the distance over which they disagree, and the owner is entitled to the customary hire charge for the distance on which they agree. If this exceeds what he has received, the hirer pays him the difference; if it is less, the owner returns the excess. The same applies if both refuse to swear. If one swears and the other refuses, the account of the party who swears is accepted.
In the third case, where the hirer’s account is plausible but the owner’s is not, both swear oaths according to Ibn al-Qāsim’s position. The hire charge already paid is apportioned between the two distances: the owner retains the portion corresponding to the distance on which they agree and returns to the hirer the portion corresponding to the disputed distance. The same applies if both refuse to swear. If one swears and the other refuses, the account of the party who swears is accepted.
Section
Apply the same reasoning when they disagree over both matters: the hire charge and the destination. According to Ibn al-Qāsim’s position, the owner’s account concerning the destination is always accepted, whether plausible or not. His account is also accepted concerning the hire charge he has received: namely, that he received it only for travel as far as the destination he acknowledges. The hirer’s account is accepted that he hired for only such-and-such an amount for the acknowledged distance, and that this amount was for travel as far as the destination he claims, provided he has not yet paid it. The hire charge is apportioned over the distances to both destinations, and he owes the portion corresponding to the first destination.
If either party gives an implausible account, it is not accepted; rather, the other party’s account is accepted if it is plausible. The exception is the owner’s account concerning the destination, as explained above. If both give implausible accounts, both swear oaths, and the hirer owes the customary hire charge for the first distance. The same applies if both refuse to swear. If one swears and the other refuses, the account of the party who swears is accepted, whether plausible or not.
The hirer must in all cases be allowed to ride as far as the first destination, because rescinding the hire contract before reaching it, while he is on the road, would cause him harm. If, however, their disagreement arises before he begins riding, or after he has travelled only a short distance from which returning would cause neither party harm, both swear oaths and the entire hire contract is rescinded. Allah knows best, and success comes through Him.
Section
On mutual rescission of hire contracts, and which forms are permissible and which are not. Mutual rescission of a hire contract