M6:3540 — قیمت آن را نداند جز ملوک / فاجتهد بالبیع ان لا یخدعوک

Translation: Its value none knows but kings / So strive in the selling, lest they deceive you. Meaning: This verse speaks of the immense value of hidden jewels, so precious that only kings can appreciate their worth. It urges the seller to be diligent and shrewd in the transaction to avoid being cheated.

This verse, appearing in the continuing tale of the deceased wealthy man ( خواجه) and his dream-will to a middleman, refers to precious jewels the خواجه had hidden to repay a poor friend's debt. In the dream, the خواجه instructs the middleman to sell this immense treasure—whose true worth only kings can grasp—with utmost care and vigilance. This counsel is not merely an ethical admonition; it contains precise juridical and legal points that Mawlana has embedded within a mystical narrative.

Mawlana here immediately addresses the issue of bayʿ gharar, meaning a transaction in which one party exploits the other's lack of knowledge and deceives them. He links this to the prophetic tradition, where the Messenger of God (PBUH) established certain khiyārāt (options or rights to annul a contract) in transactions to prevent gharar (deception or fraud). These options include khiyār al-majlis (option to annul while still in the meeting place), and especially khiyār al-hayawān (option in animal sales) and khiyār al-ghabn (option due to price misrepresentation), which enable the buyer to revoke the transaction even after it has taken place, should certain conditions arise. Mawlana explicitly refers to the 'three-day option' (se rūz ikhtiyār), allowing a buyer to take delivery of goods and have up to three days to consider and, if dissatisfied or if a defect is discovered, return them. This embodies not only religious law but a profound ethical principle in human and economic relations: protecting the weaker party in a transaction and preventing exploitation.

Thus, this verse, ostensibly about material and valuable transactions, implicitly offers a lesson in Islamic juridical ethics and economic rights. It teaches that even in worldly affairs, trustworthiness and fairness must be observed, and deceit and trickery avoided. This demonstrates that in Mawlana's intellectual framework, this world and the hereafter, jurisprudence and mysticism, are inseparable, and all must operate under the banner of divine ethics.

Key takeaways

• Even in material transactions, precise knowledge of an item's worth and avoiding deception are crucial.
• Mawlana interweaves jurisprudence (fiqh) and ethics, drawing principles of transaction from the prophetic tradition.
• The concepts of gharar (deception in transaction) and khiyārāt (options to annul a contract) are key teachings in Islamic commerce.
• Protecting the rights of the vulnerable and preventing exploitation hold a high place in Mawlana's economic philosophy.