He may also invoke the right of pre-emption (shufʿa). For the defendant, however, the settlement is deemed a mere discharge (ibrāʾ); hence he can neither demand the return of anything nor benefit from shufʿa. If either party was lying, the settlement is of no effect for him inwardly and whatever he has taken is unlawful.

A compensatory settlement is invalid when it concerns the prescribed penalty (ḥadd) for theft or for slander (qadhf), the right of pre-emption, or the withdrawal of testimony; nevertheless, by the very act of pardon, both the right of shufʿa and the ḥadd are extinguished.

If a branch of a person’s tree extends into another’s airspace—or its root penetrates his soil—the owner must remove it. Should he refuse, the neighbour may twist it away if possible; failing that, he may cut it off.

It is permissible to open doorways onto a public thoroughfare so as to reach it, but not to project a rawshan (overhanging window), a sabat (covered passageway), a dakkah (bench), or a mizab (rain-spout). None of this may be done on a neighbour’s property or in a shared alley without the consent of those entitled to it. Likewise, one may not place a beam on a neighbour’s wall except in a case of necessity when the roof cannot otherwise be completed, the same ruling applying to a mosque and any other building.1

If their shared wall collapses—or its collapse is feared—and one of them asks the other to rebuild it with him, he is compelled to comply; the same ruling holds for a joint canal, water-wheel, and aqueduct.