then the second grantee has no right to take it away.

If, however, the first grantee gave it to him gratuitously out of his land grant, and the second grantee has the right either to make such a gift or not, then the matter rests with the second grantee. The crop belongs to whoever sowed it, while the landholder is entitled to the customary rent from the time the land was granted to him until its use comes to an end. Before it was granted to him, however, the right to its use belonged to the first grantee, who made the gift, not to the second. And Allah knows best.

He—may Allah have mercy on him—was also asked:

A cowherd took the cattle out to water them at a watering place customarily used for that purpose. When he had finished watering them, one of the cows was stricken with an illness from Allah Most High and fell into the water. People tried to get it to stand, but it could not. They dragged it onto dry land so that it might stand, but it still could not. It had not been struck or otherwise harmed. Its owner’s agent and a group of people came and saw what had happened to it. They considered it best to slaughter it, so they did so. Must the cowherd pay its value?

He answered:

The cowherd owes nothing if he was neither negligent nor guilty of wrongdoing. Indeed, if matters were as they described, those who slaughtered it likewise owe nothing, for they acted properly: slaughtering it was better than leaving it to die. A shepherd did something similar during the lifetime of the Prophet (may Allah bless him and grant him peace), and no objection was raised by