Liaison office of Grand Ayatullah Sayyid Ali Al Sistani (L.M.H.L) in London, Europe, North and South America.
2132. The right to cancel a transaction is called Khiyar. The seller
and the buyer can cancel a transaction in the following eleven cases:
If the parties to the transaction have not parted from each other, though
they may have left the place of agreement. This is called Khiyarul majlis.
If the buyer or the seller has been cheated in a sale transaction, or in
any other sort of deal, either of the parties has been deceived, they have
a right to call off the deal. This is called Khiyar of Ghabn.
This
Khiyar stems from the fact that each side in any deal wishes to ensure that
he does not receive less than what he has given, and if he has been cheated,
he should have the right to back out. But if one has in mind that if he is
given less than what he has delivered, or is paid less than what he deserves,
he will ask for the difference, he should first demand the difference before
cancelling the deal.
If while entering into a transaction, it is agreed that up to a
stipulated time, one or both the parties will be entitled to cancel the
transaction. This is called Khiyarush Shart.
If one of the parties presents his commodity as better than it actually
is, and thereby attracts the buyer, or makes him more enthusiastic about it.
This is called Khiyar tadlis.
If one of the parties to the transaction stipulates that the other would
perform a certain job, and that condition is not fulfilled. Or if it is
stipulated that the commodity will be of particular quality, and the
commodity supplied may be lacking in that quality. In these cases, the party
which laid the condition can cancel the transaction. This is called Khiyar
takhallufish shart.
If the commodity supplied is defective. This is called Khiyarul 'aib.
If it transpires that a quality of the commodity under transaction is the
property of a third person. In that case, if the owner of that part is not
willing to sell it, the buyer can cancel the transaction, or can claim back
from the seller the replacement of that part, if he has already paid for it.
This is called Khiyarush shirkat.
If the owner describes certain qualities of his commodity which the buyer
has not seen, and then the buyer realises that the commodity is not as it
was described, the buyer can rescind the deal.
Similarly, if the buyer may have seen the commodity sometimes back, and
purchases it thinking that the qualities it had then will be still existing,
and if he finds that those qualities have disappeared, he has a right to
cancel the deal.
If the buyer does not pay for the commodity he has bought for three days,
and the seller has not yet handed over to him the commodity, the seller can
cancel the transaction.
But this is in the circumstance when the seller
had agreed to allow him time for deferred payment, without fixing the
period. And if the seller had not at all agreed on deferred payment, he can
cancel the transaction at once, without any delay.
And if he had
allowed him more than three days' credit, then the seller cannot rescind the
deal before the termination of three days. If the commodity is perishable,
like fruits, which would perish or decay if left for one day, and the buyer
without any prior condition, does not pay till nightfall, the seller can
cancel the transaction. This is called Khiyarut ta'khir.
A person who buys an animal, can cancel the transaction within three
days. And if a person sold his commodity in exchange for an animal, he can
also cancel the transaction within three days. This is called Khiyarul
haywan.
If the seller is unable to deliver possession of the thing sold by him,
like, if the horse sold by him runs away and disappears, he can cancel the
transaction. This is called Khiyarut ta'azzurit taslim.
2133. If a buyer does not know the price of the commodity, or was
unconcerned about it at the time of purchase, and buys the thing for higher than
usual price, he can cancel the transaction if the difference of price is
substantial, and if the difference is established at the time of abrogation.
Otherwise, the buyer cannot cancel the deal.
Similarly, if the seller does
not know the price of the commodity, or was headless about it at the time of
selling, and sells the thing at a cheaper price, he can cancel the deal if the
difference is substantial and if other conditions mentioned above obtain.
2134. In a transaction of "Conditional sale", for example, a house
worth $2000 is sold for $1000, and it is agreed that if the seller returns the
money within a stipulated period, he can cancel the transaction, the transaction
is in order, provided that the buyer and the seller had genuine intention of
purchase and sale.
2135. In a transaction of "Conditional sale", if the seller is sure
that even if he did not return the money within the stipulated time, the buyer
will return the property to him, the transaction is in order. However, if he
does not return the money within the stipulated time, he is not entitled to
demand the return of the property from the buyer. And if the buyer dies, he (the
seller) cannot demand the return of the property from his heirs.
2136. If a person mixes inferior tea with superior tea, and sells it
as a superior tea, the buyer can cancel the transaction.
2137. If a buyer finds out that the thing purchased by him is
defective, like, if he purchases an animal and finds that (after purchasing it)
it is blind of an eye, and this defect existed before the transaction was made,
but he was not aware of it, he can cancel the transaction and return the animal
to the seller.
And if it is not possible to return it, for example, if some
change has taken place in it, or it has been used in such a manner that it
cannot be returned, the difference between the value of the sound property and
the defective property should be assessed, and the buyer should get refund in
that proportion of the amount paid by him to the seller.
For example, he has
purchased something for $4 and finds out that it is defective. Now the price of
the thing in perfect, faultless state is $8 and that of deficient is $6, the
difference between these two prices will be assessed at 25%. The buyer will be
paid 25% of what he actually paid, and that will be one dollar.
2138. If a seller comes to know that what he received in exchange for
his property is defective, and that defect was present in it before the
transaction, but he was not aware of it, he can cancel the transaction, and can
return it to its owner. And if he cannot return it due to change or disposal
having taken place, he can obtain the difference between the faultless and the
defective thing, according to the above mentioned rule.
2139. If a defect takes place in the property after concluding the
transaction, but before delivering it, the buyer can cancel the transaction.
Similarly, if some defect is found in what is taken in exchange for the
property, after concluding the transaction but before delivering it, the seller
can cancel the transaction. But if both sides wish to settle by taking the
difference between the prices, it is permissible, if returning of the articles
involved is not possible.
2140. If a person comes to know about the defect after concluding the
transaction, it is necessary for him to cancel the transaction at once; and if
he delays for unusually long time, he cannot cancel the transaction. Of course,
various circumstances must be taken into consideration for the delay.
2141. If a person comes to know about the defect in a commodity after
purchasing it, he can cancel the transaction even if the seller is not present.
And the same order applies to all transactions involving the options.
2142. In the following four cases the buyer cannot cancel the
transaction because of defect in the property purchased by him, nor can he claim
the difference between the prices:
If at the time of purchasing the property, he is aware of the defect in
it.
If he does not object to the defect in the property.
If at the time of concluding the contract, he says: "Even if the property
has a defect I will neither return it nor claim the difference between the
prices".
If at the time of concluding the contract, the seller says: "I sell
this property with whatever defect it may have". But, if he specifies a
defect and says: "I am selling this property with this defect", and it
transpires later that it has some other defect as well, which he did not
mention, the buyer can return the property due to that defect, and if he
cannot return it, he can take the difference between the prices.
2143. If a buyer knows that there is a defect in the property, and
after taking possession of it another defect appears in it, he cannot cancel the
transaction, but he can take the difference between the prices of the defective
and the faultless property. But, if he purchases a defective animal, and before
the expiry of the period of Khiyar (i.e. option to cancel a transaction) which
is three days, another defect appears in the animal, the buyer can return it,
even if he may have taken delivery of it.
And if only the buyer was given
the option to cancel the deal within a fixed period, and another defect appears
in the animal during that period, the buyer can cancel the transaction, even if
he may have taken delivery of the animal.
2144. If a person owns some property which he himself has not seen,
but another person has described its particular to him, and he mentions the same
particulars to the buyer and sells the property to him. Later on, he learns
after selling that the property was better than what he knew about it, he can
cancel the transaction.