transactions conducted among the disbelievers, if they conform to the Sacred Law, are accepted. Likewise, profit-sharing partnerships in capital were known in the pre-Islamic period, and Islam approved them.

His statement, “It consists of repeated oaths in a claim concerning the killing of a person whose life is inviolable”: the form of qasamah is that a group claims that So-and-so killed their deceased relative, and they swear that he was the killer, repeating the oaths. If they do so and the conditions of qasamah are fulfilled, the defendant is handed over to them and they execute him. There is no evidentiary proof in this procedure; rather, it rests solely upon these oaths.

Its definition may be illustrated by an example: Zayd’s heirs claim against a man that he killed their deceased relative. The man says, “I did not kill him,” while they say, “Rather, you are the killer.” They then bring their dispute before the judge, who asks them, “Will you swear that he killed your deceased relative?” They reply, “Yes, we will swear.” Once they have sworn fifty oaths against this man, affirming that he killed their deceased relative, he is seized and executed.

In fact, qasamah differs from other legal claims in three respects:

First: the claimant’s statement is accepted, and the oath is assigned to his side.

Second: the oaths are repeated.

Third: the claimant swears concerning something he did not see. Nevertheless, it is a ruling of the Sacred Law.

As for the first respect—namely, that the claimant’s statement is accepted and the oath is assigned to his side—it does not, upon careful consideration, depart from the established principles, because you