Buying and Selling: Ruling on Regretting a Sale After Delay and Seeking Revocation

Practical Laws of Islam as per the teachings of Imam Khamenei

Buying and Selling: Ruling on Regretting a Sale After Delay and Seeking Revocation

English:

Question #1561:

I sold a plot of land to a person on the condition that the price would be settled over a four-year period. However, almost immediately I regretted that I had concluded the deal. Yet, I didn’t take any action until after one year when I approached the buyer to return the land, a request which he turned down. Is there a legal way to pull out from the deal?

Answer #1561:

The mere regretting has no shar‘ī effect. After the sale has been concluded in a proper and shar‘ī manner, it is valid to transfer the ownership of the thing sold to the buyer. The vendor has no right to claim it back unless he revokes the contract when he has the right to do so.

-Imam Khamenei, Practical Laws of Islam, Importance and Conditions of Buying and Selling