then whenever this benefit is diminished—through a reduction or cessation of the water supply, excess water and flooding, or the occurrence of locusts, cold, heat, snow, or similar conditions that depart from the ordinary and prevent the customary benefit—the benefit to which he is entitled under the contract is thereby obstructed. He must therefore be entitled either to rescind the lease or to have the rent reduced in proportion to the benefit lost, just as when the water supply ceases. There is no distinction between the cessation of the water supply, its excess, and other impediments that would justify different rulings.

Section

Having established this, we have already cited the explicit statements of Ahmad, al-Khiraqī, and others that the rent payable is proportionate to the benefit actually obtained.

This takes two forms:

The first is that the benefit is obtained during only part of the lease term or from only part of the leased property. In this case, the rent is reduced accordingly, and only the proportion corresponding to the benefit obtained is payable. The rent is apportioned according to the value of the respective locations and periods, for these may be equal or may differ: some parts of the land may be better than others, and rent during some seasons of the year may be higher than during others. Our jurists and others have expressly stated this.

The second is a diminution of the benefit within one and the same place and period;