Seadet-i Ebediyye - Endless Bliss Fifth Fascicle

Supposing you are giving cloth to a tailor (and asking him to
make a suit, etc. for you; it is permissible, according to the
Imâmeyn, to say, for instance, “I will pay a hundred liras if you
make it in a week and fifty liras if you make it in two weeks.” It is
permissible to say to your would-be tenant, for instance, “The rent
you will pay for this shop is a hundred liras if you use it as a tailor’s
shop, and two hunderd liras if you use it as an ironsmith’s shop.”
Supposing a person took some cloth to a dyer’s shop and asked
them to dye it and some time later he is back to pick it up, and
supposing that the owner of the cloth claims that the cloth has
been dyed blue although he said he wanted it red and the dyer
says, “No. You said blue.” In that case the owner’s claim will be
accepted to be true. So is the case with a tailor’s having made a pair
of trousers instead of a jacket. These people will not be paid.
Moreover, they will have to pay for the cloth; or, the owner of the
cloth may prefer to accept what has been made and deduct the
difference from the payment, determining the amount to be
deducted in accordance with market prices.
The ijâra (rent, hire) will be cancelled in case the property is no
longer usable. Also, a good excuse on the part of the tenant will
cause it to be cancelled. Examples of a good excuse are a
toothache’s disappearing after having bargained with the dentist;
perishing of the capital owned by the would-be tenant or there
arising a new debt on his part and his having no other property to
pay it off with after he has hired the shop for trade; and a person’s
cancelling for some good reason a long-distance transportation
that he has planned and for which he has hired a truck (or a lorry).
In this last example the driver cannot cancel the agreement
(unilaterally) only because he has changed his mind about the
transportation; his becoming ill, however, will be a good excuse
(for cancelling the agreement). If a tradesman or a craftsman goes
bankrupt, the agreement he made with his assistant will become
null and void. Not so is the case with a craftsman working for
another person. Nor would the sale of something that had been
rented out be a good excuse. That is, it would not cause the
agreement to be cancelled. It will be a good excuse to give up the
craft you have been carrying on and start another craft in the shop
you rented. Another good excuse is to set out for a long-distance
journey (safar) after having rented a house. Death of one of the
parties is another good excuse. It is permissible for a tenant to rent
something and then rent it out for a higher rental; in that case,
however, he will have to dispense the difference as alms (to the
– 503 –