Can the owner of a door near the entrance of a non-thoroughfare alley (darb) move their door closer to the alley entrance?
General Chapter
Al-Mughni
Book of Settlement
Primary text
The owner of the door nearer to the entrance of the non-thoroughfare alley has the right to move their door to the position closer to the alley entrance. This is permissible because their access route (istitraq) to their original door location remains secured. If they wish to return the door to its initial place, they retain that right because their right has not been extinguished. This is the ruling concerning rights of passage in a private alley.
Supporting text
If the owner wishes to move the door opposite the middle of the alley, this is not permitted according to Ahmad, because moving it there introduces the door to a location where there is no established right of passage. However, it is also suggested that this might be permissible because the owner could have originally placed the door anywhere at the beginning of the structure, and moving it without losing the right implies this is allowed, similar to how moving the entire wall is permitted.