—not the price it fetched on the day it was ruined in his care, nor the higher of the two appraisals. This applies in both of the aforementioned rulings whenever the very article itself is no longer found.

If, however, the article is recovered, its owner has the strongest claim to it in every circumstance—whether the market has risen or fallen—because it remains his property and wealth. The usurper is not liable for any loss that results solely from a general decline in market prices, whether the usurped article is an animal or anything else, so long as it is returned in its own form. Should the article itself be reduced by an intrinsic defect or accidental damage, it falls under a separate ruling that will be discussed later, Allah willing.

If the owner finds the article but its value has fallen below what it was on the day of usurpation due to a defect that arose while in the usurper’s hands, and he wishes both to retrieve the article and to claim the shortfall caused by the defect, he is not entitled to do so. He may either take it back with no compensation for the depreciation, or abandon it altogether and claim its value as of the day it was usurped.

The items for which a like replacement must be returned when they are lost include every commodity sold by measure, weight, or count: staple foods, condiments, and likewise gold and silver, whether minted into coin or cast. The same applies to every measured or weighed non-edible good—such as date pits, safflower, iron, lead, cotton, and the like. In none of these cases may the owner claim the item’s monetary value so long as an equivalent exists; if no equivalent can be found, he reverts to its value on the day of usurpation.

Concerning weighed items that are neither food nor drink, there is some disagreement reported from Malik and his companions, yet the distilled position of his school is as I have just stated.

Whoever usurps a thing for which judgment is passed by replacement in kind—at a time when a like replacement could be obtained—but the owner neither litigated nor claimed it until its season had passed and no equivalent could be found, then the owner has the option either to wait until a like replacement becomes available and take it, or to hold the usurper liable for its value on the day it was usurped.

As for merchandise