What is the ruling regarding liability when an animal is stopped in a narrow pathway?
General Chapter
Al-Mughni
Book of Beverages (Intoxicants)
Primary text
Liability is established for whatever damage the animal inflicts with its leg, hand, or mouth when it is stopped in a narrow pathway because the owner is an aggressor (*muta'addi*) by stopping it there. If the pathway is wide, there are two narrations concerning liability.
Supporting text
One narration states liability applies because the benefit derived from the pathway requires safety, similar to if one left mud in the path causing someone to slip. The second narration states there is no liability because stopping in a wide path does not constitute aggression requiring liability, similar to stopping in unowned land. Mud, however, requires liability because leaving it in the path is an act of aggression.