the upper arm¹ or the thigh. Should the avenger ignore the ruling and exact retaliation strictly commensurate with his right, without the injury spreading, the act is deemed valid and he bears no liability.

3. Equality in designation. A hand is not amputated in return for a leg, nor a leg for a hand. Equality in location is likewise required: the right limb² is not taken for the left, nor the left for the right.

4. Consideration of soundness and completeness. A fully-fingered or³ fully-nailed hand is not taken for one that is missing fingers or nails, nor a sound eye for a diseased one, nor a speaking tongue for a mute tongue. No sound limb is retaliated for a withered one—whether hand, leg, finger, or penis⁴—nor is the virile penis taken for the castrated. Retaliation may, however, be taken with a healthy maran (the soft tip of the nose) for a paralyzed maran, and with a sound ear for a shriveled ear.

Section

For qiṣāṣ in wounds to be permissible, the wound must reach the bone—such as wounds of the upper arm, forearm, thigh, shin, or foot, and such head injuries as the muḍiḥa (bone-exposing cut), the hāshima (bone-crushing wound), the munqila (bone-removing fracture), and the maʾmūma (one that penetrates to the meninges).

Any subsequent deterioration caused by the act of retaliation is waived; deterioration resulting from the original injury remains compensable unless the victim exacts qiṣāṣ before it has healed—in which case that deterioration is likewise waived.