Courtyard or open plot (arsa)

العَرْصَة

In the lexicon, arsa is the courtyard of a house, an open wide space with no building on it; some say any open place without building ¹. Jurists use it in two senses: a narrow one, the open yard between houses, and a broader one, any plot of land whether or not it lies between houses ¹. Related words are hareem, what surrounds a thing and serves its rights and uses, and fina', what extends from a thing and serves its purposes ¹ ². In a sale, an arsa with a building and trees on it enters the sale when described as land, courtyard or plot; pre-emption over it is disputed: the Malikis deny pre-emption over the courtyard, while the Shafi'is and Hanbalis tie it to whether the plot can be divided ² ³. In oaths and bequests the rules differ: a person who swears not to enter a house that collapses into a courtyard does not breach the oath according to the majority, and building on a bequeathed courtyard counts as retraction according to the Hanafis, Shafi'is and Hanbalis ⁴ ⁵.

Summary

In the lexicon, arsa is the courtyard of a house, an open wide space with no building on it ¹. Jurists use it in a narrow sense, the open yard between houses, and a broad sense, any plot of land whether or not it lies between houses ¹.

Related terms

Hareem is what surrounds a thing and serves its rights and uses; fina' is what extends from a thing and serves its purposes ¹ ².

Sale and pre-emption

In a sale, a plot described as land, courtyard or open ground enters the sale with its building and trees ². Pre-emption over it is disputed: the Malikis do not allow it over the courtyard, while the Shafi'is and Hanbalis tie it to whether the plot can be divided ² ³.

Oaths and bequests

A person who swears not to enter a house that collapses into an open courtyard does not, according to the majority, breach the oath; the Hanafis distinguish between pointing to a particular house and describing it ⁴. Building on a courtyard that has been bequeathed counts as retraction for the Hanafis, Shafi'is and Hanbalis ⁴ ⁵.

Where it is discussed

The courtyard is discussed in acknowledgement, hire, loan and partition ⁵.

Sources

al-Mawsu'a al-Fiqhiyya al-Kuwaitiyya, Noor-Book copy (file named v3) , p.11549

al-Mawsu'a al-Fiqhiyya al-Kuwaitiyya, Noor-Book copy (file named v3) , p.11550

al-Mawsu'a al-Fiqhiyya al-Kuwaitiyya, Noor-Book copy (file named v3) , p.11552

al-Mawsu'a al-Fiqhiyya al-Kuwaitiyya, Noor-Book copy (file named v3) , p.11553

al-Mawsu'a al-Fiqhiyya al-Kuwaitiyya, Noor-Book copy (file named v3) , p.11554

Biting and the liability for injury it causes (add)

In the lexicon, add is gripping a thing with the teeth and holding it. If a person bites another without right and a wound results, the biter must pay the damages for the wound, assessed as a just award by experts. If one man bites another's hand and the bitten man pulls it free so that the biter's front teeth fall out, most jurists hold that there is no liability, relying on a prophetic judgement in such a case; the Shafi'is limit this to a bitten man who chose the easiest means of release, and the preferred Maliki view requires compensation.