was one of the caliphs whom we have been commanded to follow. Such a ruling would generally not have been based merely on independent reasoning; rather, there may have been a text which he ruled by—may Allah be pleased with him—though he did not transmit it from the Prophet ﷺ.

As for the reasoning, it is that anything less than one-third is a small amount, not burdensome for the offender himself to pay, and he does not need to impose it upon others in order to receive their support. This is due to the Prophet’s ﷺ saying: “One-third—and one-third is much.” (1) Accordingly, the liable agnatic relatives do not bear anything less than one-third, but they bear one-third and anything above it.

Question: If a Muslim kills a Zoroastrian, do the liable agnatic relatives bear the blood-money?

Answer: They do not bear it, because it is less than one-third of the full blood-money: his blood-money is eight hundred dirhams.

Some scholars said that the liable agnatic relatives do bear it, since it constitutes a full blood-money. However, the well-known position of the school is that they do not bear it, because it is a small amount and does not require aid and support.