It is narrated from Sayyiduna Uqbah bin Amir al-Juhani (may Allah be pleased with him) that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said concerning the period for returning slaves on account of a defect (uhdah): "It is three nights." Sa'id said: I asked Qatadah: "How will this work?" He said: "If the buyer finds a defect in the merchandise, he may return it within those three days and will not be asked for witnesses. But once those days have passed, he has no right to return it without evidence that he bought it while that defect was already in it; otherwise the seller is to take an oath that he did not sell it while it had an illness."