Asthedefinitionsofcertaintyanduncertaintypresentedintheintroductiontothis chapterindicate,thoughtmustworkonthefinite. IfwetaketheinsightsofIbnQudāma intotheroleofdiscursivecommunitiesindefiningtheconceptsandreferentsthatlie behindwords,thentheseconceptsandreferentscanbeofdifferinglevelsofcomplexity anddifferentiation.Nevertheless,onecannotthinkeverythingatonce.Whenitcomesto commercialtransactions,onecannotworryabouttheinfinitenumberofproblemsthat mightoccurandtoenumeratethemwouldparalyzecommerce.
IbnRushdal-Jadd(450-520/1058-1126)indicatestheimportanceofdefininga smallnumberofuncertaintiestoanalyzeincommercialtransactions.Inhisdiscussionof thesalamcontract,orthepre-paidforwardcontractinwhichonepartypaysimmediately
toreceivepossessionofagoodatalatertime,IbnRushdal-Jaddreportsthatsomejurists permitthiscontractonlyifthegoodexistsfromthemomentthatthecounterpartiesenter intothecontractuntilthedeliverydateofthegood.Thesejuristsholdthispositionsince thecontractbecomesdueuponthedeathofeithercounterparty.Thus,thegoodmust continuouslyexistforthecontracttoavoidgharar.However,IbnRushdal-Jaddresponds
inatoneofapparentexasperation,
Thisargumentisnotcompelling(lā yalzam)becauseif contractsarelegallyvalidandsafefromgharar,whatmay unintentionallyhappenlaterisnottakenintoconsideration(fa- lā yurā‘ā mā yaṭra’‘alayhā mimmā lamyuqṣadilayhi)sinceif thisweresonocontract,salam,orsalewouldeverbelegally valid!128
Likewise,Ibn Ḥazmarguesthatifeveryformofuncertaintycausedgharar,thesaleofa
sheepwouldbeimpossiblesinceonecannotknowifitwoulddieinthenextmoment.129 Byenumeratingtheformsofuncertaintytoanalyze,juristscreateasystemof known-unknowns.Atthesametime,theyalsocreate–eitherexplicitlyorimplicitly–the formsofuncertaintythathavenostandinginthelegalsystem.Theseundefinedformsof uncertaintybecometheunknown-unknownsthathavenoeffectonthevalidityof
contractsandthusnostandingwithinthelegalsystem.Inbothcases,knowledgedefines boththeknown-unknownsthatitwillrepresentandunknown-unknownsthatitwillnot directlyrepresent.
Thisdivisionofuncertaintythusdoesnotaccordwithsomenaturalorpurely pragmaticlaw.Returningtouncertaintyaboutthepotentialdeathofacounterparty,itis
128Abū al-WalīdMuḥammadb.Aḥmadb.Rushd,Al-Muqaddimātal-mumahhidāt,ed. Sa‘īdAḥmadA‘rāb.3.Vols.(Beirut:Dāral-Gharbal-Islāmī,1988),vol.2,p.23.Forfurther biographicaldetails,seeMakhlūf,Shajara,vol.1,p.129,no.376.
truethatonecannotpredictdeath.However,juristscouldprohibitasaleoncreditto someonewhoisonhisdeathbed.Sucharestrictedpositioniseasytoanalyzeandit
seemslikelythattradersthoughtaboutsuchsituations.Evenincasesofgharar,onecan
imaginedifferentwaystodefineparticularaformofuncertaintyaswewillseebelowin thecaseofuncertaintyassociatedwiththedeliveryofagood.
Inthecaseofgharar,juristsdefinetheformsofuncertainty,ortheknown-
unknowns,thatcauseghararintwoways:1)theydeveloptypologiesthatdetailthe
causesofghararand2)theyanalyzespecifictransactionscharacterizedashaving
gharar.Iwillstartwiththetypologiessincetheyofferaconvenientbird’s-eyeviewof
thecausesofgharar.
a. Typologies of Uncertainty
Whentryingtoexaminetheformsofuncertaintythatengenderofgharar,it
seemssensibletolookforexplicittypologiesofuncertaintyindiscussionsofjuristsabout
gharar.However,onlytheMālikīsexplicitlytypologizethecausesofghararwhereas
Shīrāzī implicitlycreatesatypologyofthemthroughthesubheadingsofhischapteron
gharar. Althoughthesetypologiesprovideaninterestingstartingpointinunderstanding
gharar,theyaresomewhatheterogeneousintermsofthecausesenumeratedandlevelof
abstraction.Forexample,Bājī presentsthemostrudimentaryandunusualtypologyofthe causesofgharar.Accordingtohim,“Gharariscorrelatedwithatransactioninthree
date.”130 Althoughthisbriefstatementconnectsghararwithvariouselementsofthe
contract,itdoesnotenumerateitscauses.
