Tadlis (concealment of a defect in a contract)

Tadlis is hiding a defect in goods from the buyer. It is forbidden by text and, in the majority view, gives a right of option in an exchange when the deceived party did not know of the defect before the contract. ^{1 2}

In sale, tadlis is hiding a defect in the goods from the buyer; the word is also used for concealing the chain of narration in hadith. Among the hadith scholars there are two kinds: concealing the chain, which is reporting from someone one met what one did not hear from him, as if one had heard it; and concealing a teacher's name, which is reporting from a teacher under a name or kunya or description that hides who he is. ^{1 2}

• Khalaba (deception): broader, since it may be by lying as well. ²
• Talbis (confusion): broader, since it covers hiding attributes or facts too. ²
• Taghrir (enticing into risk) and ghish (cheating) are broader still, since tadlis is limited to concealing a defect. ^{2 3}

Jurists agree that tadlis is forbidden by text: the hadith that the two parties to a sale have the option until they part, and that if they speak truth and make clear, their sale is blessed, but if they lie and hide, the blessing of the sale is taken away; and the hadith "whoever cheats us is not of us". The Prophet is also reported to have said that one who sells a defect without showing it remains under God's displeasure. The judge disciplines the deceiver for the right of God and the right of people. ^{2 3}

Jurists agree that any tadlis that changes the price gives a right of option, such as tasrijat (holding back a ewe's milk) to make the buyer think she gives much milk, or dyeing goods a desirable colour. They rely on the hadith of the tasriyya, giving the buyer the choice of keeping the animal or returning it with a sa' of dates; other acts that make the buyer expect a quality that is absent are treated alike. ³ A right of option does not arise by tadlis alone: the deceived party must not have known of the defect before the contract, and the defect must not be plain. The right applies in every exchange, such as sale and hire. ³ Verbal tadlis is treated as acts are, such as lying about the price in trust sales (murabaha, tawliya and hatiyata). ³

The majority of jurists (Malikis, Shafi'is and Hanbalis) hold that if one spouse deceives the other by hiding a defect that gives a right of option, the deceived spouse has that right. If one spouse stipulates in the contract a quality of perfection, such as Islam, virginity or youth, and it proves absent, the deceived party may annul the marriage. Abu Hanifa and Abu Yusuf hold that neither spouse has a right of annulment for a defect. ^{3 4 5} If the marriage is annulled before consummation the dower falls; if it is annulled after consummation, the wife keeps the dower, and the husband may claim it back from the one who deceived him, according to the majority. ^{4 5}

The deceiver is disciplined by a discretionary penalty chosen by the judge as deterrent, a point the jurists agree on, as for any sin without a fixed penalty or expiation, in addition to the order to return the goods. ⁵