What is the source of the divider's compensation?
General Chapter
Al-Mughni
Book of Judiciary
Primary text
The Imam must provide the divider with an allowance (*Rizq*) from the public treasury (*Bayt al-Mal*) because this task falls under public interest matters. A tradition states that Ali (may Allah be pleased with him) appointed a divider and gave him an allowance from the public treasury. If the Imam does not provide this allowance, the judge instructs the partners to pay the divider a fee for dividing the property between them.
Supporting text
It is permissible for each partner to hire the divider separately for a known fee to divide their share, or they can hire the divider jointly by a single known fee to divide the property, in which case each partner owes a portion of the fee proportionate to their share. Al-Shafi'i holds this view. Abu Hanifa stated that the fee should be divided equally among the partners based on the number of heads, arguing that the work done on one share is equivalent to the work done on another, irrespective of the size of the shares. The counterargument is that the fee relates to ownership, so it should be divided according to the ownership shares, similar to the maintenance of a slave, and that work on larger shares is greater.