Every lawsuit between a Muslim and an unbeliever must be judged solely by the law of Islam; no other code is admissible.
When two dhimmīs (non-Muslim subjects) submit their case to the Muslim judge and both agree to accept his ruling, he may either adjudicate or decline. The preferable course is to decide between them. Should one party accept his jurisdiction while the other refuses, he is still to rule if the matter involves mutual injustice, for removing wrongs is part of the covenant under which they live.
Some have maintained that he may not judge any of their personal matters without the consent of their bishops; but if the bishops themselves refer them to Islamic law, the judge may, should he wish, rule between them. Mālik (d. 179 AH) said, “I do not consider it proper to pass judgment on their commercial dealings; they should be sent back to the authorities of their own religion.” In my view—the best distillation of his school—when both litigants agree to the judge’s jurisdiction he ought to decide between them and need pay no heed to their bishops, provided he is willing to hear the case.
Any communal square or open space that people customarily use may not be fenced off by a resident whose doorway opens onto it.
Whoever has an established pathway across his land may not block it, bar access, or install a gate across it without the walkers’ permission, for their right precedes his.
If a person has no established right to let water run through his neighbor’s wall, he may not compel the neighbor to allow it; but if such a right exists, the neighbor can be forced to honor it.
Owners of sluice-gates may forbid the floating of timber down the river when that would harm them; if no harm is caused, they have no right to prevent it.
If someone has the right to discharge rainwater over another’s roof and that roof collapses, repairing the roof is the owner’s responsibility; the holder of the drain bears none of the expense.
When a man enjoys irrigation water in another’s orchard and the canal or watercourse requires dredging, the cost of cleaning is borne jointly by the landowner and the holder of the water right.
When one person owns the lower storey of a building and another owns the upper, and the structure collapses, then