What is the ruling regarding successive amputations performed by different individuals on the same finger?
Chapter on Retaliation (Qawad)
Al-Mughni
Book of Wounds
Primary text
If the uppermost phalanx (al-'ulya) of a person's finger is amputated, and subsequently, the same person's uppermost and middle phalanges (al-wusṭā) of that finger are amputated by another, the first amputee has the right to retaliation (qiṣāṣ) against the uppermost phalanx. The second claimant then has the right to the middle phalanx. The first claimant receives the blood money (arsh) for the uppermost phalanx from the second claimant's award if the second claimant acted first. If the second individual preemptively amputates both phalanges, he has satisfied his right, and retaliation becomes impossible for the first claimant, who is then due the blood money from the perpetrator.
Supporting text
If the cutting of the two phalanges occurred first, the claimant of those two takes precedence in retaliation. If the perpetrator cuts them preemptively, that claimant satisfies their right, and the first claimant receives the middle phalanx in retaliation and the blood money for the uppermost phalanx.