How does the wording of the profit margin affect the treatment of an error in the capital cost?
Chapter on Selling the Musarrah (Animal with milk retained in udder)
Al-Mughni
Book of Sales
Primary text
If the seller stated a fixed profit margin (e.g., 'profit of ten on every hundred'), and subsequently a discovery reveals an error in the capital cost, the profit margin must still be maintained at the originally stipulated amount (ten). The profit cannot be reduced, as the seller explicitly agreed to that profit percentage for that specific transaction. However, if the seller stated the profit as a fixed amount per unit ('profit of ten dirhams on every ten dirhams') or used phrasing that implies a fixed monetary profit, the discovered error in the capital cost must be accounted for, resulting in a reduction from the profit or an adjustment to the total price.