Chapter on Partnerships

Shaykh al-Islām Ibn Taymiyyah was asked:

A group entered into a labor partnership without the consent of some of its members. They performed some work jointly and some separately. Is this partnership valid? What remuneration is each entitled to for the work he has performed? May someone who has done no work receive payment for another’s work without that worker’s consent?

He answered—may Allah be pleased with him:

The labor partnerships concerning which the jurists have differed are of two types.

The first:

Two people form a partnership in the work they jointly undertake as contractual obligations, as do artisans engaged in tailoring, carpentry, weaving, and similar trades, whose remuneration is determined by the work rather than by time. Such a worker is termed a non-exclusive hired worker. The obligation to perform the work rests with one of them in such a way that he may appoint someone else to carry it out. The work constitutes a debt owed by him, like debts consisting of tangible property; he is not obliged to perform it personally