he may proceed against whichever of them he wishes. If he collects from one of them that guarantor’s share of the debt, there is disagreement as to whether the guarantor who paid may seek reimbursement from any fellow guarantor he encounters, so that they bear an equal burden. Some hold that he may; this was the view adopted by Abū Ishāq al-Tūnisī. Others hold that he may not, and this is correct, because he paid his own share on his own behalf and has no recourse for it, just as with a debt originally owed by him. A similar ruling appears in Ibn al-Mawwāz’s book and in Abū Zayd’s transmitted account. It also accords with the statement in al-Mudawwana attributed to someone other than Ibn al-Qāsim concerning the case of the six guarantors. The treatment of that case is incomplete, and some aspects are obscure. I shall therefore explain what is obscure, clarify what is difficult, and supply what is missing, Allah willing. My success comes only through Allah.

Section
Its Interpretation, Explanation, and Clarification

If someone asks for an explanation of the case of the six guarantors, attributed to someone other than Ibn al-Qāsim in the Book of Guarantees in al-Mudawwana, and wishes to understand the rules governing recourse against fellow guarantors by one who has paid the entire debt, or more than his own share, by virtue of the guarantee—whether he encounters them together or separately—and how these rules are applied, the answer is as follows. Anyone who pays an amount on behalf of his fellow guarantors under the guarantee has recourse against them equally for what he paid on their behalf if he encounters them together. If he encounters them separately, one after another, he has recourse against each person he encounters for that person’s share of what he paid on his behalf under the guarantee, together with half the amount attributable to what he paid on behalf of that person’s fellow guarantors.

If he encounters two of them together, he has recourse against each for that person’s share of what he paid on his behalf under the guarantee, together with [a proportion] of the amount attributable to what he paid on behalf of the others. If he encounters three of them together, he has recourse against each for his share of that amount, together with three quarters of the amount attributable to what he paid under the guarantee on behalf of those absent. If two of them encounter one fellow guarantor, they have recourse against him for what they paid toward his own share of the original debt, together with one third of what they paid on behalf of his fellow guarantors under the guarantee. If three of them encounter one fellow guarantor, they have recourse against him for what they paid on his behalf in respect of