proceed consistently by analogy, for in some instances he treated partition more leniently than sale, permitting partition by lot of goods that may be exchanged for one another in a forward sale. In other instances, he treated it more strictly than sale, prohibiting partition by lot of things that he regarded, for purposes of sale, as a single category whose members may not be exchanged for one another in a forward sale. This is reflected in his statement in al-Mudawwana that horses, barādhīn, mules, and donkeys should each be divided separately—unless his statement is understood to mean that each should be divided separately when there are enough animals in each category to permit a separate division. On this interpretation, his statement would accord with the apparent meaning of his remarks on cloth in one of the two relevant passages in al-Mudawwana, and with the personal opinion expressed by ʿĪsā ibn Dīnār in his transmission in the Book of Partition concerning the division of inferior and valuable land. This is the most appropriate interpretation of his statement, and Allah knows best. On this interpretation, three opinions emerge from his position:
The first is that horses, barādhīn, mules, and donkeys may be combined in a partition if each category can be divided separately.
The second is that they may not be combined in a partition unless none of the categories can be divided separately.
The third is that they may never be combined in a partition, even if the categories cannot be divided separately. By the same reasoning, there are also three opinions concerning cloth and garments.
Ibn Habīb held that similar goods belonging to two categories may be combined in a partition. Thus, he treated khazz fabric, cloth, and silk as one category; cotton and linen as another; wool and goat down as another; and furs, despite their different kinds, as another.
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Ashhab permitted combining two categories in a partition by lot if both partners agreed. A similar position is attributed to Ibn al-Qāsim in al-Mudawwana in the case concerning a tree and an olive tree. This position is open to objection: if the transaction involves uncertainty, consent cannot make it valid; if it does not involve uncertainty, it must be enforceable by judicial ruling.