Manīha (lending the milk or fruit of an animal)

Manīha is the gift of a palm, camel or ewe for its yield, such as milk or dates, to be given back; it is a loan, and may be a gift. ¹

A loan allows use of a thing while its substance remains, or transfers use for nothing; the manīha is a kind of loan. The umra gives the use of a thing for the recipient's life; the manīha concerns the milk of a ewe or she-camel and is returned. The hiba transfers the substance free of charge; the manīha is narrower. ^{1 2}

Giving a manīha is a work of goodness, and the hadiths praise it, including the saying that the best of the forty qualities is the lending of a ewe. ²

The Shafi'is hold that 'I give you this camel' is an explicit gift. To lend the milk and young of an animal, one says 'I lend you this ewe to take its milk and offspring'; the loan is valid since the benefits follow the permission. ^{2 3}

The manīha is a loan and the loan rules apply: it must be returned if it survives. The borrower is liable if it perishes through his fault, by agreement; without fault, the Shafi'is and Hanbalis hold him liable unless it perished through permitted use, and the Hanafis do not. ³