Tafseer of The Table · Al-Maaida · 5:95
O you who have believed, do not kill game while you are in the state of ihram. And whoever of you kills it intentionally - the penalty is an equivalent from sacrificial animals to what he killed, as judged by two just men among you as an offering [to Allah] delivered to the Ka'bah, or an expiation: the feeding of needy people or the equivalent of that in fasting, that he may taste the consequence of his deed. Allah has pardoned what is past; but whoever returns [to violation], then Allah will take retribution from him. And Allah is Exalted in Might and Owner of Retribution.
Important: The Arabic source text is always authoritative. This translation is a study aid and has not been verified by scholars — do not use it as a basis for religious proof or for deriving rulings (ahkam). When in doubt, always consult the Arabic text and a qualified scholar.
The explanation of the saying of the Exalted: O you who believe, do not kill game while you are in the state of ritual consecration (ḥurum), and whoever of you kills it deliberately, his recompense is the like of what he killed, from the livestock .
The Exalted, whose remembrance is exalted, says: O you who have held Allah and His Messenger to be truthful, do not kill game which I have set forth to you — and that is the game of the land, not the game of the sea — while you are in the state of consecration (ḥurum) . He says: while you are in the state of ritual consecration (muḥrim) through the pilgrimage (ḥajj) or the lesser pilgrimage (ʿumra). And "al-ḥurum" is the plural of "ḥarām"; the masculine and the feminine are expressed in it by one and the same word. You say: "this is a man in the state of consecration (rajul ḥarām)" and "this woman is in the state of consecration (imraʾa ḥarām)". But when one says "muḥrim", then for the woman one says "muḥrima". And "al-iḥrām" is the entering into it; one says: "the people entered into iḥrām" when they enter the sacred month (al-shahr al-ḥarām), or the sacred precinct (al-ḥaram). The explanation of the words is therefore: do not kill game while you are in the state of consecration through the pilgrimage or the lesser pilgrimage.
And His word: and whoever of you kills it deliberately — this is a notification from Allah, whose remembrance is exalted, to His servants, of the ruling concerning the one among the consecrated who kills game, while He had forbidden him the deliberate killing of it. Then the people of interpretation (ahl al-taʾwīl) differed about the nature of the intent for which Allah imposed upon the one who commits it the expiation (kaffāra) and the recompense (jazāʾ) for killing game.
Some of them said: that is the intent to kill game while the killer has forgotten his state of consecration during the killing. And he said: if he kills it while remembering his state of consecration and kills deliberately, then there is no ruling upon him and his affair is left to Allah. They said: this is a matter too grave for a judgment to be passed about it or for there to be an expiation for it. Mention of who said that:
9782 - Sufyān ibn Wakīʿ related to us, saying: Ibn ʿUyayna related to us, on the authority of Ibn Abī Najīḥ, on the authority of Mujāhid: and whoever of you kills it deliberately, his recompense is the like of what he killed, from the livestock — whoever of you kills it while having forgotten his state of consecration, but deliberately intending the killing, that is the one concerning whom judgment is passed. But if he kills it while remembering his state of consecration and kills deliberately, then judgment is not passed concerning him.
* - Ibn Wakīʿ and Ibn Ḥumayd related to us, both saying: Jarīr related to us, on the authority of Layth, on the authority of Mujāhid, concerning the one who deliberately kills game while knowing that he is in the state of consecration and deliberately intends the killing; he said: judgment is not passed concerning him, and there is no valid pilgrimage for him.
And His word: and whoever of you kills it deliberately — he said: that is the intent that requires expiation, and in it is the expiation (kaffāra). And the error (khaṭaʾ) is that he strikes it while having forgotten his state of consecration, deliberately intending the killing, or that he strikes it while intending something else; concerning that case judgment is passed once.
* - Muḥammad ibn ʿAmr related to me, saying: Abū ʿĀṣim related to us, saying: ʿĪsā related to us, on the authority of Ibn Abī Najīḥ, on the authority of Mujāhid: do not kill game while you are in the state of consecration, and whoever of you kills it deliberately — not forgetting his state of consecration and not intending something else, then he has acted unlawfully and there is no dispensation (rukhṣa) for him. But whoever kills it while having forgotten it, or intended something else and missed in doing so, that is the intent that requires expiation.
* - Yaʿqūb related to us, saying: Hushaym related to us, on the authority of Layth, on the authority of Mujāhid, concerning His word: and whoever of you kills it deliberately — he said: deliberately intending the killing, having forgotten his state of consecration.
* - Yaḥyā ibn Ṭalḥa al-Yarbūʿī related to me, saying: al-Faḍl ibn ʿIyāḍ related to us, on the authority of Layth, on the authority of Mujāhid, he said: the intent is the error that requires expiation.
* - al-Ḥasan ibn ʿArafa related to us, saying: Yūnus ibn Muḥammad related to us, saying: ʿAbd al-Wāḥid ibn Ziyād related to us, saying: Layth related to us, saying: Mujāhid said concerning the word of Allah: and whoever of you kills it deliberately, his recompense is the like of what he killed, from the livestock , he said: the intent that Allah the Exalted mentioned is that he strikes the game while intending something else and then strikes it; that is the intent that requires expiation. As for the one who strikes it without having forgotten it and without intending something else, judgment is not passed concerning him; that is a matter too grave for judgment to be passed about it.
* - Ibn Wakīʿ and Muḥammad ibn al-Muthannā related to us, both saying: Muḥammad ibn Jaʿfar related to us, on the authority of Shuʿba, on the authority of al-Haytham, on the authority of al-Ḥakam, on the authority of Mujāhid, that he said about this verse: and whoever of you kills it deliberately — he said: he kills it deliberately intending the killing, having forgotten his state of consecration.
* - Ibn al-Muthannā related to us, saying: Ibn Abī ʿAdī related to us, saying: Shuʿba related to us, on the authority of al-Haytham, on the authority of al-Ḥakam, on the authority of Mujāhid, the same.
9783 - Hannād related to us, saying: Ibn Abī Zāʾida related to us, saying: Ibn Jurayj said: and whoever of you kills it deliberately — not forgetting his state of consecration and not intending something else, then he has acted unlawfully and there is no dispensation for him. But whoever kills it while having forgotten his state of consecration, or intended something else and missed in doing so, that is the intent that requires expiation.
9784 - Ibn Wakīʿ related to us, saying: Sahl ibn Yūsuf related to us, on the authority of ʿAmr, on the authority of al-Ḥasan: and whoever of you kills it deliberately — namely the game, while having forgotten his state of consecration; but whoever transgresses afterward deliberately against the game while remembering his state of consecration.
* - ʿAmr ibn ʿAlī related to us, saying: Muḥammad ibn Abī ʿAdī related to us, saying: Ismāʿīl ibn Muslim related to us, saying: al-Ḥasan used to give a legal ruling concerning the one who deliberately kills game while remembering his state of consecration: judgment is not passed concerning him. Ismāʿīl said: and Ḥammād said, on the authority of Ibrāhīm, something similar.
9785 - ʿAmr ibn ʿAlī related to us, saying: ʿAffān ibn Muslim related to us, saying: Ḥammād ibn Salama related to us, saying: Jaʿfar ibn Abī Waḥshiyya charged me to ask ʿAmr ibn Dīnār about this verse: and whoever of you kills it deliberately, his recompense is the like of what he killed, from the livestock — the verse. So I asked him, and he said: ʿAṭāʾ used to say: he has the choice; whatever he wishes, that he does — if he wishes he sacrifices a sacrificial animal, if he wishes he feeds, and if he wishes he fasts. I conveyed that to Jaʿfar and said: what have you heard about that? He hesitated a moment, then began to laugh and did not wish to tell me, and then said: Saʿīd ibn Jubayr used to say: judgment is passed concerning him with a sacrificial animal from the livestock that reaches the Kaʿba; and if he cannot find that, the value of it is judged concerning him, after which it is estimated as food and given as alms; and if he cannot find that, fasting is judged concerning him, from three to ten days.
