Ten by Ten Cubits and the Measure of the Dhira‘

Question

A water pool takes the ruling of [a pool of] ten by ten gaz (the gaz is a unit of length; the Shar‘i gaz equals the cubit, dhira‘). How many fingers make up the Shar‘i gaz according to which the pool should be built?

Answer

One Shar‘i gaz is twenty-four fingers when it is taken to be six fists (qabda); and if it is taken to be seven fists, it will be twenty-eight fingers. In al-Durr al-Mukhtar this is what has been called the chosen [view]: [ar]وَالْمُخْتَارُ ذِرَاعُ الْكِرْبَاسِ، وَهُوَ سَبْعُ قَبَضَاتٍ فَقَطْ، أَيْ بِلَا إِصْبَعٍ قَائِمَةٍ، وَهَذَا مَا فِي الْوَلْوَالِجِيَّةِ، وَفِي الْبَحْرِ…

Source: Fatawa Mahmudiyya

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