He—may Allah Most High have mercy on him—was asked:

“Three partners own a mill. One of them owns a sixth and is poor, with nothing to live on except the rental income from his share. The others refuse to pay him anything except the income of one day in every six. He has asked them to give him his proportionate share each day to help meet his living expenses, but they have refused, using their superior wealth and influence against him. What must be done in this case?”

He replied:

“All praise is due to Allah, Lord of the worlds.

“If a partner asks that they rent out the property and divide the rent in proportion to their respective shares, or that they allocate turns among themselves to share its use, the other partners must agree to one of these two arrangements.

“If they agree to allocate turns, but wish to lengthen the interval between his turns while he wishes to shorten it, his request must be granted rather than theirs. Allocating use by time entails delaying some partners’ entitlements relative to others, so the sooner each can receive his entitlement, the better. The basic principle is that all partners must receive their entitlements; any delay is permitted only out of necessity. Thus, the shorter the delay, the better.

“This is especially so when the delay means that a partner cannot receive his entitlement without suffering harm—for example, having to provide animals for a single day’s use while bearing their upkeep throughout the week. He is not obliged to agree to an arrangement that harms him when an equitable arrangement can be made among them without harm. And Allah knows best.”