* - Ibn al-Barqī related to us, saying: Ibn Abī Maryam related to us, saying: Nāfiʿ ibn Yazīd informed us, saying: Ibn Jurayj informed me, saying: Mujāhid said: and whoever of you kills it deliberately — not forgetting his state of consecration and not intending something else, then he has acted unlawfully and there is no dispensation for him. But whoever kills it while having forgotten it, or intended something else and missed in doing so, that is the intent that requires expiation.
9786 - Yūnus related to us, saying: Ibn Wahb informed us, saying: Ibn Zayd said: as for the one who deliberately intends the game while having forgotten his state of consecration, or being ignorant that killing it is unlawful for the non-consecrated — those are the ones concerning whom judgment is passed. But whoever deliberately kills it after the prohibition of Allah, while knowing that he is in the state of consecration and that it is unlawful, he is left to the vengeance of Allah, and that is the one upon whom Allah has laid vengeance.
* - Yaʿqūb related to me, saying: Hushaym related to us, on the authority of Layth, on the authority of Mujāhid, concerning His word: and whoever of you kills it deliberately — he said: deliberately intending the killing, having forgotten his state of consecration.
And others said: no, rather that is the intent of the consecrated one to kill game while remembering his state of consecration. Mention of who said that:
9787 - Hannād related to us, saying: Wakīʿ related to us; and Ibn Wakīʿ related to us, saying: my father related to us, on the authority of Sufyān, on the authority of Ibn Jurayj, on the authority of ʿAṭāʾ, he said: judgment is passed concerning him in the case of intent, in the case of error, and in the case of forgetfulness.
9788 - Hannād related to us, saying: Ibn Abī Zāʾida related to us, saying: Ibn Jurayj related to us; and ʿAmr ibn ʿAlī related to us, saying: Abū ʿĀṣim related to us, on the authority of Ibn Jurayj, he said: Ṭāwūs said: by Allah, Allah said only: and whoever of you kills it deliberately .
9789 - Yaʿqūb ibn Ibrāhīm related to me, saying: Hushaym related to us, saying: one of our companions informed me, on the authority of al-Zuhrī, that he said: the Qurʾān came down concerning the intent, and the Sunna held with regard to the error. He means: concerning the consecrated one who strikes the game.
9790 - al-Muthannā related to me, saying: ʿAbd Allāh ibn Ṣāliḥ related to us, saying: Muʿāwiya ibn Ṣāliḥ related to me, on the authority of ʿAlī ibn Abī Ṭalḥa, on the authority of Ibn ʿAbbās, concerning His word: O you who believe, do not kill game while you are in the state of consecration — he said: if he kills it deliberately or forgetfully, judgment is passed concerning him; and if he relapses deliberately, the punishment is hastened for him, unless Allah forgives him.
9791 - Ibn Wakīʿ related to us, saying: my father related to us, on the authority of al-Aʿmash, on the authority of ʿAmr ibn Murra, on the authority of Saʿīd ibn Jubayr, he said: the expiation is instituted only in the case of intent, but it was made heavy upon them in the case of error, so that they would be God-fearing.
* - ʿAmr ibn ʿAlī related to us, saying: Abū Muʿāwiya and Wakīʿ related to us, both saying: al-Aʿmash related to us, on the authority of ʿAmr ibn Murra, on the authority of Saʿīd ibn Jubayr, something similar.
* - Ibn al-Barqī related to us, saying: Ibn Abī Maryam related to us, saying: Nāfiʿ ibn Yazīd informed us, saying: Ibn Jurayj informed us, saying: Ṭāwūs used to say: by Allah, Allah said only: and whoever of you kills it deliberately .
And the correct position on this, in our view, is that one says: Allah the Exalted forbade the killing of the game of the land to every consecrated person during his state of consecration, as long as he is consecrated, with His word: O you who believe, do not kill game . Then He set forth the ruling for whoever kills anything of it during his state of consecration, deliberately intending the killing of it; and He did not specifically stipulate that it concerns whoever kills it deliberately while having forgotten his state of consecration, nor whoever errs in killing while remembering his state of consecration. Rather, He imposed in the revelation generally the recompense upon every killer of game during his state of consecration who acts deliberately. And it is not permissible to shift the outward meaning of the revelation to a hidden interpretation for which there is no indication from a text of the Book, nor a report from the Messenger of Allah ﷺ, nor a consensus (ijmāʿ) of the community, nor an indication by way of one of these paths. Since that is so, it makes no difference whether the killer of game among the consecrated kills deliberately while remembering his state of consecration, or kills deliberately while having forgotten his state of consecration, or intends something else and then kills it while remembering his state of consecration — in the respect that upon all of them rests the recompense that our Lord the Exalted mentioned, namely: the like of what he killed, from the livestock, as judged by two just men among the Muslims, or as expiation the feeding of the needy or the equivalent of that in fasting . This is the position of ʿAṭāʾ and al-Zuhrī, which we have mentioned from them, and not the position that Mujāhid has stated. As for what the killer is obligated to in the case of error, we have set forth our position on that in our book "The Subtle Word on the Rulings of the Legislations" (Laṭīf al-qawl fī aḥkām al-sharāʾiʿ), by which it is unnecessary to mention it here. This is not the place to mention that, for our aim in this book is the exposition of the interpretation of the revelation, and in the revelation there is no mention of error, such that we would have to mention its rulings.
As for His word: his recompense is the like of what he killed — by it is meant: the recompense of the killed game. The Exalted, whose remembrance is exalted, says: upon the killer of game rests the recompense of the killed game, equal to what he killed, from the livestock. And it is mentioned that this, in the recitation of ʿAbd Allāh, reads: "his recompense is the like of what he killed, from the livestock" (fa-jazāʾuhu mithlu mā qatala). The reciters differed about the recitation of this: most of the reciters of Medina and some of those of Basra read it: "fa-jazāʾu mithli mā qatala min al-naʿam", by joining "al-jazāʾ" to "al-mithl" (in a genitive construction) and putting "al-mithl" in the genitive. And most of the reciters of Kūfa read it: fa-jazāʾun mithlu mā qatala , with nunation of "al-jazāʾ" and the nominative of "al-mithl", with the meaning: then upon him rests a recompense that is the like of what he killed. The more correct of the two recitations in this is the recitation of the one who read: fa-jazāʾun mithlu mā qatala , with nunation of "al-jazāʾ" and nominative of "al-mithl", because the recompense is the same as the like (al-mithl), and so there is no ground for joining a thing to itself. And I suspect that those who read it with the genitive construction supposed that it is obligatory upon the killer of game to repay the like of it from the game with a like from the livestock; but it is not as they supposed, rather it is obligatory upon the killer to repay for the killed animal its counterpart from the livestock. Since that is so, the like (al-mithl) is the recompense that Allah the Exalted imposed upon the killer of game, and a thing will not be joined to itself; therefore no reciter that we know of read it with nunation and the accusative of "al-mithl". If "al-mithl" were something other than the recompense, then the accusative in "al-mithl" would be permissible when "al-jazāʾ" is given nunation, just as "al-yatīm" stands in the accusative because it is something other than "the feeding" in His word: or the feeding, on a day of famine, of an orphan who is a relative (90:14-15), and just as "al-amwāt" and "al-aḥyāʾ" stand in the accusative and "al-kifāt" is given nunation in His word: Have We not made the earth a receptacle, for the living and the dead? (77:25-26), since "al-kifāt" is something other than the living and the dead. Likewise the recompense: if it were something other than the like, then the recitation in "al-mithl" with the accusative would be ample when "al-jazāʾ" is given nunation; but that was constrained, so that no one read it with nunation of "al-jazāʾ" and accusative of "al-mithl", since "al-mithl" is the same as the recompense, and the meaning of the words is: and whoever of you kills it deliberately, upon him rests a recompense that is the like of what he killed, from the livestock.
Then the scholars differed about the nature of the recompense, and how the killer of game among the consecrated must repay what he killed with the like of it from the livestock. Some of them said: one looks at the thing from the livestock that most resembles it, and repays it with that and sacrifices it toward the Kaʿba. Mention of who said that:
9792 - Muḥammad ibn al-Ḥusayn related to me, saying: Aḥmad ibn al-Mufaḍḍal related to us, saying: Asbāṭ related to us, on the authority of al-Suddī, concerning His word: and whoever of you kills it deliberately, his recompense is the like of what he killed, from the livestock — he said: as for the recompense equal to what he killed from the livestock: if he kills an ostrich or a wild ass, then he owes a camel (badana); and if he kills a cow or an ibex or a wild sheep (arwā), then he owes a cow; or if he kills a gazelle or a hare, then he owes a goat (shāt). And if he kills a desert lizard (ḍabb) or a chameleon or a jerboa (yarbūʿ), then he owes a young lamb that has already eaten grass and drunk milk.
