—lead to portions being exchanged for one another at disproportionate values. Standing grain may not be divided—whether green or dry, still in bundles or already threshed—until it has been winnowed and is apportioned as loose grain by volume. It may not be divided by mere estimation, nor with containers whose capacity can vary, such as baskets or coarse sacks. Rather, it must be divided with vessels of fixed size like a basin, a large bowl, a jar, or the mudd measure. Some of Mālik’s associates did, however, permit division by weight if the grain is piled in one place.

Ibn al-Qāsim said: The crop may be divided before any sign of ripeness appears by the method of tajrī—that is, when they intend to cut it immediately. If one of them then delays harvesting his share, the division is void: the one who reaped owes his partner half the value of what he harvested, while retaining the right to half the value of what his partner left standing.

If a house jointly owned by two men collapses and one of them refuses to rebuild, he may be compelled either to partition or to sell. As for livestock and slaves, appraisal and division according to their monetary value is preferable. Items that are difficult to value—such as sheep, clothing, and the like, which are numerous and varied—are pooled together for adjustment, assessed, lots are drawn, and then they are distributed.

All liquids are divided in the manner customary in each town for their sale, using the standard containers and measures, provided it is certain that one share will not exceed another. Partition, after all, is a form of sale, and the basic rulings for this chapter have already been laid out under the laws of sales.

Whoever alleges an error in a division carried out through adjustment and the casting of lots cannot have the division annulled merely on his claim; he must present evidence. If he produces proof, judgment is rendered in his favor, the prior testimony is set aside, and the property reverts to joint ownership.

There is no objection to hiring a divider; his fee is lawful when he has exerted due diligence, the division stands to the extent of his effort, and his remuneration is to be borne in proportion to the number of shareholders, according to