and for any other merchandise whatsoever, offered by anyone. Still, only the donor himself may repurchase the fruit once its ripeness is evident, doing so on the basis of kharṣ until the time of cutting if it is fresh dates, or on the basis of its estimated yield as raisins if it is grapes.

Mālik disliked a man’s donating his entire grove and then buying it back on estimation—whether the amount is five wasqs or less—because in that case no hardship has really been removed from him. In our view the concession of al-ʿarīya is circumscribed by two conditions. First, it is restricted to the donor so as to spare him the inconvenience of outsiders entering his orchard on its account. Second, it is restricted to a quantity of five wasqs or less. Whenever either boundary is crossed, the transaction becomes mazābana, and the owner stands on the same footing as any stranger with respect to buying it.

It is therefore unlawful for anyone other than the donor to purchase an ʿarīya with fruit—whether for immediate or deferred delivery—for that would entail mazābana, namely the sale of fresh dates for dried ones. According to Mālik, even the donor may not buy the ʿarīya with dates handed over immediately, whether of the same variety or a different one; he may purchase it only on estimation as dates to be delivered at harvest, and he must not extend the dispensation beyond its proper scope.

If the ʿarīya exceeds five wasqs and the donor wishes to buy the whole of it, he may do so only with gold, silver, or other goods, just like any outsider. The recipient, moreover, may sell the ʿarīya to someone other than the person who granted it, provided the buyer already owns a share in the underlying trees or has purchased the dates of the grove from the owner; in such a case the buyer is treated exactly like the donor.