Shirkah is the wider fiqh category. It has two major branches:
• joint ownership (شركة الملك) — joint ownership of property.
• contractual partnership (شركة العقد) — partnership created by contract.
Modern use of the word partnership (مشاركة) is usually narrower and mainly refers to commercial capital partnership.
This distinction will be used repeatedly in later applications. Before calculating profit or designing an exit, first identify who owns what, who works in the business and which rule governs genuine loss.