What determines the ownership when fruit has been partially fertilized (*ta'bir*)?
Chapter on Selling Assets and Fruits
Al-Mughni
Book of Sales
Primary text
When some part of the fruit has been fertilized while another part has not, what has been fertilized belongs to the seller, and what has not been fertilized belongs to the buyer. This is the explicit position narrated from Ahmad and supported by Abu Bakr, based on a statement whose implication is that what is unfertilized belongs to the buyer. The basis for this division is derived from the supporting evidence regarding pollination.
Supporting text
Ibn Hamid holds that all of it belongs to the seller, following the view of Al-Shafi'i. This is because attributing unfertilized parts to the buyer would lead to harmful co-ownership in the orchard, so the unfertilized portion must follow the fertilized portion, similar to how partial pollination of a single palm makes the entire yield the seller's. Some scholars, like Abu Al-Khattab, do not differentiate between types (*naw'* or *jins*) and assign all to the seller to avoid the ill effects of shared ownership.