What is the ruling if retrieving a body from a well requires mutilation (mathla) and the well is not needed?
General Chapter
Al-Mughni
Book of Funerals
Primary text
If the deceased cannot be removed except through mutilation and the well is not needed, the well must be filled in, making it the grave.
Supporting text
If filling the well harms passersby, the body must be removed using hooks, even if it leads to mutilation, because this reconciles multiple rights: the benefit of passersby, washing the deceased, and potentially avoiding greater offense since decay and putrefaction might occur otherwise.