evidence that he had bred it; so the Messenger of Allah ﷺ ruled in favor of the one who held it in his possession, because the presumption supports him, his side is the stronger, and his oath outweighs the oath of the claimant.

Therefore, when two sets of evidence are in direct conflict, the possessor’s hand remains over what he holds and his claim is preferred, just as if neither party had produced any evidence. This is the fatwā endorsed by the revivalist Imām, Shaykh Muḥammad ibn ʿAbd al-Wahhāb, and it is likewise the view of the three other Imams and the scholars of Medina.