Inhissubheadingsofthechapterongharar,Shīrāzī elaboratesthefollowing
causesofgharar:
1. Saleofsomethingthatsellerdoesnotown
2. Saleofagoodwhoseownershipisnotyetlegallyvalid,i.e.saleofdowry someonewillreceive
3. Saleofagoodwhosedeliverycannotbeguaranteed 4. Saleofatangiblegoodwhichisundefined(majhūl)
5. Saleofsomethingthatcannotbeexaminedatthetimeofthesale 6. Salewithablindcounterparty
7. Saleofsomethingwhichcanonlybepartiallyinspected 8. Saleofsomethingwithaprotectiveskin
9. Saleofsomethingwhosequantityisundefined(majhūl) 10. Saleofafetus
11. Saleofmilkintheudder
12. Saleoffleeceonthebackofasheep
13. Salewhosecountervaluehasyettobedefinedattimeofthecontract (ma‘lūm)
14. Saleofgoodwhosepricehasyettobedefinedatthetimeofthecontract (ma‘lūm)
15. Salewhosepaymentdateisundefinedatthetimeofthecontract(majhūl) 16. Salethatiscontingentonsomeevent,i.e.rainfall
17. Salewithsomeonewhosemoneyisfromasuspectsource 18. Saleofapregnantslavewhosefetusisexceptedfromthesale131 Ascanbeseen,someoftheitemsinShīrāzī’slistareformsofuncertaintythatcause
ghararinspecifictransactions.Thesub-chapters1-5,7-9and13-16arecausesof
gharar;however,juristsoftencombinesomeofthesecausestogether,suchasbytreating
130Bājī,Muntaqā,vol.6,p.399.Fa’l-ghararyat‘allaqabi’l-mabī‘minthalāthatawjuh
minjihatal-‘aqdwa’l-‘iwaḍ wa’l-ajal.
thedescriptionofthegoodandpaymentasonecategory.Ontheotherhand,sub-chapters 6,10-12,and17-18refertoparticulartransactions.132
Ofthejuristswhoofferatypologyofthecauseofgharar,IbnRushdpresentsthe
theoreticallydensestdiscussion.Hebeginshischapteraboutghararbystatingthat,
Ghararoccursinseveraldifferentwaysinsalesdueto uncertainty(jahl).Eithertheuncertaintyinvolves:
1.Specificationoftheobjectofthecontractorofthetype contract
2.Descriptionofthepriceandgoodofthesale,thequantity,or deliverydateifthereisone
3.Thegood’sexistenceortheimpossibilityofgettingitandthis isrelatedtotheinabilitytodeliverit
4.Thewell-beingofthegoodbywhichImeanitstimeuntil expiration133
Thispassagearrangesthecausesofghararintofourdistinctgroupsofuncertainty.
However,theuncertaintyassociatedwiththecontractandthatassociatedwiththe remaininglifeofagoodplayalimitedroleinIbnRushd’sdiscussionsofgharar.
Furthermore,itisunclearwhyhecombinesuncertaintywithrespecttothequantityand qualityofthegoodwiththatofthedeliverydateunlessheconceivesofthedeliverydate asaformofdescriptionandmensuration.
132TheMālikī Muḥammadb.Aḥmadb.Juzayy(693-741/1294-1340)explicitlyprovides asimilartypology.See,Muḥammadb.Aḥmadb.Juzayy,Al-Qawānīnal-fiqhīya(Beirut:Dāral-
Qalam,1977),pp.169-170.
133IbnRushd,Bidāya,vol.3,p.1198.Ihaveformattedthetranslationofthisparagraph withthenumberedsectionsinordertoemphasizethekeylegalandcommercialdivisionsthatIbn Rushdsetsoutinthisparagraph.TheArabicreads,1)Al-jahlbi-ta‘yīnal-ma‘qūd‘alayhiaw ta‘yinal-‘aqd,2)al-jahlbi-waṣfal-thamanwa’l-mathmūnal-mabī‘awbi-qadrihiawbi-ajalihiin kānahunālikaajal,3)al-jahlbi-wujūdihiawta‘adhdhural-qudra‘alayhiwa-hādhā rāji‘ilā ta‘dhdhural-taslīm,4)al-jahlbi-salāmatihi,a‘nī baqā’ahu.
IbnRushdconcludeswiththestatement,“Salescombinemoreorlessofthese typesofuncertainty,”whichofferstwoimportantinsightsintogharar.134First,these formsofuncertaintyarenotsimplecontrariesofcertaintybecausetheycanexistin greaterorlesserdegrees.Iwillexplorethispointinmoredetailinthefourthchapter. Second,theseformsofuncertaintycancombinewithoneanother.
