based on the evidence of the obligation of Zakat on it, unlike what is less than it. And because it is an amount upon which Zakat becomes obligatory, it is not permissible to sell it as 'ariyya, just like that which exceeds it. As for their statement: "He granted a concession in 'ariyya absolutely," it is not established that the absolute concession precedes the restricted one, nor is it delayed after it; rather, the concession is one, narrated by some as absolute and by others as restricted. Thus, it is mandatory to carry the absolute upon the restricted, and the condition mentioned in one of the two hadiths becomes as if it were mentioned in the other, and that is why it is restricted regarding what exceeds five [awsuq] by agreement.

Section: It is not permissible to purchase more than five awsuq in a single transaction, whether purchased from one person or from a group. Al-Shafi'i said: A person is permitted to sell all the fruits of his orchard as 'araya to one man, or to several men, in repeated contracts, due to the generality of the hadith of Zayd and Sahl, and because every contract that is permitted once is permitted to be repeated, like other sales. Our evidence is [that the prohibition against muzabana is general], from which 'ariyya is excepted for what is less than five awsuq; therefore, what exceeds it remains under the general scope of prohibition. And because that which cannot be contracted for once, if it is of one type, is not permissible in two contracts, such as that which is on the face of the earth, or combining two sisters in marriage. As for the hadith of Sahl, it is restricted to one or two palm trees by the evidence of what we have narrated, and thus it indicates the prohibition of exceeding both of them. Furthermore, the absolute is to be carried upon the restricted as in the single contract. As for a man selling two 'ariyya contracts to two men containing more than five awsuq, it is permissible. Abu Bakr and the Qadi said: It is not permissible, for the reasons we mentioned regarding the purchaser. Our evidence is that the prevailing factor in granting permission is the need of the purchaser, based on what Mahmud ibn Labid narrated, saying: I asked Zayd ibn Thabit: What are these 'araya of yours? So he named some needy men from the Ansar who complained to the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, that fresh dates would arrive while they had no cash in their hands to buy fresh dates to eat, yet they had surplus dried dates, so he granted them a concession to purchase the 'araya based on an estimation (khars) from the dates in their possession which they would eat as fresh dates. And since the cause of the concession is the need of the purchaser, the seller's need to sell is not taken into account, so it is not restricted to five awsuq in his right. And because if we were to consider the need of the purchaser and the need of the seller to sell, it would lead to a situation where no facilitation (irfaq) is achieved, since it rarely happens that both needs coincide, and thus the concession would vanish. If we say it is not permissible, the second contract becomes void. If one purchases two 'ariyya contracts or sells them, and they contain less than five awsuq, it is permissible in a single view.

Section: It is not a condition for the sale of 'ariyya that it be gifted to its seller. This is the apparent view of our companions. Al-Shafi'i also held this view. The apparent statement of al-Khiraqi is that it is a condition. Al-Athram narrated that he heard Ahmad being asked about the explanation of 'araya, and he said: 'Araya is when a man designates his neighbor or relative as a recipient of his fruit due to need or poverty; the recipient (al-mu'arra) may then sell it to whomsoever he wishes. Malik said: The permissible sale of 'araya is that a man designates another as a recipient of some palm trees from his orchard, then the owner of the orchard dislikes the entry of the designated recipient into his orchard because he might be with his family in the orchard, so he would be harmed by his entry; thus, it is permissible for him to buy them from him. They argued that 'ariyya in language refers to the gift of the fruit of palm trees for a year. Abu Ubayd said: I'ra' is for a man to give a man the fruit of his palm trees for that year. The [poet of the Ansar] said, describing the palm trees:

Neither annual nor Rajabiyya (producing fruit in Rajab) ... But rather 'araya in the years of calamity.