Explanation of the author's statement: "It is concluded by an offer and acceptance following it"

The Shaykh : The author (may Allah have mercy on him) said: "It is concluded by an offer and acceptance". "It is concluded" refers to the sale, and conclusion is the opposite of dissolution. The word "contract" (al-'aqd) means making firm and binding one part of a thing to another. You say, "I tied the rope," meaning I bound part of it to another. The term "it is concluded" applies to all contracts, whether sale, lease, pledge, or endowment; it is said of all of them because they involve binding and making firm. It is concluded by an offer and acceptance. The offer is the phrase uttered by the seller, and the acceptance is the phrase uttered by the buyer. So the offer is the phrase uttered by the seller or by one who acts in his place, and the acceptance is the phrase uttered by the buyer or by one who acts in his place. In truth, when I said "or by one who acts in his place", it was merely for clarification. Otherwise, the one who acts in the place of the seller is called the seller; for example, the agent is the seller. Likewise, the one who acts in the place of the buyer does so by offer and acceptance. However, the author stipulated that the acceptance must follow the offer, because it is a branch of it. For instance, one says, "I sold this to you," and the other says, "I accept." If the order were reversed, and one said, "I accept," and then the other said, "I sold," it would not be valid, because acceptance is a branch of the offer. Yes, by an acceptance following it. The author did not mention a specific formula for the sale, meaning he did not say that it must be done with specific words in a sale. This indicates that it is concluded by whatever indicates it, such as saying, "I sold this thing to you," "I gave you this thing," or "I made this thing yours." The important point is that there is no specific word for a sale; any phrase that indicates it is sufficient to conclude it. Does this apply to all contracts? There is scholarly disagreement on this. Some scholars stipulated specific words for certain contracts and said they must be used, such as in marriage, where they said one must say, "I married you to," and the other must say, "I accept." Others said that all contracts are concluded by whatever indicates them by custom. This is the stronger position, the one that is established, and the choice of Shaykh al-Islam Ibn Taymiyyah (may Allah have mercy on him), because transactions are not acts of worship in which a person is restricted to what has been transmitted. Rather, they are dealings among people. What people consider a sale is a sale, what they consider a pledge is a pledge, what they consider an endowment is an endowment, and what they consider a marriage is a marriage. Therefore, the correct view is that no specific formulas are required for all contracts; rather, they are concluded by what indicates them. It is impossible for anyone to ever provide a difference between a sale and other contracts. If they say, for example, that Allah mentioned marriage with the word "marriage," we ask: And Allah mentioned the sale with what? With the word "sale." Do you say that one must say "I sold"? They say no, it is not a condition.
Thus, it is concluded by any phrase that indicates it by custom, by an offer and an acceptance following it.