Returning a bull bought from a Brahmin

Question

Question: A certain man, a butcher, bought a Brahmin’s bull that was being sold at the market. Now he wants to slaughter it for food; the Brahmin and the Muslim butcher are from the same village. Now the Brahmin wants it returned; the butcher does not return it, but some other person has had the bull returned from the said butcher. Now those Brahmins even perform Hindu worship to it, because it escaped slaughter. What is the status of this return? The one who had it returned is a Muslim.

Answer

Buying and selling bulls and the like with Hindus is permissible; when the deal is disliked or goes against some benefit (maslaha), returning it is also valid. But returning it out of the said consideration is bad. Nevertheless, this does not cause any defect in his leading the prayer as imam. Performing Hindu worship is an act of the Hindus; he is not answerable for it.

Source: Fatawa Mahmudiyya

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