Rahn: the pledge of property as security for a debt (its ruling, parties, pledged item, use, liability, sale and ending)

الرهن

Rahn means fixity and permanence in the lexicon and detention in another sense; in law it is making a property a security for a debt, to be paid from it or its price if the debtor cannot pay. ¹ It differs from guarantee (daman), which joins one liability to another for the claim, while a pledge requires a specific property. ² The pledge is established by the Qur'an, the Sunna and consensus; it is permitted but not obligatory. The Prophet pledged his iron armour to a Jew for food bought on credit, and most jurists permit it at home as well as on a journey. ^{2 3} The contract is formed by offer and acceptance: the Shafi'is require words, while the Malikis and Hanbalis accept any sign that shows consent by custom, such as a transaction by exchange of goods. Both parties must be competent to dispose of property, so a child, an insane person or one under restriction cannot contract, though the Hanafis allow a licensed child and the Malikis make a discerning child's pledge conditional on his guardian's consent. ^{3 4} Any binding debt, or one that is about to become binding, may be secured: the Shafi'is require an established debt, exclude guaranteed property such as usurped goods, while the Hanbalis allow security for such guaranteed property, and the Malikis and Hanafis extend it to other kinds of obligation. ^{4 5} Any property that can be sold and whose price can settle the debt may be pledged; the Shafi'is and Hanbalis allow every saleable thing, the Hanafis require a divided and separate property not occupied by the owner's goods and distinct from what grows on it, and borrowed property may be pledged with the lender's permission, with differing views on what must be stated. ^{6 7} The pledge is binding only once the pledgee takes possession, according to the Hanafis, Shafi'is and Hanbalis, while the Malikis hold it binding on the contract. ⁸ The pledge covers the natural increase of the thing; detached increase (offspring, fruit, milk, wool) is included for the Hanafis and Hanbalis in different forms, and excluded by the Shafi'is, while the Malikis include only offspring. ⁹ The owner may not dispose of the pledged item in a way that removes ownership or harms the pledgee's right without his consent; a disposal with consent ends the pledge where it has no return, and a sale with consent moves the claim to the price. ^{10 11} Possession belongs to the pledgee, or to a third party acting as his agent. ¹¹ On use, the Hanafis forbid it to both parties without the other's consent; the Malikis allow it to the pledgee under fixed conditions; the Shafi'is and Hanbalis allow the owner any use that does not reduce value, and allow the pledgee to ride or milk a pledged beast in return for its keep. ^{12 10} The cost of keeping the pledge falls on the owner according to most jurists, while the Hanafis place the cost of custody on the pledgee. ^{13 14} The pledge ends before it binds by the owner's withdrawal or a disposal that removes ownership, and after binding by destruction of the pledge, release from the debt, or a disposal with the pledgee's consent. ^{14 15} When the debt falls due the owner must pay it; if he does not, the pledge is sold and the pledgee is paid first from the price; the Shafi'is and Hanbalis allow the judge to discipline a refusing debtor and then sell, while the Malikis limit the judge to the sale. ^{15 16}