Who bears liability when two horsemen collide and both animals perish?
General Chapter
Al-Mughni
Book of Beverages (Intoxicants)
Primary text
Each colliding party bears the liability for the value of the other's perished animal, self, or property. This applies whether the animals are horses, mules, donkeys, or camels, and regardless of whether they were moving toward each other or away from each other. This view is held by Abu Hanifa and his companions, and Ishaq. The reasoning is that each animal perished from the impact of the other party's action, making the other party fully liable, unlike a case of mutual injury where liability is split.
Supporting text
Malik and Al-Shafi'i hold that each party owes half the value of the other's loss because the damage resulted from the actions of both, requiring the liability to be split between them, analogous to if one person injures himself and another injures him, resulting in death.