If one says, “Acknowledge the debt you owe me (1) and I will give you such-and-such,” only the acknowledgment itself is valid.
If a claimant alleges ownership of a specific item or a debt and the defendant, being uncertain, keeps silent or denies it, then they conclude a settlement, the settlement is valid.
Whoever of the two parties lies, however, the settlement is not truly valid for him inwardly, and anything he takes (2) is unlawful.
A settlement is not valid if the consideration is for waiving a prescribed punishment, a right of pre-emption, refraining from testimony, or relinquishing an option.
If a branch of one’s tree extends into his neighbour’s airspace, or one of its roots into the neighbour’s land, he must remove it; if he refuses, the neighbour may bend it back when possible, otherwise he may cut it off.
In a public thoroughfare it is permissible to open a doorway for passage, but not to extend anything such as a rowshan (3) or a mizab (rainwater spout) (4) without the permission of the ruler or his deputy, nor to set up a dikka (stone bench) (5) or a shop. He may do none of this in his neighbour’s property or in a shared alley without the owners’ consent.
Nor may he place a beam (6) on his neighbour’s wall unless roofing is impossible without it; in that case it is permissible, even for a mosque [or for an orphan] (7).
If a jointly owned structure collapses, or its collapse is feared, and one of the two demands that the other rebuild it with him, the latter is compelled to comply (8).