If a transaction by an unpermitted slave is deemed invalid, how is recovery made for the seller or lender if the object is destroyed?
Chapter on Selling the Musarrah (Animal with milk retained in udder)
Al-Mughni
Book of Sales
Primary text
If the transaction is invalid and the property remains, the seller or lender may recover it, whether it is in the slave's possession or the master's. If the property is destroyed, they are entitled to its equivalent value. If the destruction occurred while in the master's possession, recourse is against the master because the master's property was destroyed in his hands. Alternatively, the recourse may be against the slave's liability. If the destruction occurred while in the slave's possession, recourse is against the slave. Regarding whether the claim attaches to the slave's liability or his physical person (raqabah), there are two narrations.
Supporting text
If the transaction is considered valid, and the sold item remains in the slave's possession, the seller may annul the sale, and the lender may revoke the loan because the buyer/borrower's insolvency is confirmed, placing him in a worse state than an insolvent free man. If the master has seized the item from the slave, the master gains ownership, which is treated as destruction in the slave's hands, and the seller/lender has no right to retrieve it from the master. If the item is destroyed, the price or loan amount is definitively fixed upon the slave's person or liability, regardless of whether it was destroyed in the slave's or master's possession.