A group went out into the desert in pursuit of a thief, and one of them died of thirst, so did they rule that the thief is liable for compensation?

Question:
The Honorable Shaykh, may Allah grant you success, says: In our rural areas, outside this country, if one of the animals is stolen and its owners go out in pursuit of it, and if a camel falls or one of the pursuers dies of thirst, the thief is liable for all of that; because he is the cause.

Answer:
This is a ruling of the pre-Islamic age of ignorance (jahiliyyah). The case is to be presented to the Shari'ah court, and it rules in accordance with the Book and the Sunnah. As for the customs of the rural areas and the Bedouins, these are matters of the pre-Islamic age of ignorance (jahiliyyah).