is used to hire a mount for him, and he retains a claim against the carrier for the remainder as an outstanding debt. Muhammad said, “This applies whether he has paid the hire charge or not. If he has not paid it, however, he must pay it and then claim his proportionate share alongside the creditors from that sum and the carrier’s remaining assets. If he receives half the hire charge, his remaining claim against the carrier is for half the transport owed, not its monetary price.”

Section

If, then, we distinguish two kinds of hire—hire under an undertaking to provide an animal and hire of a specified animal—a hire contract must take one of three forms. The first explicitly identifies a particular animal, as when someone says, “I hire from you this animal of yours,” or “your such-and-such animal.” The ruling is the same whether or not he adds, “that very animal.” The second explicitly establishes an undertaking to provide an animal, as when he says, “Hire me an animal—a mule, a donkey, or a riding camel—of such-and-such a description,” without naming or pointing to a particular animal. The third leaves this distinction unstated, as when he merely says, “I hire from you your animal—your mule, donkey, or riding camel,” without adding anything further.

The first two forms require no further discussion: an undertaking to provide an animal is governed by the rules for such undertakings, and hire of a specified animal by the rules for specified animals, as explained above. As for the third form, when someone merely says, “I hire from you your mule or your riding camel,” it is treated as an undertaking to provide an animal, not as hire of a specified animal, unless he identifies it by naming or pointing to it. Ibn al-Qāsim transmitted this from Mālik—may Allah Most High have mercy on him—in the Book of Riding Camels and Animals. Ibn Habīb adopted this position. Concerning a craftsman, he said, “If a man commissions him to perform some work, its completion remains an obligation chargeable to his estate if he dies before finishing the commissioned work, unless the man stipulates that he must perform it himself, or sought him out specifically for his care and precision.”

The same view was related from Asbagh and described as the position expressed by Mālik—may Allah Most High have mercy on him. Ibn al-Qāsim also transmitted something similar from Mālik—may Allah Most High have mercy on him—at the beginning of his transmission in the Book of Contractual Rewards and Hire. This accords with what appears in the Book of Vows in al-Mudawwana, where he said concerning someone who swears that he will not