by his own choice. In our view, whenever the share leaves its owner’s possession voluntarily, the partner has the right to take it by pre-emption, whether the consideration is monetary or non-monetary. If the consideration is monetary, it is clear that he takes it for that consideration; but if it is non-monetary, it is assessed according to its market value.

His statement, “for its price”: the letter bā’ is a preposition, and every prepositional phrase must be connected to something, for it is governed by an operator, and that which is governed must have an operator. Just as a direct object must have a verb that puts it in the accusative, so too a prepositional phrase must have a verb to which it relates. Hence the author of the didactic verse on grammatical principles said:

A preposition must necessarily be connected
To a verb, or to what conveys its meaning—such as murtaqī (ascending). (1)

In any case, the preposition in his statement, “for its price,” is connected to the word “taking”; thus, it means the right to take possession in exchange for the price. That is, the partner takes the sold share for its price, not for its value.

You should know that scholars distinguish between value and price. The price is that upon which the contract was concluded, whereas the value is what it is worth in the estimation of people. For example, if a man buys a house for ten thousand, then its price is ten thousand. Yet that house may be worth only five thousand in the market, in which case its value is five thousand; or it may be worth twenty thousand, in which case its value is twenty thousand. Thus, the price may equal the value, or it may be lower or higher.

His statement, “upon which the contract was finally settled”: the author’s words indicate that what matters is that upon which the contract was finally settled, rather than that upon which the contract was initially concluded. For example, if