2. A number of our people have narrated from Ahmad ibn Muhammad from al-Husayn ibn Sa‘id from certain persons of our people from Mu’alla’ abu ‘Uthman from abu Basir who has said the following:

“I once asked abu ‘Abd Allah , about the words of Allah, most Majestic, most Glorious, ‘. . . and Dawud and Sulayman who judged about the plantation which was damaged by the sheep of the people.’ (21:78) Abu ‘Abd Allah , has said, ‘Such damage can happen only during the night. It is the responsibility of the owner of plantation to protect it during the day. The owner of cattle is not required to protect them during the day. During the day it is grazing and feeding. What is damaged is not the responsibility of its owner. The owner of the cattle is responsible to guard them during the night against destroying the people’s plantation. Whatever they may destroy during the night is the responsibility of the owner of cattle and that is what is called al-Nafsh (grazing). Dawud issued judgment in favor of the one whose plantation was damaged against the owner of sheep. Sulayman issued his judgment to pay for the damage in the form of one year’s milk and wool of the sheep to the owner of the plantation.’”