Ruling 2091 — Buying and Selling

Six conditions must be fulfilled by the seller and the buyer [for the transaction to be valid]: 1. they must be of the age of legal responsibility (bāligh); 2. they must be sane (ʿāqil); 3. they must not be foolish with finances (safīh); i.e. they must not spend their wealth in futile ways; 4. they must have an intention to buy and sell. Therefore, if, for example, someone jokingly says, ‘I sell my property’, the transaction is void; 5. they must not be compelled by anyone [to carry out the transaction]; 6. they must, respectively, be the owners of the commodity being sold and the payment made in exchange. The rulings about these conditions will be explained below.