A khiyar (Islamic option) that confers on either party to a commutative contract (e.g., contract of sale, ijarah, etc) the right to remove the injustice arising from fraudulent deception (ghubn) by voiding the contract. Hanafis consider this option legally permissible if the fraud is based on deception. The source of deception could be the seller whether in verbal form as when communicating unjust prices or by action when conveying untrue or misleading description of the object of sale. The degree of ghubn could be trivial (and hence it is called minor fraud or ghubn yaseer) or significant (so it is known as major fraud or ghubn fahish), depending on the extent of unjust increase in the price or difference in quality or any other feature.
Verbal deception in price may result if the seller claims that the object of sale is that expensive because there are no alternatives in the market (which is not the case, actually). Actual deception in description may occur if the seller states that the object of sale has a specific feature while effectively it does not.
The Hanbali school of thought (mazhab) distinguishes between three forms of khiyar al-ghubn:
- talaqqi al-rukban: meeting caravans outside the city.
- al-najsh: deceptive price hiking.
- ba’i al-mustarsil: sale with unsound judgment.
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