ruling states that the sale is valid while the condition is void. This is supported by the narration where Ibn Mas'ud made such a condition, and upon reporting it to 'Umar, 'Umar commanded him, 'Do not approach her, and no one has a condition in her,' but did not declare the sale itself void. Ahmad is reported to have held the sale valid in this specific instance because it contained only one condition benefiting the wife, suggesting that when the condition is singular, the sale remains sound, and 'Umar's statement implies dislike or prohibition concerning intimacy due to the ambiguous nature of the contract, not outright nullification of the sale itself. Some scholars interpret this as mere reprehensibility rather than outright prohibition.