9793 - Ibn Ḥumayd related to us, saying: Hārūn ibn al-Mughīra related to us, on the authority of Abū Mujāhid, he said: ʿAṭāʾ was asked: must one pay a penalty for small game just as for large? He said: does Allah the Exalted not say: his recompense is the like of what he killed, from the livestock ?
9794 - Hannād related to us, saying: Ibn Abī Zāʾida related to us, saying: Ibn Jurayj informed us, saying: Mujāhid said: and whoever of you kills it deliberately, his recompense is the like of what he killed, from the livestock — he said: upon him rests the like of it from the livestock.
9795 - Hannād related to us, saying: Jarīr related to us, on the authority of Manṣūr, on the authority of al-Ḥakam, on the authority of Miqsam, on the authority of Ibn ʿAbbās, concerning His word: his recompense is the like of what he killed, from the livestock — he said: when the consecrated one strikes the game, he owes the recompense of it from the livestock; if he finds the recompense of it, he slaughters it and gives it as alms; and if he does not find the recompense of it, the recompense is estimated in dirhams, then the dirhams are estimated in wheat, and then he fasts one day in place of each half ṣāʿ. He said: by "the feeding" only fasting is intended, for whoever finds food finds the recompense.
* - Ibn Wakīʿ and Ibn Ḥumayd related to us, both saying: Jarīr related to us, on the authority of Manṣūr, on the authority of al-Ḥakam, on the authority of Miqsam, on the authority of Ibn ʿAbbās: his recompense is the like of what he killed, from the livestock, as judged by two just men among you, as an offering reaching the Kaʿba, or as expiation the feeding of the needy or the equivalent of that in fasting — he said: when the consecrated one strikes the game, the recompense of it from the livestock is judged concerning him; and if he does not find it, one looks at how much its price is — Ibn Ḥumayd said: one looks at how much its value is — and the price of it is estimated concerning him as food, and he fasts one day in place of each half ṣāʿ; or as expiation the feeding of the needy, or the equivalent of that in fasting. He said: by "the feeding" only fasting is intended, for when he finds the food, he finds the recompense of it.
* - Ibn Wakīʿ related to us, saying: Yazīd ibn Hārūn related to us, on the authority of Sufyān ibn Ḥusayn, on the authority of al-Ḥakam, on the authority of Miqsam, on the authority of Ibn ʿAbbās: and whoever of you kills it deliberately, his recompense is the like of what he killed, from the livestock — if he does not find a sacrificial animal, the sacrificial animal is estimated for him as food and he fasts two days for each ṣāʿ.
* - Hannād related to us, saying: ʿAbd ibn Ḥumayd related to us, on the authority of Manṣūr, on the authority of al-Ḥakam, on the authority of Miqsam, on the authority of Ibn ʿAbbās, concerning this verse: and whoever of you kills it deliberately, his recompense is the like of what he killed, from the livestock, as judged by two just men among you, as an offering reaching the Kaʿba — he said: when the man strikes the game, judgment is passed concerning him; and if he has nothing with him, the price of it is estimated concerning him as food, and then he fasts one day for each half ṣāʿ.
9796 - Abū Kurayb and Yaʿqūb related to us, both saying: Hushaym related to us, saying: ʿAbd al-Malik ibn ʿUmayr informed us, on the authority of Qabīṣa ibn Jābir, he said: I and a companion of mine raced after a gazelle at al-ʿAqaba, and I struck it. Then I came to ʿUmar ibn al-Khaṭṭāb and mentioned that to him; he turned to a man beside him, and the two of them consulted about it, and he said: slaughter a ram.
* - Yaʿqūb related to me, saying: Hushaym related to us, saying: Ḥuṣayn informed us, on the authority of al-Shaʿbī, he said: Qabīṣa ibn Jābir informed me, approximately the same as what ʿAbd al-Malik related.
9797 - Hannād related to us, saying: Wakīʿ related to us, on the authority of al-Masʿūdī, on the authority of ʿAbd al-Malik ibn ʿUmayr, on the authority of Qabīṣa ibn Jābir, he said: a companion of mine killed a gazelle while he was consecrated, and ʿUmar commanded him to slaughter a goat, to give its meat as alms, and to have its hide tanned.
9798 - Hannād related to me, saying: Ibn Abī Zāʾida related to us, on the authority of Dāwūd ibn Abī Hind, on the authority of Bakr ibn ʿAbd Allāh al-Muzanī, he said: a man of the bedouin killed a gazelle while he was consecrated, and asked ʿUmar about it; ʿUmar said to him: sacrifice a goat.
9799 - Hannād related to us, saying: Abū al-Aḥwaṣ related to us, on the authority of Ḥuṣayn; and Abū Hishām al-Rifāʿī related to us, saying: Ibn Fuḍayl related to us, saying: Ḥuṣayn related to us, on the authority of al-Shaʿbī, he said: Qabīṣa ibn Jābir said: I struck a gazelle while I was consecrated, and came to ʿUmar and asked him about it; he sent for ʿAbd al-Raḥmān ibn ʿAwf, and I said: O Commander of the Believers, the matter is slighter than that! He said: he then struck me with the whip until I fled from him at a run. He said: then he said: have you killed game while you were consecrated and then scorn the legal ruling? He said: then ʿAbd al-Raḥmān came, and the two of them judged for a goat.
9800 - al-Muthannā related to me, saying: ʿAbd Allāh ibn Ṣāliḥ related to us, saying: Muʿāwiya ibn Ṣāliḥ related to me, on the authority of ʿAlī ibn Abī Ṭalḥa, on the authority of Ibn ʿAbbās: and whoever of you kills it deliberately, his recompense is the like of what he killed, from the livestock — he said: when the consecrated one kills anything of the game, judgment is passed concerning him; if he kills a gazelle or the like, he owes a goat that is slaughtered in Mecca; and if he does not find it, then the feeding of six needy persons; and if he does not find that, then the fasting of three days. And if he kills an ibex or the like, he owes a cow; and if he kills an ostrich or a wild ass or the like, he owes a camel (badana) from the camels.
9801 - Muḥammad ibn Bashshār related to us, saying: Abū ʿĀṣim related to us, saying: Ibn Jurayj informed us, saying: I said to ʿAṭāʾ: what do you think, if I kill a piece of game and it turns out to be one-eyed or lame or defective, must I then pay as a penalty the like of it? He said: yes, if you wish. I said: or is a sound animal more pleasing to you? He said: yes. And ʿAṭāʾ said: and if you kill the young of a gazelle, then for it is the young of a goat; and if you kill the young of a wild cow, then for it is the young of a tame cow, equal to it; and so it is with all of this.
9802 - It was related to me on the authority of al-Ḥusayn ibn al-Faraj, he said: I heard Abū Muʿādh al-Faḍl ibn Khālid say: ʿUbayd ibn Sulaymān al-Bāhilī informed us, he said: I heard al-Ḍaḥḥāk ibn Muzāḥim say: his recompense is the like of what he killed, from the livestock — what of the game of the land has no horn, such as the wild ass and the ostrich, for it he owes the like of it from the camels; and what of the game of the land has a horn, such as an ibex or a wild ox, the recompense for it is from the cattle; and what is a gazelle, for it from the small livestock is its like; and what is a hare, for it a goat in its second year (thaniyya); and what is a jerboa and the like, for it a small lamb; and what is a locust or the like, for it a handful of food; and what is a bird of the land, for it he must estimate its value and give it as alms, and if he wishes he fasts one day for each half ṣāʿ. And if he strikes the young of a land bird or its egg, then for it is the value, whether food or fasting, in the manner that applies to the bird. Except that it is mentioned concerning the ostrich egg, when the consecrated one strikes it, that the stallion is set to cover a number of young she-camels (bikāra) equal to the number of eggs he struck; whatever of them is fertilized he sacrifices at the House, and whatever of them spoils, for it nothing is owed.
