The fourth: there are multiple portions—that is, a partner jointly owns two plots of land, and he sells his share in both plots to one person in a single transaction. The pre-emptor may exercise pre-emption with respect to one of the two plots. Thus, the only case in which partial exercise of pre-emption is prohibited is the first case.
“If he sells a portion along with a sword, or if part of the property sold is destroyed, the pre-emptor may take the portion for its corresponding share of the price. There is no right of pre-emption by virtue of partnership in an endowment, nor in anything other than prior ownership, nor does a disbeliever have a right of pre-emption against a Muslim.”
His statement, “If he sells a portion along with a sword, or if part of the property sold is destroyed”: the jurists always borrow such expressions from one another. The first to give this example said, “He sells a portion along with a sword.” We would say, “If he sells a portion along with a book,” as this is more fitting for students of knowledge. For combatants, one may say, “a portion and a sword”; for carpenters, “a portion and a door”; and for showroom owners, “a portion and a car.” Thus, we give each person an example suited to him.
The governing principle in this issue is that, if he sells in one transaction something subject to pre-emption together with something not subject to pre-emption, the “portion” here means the portion subject to pre-emption, while the sword represents that which is not subject to pre-emption. Thus, when he sells in a single transaction something subject to pre-emption and something not subject to it, the author says: “The pre-emptor may take the portion for its corresponding share of the price.” As for the other item, which is not subject to pre-emption, he may not take it by pre-emption.
For example, a man who owns a showroom sells a portion of land and a car. The pre-emptor—who is the partner in the land—may exercise pre-emption with respect to the land but not the car. How is this done? We say: How much is the land worth? They reply: Two hundred thousand. And how much is the car worth? They reply: Fifty thousand. The total price is therefore two hundred and fifty thousand. We then say: Take the land for two hundred thousand, while the car belongs to the purchaser. This is why he said: “The pre-emptor may take the portion for its corresponding share of the price.”