When a defendant settles a claim by offering the disputed property itself in exchange for the claimant dropping the claim on the defendant's property, upon whom does Shuf'ah apply?

General Chapter

Al-Mughni

Book of Preemption (Shuf'ah)

Book 23 · Issue 2 · Bab 1

Open in Qurani

Primary text

If the denying party tells the claimant, 'Take the third you claim in exchange for the third of your (the claimant's) house,' and the claimant agrees, the claimant who receives a property portion has no Shuf'ah on what they received. However, Shuf'ah is obligatory upon the denying party (the defendant) concerning the third of their house that the claimant took, because the defendant asserts they took it as compensation for their established ownership.

Supporting text

The companions of Al-Shafi'i hold that Shuf'ah is also obligatory upon the claimant concerning the third of the property they received, asserting that since this is an exchange between both parties for two specified shares, Shuf'ah is necessitated in both, similar to a transaction between two confessing parties.