9803 - Ibn al-Barqī related to us, saying: Ibn Abī Maryam related to us, saying: Nāfiʿ informed us, saying: Ibn Jurayj informed me, saying: Mujāhid said: whoever kills it — namely the game — while having forgotten it, or intended something else and missed in doing so, that is the intent that requires expiation; upon him rests the like of it as an offering reaching the Kaʿba; and if he does not find that, he buys food with the price of it; and if he does not find that, he fasts one day for each mudd. And ʿAṭāʾ said: if a person strikes an ostrich, then he has, if he is wealthy, whatever he wishes — if he wishes he sacrifices a camel (jazūr), or the equivalent of it in food, or the equivalent of it in fasting, whichever of them he wishes — because of His word: recompense . Or thus he said: everything in the Qurʾān in which "or, or" occurs, in it the person concerned chooses what he wishes.
9804 - Ibn al-Barqī related to us, saying: Ibn Abī Maryam related to us, saying: Nāfiʿ informed us, saying: Ibn Jurayj informed me, saying: al-Ḥasan ibn Muslim informed me, saying: whoever strikes of the game something worth a goat or more, that is what Allah the Exalted said: his recompense is the like of what he killed, from the livestock ; and as for as expiation the feeding of the needy , that is what does not reach so far that there is an offering for it — the sparrow that is killed, for it there is no offering. He said: or the equivalent of that in fasting — the equivalent of the ostrich, or the equivalent of the sparrow, or the equivalent of all of that.
And others said: no, rather one estimates the value of the killed game in dirhams, then the killer buys with the value of it a counterpart from the livestock, and then sacrifices that at the Kaʿba. Mention of who said that:
9805 - Yaʿqūb ibn Ibrāhīm related to me, saying: Hushaym related to us, saying: ʿAbda informed us, on the authority of Ibrāhīm, he said: whatever the consecrated one strikes, the value of it is judged concerning him.
* - Muḥammad ibn al-Muthannā related to us, saying: Muḥammad ibn Jaʿfar related to us, saying: Shuʿba related to us, on the authority of Ḥammād, he said: I heard Ibrāhīm say: for everything of the game there is the price of it.
And the soundest of the two positions in the interpretation of the verse is what ʿUmar and Ibn ʿAbbās said, and whoever shares their position: that the killed game is repaid with the like of it from the livestock, as Allah the Exalted said: his recompense is the like of what he killed, from the livestock . And it is not permissible that the like of the killed game be dirhams, while Allah the Exalted has said: from the livestock , for dirhams belong in no respect to the livestock. If someone were to say: even though the dirhams are not a like of the killed game, one nonetheless buys with them the like from the livestock, and the killer then sacrifices that, so that by that act he still repays the killed game with a like from the livestock — then it is said to him: what do you think, if the killed game was small or large or sound, or if the killed game was large or sound but the equivalent of it from the livestock was only small or defective — is it then permissible for him to buy for the value of it something that differs from it in kind and characteristic and to sacrifice that, or is that not permissible for him, while nothing other than the differing thing is available? If he claims that it is not permissible for him to buy for the value of it anything other than the like, then he abandons his own position in this, for the adherents of this view claim that it is not permissible for him to buy for the value of it anything and sacrifice it except what is valid among the sacrificial animals (al-ḍaḥāyā). And when they permit that the like of the killed game be bought for the value of it and sacrificed, while the killed animal is sometimes small and defective, then they permit at the offering what is not valid among the sacrificial animals. And if he claims that it is not permissible to buy for the value of it anything and sacrifice it except what is valid among the sacrificial animals, then by that he makes clear from his own word the contradiction with the outward meaning of the revelation; for Allah the Exalted imposed upon the killer of game among the consecrated, in the case of intent, the like from the livestock when they can find it, while the adherent of this view has claimed that the like from the livestock is not obligatory upon him, even though he finds a way to it. And it is said to whoever claims that: what do you think, if another were to say: upon the killer of game whose value does not reach what is struck of it from the livestock rests nothing of what is valid among the sacrificial animals, neither feeding nor fasting; for Allah the Exalted gave the killer of game among the consecrated only the choice between one of the three matters that He mentioned in His Book, and so when he has no way to any of those matters, the obligation of the other two falls away from him; for the choice was given to him only while he had a way to the three; and so when he has no way to a part of them, the obligation of the recompense falls away from him, because he does not belong to those who are intended by the verse — comparable to what you said, that when the value of the killed game does not reach what is struck of it from the livestock that is valid among the sacrificial animals, the obligation of recompense with the like from the livestock falls away from him, and only the recompense by feeding or fasting rests upon him. Is there between you and him any difference in principle or analogy? He will pronounce nothing concerning the one but that it obligates upon him the same in the other.
The explanation of the saying of the Exalted: as judged by two just men among you, as an offering reaching the Kaʿba .
The Exalted, whose remembrance is exalted, says: concerning that recompense, which is the like of the killed game from the livestock, two just men among you judge, that is to say: two jurists, knowledgeable among the people of religion and virtue. As an offering — He says: the two just men determine concerning the recompense that it be presented as an offering and reach the Kaʿba. And the pronoun in His word "as judged by it" (yaḥkum bihi) refers to the recompense. And the manner of judging of the two just men, when they wish to judge concerning the like of the killed game from the livestock against the killer, is that they look at the killed animal and have its description given to them. If it is mentioned that he struck a small gazelle, they judge concerning him a counterpart of it from the young of the small livestock, equal to what he killed in age and body. And if what he struck was large, they judge concerning him from the small livestock a large animal; and if what he struck was a wild ass, they judge concerning him a cow, if what he struck was a large one from the wild asses, and if it was small then a small animal; and if the killed animal was a male, then the like of it from the males of the cattle, and if it was a female, then the like of it from the cattle, a female. Then they look thus at the thing from the livestock that most resembles the killed game, and judge concerning that against him, as the Exalted said. And as for what we have said about this, the people of interpretation said, with disagreement among them therein. Mention of who said that, in the manner that we have said:
9806 - Hannād ibn al-Sarī related to us, saying: Ibn Abī Zāʾida related to us, saying: Dāwūd ibn Abī Hind informed us, on the authority of Bakr ibn ʿAbd Allāh al-Muzanī, he said: there were two men of the bedouin in the state of consecration; one drove a gazelle and the other killed it. They both came to ʿUmar, and with him was ʿAbd al-Raḥmān ibn ʿAwf. ʿUmar said to him: what do you deem correct? He said: a goat. He said: and I deem that correct too; go and sacrifice a goat. When they departed, one said to his companion: the Commander of the Believers did not know what he was saying until he asked his companion. ʿUmar heard that, called them both back and said: can you recite Sūrat al-Māʾida? They said: no. He then recited to them: as judged by two just men among you , and then said: I sought help from this companion of mine.
9807 - Abū Kurayb and Yaʿqūb related to us, both saying: Hushaym related to us, saying: ʿAbd al-Malik ibn ʿUmayr informed us, on the authority of Qabīṣa ibn Jābir, he said: I and a companion of mine raced after a gazelle at al-ʿAqaba, and I struck it. Then I came to ʿUmar ibn al-Khaṭṭāb and mentioned that to him; he turned to a man beside him, and the two of them consulted about it. He said: he then said: slaughter a ram! Yaʿqūb said in his narration: he said to me: slaughter a goat. I went away and came to my companion and said: the Commander of the Believers did not know what he was saying! My companion said: slaughter your camel! ʿUmar ibn al-Khaṭṭāb heard that, turned to me and struck me with the whip, and said: do you kill game while you are consecrated and scorn the legal ruling! Allah the Exalted says in His Book: as judged by two just men among you ; this is Ibn ʿAwf and I am ʿUmar.
* - Yaʿqūb related to me, saying: Hushaym related to us, saying: Ḥuṣayn informed us, on the authority of al-Shaʿbī, he said: Qabīṣa ibn Jābir informed me, approximately the same as what ʿAbd al-Malik related.
