before informing him, his partner has the greater right to it at that price.”

Likewise, compensation is owed for destroying an undivided share, or for what amounts to its destruction, such as the extension of emancipation to the remaining shares in a slave. Thus, the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said, as recorded in the two Sahīh collections:

“Whoever emancipates his share in a slave, while possessing enough wealth to cover the slave’s price, must have the slave fairly valued, neither undervalued nor overvalued. He must then pay his partners the value of their shares, and the slave becomes fully emancipated at his expense.”

When an undivided share is sold, whether or not possession of it has been taken, the Muslims agree that the partner’s right to the other half remains intact, even if he has not exercised the forms of disposal permissible with jointly owned property. The co-owners may apportion its use by place or by time: one may occupy one part and the other another part; alternatively, one may occupy it for a month, then the other for a month. They may lease it out, and either may lease his share to the other. According to the majority of scholars, apart from al-Shāfi'ī, either party who refuses to lease it out may be compelled to do so. As for compelling them to apportion its use, there are three well-known scholarly positions.