Civil Law (Hoghough-e Madani)
Core concepts
Civil law questions test the architecture of the Civil Code: property (amlāk) and the distinction between 'ayn, manfa'at and dayn; the division of property into movable and immovable; causes of ownership (hayāzāt, 'aqd, irth, ihya'-e mawāt); and the general theory of contract in Articles 183–300. You must know the conditions of validity (qasd, ridhā, ahliyyat, mahal, mashrū'iyyat-e jahat), the difference between bātil and ghayr-e nāfiz, and the remedial doctrines: kheyārāt (especially ghabn, 'ayb, ru'yat, shart), tafrīq-e safqa, and the effect of 'adam-e tanfīdh.
Traps
Examiners love the fine lines. Ghabn-e ghālib requires both gross disproportion and the victim's ignorance of the price; mere unfairness is not enough. Kheyār-e 'ayb is not available for defects the buyer knew of. In tort (itlāf and tasbīb), the causal chain and the rule that direct destruction (itlāf-e mubāshir) is liable regardless of intent, while indirect causation (tasbīb) requires fault, is frequently tested. Note also the rules on shuf'a (pre-emption), which is a weak right subject to immediate demand (fawriyyat), and the doctrine that a void contract produces no effects but a voidable one does until annulled.
Rule of thumb
When a fact pattern mixes property and contract, first identify the right (ownership vs. obligation), then ask whether the transfer was valid, then whether a remedy survives. Worked example: A sells a car with a hidden engine defect; the buyer discovers it a month later. Because kheyār-e 'ayb is a statutory option that does not require a contractual stipulation, the buyer may rescind (faskh) and claim restitution plus damages for actual loss, but not expectation damages.