“That it becomes pleasant to eat,” as the author stated regarding the rest of the fruits. Thus, grapes are now found in the markets that are neither soft and juicy nor blackened, but rather green and firm; yet they are sweet and pleasant to eat.

His statement, “With the rest of the fruits, that ripeness becomes apparent and they become pleasant to eat,” applies to other fruits, such as oranges, peaches, apples, and the like. All of them—including the fruits of date palms, grapes, and others—revolve around whether they can be eaten and are palatable. Once they reach this stage, they can be put to use; before that, they cannot normally be used except on occasion. Moreover, once they reach this stage of ripeness, they are less susceptible to blights and defects.

One lesson derived from this prohibition (1) is that the Lawgiver forbids everything that gives rise to dispute, rancour, and enmity. For when disagreement and contention occur, enmity, rancour, and dispute result. This is why the Prophet ﷺ prohibited it.

His statement, “Whoever sells a slave who possesses property, his property belongs to the seller”: the relevance of mentioning this issue in the chapter on the sale of trees and fruits is that the slave is the principal asset and the property is ancillary. Thus, his property is like the fruit, while he himself is like the tree; for this reason, they mentioned it in this chapter.

The word “slave” here includes both male and female slaves. That is, whoever sells an owned slave who possesses property, his property belongs to the seller. It may appear that there is a contradiction in the wording: “who possesses property,” then he says, “his property belongs to the seller.” Accordingly, there arises with respect to