Chapter on Reconciliation

Al-Ala' narrated from Muhammad ibn Muslim, who reported from Abu Jafar Imam Muhammad ibn Ali Al-Baqir عليه السلام regarding two men, each of whom had some food stored with the other, but neither knew exactly how much he had with his companion. They said to each other, "You keep what is with you, and I will keep what is with me." Imam عليه السلام said: "There is no harm in that if they both agree and are content with the arrangement."

Ali ibn Abi Hamzah said: I asked Abu al-Hasan عليه السلام about a Jewish or Christian man who had a debt of four thousand dirhams with me, and he died. I asked: "Is it lawful for me to settle with his heirs without informing them of the exact amount?" Imam عليه السلام said: "It is not permissible until you inform them."

Aban narrated from Muhammad ibn Muslim, who reported from Abu Jafar Imam Muhammad ibn Ali Al-Baqir عليه السلام regarding a man who owes a debt with a specified due date. The creditor comes to him and says, "Pay me such-and-such amount from what you owe, and I will waive the rest," or says, "Pay me a part now, and I will extend the deadline for the remainder." Imam عليه السلام said: "I see no harm in it, as long as nothing is added to the principal amount." Allah سبحانه وتعالى, the Almighty, says: 'Then you shall have your principal; you shall not wrong, nor shall you be wronged.' (Surah Al-Baqarah, 2:279)"

Hammad narrated from al-Halabi, who reported from Abu Abdillah عليه السلام regarding a man who gives a specific amount of wheat to a miller to grind for a fee in dirhams. After the milling is completed, the man pays the miller the agreed dirhams along with a portion of the ground wheat, as this is a customary practice among them. Imam عليه السلام said: "There is no harm in it, even if they did not previously agree on this arrangement."

Al-Hasan ibn Mahbub narrated from al-Ala', who reported from Muhammad ibn Muslim: I heard Abu Jafar Imam Muhammad ibn Ali Al-Baqir عليه السلام say: "I was once with a judge in Medina when two men approached him. One of them said: 'I hired this man's animal to take me from such-and-such place to such-and-such place, but it did not reach the destination.' The judge asked the owner of the animal, 'Did you take him to the place he hired you for?' He replied: 'No, my animal became exhausted and could not complete the journey.' The judge then said to the owner of the animal, 'You are not entitled to any fare since you did not deliver him to the destination he hired your animal for.'" Abu Jafar Imam Muhammad ibn Ali Al-Baqir عليه السلام said: "I called both of them to me and said to the hirer, 'You are not entitled to take back all the fare you paid for the animal.' And I said to the owner, 'You are not entitled to take the full fare for your animal.' Instead, I told them, 'Consider how much of the journey remains and how much of it has been completed. Then come to a mutual agreement about the fare based on that.' So they did as I instructed and settled the matter."

Mansur ibn Yunus narrated from Muhammad al-Halabi: I was sitting with a judge, and Abu Jafar Imam Muhammad ibn Ali Al-Baqir عليه السلام was also present. Two men approached the judge. One of them said: "I hired this man's camels to transport my goods to a certain mine. I stipulated that he must get me there on a specific day because there is a market there, and I feared missing it. I also stipulated that if I was delayed, I would deduct a specific amount from the fare for each day of the delay. However, he delayed me for several days beyond the agreed time." The judge said: "This condition is invalid. Pay him his full fare." When the man left, Abu Jafar Imam Muhammad ibn Ali Al-Baqir عليه السلام turned to me and said: "His condition is valid as long as he does not deduct the entire fare."

In the narration of Abdullah ibn al-Mughirah, from more than one of our companions, from Abu Abdillah عليه السلام: Two men had two dirhams with them. One of them said: "Both dirhams are mine." The other said: "They are shared between me and you." Imam عليه السلام said: "As for the one who said: 'They are shared between me and you,' he has admitted that one of the dirhams does not belong to him and is his companion's. The remaining dirham should be divided equally between them."

Abdullah ibn Muskan narrated from Sulayman ibn Khalid, who said: I asked Abu Abdillah عليه السلام about two men who had shared wealth. Some of it was in their possession, and some of it was scattered and not in their hands. They divided equally what was in their possession, as well as what was absent. Later, one of them lost his share of the absent wealth, while the other received his share in full. I asked: "Should the one who received his full share compensate the other?" Imam عليه السلام said: "Yes, he should compensate him. He cannot take all the wealth for himself."

In the narration of Ibn Faddal, from Abu Jamilah, from Simak ibn Harb, from Ibn Tarafah: Two men claimed ownership of a camel, and each presented evidence to support his claim. Imam Ali ibn Abi Talib عليه السلام ruled that the camel should be divided equally between them.

In the narration of Al-Husayn ibn Abi Al-Ala' from Ishaq ibn Ammar, who reported: Abu Abdillah عليه السلام was asked about a case where a man entrusted another with thirty dirhams to buy a garment, and another entrusted him with twenty dirhams for another garment. Both garments were sent, but it was unclear which garment belonged to whom. Imam عليه السلام said: "The two garments should be sold, and the one who entrusted thirty dirhams should receive three-fifths of the price, and the other should receive two-fifths of the price." I then said: "What if the one who entrusted twenty dirhams said to the other, 'Choose whichever garment you prefer'?" Imam عليه السلام replied: "He has treated him fairly."

In the narration of Al-Sakuni from Imam Jafar ibn Muhammad Al-Sadiq عليه السلام, from his father, Imam Muhammad ibn Ali Al-Baqir عليه السلام: A man entrusted another with two dinars, and another person entrusted him with one dinar. One of the dinars was lost. Imam عليه السلام said: "The owner of the two dinars should be given one dinar, and the remaining dinar should be divided equally between them."

It is narrated from Sabbah Al-Muzani, who raised it (in chain of narration): Two men came to Commander of the Faithful عليه السلام. One of them said: "O Commander of the Faithful, this man and I went out together. I brought three loaves of bread, and he brought five loaves of bread. We had lunch together, and a man passed by us, so we invited him to join us for lunch. He came and ate with us. When we finished, he gifted us eight dirhams and left. I said to this man: 'Divide the dirhams with me.' He said: 'I will not do so except based on the proportion of the shares of the bread.' Commander of the Faithful عليه السلام said: 'Go and reconcile between yourselves.' The man replied: 'O Commander of the Faithful, he refuses to give me more than three dirhams while he takes five dirhams. Judge between us.' Commander of the Faithful عليه السلام said to him: 'O servant of Allah سبحانه وتعالى, do you know that three loaves of bread equal nine thirds?' He said: 'Yes.' Imam عليه السلام continued: 'And do you know that five loaves of bread equal fifteen thirds?' He said: 'Yes.' Imam عليه السلام said: 'You ate from your nine-thirds eight-thirds, leaving you one-third. And this man ate from his fifteen-thirds eight-thirds, leaving him seven-thirds. The guest ate seven-thirds from this man's bread and one-third from your bread. Thus, each of you consumed eight-thirds. This man is entitled to seven dirhams, one dirham for each remaining third of bread he contributed, and you are entitled to one dirham for the one-third you contributed. So, take one dirham, and give this man seven dirhams.'"