What are the types of binding contracts where consideration (awad) is intended?
Chapter on the Option of the Two Parties in Sale
Al-Mughni
Book of Sales
Primary text
Contracts intended for consideration are classified into four kinds. The first kind is the binding contract (*aqd lazim*) where consideration is intended, such as sale and similar agreements. This category has two sub-types regarding the option of revocation (khiyar). The first sub-type allows for both the Option of Session (*khiyar al-majlis*) and the Option of Condition (*khiyar al-shart*). This applies to sales where immediate possession is not required, settlement equivalent to sale, gift with consideration (according to one narration), and hiring where the obligation is in the person's liability (e.g., hiring someone to tailor a specific garment). This inclusion of option is due to its establishment in sale, which these contracts resemble. The second sub-type requires immediate possession in the session, such as currency exchange (sarf), advance payment contracts (salam), and selling a usurious item for its own kind. The Option of Condition is not established in these transactions based on one narration, as their nature demands immediate separation after the transaction, which the Option of Condition impedes. However, the Option of Session is established in the soundest opinion of the madhhab due to the generality of the evidence and the presence of consideration review within them.
Supporting text
For specific rental agreements where the term begins immediately upon contracting, only the Option of Session is established, not the Option of Condition. This is because establishing the Option of Condition would lead to the loss or immediate utilization of some of the contracted benefits during the option period, both of which are impermissible. This is the view of Al-Shafi'i, and Al-Qadi once affirmed it, though he later suggested both options apply by analogy to sale.