Chapter on the ʿĀqila

The ʿāqila are the offender’s male agnates, whether related by blood or by clientage.

The ʿāqila do not bear liability for intentional homicide, for damage involving a slave, for a confession made by the offender, for an amount less than one-third of the full blood money for a Muslim male, or for the value of destroyed property.

They are, however, responsible for blood money arising from accidental or quasi-intentional homicide, payable in deferred instalments over three years. In a case of killing, the first year is counted from the moment of death; in a case of wounding, from the time the injury heals. Payment begins with the closest agnates and then the next closest, following the same order as inheritance.

It is not a condition that the payers actually inherit from the offender; it is enough that they would inherit were it not for a blocking heir.

No liability falls on a poor person, a minor, an insane person², or a woman, even if she is a freedwoman.

Whoever has no ʿāqila, or has one that is unable to pay, owes no blood money; instead, it is taken from the public treasury, just as with the diya of someone who dies in a crush—such as during the Friday prayer or while performing ṭawāf. If it is impossible to recover the amount from the treasury, the obligation is waived.