to a share? Their right is not established except by evidence. Therefore, the judge should be discerning in this matter, for each of the ten claims to be a partner. If the first group acknowledges it and says, “Yes, we are the ones who brought it back, but these people did not participate with us,” then we ask those who deny it: “Did these people participate with you?” If they say, “Yes,” we say: “Their right has been established, while you claim that you participated. If you produce evidence, then so be it; otherwise, you have no right.”
His statement, “If he learns of it during the work, he receives the proportion due for completing it,” means that during the course of the work, “he receives”—that is, the worker—“the proportion due for completing it.”
An example of this is a man who finds that part of his neighbor’s wall has collapsed—that is, the wall surrounding his property. Since there is friendship between them, he begins rebuilding it. He builds three courses of mud bricks, and after he has built three courses, the owner of the wall says, “Whoever builds the wall of my garden will receive seven hundred riyals.” The wall requires seven courses of mud bricks. His neighbor then learns that he has offered a reward—seven hundred—for whoever builds this wall, so he completes the construction. How much should we give him?
Some people may think that he should be given four-sevenths—that is, four hundred—but this is mistaken, because the higher the wall rises, the more difficult the work becomes. Accordingly, it must be assessed proportionately. We say: A wall has had three courses built, while it requires seven courses; how should the proportion be estimated? If it is said that what he built is estimated at one quarter, for example, then we give him three quarters. In other words, we do not regard the highest course—the seventh—as equivalent to the lowest course, the first; for the first only requires bringing the bricks and laying them in place, whereas the higher courses require a ladder, men passing materials to one another, and then ensuring that it is level. Ensuring the alignment of