Does the ruling on 'Musarat' apply equally to cows as it does to camels and sheep?
Chapter on Selling the Musarrah (Animal with milk retained in udder)
Al-Mughni
Book of Sales
Primary text
The ruling concerning 'Musarat' applies equally to sheep, camels, and cows. The evidence for this is the general statement: Whoever buys an animal whose milk has been retained, he has the option for three days, and the narration of Ibn Umar concerning 'Muhfalah' (an equivalent term) did not differentiate between species. Furthermore, 'Musarat' involves the retention of milk from livestock ('An'am'), making cows analogous to camels and sheep. The mention of camels and sheep in the text serves as an alert specifically because the milk of a cow is typically more copious and beneficial.
Supporting text
Dawud held an exceptional view, stating that the option for 'Musarat' is not established for cows because the Hadith explicitly mentions only camels and sheep (La tusarru al-ibil wa al-ghanam). He argued that where the ruling is established by explicit text (Nass), analogy (Qiyas) cannot establish it for other matters, and that legal rulings cannot be established merely by analogy. This is refuted because the general wording provides proof.