the liability rests on them both.
When a slave commits an accidental offence, his master is told: “Either hand him over in satisfaction of the claim, or ransom him by paying the indemnity.” If the master does hand him over, the injured party becomes his owner. If he ransoms him and the slave re-offends, the ruling for the second offence is the same as for the first. Should the slave commit yet another offence, the master is told: “Either surrender him to the guardians of the two offences—who will divide him between them in proportion to their rights—or ransom him by paying the indemnity for each offence.” If the master emancipates the slave without knowing of the offence, he is liable for whichever is less: the slave’s value or the indemnity. But if he sells or frees him after learning of the offence, the full indemnity falls on him.
If a mudabbar or an umm walad commits an accidental offence, the master is liable for whichever is less: the slave’s value or the indemnity. Should such a slave commit a second offence after the master, under court order, has already paid his value to the first claimant, nothing further is due from the master; the guardian of the second offence must turn to the guardian of the first and share what he has received. If, however, the master paid the value without a judicial ruling, the second guardian may choose: he may pursue the master or the guardian of the first offence.
When a wall leans toward the Muslims’ public road, its owner is asked to demolish it and witnesses are summoned against him. If he fails to demolish it within a period sufficient for the task and it collapses, he is liable for every loss of life or property that results. It makes no difference whether the demand for demolition comes from a Muslim or from a dhimmī. If the wall leans toward a private house, only the owner of that house may demand its removal.
If two horsemen collide and both die, each rider’s ʿāqilah must pay the blood-money for the other.
When a man accidentally kills a slave, he must pay the slave’s value, but it may not exceed 10,000 dirhams. If the slave is worth 10,000 dirhams or more, the amount assessed is 9,990 dirhams. In the case of a female slave whose value exceeds the blood-money, the payment is fixed at 4,990 dirhams. For the loss of a slave’s hand, half of his value is payable, but it may not exceed 4,995 dirhams. Every fractional assessment applied to the blood-money of a free person is applied in the same proportion to the value of a slave.
If someone strikes a pregnant woman in the abdomen and she miscarries a stillborn fetus, he must pay a ghurra (one-twentieth of the full blood-money).