Conditions of a seller and a buyer
2089. There are six conditions for the sellers and buyers:
They should be baligh.
They should be sane.
They should not be impudent, that is, they should not be squandering their wealth.
They should have a serious and genuine intention to sell and purchase a commodity. Hence, if a person says jokingly, that he has sold his property, that transaction is void.
They have not been forced to sell and buy.
They should be the rightful owners of the commodity which they wish to sell, or give in exchange. Rules relating to these will be explained in the following:
2090. To conduct business with a child who is not baligh, and who makes
a deal independently, is void, except in things of small value, in which transactions
are normally conducted with the children who can discern. But if a discerning
child is accompanied by his guardian, and he pronounces the confirmation of
the deal, then the transaction is valid in every situation.
In fact, if the commodity or money is the property of another person, and that
child sells that commodity or purchases something with that money, as an agent
of the owner, the transaction is in order, even if the discerning child may
be possessing that property or money on his own.
And similarly, if the child is a medium of payment to the seller, and carrying
the commodity to the buyer, or giving the commodity to the buyer and carrying
the money to the seller, the transaction is valid, even if the child may not
be discerning (i.e. one who can distinguish between good and bad) because in
reality, two adult persons have entered into the contract.
2091. If a person buys something from a child who is not baligh, or
sells something to him, in a situation when the transaction is not valid, he
should give the commodity or money back to his guardian, if it was the child's
own property, or to its owner, if it was the property of someone else, or should
obtain the owner's agreement.
But if he does not know its owner, and has also no means to identify him, he
should give the thing taken from the child to a poor on behalf of its owner
as Radde Mazalim, and in so doing, he should, as an obligatory precaution, seek
the Mujtahid's permission.
2092. If a person concludes a transaction with a discerning child (i.e. one who can distinguish between good and evil), in a situation when it is not valid to conclude a transaction with him, and the commodity or money which he gives to the child is lost, he can claim it from the child after he attains the age of Bulugh, or from his guardian. But if the child is not discerning, he will have no right to claim anything from him.
2093. If a buyer or a seller is forced to conclude a transaction, and he concedes after the transaction is concluded (e.g. if he says: I agree), the transaction is valid. However, the recommended precaution is that the formula of the transaction should be repeated.
2094. If a person sells the property of another person without his consent, and if the owner of the property is not agreeable to the sale, and does not grant permission, the transaction is void.
2095. The father or paternal grandfather of a child and the executor of the father and the executor of the paternal grandfather of a child, can sell the property of the child, and if the circumstances demand, an Adil Mujtahid can also sell the property of an insane person, or an orphan, or one who has disappeared.
2096. If a person usurps some property, and sells it and after the sale, the owner of the property allows the transaction, the transaction is valid, and the thing which the usurper sold to the buyer and the profits accrued to it, from the time of transaction, belongs to the buyer. Similarly, the thing given by the buyer, and the profits accrued to it from the time of the transaction, belong to the person whose property was usurped.
2097. If a person usurps some property, and sells it with the intention that the sale proceeds should belong to him, and if the owner of the property allows the transaction, the transaction is valid, but the sale proceeds will belong to the owner, and not to the usurper.