its owner authorized its destruction. If he swallowed it through usurpation (ghasb), there are two opinions: First, his abdomen should not be incised, and the value should be paid from his estate, because if it is not incised for the sake of a child whose life is hoped for, it is even more deserving not to be incised for the sake of wealth. Second, it is incised if the amount is substantial, because this involves repelling harm from the owner by returning his wealth to him, from the deceased by clearing his liability, and from the heirs by preserving the estate for them. This differs from the fetus in two respects: first, that its life is not certain; second, that it was not acquired through his criminal act. Based on the first opinion, if his body has decomposed and it is highly probable that the wealth will appear and be recovered from the deceased's remains, it is permissible to exhume and extract it. Abu Dawud (9) narrated that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said: "This is the grave of Abu Righal, and the sign of that is that he has a golden branch with him; if you exhume him, you will find it with him." The people rushed to it and extracted the branch. If the deceased had earrings in his ear or a ring on his finger, it should be taken. If it is difficult to remove, it should be filed down and removed, because leaving it would be a waste of wealth.

Section: If something of value falls into a grave, it is exhumed and retrieved. Ahmad said: "If a gravedigger forgets his shovel (12) in the grave, it is permissible for him to exhume it (13)." Regarding an object that falls into the grave, such as an axe or dirhams, he said: "It is exhumed." He added: "If it has value," meaning it is exhumed. It was asked: "What if the guardians of the deceased give him [its equivalent]?" He replied: "If they give him his right, [he can take] whatever he wants!" It has been narrated that al-Mughira ibn Shu'ba threw his ring into the grave of the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) and then said: "My ring." A place therein was opened, and al-Mughira took his ring. He used to say: "I am the closest of you in association with the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) (14)."