the buyer stipulates otherwise.” (1) Thus, he assigned the property to the one who sold him.
From the author’s statement, “No blood-money liability is due from a slave,” it is understood that, for the agnatic relatives to bear liability, the liable relative must be free.
His statement, “or an legally incompetent person,” means that no blood-money liability is due from one who is legally incompetent. Those who are legally incompetent are a minor and an insane person, based on the Prophet’s statement: “The pen has been lifted from three: from a child until he reaches puberty, from an insane person until he regains reason, and from one asleep until he awakens.” (2) Therefore, a minor is not held liable, even if he possesses abundant wealth; nor is an insane person held liable, even if he possesses abundant wealth, because they are not ordinarily among those who render support. From this, the second condition is derived: legal competence.
His statement, “or a poor person”: this word is derived from faqr (poverty), which denotes emptiness. It corresponds to qafr (a desolate place), meaning an empty place. This is called minor derivation—that is, the two words share the same letters but differ in their order.
Thus, a poor person—one who possesses nothing—is not held liable for any payment, even if he is a close relative of the offender, because he has no wealth. Nor can it be said that it becomes a debt upon him until Allah enriches him, for the matter is founded upon mutual support and protection. How can we oblige someone who is poor and destitute to pay money?