the time of eating, it is like the fig. This is because its shell is treated as part of its components, due to it being essential to it and because it serves its benefit. The fourth type is what appears in two shells, such as walnuts and almonds; this also belongs to the seller upon the very appearance, because its shell generally does not detach from it until it is harvested, so it resembles the previous type. Furthermore, the shell of the almond is eaten along with it, so it resembles the fig. The Qadi said: If the outer shell cracks, it belongs to the seller, and if it does not crack, it belongs to the buyer, like the palm fruit. If this were to be considered, the seller would rarely be entitled to anything, and it is not valid to draw an analogy to the palm fruit; for the palm fruit must crack, and its cracking is for its benefit, whereas this is the opposite, as it does not crack on the tree, and its cracking before it is complete ruins it. The fifth type is what shows its blossom, then it scatters, and the fruit appears, such as apples, apricots, pears (3), and peaches. When its blossom opens and the fruit appears in it, it belongs to the seller; if it has not appeared, it belongs to the buyer. It has been said: what has shed its blossom belongs to the seller, and what has not belongs to the buyer, because the fruit does not appear until the blossom scatters. The Qadi said: It is possible that it belongs to the seller upon the appearance of its blossom, because the palm fruit, when it cracks, is like the blossom of trees. The nodes inside the palm fruit are not the fruit itself, but rather receptacles for it, where the fruit grows inside them and emerges, then the node ends up at its tip, which is the calyx of the date. Al-Khiraqi’s statement implies what we have said, because he conditioned the seller's entitlement to it on the fruit being evident, [and] its blossom does not become evident. The fruit does not become evident until its blossom opens (4). It may become evident when it grows before shedding the blossom, so it is linked to its appearance. Grapes are in the position of those that have a blossom, because something small like millet seeds appears on their clusters, then it opens and scatters, like the scattering (5) of the blossom, so it is of this category. And God knows best. This differs from the palm fruit, because what is in the palm fruit is the fruit itself, which grows and changes, while the blossoms in these fruits fall off and disappear, and the fruit appears. The school of Al-Shafi'i in this entire section is as we have mentioned here, or close to it, and there is a difference between them according to what we have mentioned of the disagreement, or close to it.