Explanation of the author's statement: "And that the contracting party must be competent to dispose of his property, so the disposal of a minor or a spendthrift is not valid without the permission of his guardian."
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The Shaykh : The second condition is that the contracting party must be competent to dispose of his property. The second condition is that the contracting party—what is meant by the contracting party? The seller and the buyer—must be competent to dispose of his property. Here he said "competent to dispose of his property" and did not say "competent to give in charity," because it is not required that the seller or the buyer be competent to give in charity; it is required that he be competent to dispose of his property. Giving in charity is narrower than disposing of property. If one is competent to give in charity, he is competent to dispose of his property, but not everyone who is competent to dispose of his property is competent to give in charity. Now, who is competent to dispose of his property? One who possesses four attributes: he must be free, of age, sane, and prudent. This is the one who is competent to dispose of his property. One who possesses four attributes: he must be free. What is the second?
The questioner : ... .
The Shaykh : Of age, sane, and prudent. The opposite of a free person is a slave, so the sale or purchase by a slave is not valid except with the permission of his master. The reason for this is that a slave does not own anything; what is in the hand of a slave is the property of his master. The evidence for this is the saying of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him)Muwatta Malik 31:2 So here we say that the sale by a slave is not valid except with the permission of his master. The opposite of an adult is a minor, which is why the author said that the disposal of a minor is not valid without the permission of his guardian, even if he is a teenager. If he is fourteen years old and very skilled in buying and selling, his sale is still not valid because he has not reached puberty; he is a child. The evidence for this is the saying of Allah the Exalted: [An-Nisa 4:6] So Allah made two conditions for handing over their wealth to them: first, reaching the age of marriage, which is puberty, and second, prudence. Now, the opposite of a sane person is a madman, so the disposal of a madman is not valid. This includes the delirious person; his sale is not valid. If a man were struck by delirium, became old and aged, and came to a person saying, "So-and-so, I am selling to you. I am selling you my house, I am selling you my car, I am selling you my children, and I am selling you such and such," yes, his sale of his house and car is valid, but not his children, because children are free persons and it is not permissible to sell them, is it not? Yes?
The questioner : ... .
The Shaykh : It is not valid. Why? Because of the lack of sanity, and one of the conditions for the permissibility of disposing of property is that the person must be sane. Now, we said prudent. Who is the prudent one? The prudent one is the one who manages his wealth well. He manages it well such that he does not spend it on something forbidden or on something of no benefit, and he does not sell something worth one hundred for ten, or buy something worth ten for one hundred. The important thing is that he manages well. The opposite of the prudent one is the spendthrift, which is why the author said "and a spendthrift", meaning that the disposal of a spendthrift is not valid without the permission of his guardian. If the guardian gives permission, there is no harm. Here we ask: who is the guardian? The guardian is the one who takes charge of his wealth. It will come, if Allah wills, in the chapter on interdiction, who takes charge of the wealth of the spendthrift. But the apparent meaning of the author's words is that the guardian's permission for the spendthrift to dispose of his property is valid, whether general or specific. General is when he says, "Take this money and trade with it." Specific is when he says, "Take this money and trade with it in a specific thing, such as selling chickens, selling eggs, selling light items." This is the apparent meaning of the author's words, but this apparent meaning is not intended. Rather, it is said that without the permission of his guardian for a specific thing, he may come to him and say, "I want to buy, for example, a tank," and he says, "Buy it." Or he comes to say, "I want to sell my tank, for example," and he says, "Sell it." Except for the trivial matter that is customary to allow children to handle, in which case there is no harm. But is it permissible for the guardian to give permission to the spendthrift or the minor to please them, without considering the financial interest? The answer is no. Therefore, we say it is forbidden for the guardian to give permission without an interest, due to the saying of Allah the Exalted:[Al-An'am 6:152] Now.
This second condition is that he must be sane and competent to dispose of his property. The one who is competent to dispose of his property is the one who possesses four attributes: freedom, age, sanity, and prudence.
The questioner : ... .
The Shaykh : Of age, sane, and prudent. The opposite of a free person is a slave, so the sale or purchase by a slave is not valid except with the permission of his master. The reason for this is that a slave does not own anything; what is in the hand of a slave is the property of his master. The evidence for this is the saying of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him)
If a slave who has wealth is sold, that wealth belongs to the seller unless the buyer stipulates its inclusion.
من باع عبدا له مال فماله لبائعه إلا أن يشترطه المبتاعAnd test the orphans [in their abilities] until they reach marriageable age. Then if you perceive in them sound judgement, release their property to them.
وَابْتَلُوا الْيَتَامَى حَتَّى إِذَا بَلَغُوا النِّكَاحَ فَإِنْ آنَسْتُمْ مِنْهُمْ رُشْدًا فَادْفَعُوا إِلَيْهِمْ أَمْوَالَهُمْThe questioner : ... .
The Shaykh : It is not valid. Why? Because of the lack of sanity, and one of the conditions for the permissibility of disposing of property is that the person must be sane. Now, we said prudent. Who is the prudent one? The prudent one is the one who manages his wealth well. He manages it well such that he does not spend it on something forbidden or on something of no benefit, and he does not sell something worth one hundred for ten, or buy something worth ten for one hundred. The important thing is that he manages well. The opposite of the prudent one is the spendthrift, which is why the author said "and a spendthrift", meaning that the disposal of a spendthrift is not valid without the permission of his guardian. If the guardian gives permission, there is no harm. Here we ask: who is the guardian? The guardian is the one who takes charge of his wealth. It will come, if Allah wills, in the chapter on interdiction, who takes charge of the wealth of the spendthrift. But the apparent meaning of the author's words is that the guardian's permission for the spendthrift to dispose of his property is valid, whether general or specific. General is when he says, "Take this money and trade with it." Specific is when he says, "Take this money and trade with it in a specific thing, such as selling chickens, selling eggs, selling light items." This is the apparent meaning of the author's words, but this apparent meaning is not intended. Rather, it is said that without the permission of his guardian for a specific thing, he may come to him and say, "I want to buy, for example, a tank," and he says, "Buy it." Or he comes to say, "I want to sell my tank, for example," and he says, "Sell it." Except for the trivial matter that is customary to allow children to handle, in which case there is no harm. But is it permissible for the guardian to give permission to the spendthrift or the minor to please them, without considering the financial interest? The answer is no. Therefore, we say it is forbidden for the guardian to give permission without an interest, due to the saying of Allah the Exalted:
And do not approach the orphan's property except in a way that is best
ولا تقربوا مال اليتيم إلا بالتي هي أحسنThis second condition is that he must be sane and competent to dispose of his property. The one who is competent to dispose of his property is the one who possesses four attributes: freedom, age, sanity, and prudence.