9808 - Hannād and Abū Hishām related to us, both saying: Wakīʿ related to us, on the authority of al-Masʿūdī, on the authority of ʿAbd al-Malik ibn ʿUmayr, on the authority of Qabīṣa ibn Jābir, he said: we set out as pilgrims, and when we had performed the morning prayer, we let our mounts go at ease and walked along conversing. He said: while we were going along thus one morning, suddenly a gazelle sprang up before us from the right or from the left, and a man of ours hurled a stone at it, and he did not miss its ear bone, so that it fell down dead on the spot. He said: we found that grave for him. When we arrived in Mecca, I went with him until we came to ʿUmar, and he told him the story. He said: and beside him was a man whose face was like a disc of silver — namely ʿAbd al-Raḥmān ibn ʿAwf. He turned to his companion and spoke with him; then he turned to the man and said: did you kill it deliberately or by error? The man said: I threw at it deliberately, but I did not intend to kill it. ʿUmar said: I see you only as having mixed intent and error; go to a goat and slaughter it, give its meat as alms and have its hide tanned! He said: we rose from his presence, and I said: O man, magnify the sacred symbols of Allah; the Commander of the Believers did not know what legal ruling to give you until he asked his companion; go to your she-camel and slaughter it! That he did. Qabīṣa said: and I did recite the verse of Sūrat al-Māʾida: as judged by two just men among you . He said: my words reached ʿUmar, and he came upon us suddenly with the whip with him; he said: he lashed out at my companion with the whip and kept saying: did you kill in the Sacred Precinct and treat the legal ruling as folly! He said: then he turned to me, and I said: O Commander of the Believers, I will permit you nothing today of myself that is forbidden to you. He said: O Qabīṣa ibn Jābir, I see you as a young man of age, broad of chest, eloquent of tongue; and indeed, in the young man there can be nine good qualities and one bad quality, and the bad quality spoils the good qualities; so beware of the stumblings of youth!
9809 - Ibn Wakīʿ related to us, saying: Ibn ʿUyayna related to us, on the authority of Mukhāriq, on the authority of Ṭāriq, he said: Arbad made his camel tread on a desert lizard (ḍabb) and killed it while he was consecrated; he came to ʿUmar so that judgment might be passed concerning him, and ʿUmar said to him: judge together with me! And the two of them judged for it a young goat that had already taken water and pasture (on its own). Then ʿUmar said: as judged by two just men among you .
9810 - Bishr ibn Muʿādh related to us, saying: Jāmiʿ ibn Ḥammād related to us, saying: Yazīd ibn Zurayʿ related to us, saying: Saʿīd related to us, on the authority of Qatāda, he said: it was mentioned to us that a man struck game and came to Ibn ʿUmar and asked him about it, while ʿAbd Allāh ibn Ṣafwān was with him. Ibn ʿUmar said to Ibn Ṣafwān: either I speak and you confirm me, or you speak and I confirm you! Ibn Ṣafwān said: no, you speak! Ibn ʿUmar then spoke, and ʿAbd Allāh ibn Ṣafwān agreed with that.
9811 - Yaʿqūb related to me, saying: Hushaym related to us, saying: Hishām informed us, on the authority of Ibn Sīrīn, on the authority of Shurayḥ, that he said: if I were to find a just arbiter (ḥakam), I would judge a young goat for the fox; and a young goat is more pleasing to me than the fox.
9812 - Ibn Bashshār related to us, saying: Muḥammad ibn Bakīr related to us, saying: Saʿīd related to us, on the authority of Qatāda, on the authority of Abū Mijlaz: that a man asked Ibn ʿUmar about a man who struck game while he was consecrated, and with him was Ibn Ṣafwān; Ibn ʿUmar said to him: either you speak and I confirm you, or I speak and you confirm me! He said: you speak and I confirm you.
9813 - Ibn Bashshār related to us, saying: ʿAbd al-Raḥmān related to us, saying: Shuʿba related to us, on the authority of Manṣūr, on the authority of Abū Wāʾil, he said: Ibn Jarīr al-Bajalī informed me, he said: I struck a gazelle while I was consecrated, and mentioned that to ʿUmar; he said: come to two men of your brothers, so that they may judge concerning you! I then came to ʿAbd al-Raḥmān and Saʿd, and they judged concerning me an afʿar goat. Abū Jaʿfar said: al-afʿar is the white one.
* - Muḥammad ibn al-Muthannā related to us, saying: Muḥammad ibn Jaʿfar related to us, saying: Shuʿba related to us, on the authority of Manṣūr, with his isnād, on the authority of ʿUmar, the same.
9814 - ʿAbd al-Ḥamīd related to us, saying: Isḥāq informed us, on the authority of Sharīk, on the authority of Ashʿath ibn Sawwār, on the authority of Ibn Sīrīn, he said: there was a man on a she-camel while he was consecrated, and he saw a gazelle withdrawing toward a small hill; he said: let me see whether I reach this hill before this gazelle. Then a doe of the gazelles fell under the feet of his she-camel, which killed it. He came to ʿUmar and mentioned that to him, and he judged concerning him, he and Ibn ʿAwf, an afrāʾ goat. He said: that is the white one.
9815 - Yaʿqūb related to me, saying: Ibn ʿUlayya related to us, saying: Ayyūb informed us, on the authority of Muḥammad: that a man trod on a gazelle (made his mount tread on it) while he was consecrated. He came to ʿUmar and mentioned that to him, and beside him was ʿAbd al-Raḥmān ibn ʿAwf; he turned to ʿAbd al-Raḥmān and spoke with him, then he turned to the man and said: sacrifice an afrāʾ goat!
9816 - Yaʿqūb related to me, saying: Hushaym related to us, saying: Mughīra informed us, on the authority of Ibrāhīm, that he used to say: whatever the consecrated one strikes about which no legal ruling has yet been passed, that is reconsidered, and two just men judge concerning it.
9817 - Muḥammad ibn al-Muthannā related to us, saying: Wahb ibn Jarīr related to me, saying: Shuʿba related to us, on the authority of Yaʿlā, on the authority of ʿAmr ibn Ḥubshī, he said: I heard a man asking Ibn ʿUmar about a man who struck a young hare; he said: for it, according to what I think, is a young kid. Then he said to me: is that so? I said: you are more knowledgeable than I. He said: Allah the Exalted has said: as judged by two just men among you .
9818 - Ibn Bashshār related to us, saying: Ibn Abī ʿAdī and Sahl ibn Yūsuf related to us, on the authority of Ḥumayd, on the authority of Bakr: that two men saw a gazelle while they were both consecrated; they made a wager, and each of them set a stake for the one who would reach it first. One of them reached it first, hurled his stick at it and killed it. When they arrived in Mecca, they came to ʿUmar to lay their dispute before him, and with him was ʿAbd al-Raḥmān ibn ʿAwf. They mentioned that to him, and ʿUmar said: this is gambling (qimār), which I do not approve! Then he looked at ʿAbd al-Raḥmān and said: what do you deem correct? He said: a goat. ʿUmar said: and I deem that correct too. When the two men turned away from ʿUmar, one said to his companion: ʿUmar did not know what he was saying until he asked the man! ʿUmar called them both back and said: Allah the Exalted was not satisfied with ʿUmar alone, for He said: as judged by two just men among you ; and I am ʿUmar, and this is ʿAbd al-Raḥmān ibn ʿAwf.
And others said: no, rather the two just men look at the killed game and estimate its value in dirhams, then they command the killer to buy for it an offering from the livestock. The two judging persons judge, according to the view of these, on the basis of the value, and one needs them only to estimate the game at its value in the place where he struck it. And we have already mentioned earlier from Ibrāhīm al-Nakhaʿī that he used to say: whatever the consecrated one strikes, the value of it is judged concerning him; and that is the view of a group of the jurists of Kūfa.
