How must a seller disclose a decrease in value due to illness, injury, damage, birth, defect, or if the buyer took some component (like wool or milk)?
Chapter on Selling the Musarrah (Animal with milk retained in udder)
Al-Mughni
Book of Sales
Primary text
If the item has decreased in value due to illness, injury, partial loss, progeny, defect, or if the buyer took some of its yield (like existing wool or milk), the seller must declare the situation truthfully and accurately. If the seller took compensation (arsh) for a defect or injury, there is a difference of opinion. One view, narrated by Al-Qadi, is that this must be declared accurately. Another view, held by Abu al-Khattab, is that the compensation amount should be subtracted from the price, and the remaining amount declared as the cost price, as the compensation stands for the value of the part that was deficient.
Supporting text
Al-Shafi'i holds that both compensation for defect and injury should be subtracted from the price, and the seller should state what the item cost them, arguing they are being truthful in their declaration. The preferred position is that declaring the situation accurately is more comprehensive in truthfulness and serves to negate deception, requiring disclosure of the deduction, unlike compensation for injury, which is viewed by some as analogous to yield.