What is the ruling on the sale of fruit before the appearance of its soundness (budo al-salah)?
Chapter on Selling Assets and Fruits
Al-Mughni
Book of Sales
Primary text
One narration from Ahmad, deemed the soundest by Al-Qadi, is that the sale is invalidated if the buyer leaves the fruit until its soundness appears. In this case, the buyer must return the fruit to the seller and reclaim the purchase price. The basis for invalidation is the Prophet's prohibition against selling fruit before its soundness appears, and excluding only that which is sold conditioned on immediate cutting (which is done by consensus). Retention (tabqiyah) involves a condition forbidden by Shari'ah for the right of Allah, thus voiding the contract, similar to forbidden credit transactions (nasi'ah) or failure to take immediate possession where required. Furthermore, validating such a sale would be a means to circumvent the prohibition.
Supporting text
Another narration from Ahmad bin Sa'eed states that the sale is not invalidated. This is the view of most jurists, as the issue is merely the mixing of the sold item with what was not sold, similar to other analogous cases. This valid view applies when the buyer does not intend circumvention. If the intent behind stipulating immediate cutting was merely a trick to keep the fruit until it ripened, the sale is invalid in all cases, as trickery is established as void in Ahmad's school of thought.