The author gave examples of this, saying: “such as a village.” Can a village be jointly owned by partners? Yes. A group of people may come together, purchase land, lay it out, and build upon it; people then live there, and it becomes a village jointly owned by partners. Such a large village can be divided, with one partner saying to the other: “You take one half, and I will take the other.”

His words, “an orchard,” mean a large orchard whose division causes no harm to either party: such that, if it were divided, its value would not decrease—according to the view that harm consists in a decrease in value—or such that, if it were divided, the benefit of what has been divided would not be lost—according to the second view, which holds that harm consists in the loss of benefit.

His words, “a large house,” refer to a house that can be divided without harm, on condition that its rooms are comparable. But if its rooms are not comparable—for example, if some are a men’s reception room, some a dining room, some a kitchen, or some a women’s sitting room—then dividing it would result in harm. If one portion were assigned to one partner and the other portion to the other, additional compensation would be required. In this case, we say that the partition is a consensual partition. However, if it is a large house that can be divided such that each side has its own amenities, then the partition is compulsory.

His words, “land and spacious shops,” likewise refer to property that can be divided without harm.

His words, “goods measured by volume or weight that are of one kind, such as oils and milk,” refer to oils and milk, which are measured by volume. For example, if you and I jointly own a quantity of clarified butter and wish to divide it, the partner who refuses the division is compelled to do so, because