Section
If two riders collide without intending it, the ʿaqilah of each must pay half of a light diyah. If they collide deliberately, each ʿaqilah owes half of an aggravated diyah; and if only one of them acted deliberately, the ruling for each follows his own case. The sound view is that each of them must also make two expiations. Should both men and their mounts die, the same applies, and each estate is charged with one-half of the value of the other’s animal.

The same rulings apply when the riders are two boys or two insane persons. Some jurists say that if their guardian was the one who put them on the animals, liability attaches to him; and if a stranger mounted them, he is liable for the two riders and for the two animals.

If the collision involves two pregnant women who miscarry, the diyah is as stated above, and—according to the sound opinion—each woman must offer four expiations. The ʿaqilah of each woman must also pay one-half of the two ghurra payments due for the loss of their fetuses.

If the riders were two slaves, the loss is waived. If the collision is between two ships, they are treated like two mounts: the captains are regarded as riders when the vessels belong to them. If cargo owned by a third party is on board, each captain is responsible for one-half of its loss; and if the two ships themselves belong to a third party, each must pay one-half of their value.

When a ship is on the verge of sinking, it is permissible—and indeed obligatory for the sake of saving the passengers—to throw the cargo overboard. Whoever jettisons someone else’s property without permission is liable; otherwise, he is not. If he says, “Throw your goods and I guarantee them,” or, “I take the liability,” he is liable; but if he merely says, “Throw them,” he is not liable according to the school. Liability rests on the person who requests the jettison out of fear of drowning, provided that the benefit of throwing the goods is not restricted to the owner of what is thrown.

If a stone fired from a catapult rebounds and kills one of the men who launched it, his share of the diyah is waived, and the remainder is borne by the ʿaqilah of the other operators. If the stone strikes someone else, then, if they did not intend him, the killing is accidental; but if they did, the correct view—when hitting the target is more likely than missing—is that it is intentional homicide.

Section
The diyah for accidental or quasi-intentional homicide is borne by the ʿaqilah, namely the male agnates, excluding ascendants and descendants. Some hold that a son—specifically, the grandson of the victim’s paternal uncle—also participates; the nearer relative is given precedence, and if any amount remains it passes to the next in line, including a relative linked through both parents. According to the earlier (qadīm) view, they share equally. Thereafter, the liability passes to a former master.