Is the sale valid when the sold item is described to the buyer using sufficient specifications for a Salam contract?
Chapter on the Option of the Two Parties in Sale
Al-Mughni
Book of Sales
Primary text
The sale is valid when the sold item is described to the buyer with specifications sufficient for the validity of a Salam contract (forward sale). This is the view held by the majority of scholars and is the apparent position within the Madhhab. The evidence supporting this is that the description suffices in a Salam contract, and it is not true that complete knowledge of the item is unattainable through description; knowledge is achieved through apparent characteristics that visibly affect the price. This is sufficient, as evidenced by its sufficiency in Salam contracts, and because inspection in a sale does not require observing hidden characteristics. Furthermore, if the buyer finds the item matching the description, he does not have the option to annul the contract. This view is held by Muhammad ibn Sirin, Ayyub, Malik, Al-Anbari, Ishaq, Abu Thawr, and Ibn al-Mundhir.
Supporting text
A narration from Ahmad states that the sale is invalid unless the item is seen, because description does not establish knowledge of the item, rendering the sale invalid, similar to what is invalid for Salam. Additionally, Al-Thawri, Abu Hanifa, and his companions hold that the buyer has the option to annul the sale in all circumstances, calling it the 'option of seeing' (Khiyar al-Ru'yah), because sight is considered part of perfecting the contract, analogous to an undescribed item.