or mudaraba (speculative partnership), it is invalid, and he is liable for it; for the agent's contract is binding on the principal, and the Muslim's ownership of wine and pork cannot be established, so it is similar to if he bought a carcass with it, or engaged in usury. As for that whose matter is hidden and unknown, the default is its permissibility and lawfulness. As for the Magian, Ahmad disliked partnering and interacting with him, stating: "I do not like associating or interacting with him; for he considers lawful what this one does not." Hanbal said: My uncle said: "Do not partner with him nor enter into a mudaraba with him." And this, and Allah knows best, is by way of recommendation, to abstain from interacting with him, and it is a dislike of partnering with him; even if one did so, it would be valid, because his disposal [of wealth] is valid.

827 - Issue: He said: (And partnership of bodies [sharakat al-abdan] is permissible.)

The meaning of 'partnership of bodies' is for two or more individuals to partner in what they earn with their own hands, such as craftsmen who partner to work in their crafts, so whatever Allah the Almighty provides is between them. And if they partner in what they acquire from permissible sources, such as firewood, fodder, fruits gathered from mountains, minerals, and spoils from the House of War, this is permissible. Ahmad stated this explicitly in a report from Abu Talib, saying: "There is no harm in a group partnering with their bodies, when they have no capital, like fishermen, porters, and carriers." The Prophet (may Allah bless him and grant him peace) established a partnership between 'Ammar, Sa'd, and Ibn Mas'ud, and Sa'd brought two captives, while they [the others] did not bring anything. Ahmad explained the nature of the partnership regarding the spoils of war, saying: "They partner in what they obtain of the spoils of the killed person; for the killer has exclusive right to it over the other warriors." Malik held this view as well. Abu Hanifa said: "It is valid in craft, but it is not valid in the acquisition of permissible items, such as gathering fodder or acquiring spoils; for the requirement of a partnership is agency, and agency is not valid in these matters; for whoever acquires it, owns it." Al-Shafi'i said: "Partnerships of bodies are all invalid; for they are partnerships without capital, thus they are not valid, just as if the crafts were different." Our evidence is what Abu Dawud and al-Athram narrated with their chains of transmission from Abu 'Ubayda, from 'Abdullah, who said: "I, Sa'd, and 'Ammar entered into a partnership...