Buying and Selling: Transactions with a Non-Bāligh Child
Practical Laws of Islam as per the teachings of Ayatullah Sistani
Ruling 2092
A transaction carried out with a non-bāligh child who acts independently in the transaction is void even if it is carried out with the permission of his guardian. The exception to this is a transaction of things that have little value and with which it is normal to transact with a non-bāligh child who is able to discern between right and wrong (mumayyiz); such a transaction is valid if the child has permission from his guardian. If the transaction is carried out with his guardian (walī) and the non-bāligh mumayyiz child only says the formula (ṣīghah)[1] for the transaction, it is valid in each case. In fact, if the commodity or the money belongs to someone else and the child sells the commodity as the agent (wakīl) of the owner or buys something with the money, the apparent (ẓāhir)[2] ruling is that the transaction is valid even though the mumayyiz child may be independent in having disposal over the commodity/money. Similarly, if the child merely acts as an intermediary for delivering the money to the seller, the transaction is valid even if the child is not mumayyiz because in reality, two bāligh people will have transacted with one another.
-Ayatullah Sistani, Practical Laws of Islam, Buying and Selling
See Rulings 2107 and 2108.
For practical purposes in jurisprudential rulings, expressing an ‘apparent’ ruling equates to giving a fatwa.