Who is liable for a Qurbani animal that dies in the possession of the seller? 


Q. Who is liable for a Qurbani animal that dies in the possession of the seller? 

A. As a general rule, an offer and acceptance concludes a purchase and sale agreement between the seller and purchaser. However, a seller remains responsible for any damage or loss to the item sold to the purchaser before the purchaser takes actual possession or before having constructive possession (by having access or control) of the item.

Thus, if the seller and purchaser did not conclude the transaction of the sale of the Qurbani animal and one or any of the Qurbani animals die, the loss of the Qurbani animal is the responsibility of the seller and not the purchaser.

Furthermore, if the seller and purchaser concluded the transaction of the sale of Qurbani animal but the purchaser did not take actual possession (by having the Qurbani animal in his possession) or constructive possession (by having the option to take the Qurbani animal from the farm), the loss of the Qurbani animal is the responsibility of the seller and not the purchaser.

In that case, the sale of the Qurbani animal is void. The purchaser may choose another Qurbani animal but the seller does not have the right to ask the purchaser to bear the loss of the dead Qurbani animal.

On the other hand, if the seller and purchaser concluded the transaction of the sale of the Qurbani animal and the purchaser had the option of collecting the Qurbani animal but instead chose to leave it with the seller and then the Qurbani animal died before the purchaser could collect the Qurbani animal from the seller’s farm, the loss of the Qurbani animal is the responsibility of the purchaser and not the seller, provided that the seller was not negligent in caring for the Qurbani animal.

In that case, the purchaser is liable to pay the seller the full price of the Qurbani animal if it was not already paid for and if it was paid to the seller, the purchaser does not have the right to demand a refund.

If the loss of the Qurbani animal was due to negligence on the part of the seller, the purchaser would not be liable to pay for the dead Qurbani animal and would be due a refund if the Qurbani animal was already paid for. (Durarul Hukkaam 2/180Shaami 4/562)

Allah Ta’ala Knows Best

Mufti Ismaeel Bassa

themufti.com

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