If sheep eat from the farms during the day, and the custom is that the owner of the sheep is liable, what is the ruling?

The questioner : If the sheep, or rather the livestock, are left in a place where the resident is not liable, and it is well known in the region that the owner of the livestock is the one who prevents them from going into people's property, does this apply to the land?

The Shaykh : The meaning is that the custom among them is that they do not let their livestock roam free.

The questioner : Because it is not worth it.

The Shaykh : Some scholars say that if the farms are connected to one another, it is not possible to let them roam; if he lets them roam, he is liable. But if it is in the open desert, far from the farms, and he lets them roam to graze on what Allah the Exalted has brought forth from the earth, and then they turn toward these farms, then in that case he is liable.

The questioner : You return the value, meaning.

The Shaykh : This does not require a custom, because the one who sends them among the farms is being negligent; it is not something that Allah the Exalted has grown. In reality, this is an encroachment.

The questioner : It may be that the Shaykh said something, may Allah have mercy on him, but in the middle of a mixed temperament.

The Shaykh : Or coming out of a farm, where a person cannot let them roam.