Althoughtheabovetypologieshavesomeoverlapintermsoftheformsof
uncertaintythatengendergharar,thesetypologiesarecertainlyquitedifferentintermsof
causestheyenumerate.Furthermore,thesetypologiesdonotoffermuchinsightintohow theseformsofuncertaintyinteract.Evenwhenthetypologiesagreeonaparticularcause ofgharar,thisdoesnotguaranteethatthejuristssharethesameexactunderstandingof
thecause.Inordertoaddresstheseissues,wewillneedexaminetheanalysesofspecific commercialtransactions.Theanalysesindicatethatjuristssharearatherhomogenous collectionofformsofuncertaintythatcauseghararandtheirmodalitiesofinteraction.
Nevertheless,thejuristsdonotshareacompletelyuniformunderstandingofeachformof uncertainty.Inthefollowingsection,Iwillexamineformsofuncertaintythatjuriststreat
astheprimarycausesofgharar.
b. Sale of the Ma‘dūm and Representation
Inordertodeterminethecausesofgharar,weneedamodelofrepresentationthat
willguideourreadingofthelegalanalysesofspecifictransactions.Themodelof
representationthatIdiscussedintheintroductiontothischapteroffersastartingpointfor
134 IbnRushd,Bidāya,vol.3,p.1198.
ananalysisofhowtheseformsofuncertaintyrepresentgharar.Thismodelof
representation,whichisimplicitinthejurists’discussionsofgharar,subordinates
representationtoareferent.Ortoputdifferently,representationworksbydescribingthe existenceofsomereferent.Indeed,Ibn Ḥazmsumsupthisrelationwhenhestatesthat whatdoesnotexistcannotberepresentedthroughthoughtorlanguage.135Infact,jurists prohibitthesaleofthenon-existent(ma‘dūm)sincetheystatethatuncertaintywith respecttotheexistenceofthegoodcausesgharar.Thissaleofthenon-existentthus
offersanimportantstartingpointforunderstandinggharar.
InanumberofrecentstudiesabouttheWesternphilosophicaltraditions,scholars haveexaminednon-existententitieslikelogicalcontradictionsandempirically
impossibleobjectsinordertorevealhowrepresentationworksontheseentities.136These non-existententitiesbringtolightinahighlystylizedmannertheessentialpremises aboutrepresentationandexistencewithinagivensystemofphilosophy.Forexample, thesestudiesrevealwhethertheprimaryexistenceofthereferentisontological,mental, ordiscursivewithinagivensystemofphilosophy.
Bythesaleofthenon-existent,juristsdonotmeananythingasexoticasthe round-squareoraunicorn.Rather,itreferstothesaleofempiricallypossiblegoods,such asthesaleofthedatesfromaspecificpalmtreeseveralyearsinthefutureorthesaleof milkintheudderofananimal. Withthesegoods,juristsdevelopcriteriabywhichto determinewhenthesegoodswillexistandwhatcanbesaidaboutthembeforetheyexist.
135Ibn Ḥazm,Taqrīb,p.10.
136 See,AlaindeLibera,LaRéférenceVide:ThéoriesdelaProposition(Paris:Presses UniversitairesdeFrance,2002);JocelynBenoist,ReprésentationssansObjet:AuxOriginesdela PhénoménologieetdelaPhilosophieAnalytique(Paris:P.U.F,2001).
Inotherwords,juristsdevelopasystemtodefineanotionofcommercialandlegal existenceofgoods.Aswewillseeinmoredetailinthefollowingchapters,whena referentdoesnotexistitengendersuncertainty.Thesaleofthenon-existentrevealsthe followinghierarchyoftheformsofuncertaintyassociatedwithgharar:uncertaintywith
respecttothequantityandqualityofthegood,uncertaintywithrespecttothedeliveryof thegood,anduncertaintywithrespecttothedeliverydate.Inturn,othercausesofgharar
derivefromtheseprimaryforms.
