2199. If the thing that one acquires from a compromise settlement is defective, one may cancel the settlement. However, if he wishes to take the difference between the price of the defective and non-defective item, it will be problematic.
2200. If a person concedes a part of his property to another person in a compromise settlement, and stipulates within the settlement that after his death, the property that he is conceding should—for example—be turned into an endowment, and the other person accepts the condition, then he must act according to it.
The Precepts of Renting
2201. The renter and the one renting out must both be sane and b¡ligh. They must also not be wrongfully compelled to the act of renting. If they are, but later consent to it, the rental agreement will be sanctioned. They must also have the right of disposal over their own property. Therefore, the act of renting or renting out by a feeble-minded person, or a bankrupt person who has been interdicted by the ¦¡kim al-shar’yy from disposing his own property, is not sanctioned, unless it be with the permission of the guardian or the people who are owed. Of course, if a bankrupt person wishes to offer himself on hire for a job or a service, the act is sanctioned and does not require anyone’s permission.
2202. A person may deputize for another party and rent out his property, or rent a property for him.
2203. If the guardian or the caretaker of a child rents out the child’s property, or offers him on hire to another person, there will be no problem in it.
Now if a part of the agreement includes a period wherein the child is b¡ligh, the child may cancel the remaining period within the agreement once he becomes b¡ligh. If, however, the reason for hiring him for the period that includes a period wherein he is b¡ligh is due to a reason, observing which is canonically obligatory, the agreement with respect to the period after he becomes b¡ligh is also sanctioned. The obligatory precaution is that it should be carried out with the permission of the ¦¡kim al-shar’yy.
2204. It is not permissible to hire a minor child who has no guardian, without the permission of a just jurisprudent. As for someone who is unable to contact a just jurisprudent, he may seek the permission of several just believers and hire the child. In the event that several just believers cannot be located, the permission of one just believer will also be adequate.
2205. It is not necessary that the renter or the one renting out to articulate the formal expression in Arabic; rather, if the owner says to someone, “I have rented my property to you,” and he responds by saying, “I have accepted,” the rental agreement will be valid. In fact, even if they do not articulate any words, and the owner places the property in the renter’s possession with the intention of renting it out, and the one renting out also accepts with the intention of renting it, the rental agreement will be valid.
2206. If a person wishes to be hired for a particular job without articulating its formal expression, the act of hiring will be valid the moment he engages himself in that job.
2207. If a person who is unable to speak conveys through gestures that he has rented out a property, or has rented a property, the rental agreement will be valid.
2208. If a person rents an estate, and the owner stipulates that the benefits derived from it should be solely for the renter, and that the renter may not transfer it to anyone else, then he cannot sublet the estate to someone else. However, if he (only) stipulates that the renter himself enjoy the benefits from the estate, then the renter may sublet it to someone else provided that the renter himself enjoys its benefits.
An example of this is a case wherein the renter who has rented a house, rents it to a person and commits him through a condition or similar agreement to find a residence for the renter himself, and that person accommodates him in the very same house. Another example is that of a woman who rents a house, and then rents it out to her husband who accommodates her in the same house.
In the event that the renter is permitted to sublet it to another person, and he wishes to rent out a house, a store, or a ship—and based on obligatory precaution, a room or a mill—for an amount that is higher than what he rented it for, then he should have done some work on it, such as renovating it or white-washing it, or he should rent it out for something other than what he rented it for, such as renting it out for wheat or some other commodity if he rented it with money.
2209. If a person who is hired to perform a task, stipulates that the task that he has been hired to perform be solely for the person who has hired him, and that he should not be transferred to someone else, then the hirer cannot hire him out to another person. However, if he (only) stipulates that the hirer himself make use of his labor, in the manner that was elaborated in the previous article, the hirer may hire him out to another person. In the event that one is permitted to do so, and wishes to hire him out for the same thing that he paid to hire him, he may not take more than what he paid. However, if he hires him for something else, he may take more than what he paid.
2210. If a person rents or hires something other than a house, a store, a ship, or a person, and based on obligatory precaution, a room or a mill, and the owner does not stipulate a clause that prohibits him from renting it out to someone else, there is no problem in subletting it even if it be for an amount that is higher than what he has rented it for.
2211. If a person leases a store for $30,000 per year, and makes use of half of it himself, he may lease out the other half for $30,000. However, if he wishes to rent out the other half for an amount that is higher than what he rented it for, for example $40,000, he must do some work on it, such as renovating it, or rent it out for something other than what he rented it for.
The Conditions for the Property Being Rented
2212. The property being rented must fulfill the following conditions:
1. It should be specified. Hence, if a person says, “I have rented out one of my houses to you,” it will not be valid.
2. The renter should see it, or the one renting out the property should describe its specifications in a manner that it becomes completely defined.
3. It should be deliverable. Hence, renting out a runaway horse is nugatory, unless the renter is capable of rounding it up.
4. The property should not be such that using it causes it to perish and get destroyed. Therefore, renting out bread, fruits or other consumable items, which cannot be used without causing them to perish, is not valid.
5. It should be possible to make use of the property that is being offered on rent. Therefore, renting out a land for the purpose of farming, given that rainwater does not suffice for that task, nor can the land be watered from any other sources, is not valid.