As for His word: as an offering (hadyan) — that is a verbal noun in the accusative of state (ḥāl) concerning the pronoun "hu" in His word: as judged . And His word: reaching the Kaʿba is a qualification and description of the offering. It was permissible to qualify it thus while it is joined to a definite term (the Kaʿba), only because it has the meaning of the indefinite; for the meaning of His word reaching the Kaʿba is: it reaches the Kaʿba. So even though it is in a genitive construction, its meaning is that of nunation, because it has the meaning of the future. And that is comparable to His word: this is a cloud bringing us rain (46:24), where "bringing us rain" (mumṭirunā) qualifies a cloud, because in "mumṭirunā" lies the meaning of nunation, for its interpretation is the future; the meaning is therefore: this is a cloud that will bring us rain. So it is also in His word: as an offering reaching the Kaʿba .
The explanation of the saying of the Exalted: or as expiation the feeding of the needy .
The Exalted, whose remembrance is exalted, says: or upon him rests as expiation the feeding of the needy. And "the expiation" (al-kaffāra) is in coordination with "the recompense" (al-jazāʾ) in His word: his recompense is the like of what he killed, from the livestock . The reciters differed about the recitation of this: most of the reciters of Medina read it: or as expiation the feeding of the needy (aw kaffāratu ṭaʿāmi masākīn), with a genitive construction. And as for the reciters of Iraq, most of them read it with nunation of "al-kaffāra" and the nominative of "al-ṭaʿām": or as expiation, the feeding of the needy (aw kaffāratun ṭaʿāmu masākīn). And the more correct of the two recitations in this, in our view, is the recitation of the one who read with nunation of "al-kaffāra" and the nominative of "al-ṭaʿām", for the reason that we mentioned at His word: his recompense is the like of what he killed, from the livestock . And the people of interpretation differed about the meaning of His word: or as expiation the feeding of the needy .
Some of them said: the meaning of that is that the killer who deliberately killed game while consecrated does not escape the obligation of one of these three matters that Allah the Exalted mentioned: the like of the killed animal as an offering reaching the Kaʿba, or the feeding of a needy person as expiation for what he did, or the equivalent of that in fasting; for he has the choice, whatever of it he wishes, that he does. With whichever of them he expiates, he has fulfilled the obligation resting upon him. It is only a notification from Allah the Exalted to His servants that the ruling of the killer, as described, does not escape one of the three characteristics. They said: his ruling, if he is able to provide the like, is that judgment is passed concerning him with the like of the killed animal from the livestock; nothing other than that suffices for him as long as he can find the like. They said: and if he cannot find that, or if there is no like for the killed animal from the livestock, then his expiation at that point is the feeding of the needy. Mention of who said that:
9819 - al-Muthannā related to me, saying: ʿAbd Allāh ibn Ṣāliḥ related to us, saying: Muʿāwiya ibn Ṣāliḥ related to me, on the authority of ʿAlī ibn Abī Ṭalḥa, on the authority of Ibn ʿAbbās: and whoever of you kills it deliberately, his recompense is the like of what he killed, from the livestock, as judged by two just men among you, as an offering reaching the Kaʿba, or as expiation the feeding of the needy or the equivalent of that in fasting, that he may taste the evil consequences of his deed — he said: when the consecrated one kills anything of the game, judgment is passed concerning him about it; if he kills a gazelle or the like, he owes a goat that is slaughtered in Mecca; and if he does not find it, then the feeding of six needy persons; and if he does not find that, then the fasting of three days. And if he kills an ibex or the like, he owes a cow; and if he does not find it, he feeds twenty needy persons, and if he does not find that, he fasts twenty days. And if he kills an ostrich or a wild ass or the like, he owes a camel (badana) from the camels; and if he does not find it, he feeds thirty needy persons, and if he does not find that, he fasts thirty days. And the feeding is one mudd per person, a mudd that satisfies them.
9820 - Muḥammad ibn Saʿd related to me, saying: my father related to me, saying: my uncle related to me, saying: my father related to me, on the authority of his father, on the authority of Ibn ʿAbbās, concerning His word: O you who believe, do not kill game while you are in the state of consecration up to His word: as judged by two just men among you — the expiation for killing what is smaller than the hare is the feeding.
9821 - Hannād related to us, saying: Jarīr related to us, on the authority of Manṣūr, on the authority of al-Ḥakam, on the authority of Miqsam, on the authority of Ibn ʿAbbās, he said: when the consecrated one strikes the game, the recompense of it from the livestock is judged concerning him; if he finds the recompense, he slaughters it and gives it as alms; and if he does not find the recompense of it, the recompense is estimated in dirhams, then the dirhams are estimated in wheat, and then he fasts one day in place of each ṣāʿ. He said: by "the feeding" only fasting is intended, for when he finds food, he finds the recompense.
9822 - Ibn Wakīʿ related to us, saying: Ḥumayd ibn ʿAbd al-Raḥmān related to us, on the authority of Zuhayr, on the authority of Jābir, on the authority of ʿAṭāʾ and Mujāhid and ʿĀmir: or the equivalent of that in fasting, that he may taste — he said: the feeding is only for whoever does not find the offering.
9823 - Yaʿqūb related to me, saying: Hushaym related to us, saying: Mughīra informed us, on the authority of Ibrāhīm, that he used to say: when the consecrated one strikes anything of the game, he owes the recompense of it from the livestock; and if he does not find it, the recompense is estimated in dirhams, then the dirhams are estimated in food, and then he fasts one day for each half ṣāʿ.
9824 - Ibn Ḥumayd related to us, saying: Jarīr related to us, on the authority of Mughīra, on the authority of Ḥammād, he said: when the consecrated one strikes the game, judgment is passed concerning him; and if a remainder of it is left over that does not complete a half ṣāʿ, he fasts one day for it. And the fasting rests only upon whoever does not find the price of an offering, after which the feeding is judged concerning him. And if he has no food with him to give as alms, the fasting is judged concerning him, and he fasts one day in place of each half ṣāʿ. As expiation the feeding of the needy — he said: concerning that which does not reach the price of an offering. Or the equivalent of that in fasting — of the recompense, when he does not find that with which he can buy an offering, or what he can give as alms, concerning that which does not reach the price of an offering, the fasting is judged concerning him, in place of each half ṣāʿ one day.
9825 - Hannād related to us, saying: Ibn Abī Zāʾida related to us, saying: Ibn Jurayj informed us, saying: Mujāhid said: and whoever of you kills it deliberately, his recompense is the like of what he killed, from the livestock — he said: upon him rests the like of it from the livestock as an offering reaching the Kaʿba; and whoever does not find it buys food with the value of it, and feeds each needy person two mudd; and if he does not find that, he fasts one day for each two mudd.
9826 - Muḥammad ibn al-Ḥusayn related to me, saying: Aḥmad ibn al-Mufaḍḍal related to us, saying: Asbāṭ related to us, on the authority of al-Suddī: and whoever of you kills it deliberately up to His word: and whoever relapses, Allah will take vengeance on him — he said: when he kills game, he owes the recompense of it, equal to what he killed from the livestock; and if he does not find what is judged concerning him, the ransom is estimated at how many dirhams it is, and the value of that is determined in food per needy person, and he fasts one day for each needy person. And the food of the needy person is not permitted (in place of the rest), for whoever finds the food of the needy person finds the ransom.
9827 - ʿAmr ibn ʿAlī related to us, saying: Abū ʿĀṣim related to us, on the authority of Ibn Jurayj, he said: al-Ḥasan ibn Muslim said to me: whoever strikes game whose recompense is a goat, that is what Allah the Exalted said: his recompense is the like of what he killed, from the livestock, as judged by two just men among you ; and as for the expiation of feeding a needy person, such as the little sparrow that is killed and does not reach so far that there is an offering for it — or the equivalent of that in fasting — he said: the equivalent of the ostrich, or the sparrow, or the equivalent of all of that. I mentioned that to ʿAṭāʾ, and he said: everything in the Qurʾān in which "or, or" occurs, in it the person concerned may choose what he wishes.
9828 - ʿAmr ibn ʿAlī related to us, saying: Yazīd ibn Hārūn related to us, saying: Sufyān ibn Ḥusayn informed us, on the authority of al-Ḥakam, on the authority of Miqsam, on the authority of Ibn ʿAbbās, concerning His word: do not kill game while you are in the state of consecration, and whoever of you kills it deliberately, his recompense is the like of what he killed, from the livestock — if he does not find a recompense, the recompense is estimated concerning him as food, and then he fasts two days for each ṣāʿ.
