What is the ruling when a subsequent party requests partnership without knowledge of a prior partnership, and the seller agrees to the request?
Chapter on Selling Assets and Fruits
Al-Mughni
Book of Sales
Primary text
If the second party was unaware of the first partnership, they are seeking half the slave, believing the seller owns the entire item. If the seller replies, 'I have partnered you in it,' one view suggests the second party acquires the entire half they requested, leaving nothing for the first partner, as if the seller said, 'I sold you half this slave.' A second view holds that the seller's response applies to half their own share and half the share of the first partner; it is effective regarding their own half, and conditional upon the other partner's ratification for the excess. A third view states the second party receives only a quarter in all cases, because the partnership is established by the seller's utterance, which is the offer transferring ownership, and the seller only owned half the slave, so the offer is limited to half their possession.
Supporting text
Under the second and third views, the second requester has the option (Khiyar), unless we hold that it is conditional upon ratification. In the second view, the other partner may ratify. Another possibility is that the partnership is entirely invalid because the requester asked for half but was only granted a quarter, akin to saying, 'Sell me half this slave,' and being told, 'I sold you a quarter of it.'