Chapter on the Liability of One Who Carried Something and Claimed Its Loss
Man Lā Yaḥḍuruh al-Faqīh|Volume 3|Book 2|Chapter 16
Man Lā Yaḥḍuruh al-Faqīh
Volume 3, Book 2, Chapter 16
Chapter on the Liability of One Who Carried Something and Claimed Its Loss
وَ كَانَ أَمِيرُ اَلْمُؤْمِنِينَ عَلَيْهِ اَلسَّلاَمُ يُضَمِّنُ اَلصَّبَّاغَ وَ اَلْقَصَّارَ وَ اَلصَّائِغَ، اِحْتِيَاطاً عَلَى أَمْتِعَةِ اَلنَّاسِ وَ كَانَ لاَ يُضَمِّنُ مِنَ اَلْغَرَقِ وَ اَلْحَرَقِ وَ اَلشَّيْءِ اَلْغَالِبِ وَ إِذَا غَرِقَتِ اَلسَّفِينَةُ وَ مَا فِيهَا فَأَصَابَهُ اَلنَّاسُ فَمَا قَذَفَ بِهِ اَلْبَحْرُ عَلَى سَاحِلِهِ فَهُوَ لِأَهْلِهِ وَ هُمْ أَحَقُّ بِهِ وَ مَا غَاصَ عَلَيْهِ اَلنَّاسُ وَ تَرَكَهُ صَاحِبُهُ فَهُوَ لَهُمْ".
Commander of the Faithful عليه السلام used to hold the dyer, launderer, and goldsmith liable as a precaution to protect people's belongings. However, he did not hold them liable for damages caused by drowning, fire, or overwhelming events. And if a ship sinks along with its cargo, and people recover what washes up on the shore, it belongs to its owners, and they have the strongest claim to it. But whatever people dive for and the owner abandons, it belongs to those who recover it.
- Ṣaḥīḥ al-Faqīh