What is the ruling regarding a sale involving a specific description when the item sold is defined by description but not identified (similar to Salam)?
Chapter on the Option of the Two Parties in Sale
Al-Mughni
Book of Sales
Primary text
When the contract involves an item defined by description but not specifically identified, such as stating, "I sold you a Turkish slave," followed by detailing all the specifications of a Salam contract, the contract is treated like a Salam sale. If the seller delivers a slave that does not match the description and the buyer rejects it, or if the slave matches the description but the buyer exchanges it, the contract is not voided. This is because the contract was not originally placed upon the specific identified item. Therefore, rejection does not nullify the contract, similar to cases where a non-conforming item is delivered in a Salam sale and rejected.
Supporting text
Regarding separation after concluding this type of sale, the opinion of Al-Qadi permits separation before taking possession of the sold item or its price, because it is treated as a sale of a specific item (*bay' hal*), where separation before possession is allowed, analogous to the sale of an identified object. However, the opinion of Al-Shafi'i prohibits separation before the possession of either consideration, as it is a sale concerning liability (*bay' fi al-dhimmah*), which requires the simultaneous exchange or possession of one of the two considerations before parting, like in a Salam contract.