Moreinterestingly,theseformsofuncertaintyindicatehowthisdiscourse
configurestheexistenceofreferents.Foragoodtoexistmeansthatonecanmakecertain statementsaboutitisqualityandquantity,theabilitytodeliverit,andthedateof
delivery.Iwillreturntothispointinthefollowingchapters.Fornow,Iwillbriefly examinethesaleofthenon-existentsinceitservesasausefulintroductiontotheanalysis ofthesethreeprimaryformsofuncertainty.
i. Uncertaintywith respect to the Quantity and Quality
Inadiscussionabouttheprohibitionagainstthesaleofunripefruitfroma
specificgarden,Ibn Ḥazmprovidesthemostluciddiscussionofuncertaintywithrespect tothequantityandqualityofthegoodasacauseofgharar.Atfirstglance,this
prohibitionissurprising,sinceonemaysellfruitthatdoesnotyetexistbymeansofa
salamcontract. AlthoughIwillexaminethistransactioninmoredetailinchapterfour,
thefundamentalproblemforjuristsisthatthesellermaynotsubstitutefruitofthesame speciesforfruitfromthisspecificgarden.Forexample,ifablightbefellthefruitof specificgardenthesellercouldnotfulfillthecontractbydeliveringfruitthathebought
fromanothergardensincehewouldnotknowthequantityandqualityoffruitthathis gardenwouldhaveproduced.AccordingtoIbn Ḥazm,thesaleofthisspecificfruitisthe saleofwhathasnotbeencreated(mā lamyukhlaq)andisthereforeillicitsince“perhaps itwillnotbecreatedandifitiscreatedonlyGodknows(lā yadrī aḥadghayrAllāh)its quantityandquality,sothatthistransactionisforbiddenfromeveryperspective.”137This briefstatementindicatesthatthesaleofwhatdoesnotexistentailstwoformsof
uncertainty.First,thereisuncertaintywithrespecttowhetherthegoodwilleverexist. Second,thereisuncertaintywithrespecttothequalityandquantityofthegood.
IbnQudāma,Shīrāzī,andBājī agreethatthesaleofthenon-existentgood
engendersuncertaintywithrespecttothequantityandqualityofthegood.138Ontheother hand,whilediscussingribā,Sarakhsī statesthateveryexistenthasaquantityandquality thatallowsitscomparisonwithotherexistents.139
Finally,IbnRushdalsoconnectsthenon-existenttouncertaintywithrespectto quantityandqualityofthegood.Byqiyās,hepermitsthesaleofunripefruit(mā lam yaṭibminal-thamar)iffruitofthesametypehasalreadyripenedinthesameorchardora nearbyone.Hegoesontostatethat,“Māliklikenedghararaffectingaparticularquality
ofsomethingtoghararwithrespecttothethingitself(al-ghararfī'l-ṣifashabbahahu bi’l-ghararfī’‘aynal-shay’).”140Theargumentrelatestheconceptionofexistenceas
137Ibn Ḥazm,Muḥallā,vol,8,p.407,¶.1434.Forotherdiscussionsofthisprohibitionin hiswritings,seevol.8,p.362,¶.1417;vol.8,p.458,¶.1471.
138Bājī,Muntaqā,vol.6,p.399;IbnQudāma,Mughnī,vol.4,p.157,¶¶.3061-3062; Shīrāzī,Muhadhdhab,vol.3,p.30.
suchtosystemsofqualitativeandquantitativedescriptionthatIwillexaminebelowin moredetail.
ii.Uncertainty with Respect to the Delivery
Justasjuristspositaninabilitytodescribeandmeasurethenon-existent,theyalso relatethenon-existenttotheinabilitytodeliverit.Sarakhsī,whohasthegreatestinterest intheconceptsofexistenceandnon-existenceincommerciallaw,statesthat,
“Ownershipisoneoftheattributesofexistentsbutthenon-existentcanonlybedescribed asnon-existent.Ownershipisanexpressionoftheabilitytodeliverthegood.”141For Sarakhsī,thenon-existentcannotbevalidlyownedorsoldbecauseonecannotdeliverit oraccuratelydescribeit.
Bājī,IbnRushd,andShīrāzī alsoindicatethatthissalehasuncertaintywith respecttotheabilitytodeliver.WhereasBājī statesthisspecificallyinadiscussionabout thesaleofananimalontheconditionthatitbepregnant,theothertwojuristssimply implyit.142Inparticular,aswesawinhistypology,IbnRushdtreatsuncertainty
141Sarakhsī,Mabsūṭ,vol.15:5,p.109.TheArabicreads,wa’l-milkmin ṣifātal-mawjūdāt
fa’l-ma‘dūmlā yūṣafbi-shay’siwā annahuma‘dūmwa’l-milk‘ibāra‘anal-qudra.Ibasemy understandingofthewordqudraastheabilitytodeliveronthefactthattwolinesbeforethis quotation,hestatesthatacompensatorycontractrequirestheexchangeofownershipofproperty andthedeliveryoftheproperty.Inaddition,inthebeginningofthesamechapteronleasesand hires,hestatesthatthevalidityofthiscontractdoesnotrestontheexistenceandownershipatthe timethecontractisenteredinto,butontheabilitytodeliver(al-qudra‘alā al-taslīm),vol.15:5, p.74.IbnRushdalsousesthewordqudrainhisdiscussionofgharartomeantheabilityto