he holds him liable for its value at the highest point it reached from the time of his taking possession of it until the time of its destruction; because whatever was before the taking of possession did not enter into his guarantee. If it has a rental value, he has the right to recourse against the usurper for all of it, or if he wishes, he may seek recourse against the purchaser for the rent of the duration it remained in his possession, and the remainder from the usurper. The discussion regarding the recourse of each of them against the other will be mentioned later, if Allah the Almighty wills.

Section: If he usurps wheat and grinds it, or a sheep and slaughters and roasts it, or iron and fashions it into knives or vessels, or wood and carves it into a door or a coffin, or a garment and cuts and sews it, the ownership of the original owner does not cease. He takes it back along with the indemnity for its reduction if it has diminished, and the usurper has no right to anything for his increase in it, according to the sound opinion in the Madhhab. This is the statement of al-Shafi'i. Abu Hanifa said regarding all these matters: The right of the owner over it is severed, except that it is not permissible for the usurper to dispose of it except by way of charity, unless he pays its value, at which point he owns it and may dispose of it as he wishes. Muhammad ibn al-Hakam narrated from Ahmad something that indicates that the usurper owns it upon paying its value, but it is an early opinion from which he retreated; for Muhammad died about twenty years before Abu Abd Allah (Ahmad ibn Hanbal). They used as evidence what was narrated: That the Prophet (may Allah bless him and grant him peace) visited a group of the Ansar in their home, and they presented him with a roasted sheep. He took a bite of it, but he began to chew it and could not swallow it. He said: "This sheep is informing me that it was taken without a rightful claim." They said: "Yes, O Messenger of Allah, we looked in the market but did not find one, so we took a sheep belonging to some of our neighbors, and we shall satisfy them with its price." The Prophet (may Allah bless him and grant him peace) said: "Feed it to the captives." Abu Dawud narrated it with a similar wording. This indicates that the right of its owners was severed from it, and were it not for that, he would have ordered its return to them.