6. The property being rented should be owned by the lessor. If he rents out the property of another person, it will only be sanctioned if the owner permits it.
2213. There is no harm in renting out a tree for the purpose of benefiting from its fruits, even if it may not currently be bearing any fruits. The same applies to renting out an animal for its milk.
2214. A woman can be hired for the purpose of wet-nursing, and it is not necessary for her to seek her husband’s consent. However, if the act of nursing infringes on his rights, she cannot be hired without the consent of her husband.
The Conditions of the Use for Which the Property is Rented
2215. The use for which the property is rented must fulfill the following four conditions:
1. It should be a legally permissible use. Therefore, renting out a store for the purpose of—for example—selling wine, or leasing out any mode of transportation for transporting wine, is not valid.
2. Paying for that use should not be considered an act of foolishness or unacceptable by intelligent persons. In addition, performing that task free of charge should not have been obligated by the shari’a. Therefore, to be hired for the purpose of—for example—preparing a corpse for burial is not permissible.
3. If the item being rented out is multi-purpose, the use that the renter makes of the item must be specified. For example, if an animal which can be used for riding and also for transporting goods is rented out, they must specify whether the renter may benefit from the animal by riding on it, or using it to transport goods, or all of its possible uses.
4. The period of use must be specified. If this period is not known, but specifying the task resolves the ambiguity, it will also suffice. For example, one may hire a tailor for a period of ten days, or form an agreement with him that he will stitch a particular dress in a particular fashion.
2216. If the beginning of the rental period is not specified, it will begin the moment the rental contract has been realized.
2217. If a house is rented out for a year (for example), and the beginning of the rental period is set to a month after the rental contract is signed, the rental agreement will be valid, even if the house is being rented by someone else at the time of signing the contract.
2218. If the rental period is not specified, and instead the lessor says, “Whenever you choose to reside in this house, its rent will be $1000,” the rental agreement will not be in order.
2219. If a person says to a renter, “I have rented out the house to you for $1000 a month,” or says to him, “I have rented out the house to you for a month for $1000, and thereafter, for as long as you reside in the house, the rent will be $1000 a month,” then if the beginning of the rental period is specified, or if the beginning is known, the rental agreement will be in order for the first month.
2220. If the accommodations in which travelers and pilgrims take residence, and the length of their stay is not known, is used on the basis of a rental agreement where it is agreed, for example, that the renter would pay $50 a night, the rental agreement will not be in order with respect to the nights other than the first night, because the rental period has not been specified. In such a case, after the first night, the owner can ask them to vacate the premises whenever he wishes to do so. However there is no harm in using the premises after the first night with the permission of the owner.
Miscellaneous Rulings Pertaining to Renting
2221. The rent should be known. Hence, if it is amongst the things that are transacted based on weight, such as wheat, then its weight must be known. If it be amongst the things that are transacted by count, such as modern day currencies, its count must be known. If it be like horses and sheep, the lessor must see them for himself, or the lessee must describe their specifications to him.
2222. If a person leases out a piece of land, and sets its rent to be the produce of the very same land, or of another land, the produce of (both of) which is non-existent at the time of the rental contract, the rental agreement will not be valid. However, if the rent is existent at the time of the rental contract, or he rents it out for an abstractly defined rent, there will be no objection to it.
2223. A lessor may not demand the rent before handing over the leased item, unless he has stipulated the rent to be paid prior to handing over the leased item. Similarly, if a person has been hired to perform a particular task, he may not demand its payment prior to completing the task, unless he has stipulated the payment to be paid prior to performing the task, or if it is normal and conventional to do so, such as being hired to perform qa¤¡ prayers, fasts or Hajj.
2224. Whenever a lessor hands over the leased item, the lessee must pay its rent, even if he does not accept possession of it, or does so, but does not use it to the end of the rental period.
2225. If a person is hired to perform a particular task on a particular day, and he shows up to perform that task on that day, the one who has hired him must pay him, even if he chooses not to give that task to him. For example, if a person hires a tailor to stitch a dress on a particular day, and on that day the tailor is prepared to perform that task, he must pay him for it, even if he does not give him the cloth to tailor the dress, and regardless of whether the tailor is unemployed, self-employed, or employed by someone else.
2226. If after the end of the rental period, it becomes apparent that the rental agreement was not valid, the renter must offer the lessor an equivalent rent. However, if the equivalent rent is greater than the rent agreed within the rental agreement, then in the event that the lessor was the owner of the property, or his deputy, obligatory precaution dictates that they should arrive at a compromise settlement with respect to the amount that exceeds the specified rent. Similarly, if upon the passage of a part of the rental period, it becomes apparent that the rental agreement was not valid, the same ruling will apply to the rent of the period that has elapsed.
2227. If the rented item perishes, the renter will not be held responsible for it as long as he was not negligent in safeguarding it, nor immoderate in using it. Similarly, if the cloth given to a tailor gets destroyed, the tailor will not be held responsible for it as long as he was not negligent in taking care of it, nor immoderate in its use.
2228. Whenever a craftsman damages or destroys the material that he takes, he will be held responsible for it.
