sell the principal’s property to himself, nor may he acknowledge any liability on his principal’s behalf.

Section. An acknowledgment (iqrār) concerns two kinds of rights: one owed to God Most High and one owed to another person. An acknowledgment of a divine right may be withdrawn, whereas an acknowledgment of a human right may not be revoked. For an acknowledgment to be valid three conditions are required: adulthood, sound intellect, and free choice; if it relates to property a fourth condition is added, namely financial competence (rushd). When a person acknowledges something undefined, he is asked to clarify it. An exception within an acknowledgment is valid provided it is joined to the statement without a break, and this holds whether the declarant is healthy or ill.

Section. Any item whose substance remains while its benefits are taken may be loaned for use (ʿāriyya) so long as its benefits are non-consumptive. The loan may be unrestricted or limited to a set term, and the article is guaranteed by the borrower, who must pay its value on the day it is destroyed.

Section. Whoever usurps another’s property is obliged to return it together with compensation for any reduction in value and for its usual rent. If the property is lost, he must replace it with an identical item when such exists, otherwise with its highest value between the day of the usurpation and the day of its loss.

Section. Pre-emption (shufʿa) is established by co-ownership, not by mere neighbourhood; it applies to property that can be physically divided, not to what is indivisible, and to every immovable connected with the land—buildings and the like—at the price for which the sale was concluded. The right must be exercised immediately; if one delays despite being able to act, it is forfeited.

If a man marries a woman in exchange for a share of the property, the pre-emptor may take that share by paying the customary bridal-price. When there are several pre-emptors they acquire the property in proportion to their respective shares.