Chapter on ʿĀriyah (loan for use)

It is the permissibility of deriving benefit from an item whose substance remains⦗1⦘ after that benefit has been taken.

It is lawful to lend for use anything that provides a lawful benefit, with the following exceptions: budʿ (sexual access), lending a Muslim slave to a non-Muslim, lending game or similar animals to a muḥrim (a pilgrim in the state of consecration), and lending a young female slave to anyone other than a woman or a maḥram (a non-marriageable relative). No rent is owed to the person who lends out a wall until it collapses, and if it does collapse it need not be rebuilt—unless he gives permission.

The borrower is liable for the borrowed article at its market value on the day it is destroyed, even if the contract stipulated non-liability. He must also bear the cost of returning it, except where the item had originally been leased. He may not in turn lend it out; if he does and it is destroyed while with the second borrower, liability for its value rests with that second borrower, while the first borrower must pay its hire. The owner may claim against whichever of the two he chooses. However, if the borrower merely allowed someone a ride out of charity, he incurs no liability.

Should the owner say, ‘I leased it to you,’ while the user replies, ‘No, you lent it to me’—or the reverse—then, when this dispute occurs immediately after the transaction, the statement of the one alleging a loan is accepted. After time has elapsed, the owner’s word is accepted regarding the period that has passed, and the user must pay the customary rent⦗2⦘. If the user says, ‘You lent it to me,’ or, ‘You leased it to me,’ and the owner retorts, ‘No, you usurped it from me,’ or if the owner says, ‘I lent it to you,’ and the user answers, ‘Rather, you leased it to me,’ and the animal has perished—or they disagree about its return⦗3⦘—the owner’s statement prevails.