and many major merchant partners have comprehensive partnerships. You may find, for example, one of them in Medina and the other in Mecca: one enters into muḍāraba arrangements and makes loans; he may also occasionally make a small donation, which his partner approves. Thus, the sound view is that it is permissible. This is why the author says: “That each of them authorize the other to undertake every financial and physical transaction included under the various types of partnership.”

Thus, there are four types of partnership, and the fifth is the comprehensive partnership, which combines the four types.

His statement, “Profit is divided according to whatever they stipulate,” means that if one says to the other, “You are entitled to one quarter, and I am entitled to three quarters,” and the other accepts, it is permissible. Likewise, an allocation of two thirds and one third is permissible, as is an equal division.

If someone were to ask: How can you make profit subject to their stipulation when their capital contributions may differ? We say: Because profit is based on work and expertise. One of them may be more skilled than the other and more capable in his work; indeed, he may also enjoy greater trust among people. For example, you may find someone offering you a commodity and saying, “Its value is ten,” yet you hesitate as to whether it is really worth ten or not. But if another broker, whom you know to be skilled and knowledgeable about prices, comes to you and says, “Its value is twelve,” you do not hesitate, because you know that he is skilled and knows the prices, whereas the other is neither skilled nor knowledgeable about them. You fear that he may have said it is worth ten when it is worth no more than eight.

His statement, “Loss is borne in proportion to the capital,” is a principle: loss is borne in proportion to the capital in every type of partnership, because it is not possible to require either of them to bear the loss incurred by