And others said: the meaning of that is that the killer who deliberately killed game while consecrated has the choice between one of the three expiations, namely the recompense with the like of it from the livestock, the feeding, and the fasting. They said: the interpretation of His word his recompense is the like of what he killed, from the livestock, or as expiation the feeding of the needy or the equivalent of that in fasting is only: upon him rests that he repay with the like of it from the livestock, or expiate by the feeding of the needy, or by the equivalent of the feeding in fasting. Mention of who said that:
9829 - Hannād ibn al-Sarī related to us, saying: Ibn Abī Zāʾida related to us, saying: Ibn Jurayj informed us, on the authority of ʿAṭāʾ, concerning the word of Allah the Exalted: his recompense is the like of what he killed, from the livestock, as judged by two just men among you, as an offering reaching the Kaʿba, or as expiation the feeding of the needy or the equivalent of that in fasting — he said: if a consecrated person strikes an ostrich, then he has, if he is wealthy, the right to sacrifice whatever he wishes: a camel (jazūr), or the equivalent of it in food, or the equivalent of it in fasting. He said: everything in the Qurʾān in which "or, or" occurs, in it the person concerned chooses what he wishes.
9830 - Yaʿqūb related to me, saying: Hushaym related to us, saying: Ḥajjāj informed us, on the authority of ʿAṭāʾ, concerning His word: his recompense is the like of what he killed, from the livestock — he said: what in the Qurʾān is "this or that", in it the person concerned has the choice; whatever of it he wishes, that he does.
9831 - Ibn Wakīʿ related to us, saying: Asbāṭ and ʿAbd al-Aʿlā related to us, on the authority of Dāwūd, on the authority of ʿIkrima, he said: what in the Qurʾān is "or, or", in it he has the choice; and what is "and whoever does not find", there the first holds, then what follows it.
9832 - Ibn Wakīʿ related to us, saying: Ḥafṣ related to us, on the authority of ʿAmr, on the authority of al-Ḥasan, the same.
9833 - Yaʿqūb related to me, saying: Hushaym related to us, saying: Layth informed us, on the authority of ʿAṭāʾ and Mujāhid, that they both said concerning His word: his recompense is the like of what he killed, from the livestock — they both said: what in the Qurʾān is "this or that", in it the person concerned has the choice; whatever of it he wishes, that he does.
9834 - Yaʿqūb related to me, saying: Hushaym related to us, on the authority of Juwaybir, on the authority of al-Ḍaḥḥāk: what in the Qurʾān is "this or that", in it the person concerned has the choice; whatever of it he wishes, that he does.
9834 - al-Qāsim related to us, saying: al-Ḥusayn related to us, saying: Hushaym related to us, saying: Abū Ḥamza informed us, on the authority of al-Ḥasan. He said: and ʿUbayda informed us, on the authority of Ibrāhīm; they both said: everything in the Qurʾān in which "or, or" occurs, in it he has the choice; whatever of it he wishes, that he does.
9836 - Hannād related to us, saying: Ḥafṣ related to us, on the authority of Layth, on the authority of Mujāhid, on the authority of Ibn ʿAbbās, he said: everything in the Qurʾān in which "or, or" occurs, in it the person concerned has the choice; and everything that is "and whoever does not find", there the first holds, then what follows it.
And those who grant the killer of game among the consecrated the choice between the three matters differed about the nature of what is obligatory upon him as expiation with feeding and fasting, if he chooses the expiation with one of those two in place of the offering. Some of them said: if he chooses the expiation with that, then it is obligatory upon him that he estimate the like from the livestock as food, and then he fasts one day in place of each mudd. Mention of who said that:
9837 - Hannād related to us, saying: Ibn Abī Zāʾida informed us, saying: Ibn Jurayj informed us, saying: I said to ʿAṭāʾ: what is or the equivalent of that in fasting ? He said: if he strikes something whose equivalent is a goat, the goat is estimated as food, and then in place of each mudd one day is set that he fasts.
And others said: no, rather it is obligatory upon him, when he wishes to perform the expiation with feeding or fasting, that he estimate the killed game as food, and then give the food as alms if he chooses the alms, and if he chooses fasting, fast. Then they also differed about the fasting: some of them said: he fasts one day for each mudd. And others said: he fasts one day in place of each half ṣāʿ. And others said: he fasts one day in place of each ṣāʿ. Mention of who said: what is estimated for the feeding is the killed game:
9838 - Bishr ibn Muʿādh related to us, saying: Jāmiʿ ibn Ḥammād related to us, saying: Yazīd ibn Zurayʿ related to us, saying: Shuʿba related to us, on the authority of Qatāda: O you who believe, do not kill game — the verse; he said: Qatāda used to say: the two judge concerning the livestock, and if his game does not reach so far that it attains that, they look at the price of it and estimate it as food, and then he fasts two days in place of each ṣāʿ.
And others said: there is no meaning to the expiation with feeding; for whoever finds a way to the expiation with feeding finds a way to the recompense with the like from the livestock, and whoever finds a way to the recompense with the like from the livestock, expiation with something else does not suffice for him. They said: Allah the Exalted mentioned the expiation with feeding in this place only to indicate the nature of the expiation with fasting, not that He made the expiation with feeding one of the expiations by which the killing of game is expiated. And we have already mentioned the explanation of that earlier.
And the soundest of the positions, in my view, concerning the word of Allah the Exalted: his recompense is the like of what he killed, from the livestock is that by it is meant: upon the killer who acted deliberately rests the like of what he killed from the livestock, not the value — if he chooses to repay it with the like from the livestock; for the value consists only of dinars or dirhams, and dinars are not a like for game, while Allah the Exalted imposed the recompense only as a like from the livestock.
And the soundest of the positions, in my view, concerning His word: or as expiation the feeding of the needy or the equivalent of that in fasting is that it is a free choice, and that the killer has the choice to expiate for his killing of game while he was consecrated with whichever of these three expiations he wishes; for Allah the Exalted made what He imposed at the killing of game as recompense and expiation a punishment for his deed and an expiation for his sin in destroying what he destroyed of the game that was unlawful for him to destroy during his state of consecration, while it was lawful for him before his state of consecration. Just as He instituted the ransom (fidya) of fasting, alms, or a sacrificial rite (nusuk) for the shaving of the hair that the consecrated one shaves during his state of consecration, while it was permissible for him before his state of consecration to shave it, and it was then forbidden for him to shave it during his state of consecration — by analogy with the game — and He then laid upon him, if he shaves it, a recompense for his shaving of it; and all are agreed that in his shaving of it, when he shaves it on account of harm from it, he has the choice in his expiation, so that it rests upon him with whichever of the three expiations he wishes. Likewise, if Allah wills, the killer of game among the consecrated: he has the choice in his expiation for the killing of game with whichever of the three expiations he wishes; there is no difference between those two. And whoever rejects what we have said about this, to him it is said: Allah the Exalted judged concerning the killer of game with the like from the livestock, or as expiation the feeding of the needy, or the equivalent of it in fasting, just as He judged concerning the shaver with a ransom of fasting, alms, or a sacrificial rite. You then claim that the one has the choice in the expiation for what is prescribed of it, a substitution of whichever of the three he wishes, and you deny that that applies to the other. Is there then between you and whoever turns the matter against you in this — by placing the choice where you refuse it, and refusing it where you grant it — any difference in principle or analogy? He will pronounce nothing concerning the one but that it obligates upon him the same in the other.
Then they differed about the nature of the estimation when he wishes to perform the expiation with feeding. Some of them said: one estimates the game at its value in the place where he struck it; and that is the position of Ibrāhīm al-Nakhaʿī, and Ḥammād, and Abū Ḥanīfa, and Abū Yūsuf, and Muḥammad; and I have already mentioned the narration of Ibrāhīm and Ḥammād earlier with what indicates it, and it is the explicit statement of Abū Ḥanīfa and his companions. And others said: no, rather one estimates that according to the price of the land where he expiates. Mention of who said that:
9839 - Hannād related to us, saying: Ibn Abī Zāʾida related to us, saying: Isrāʾīl related to us, on the authority of Jābir, on the authority of ʿĀmir, who said concerning a consecrated person who struck game in Khurāsān: he expiates in Mecca or in Minā; and he said: one estimates the food according to the price of the land where he expiates.
