Inwardly intending to take land back after registering it to the buyer

Question

Question: Zayd, owing to his necessity, took a fair price from Bakr for one bigha (a local unit of land area) of land, went to the registry office and registered it to Bakr; Bakr, having become its owner, is cultivating the land. There is also no condition of taking the land back again, but something or other remains in the heart. Is this transaction valid or not?

Answer

If this transaction was a contract in which there was no condition of return, then this sale (bayʿ) became valid. Then, if a verbal promise was made outside (the contract), it should be fulfilled as a moral obligation (akhlaqan), for: [ar]لأن الخلف في الوعد حرام[/ar] “…because breaking a promise is haram” (al-Ashbah wa-l-Naza’ir).

Source: Fatawa Mahmudiyya

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