Invalidation (ibtal) of acts and contracts

Ibtal, linguistically, is the spoiling and removal of a thing, whether the thing is right or wrong. As a term, it is a judgment that a thing is void: either it was valid and a cause of voidness later arose, or it existed in sense but not in law, as with a contract with a woman forbidden for ever. Its source is the lawgiver, though it may come from the one who did the act or the contract, and from a judge in matters the lawgiver has given him. ¹

Jurists distinguish ibtal from fasakh. Ibtal happens during an act and after it, in contracts and in worship alike; fasakh is mostly used of contracts and dispositions, and is rare in worship, as in changing a pilgrimage into a lesser pilgrimage. Fasakh usually means untying a contract before it is complete. Ibtal is also distinguished from ifsad: the two are the same for worship according to the majority, except that the Shafi'is and Hanbalis separate them for the pilgrimage; in most contracts the Hanafis distinguish void (batil) from defective (fasid). Ibtal is distinguished from isqat: dropping lifts an existing right, while ibtal prevents a right or obligation from arising, though the two words sometimes mean the same in the jurists' usage. ^{1 2}

The majority of jurists hold that a worship cannot be voided once it is completed. The Malikis have a view that an intention to void a worship after completing it is valid and voids it. Voiding an obligatory act once begun, without a lawful excuse, is forbidden, and the Hanafis and Malikis hold the same for a voluntary act, which must be made up. The verse "do not void your deeds" in Surat Muhammad is cited for this, Muhammad 33. The Shafi'is and Hanbalis disapprove of voiding a voluntary act once begun, except the pilgrimage and the lesser pilgrimage: for these, the Shafi'is forbid voiding, and this is a Hanbali narration, while the other Hanbali narration treats them like other voluntary acts. For the Shafi'is, holy war is treated like the pilgrimage in this respect. ²

A binding act, once it has taken effect, cannot be voided unless both parties consent, as in a mutual cancellation (iqala). In a contract that neither party is bound by, either party may void it at will. In a contract binding on one side only, voiding is valid for the side on which the contract is not binding. The Encyclopedia says the voiding meant here is in the sense of dissolution. ²

The rules on voiding before a contract is formed are treated under "nullity", and those after its formation under "dissolution" (fasakh). Because voiding touches both worship and dispositions, the Encyclopedia says it is impractical to list each place. The rule for each worship is found under its cause of voiding, and for each contract or disposition under its place in that contract. ²