9840 - Abū Kurayb related to us, saying: Abū al-Yamān related to us, on the authority of Isrāʾīl, on the authority of Jābir, on the authority of al-Shaʿbī, concerning a man who struck game in Khurāsān; he said: judgment is passed concerning him in Mecca.
And the correct position on this, in our view, is that the killer of game, when he repays it with the like of it from the livestock, repays it only with its counterpart in form and its measure in body, from the things that most resemble it from the livestock. And when he repays it with feeding, he estimates it at its value in the place where he struck it; for there the expiation with feeding became obligatory upon him. Then, if he wishes, he feeds in the place where he struck it, and if he wishes in Mecca, and if he wishes in another place, wherever he wishes; for Allah the Exalted made the reaching of the Kaʿba a condition only at the offering at the killing of game, not at the remaining forms of his recompense. So whoever repays with something other than an offering is free to repay it by feeding and fasting wherever he wishes on earth. And as for what we have said about this, a group of the scholars said. Mention of who said that:
9841 - Hannād related to us, saying: Ibn Abī Zāʾida related to us, saying: Ibn Abī ʿArūba related to us, on the authority of Abū Maʿshar, on the authority of Ibrāhīm, he said: what is a blood sacrifice (dam), that is in Mecca; and what is alms or fasting, that is wherever he wishes.
And opponents have contradicted that and said: the offering and the feeding suffice only in Mecca; but as for the fasting, if he expiates with it, he fasts wherever he wishes on earth. Mention of who said that:
9842 - Hannād related to us, saying: Wakīʿ related to us; and Ibn Wakīʿ related to us, saying: my father related to us, on the authority of Ḥammād ibn Salama, on the authority of Qays ibn Saʿd, on the authority of ʿAṭāʾ, he said: the blood sacrifice and the feeding are in Mecca, and the fasting wherever he wishes.
9843 - Hannād related to us, saying: Wakīʿ related to us; and Ibn Wakīʿ related to us, saying: my father related to us, on the authority of Mālik ibn Mighwal, on the authority of ʿAṭāʾ, he said: the expiation of the pilgrimage is in Mecca.
9844 - ʿAmr ibn ʿAlī related to us, saying: Abū ʿĀṣim related to us, on the authority of Ibn Jurayj, he said: I said to ʿAṭāʾ: where does one give the food as alms if that seems good to him? He said: in Mecca, because it has the rank of the offering. He said: his recompense is the like of what he killed, from the livestock, or as an offering reaching the Kaʿba — because he struck it in the Sacred Precinct — he means the House — his recompense is at the House. As for the offering, it is the recompense for what he killed of the game, and nothing of it suffices as expiation for what he killed of it, except that he brings it in good condition to the Kaʿba, slaughters it or cuts its throat, and gives it as alms to the needy of the Sacred Precinct. And by "the Kaʿba" in this place is meant: the whole Sacred Precinct. And whoever arrives with his obligatory offering of the recompense of the game may slaughter it at any time he wishes, before the day of sacrifice and after it, and give it to be eaten. Likewise, if he expiates with food, he may expiate with it whenever he wishes and wherever he wishes; and if he expiates with fasting, likewise. And in the manner that we have said about this, the people of interpretation spoke, except for what we have mentioned of their disagreement about the expiation with feeding, in the manner that we have already set forth earlier. Mention of who said that:
9845 - Hannād related to us, saying: Ibn Abī Zāʾida related to us, saying: Ibn Jurayj informed us, saying: I said to ʿAṭāʾ: or the equivalent of that in fasting — does his fasting have a fixed time? He said: no, whenever he wishes and wherever he wishes, and hastening it is more pleasing to me.
9846 - Hannād related to us, saying: Ibn Abī Zāʾida related to us, saying: Ibn Jurayj informed us, saying: I said to ʿAṭāʾ: a man strikes game during the pilgrimage or the lesser pilgrimage, and sends the recompense of it to the Sacred Precinct in Muḥarram or another of the months — does that suffice for him? He said: yes; then he recited: as an offering reaching the Kaʿba . Hannād said: Yaḥyā said: and by that we act.
9847 - Hannād related to us, saying: Ibn Abī Zāʾida related to us, saying: Ibn Jurayj and Ibn Abī Sulaym informed us, on the authority of ʿAṭāʾ, he said: when you arrive in Mecca with the recompense of game, slaughter it, for Allah the Exalted says: as an offering reaching the Kaʿba ; except that he arrives in the ten (days), then he postpones it to the day of sacrifice.
9848 - Hannād related to us, saying: Ibn Abī Zāʾida related to us, saying: Ibn Jurayj related to us, on the authority of ʿAṭāʾ, he said: whoever strikes the game gives as alms in Mecca, for Allah the Exalted says: as an offering reaching the Kaʿba .
The explanation of the saying of the Exalted: or the equivalent of that in fasting .
The Exalted, whose remembrance is exalted, means by it: or upon the killer of game while he was consecrated rests the equivalent of the killed game in fasting, namely that the game is estimated alive — not as killed — at its value in food in the place where the consecrated one killed it, and that he then fasts one day in place of each mudd. And it is mentioned that the Prophet ﷺ equated the mudd of food with the fasting of one day in the expiation of the one who approaches (his wife) in the month of Ramaḍān. If someone were to say: why did you not, in the recompense of the game, set the fasting of one day in place of each ṣāʿ, by analogy with the judgment of the Prophet ﷺ in the comparable case, namely his judgment concerning Kaʿb ibn ʿUjra, when he commanded him to give, if he expiated with feeding, a faraq of food — that is three ṣāʿ — among six needy persons, and if he expiated with fasting, to fast three days, so that he equated the three days of fasting with the feeding of three ṣāʿ? For that more resembles the expiation at the recompense of the game than the expiation at the killing of game resembles the expiation of the one who approaches his wife in the month of Ramaḍān? Then it is answered: analogy (qiyās) is only the referring of the disputed derivative cases (furūʿ) back to their counterparts from the agreed-upon foundational principles (uṣūl) about which there is consensus; and there is no disagreement among all of the bearers of proof that it does not suffice an expiator who expiates for the killing of game with fasting to equate the fasting of one day with a ṣāʿ of food. Since that is so, and it is not permissible to transgress that in what is transmitted of the religion about which there is consensus, it is thereby established that the ruling of equating fasting to food at the killing of game differs from the ruling of equating it in the expiation of shaving, since it is not permissible and one enters upon the other by way of analogy; and it is permissible only to base the derivative case on the foundational principle. And it is all the same whether one says: why did you not refer the ruling of fasting in the expiation of the killing of game back to its ruling at shaving on account of harm, concerning that with which it is equated from food; or whether another says: why did you not refer the ruling of fasting at shaving back to its ruling in the expiation of the killing of game, concerning that with which it is equated from food, so that you impose upon him in place of each mudd, or in place of each half ṣāʿ, the fasting of one day?
And we have already set forth earlier that "al-ʿadl" in the language of the Arabs, with the fatḥa (al-ʿadl), is the measure of a thing from another kind, and that "al-ʿidl" (with the kasra) is the measure of it from the same kind. And some scholars of the language of the Arabs used to say: "al-ʿadl" is a verbal noun of the saying of the speaker: "ʿadaltu bi-hādhā ʿadlan ḥasanan" (I have set this in a good comparison). He said: and "al-ʿadl", likewise with the fatḥa, is the like (al-mithl); but they made a distinction between "al-ʿadl" in this case and "ʿidl al-matāʿ" (the equivalent of the goods), in that they pronounced the ʿayn in "ʿidl al-matāʿ" with a kasra, and pronounced it with a fatḥa in their saying: and no ransom (ʿadl) is accepted from it (2:48), and in the word of Allah, mighty and exalted: or the equivalent (ʿadl) of that in fasting — just as they said: "a demure woman (razān)" and "a firm stone (razīn)". And some of them said: "al-ʿadl" is equity in justice, and "al-ʿidl" with the kasra is the like; and we have already set forth that earlier with proof-texts. And as for the accusative of "al-ṣiyām" (the fasting), that is [here the text ends]
