the hull. Qadi Ismaʿil relates that al-Hurabi transmitted from Malik that the ship’s hull is counted among both the goods that are cast away and those that remain.
Malik and the great majority of his companions, however, hold that everything purchased for personal use—whether slaves, clothing, jewelry, household furnishings, weapons, a copy of the Quran, or anything else acquired for personal possession and not for trade—is completely exempt: if any of it is jettisoned the loss falls exclusively on its owner, and the merchants’ goods are not called upon to share it; likewise, when the merchants throw some of their merchandise overboard, the owners of such personal effects do not share their burden.
Muhammad ibn ʿAbd Allah ibn ʿAbd al-Hakam dissented, arguing that property kept for personal use and property held for trade are the same in this regard: the merchants must contribute toward it and it toward the merchants’ goods, because the operative reason is the commercial nature of the voyage. Several of our later scholars have inclined to this opinion, and—God willing—it is the sounder view on rational grounds.
If two ships collide and one of them is damaged, the other bears no liability, unlike the case of two horses that collide. Neither the shipowner nor the crew is liable for anything arising from such a collision unless evidence proves that they acted recklessly, exceeded proper limits, and exposed the vessel to manifest risk; in that event they are liable.
It is preferable that the debtor himself dictate the debt he owes; yet if the creditor dictates it in the debtor’s presence and with his approval, or if a third party does so in the presence and with the consent of both, it is valid, and the scribe’s fee is borne by both parties. If the right belongs to several claimants whose shares differ, the scribe’s fee is nevertheless divided equally among them.
When a wall is jointly owned by two people, neither of them may dispose of it without the permission of the other; the same rule applies to every kind of shared property. And if the shared wall collapses after having served as a barrier and a screen between—