so that he abandons the claim; the settlement is valid and has the same legal effect as khulʿ (divorce in return for compensation).

If, on the other hand, a woman alleges a marriage with a man and he settles with her for money he gives her, such a settlement is not valid.

Likewise, if someone alleges that another man is his slave and the latter pays him money to drop the claim, the settlement is valid; for the claimant it is tantamount to manumitting the slave for a price.

Whenever what is being settled is a debt arising from a credit transaction, the settlement is not treated as an exchange; rather, it is viewed as the creditor having collected part of what he is owed and waiving the remainder.

For example, if a man is owed 1,000 sound dirhams and agrees to settle for 500 debased dirhams, the settlement is permissible and counts as though he has pardoned part of his debt and taken the balance. If he settles for 1,000 dirhams to be paid at a later date, that too is valid and is considered a deferral of the same debt.

However, if he settles for dinars payable one month later, the settlement is invalid. The same applies if he is owed 1,000 deferred dirhams and settles for 500 payable immediately, or if he is owed 1,000 black dirhams and settles for 500 white ones—each of these settlements is invalid.

When a person appoints an agent to settle on his behalf, the agent is not personally bound by what he agrees to unless he undertakes to guarantee it; the amount agreed upon remains owed by the principal.

If the agent settles without prior authorization, four situations arise:

1. Should he settle for money and guarantee it, the settlement is binding.
2. If he says, “I have settled with you for these two thousand,” the settlement is binding and he must hand them over.
3. If he says, “I have settled with you for one thousand,” and actually delivers it, the settlement is binding.
4. But if he says, “I have settled with you for one thousand,” and does not deliver it, the contract is suspended. If the defendant subsequently ratifies it, it becomes valid and the thousand becomes due; if he does not ratify it, the contract is void.

When a single debt is owed to two partners and one of them settles his share for a garment, the other partner may choose either to pursue half the debt against the debtor or to take half the garment—unless the first partner guarantees him a quarter of the debt. If the first partner collects half of his share of the debt, the second partner may share with him in what he has taken; afterwards they return to the debtor for the remainder. Should one partner purchase his share of the debt with a commodity, the other partner may hold him liable for a quarter of the debt.

If two partners share a salam contract and one of them settles his share for the original capital, the settlement is invalid according to Abu Hanifah and Muhammad (may Allah have mercy on them).