1. Freedom from injustice: the cut must be made at a joint, or at a natural limit beyond which the organ does not extend—such as the cartilage at the tip of the nose.

2. Exact correspondence in both name and location: a right limb is not taken for a left, nor a left for a right; a little finger is not taken for a ring finger; an original digit is not taken for an extra one, nor the reverse—and even mutual consent cannot make such substitutions lawful.

3. Equality in soundness and completeness: a sound limb is not taken for a paralyzed one, nor a hand with all its fingers for one that lacks some, nor a sound limb for a crippled one. The reverse may be taken, and no additional compensation (arsh) is due.

Section

The second category concerns wounds. Retaliation is carried out for every wound that reaches the bone—such as a mūḍiḥa (a head wound that exposes bone) or a wound to the upper arm, shin, thigh, or foot. No retaliation is taken for any other cranial injuries (shujāj) or bodily wounds—except a broken tooth—unless the injury is more severe than a mūḍiḥa, like a hāshima (which crushes bone), a munqallia (which displaces bone fragments), or a maʾmūma (which reaches the brain membrane). In such cases the victim may exact retaliation equivalent to a mūḍiḥa and claim indemnity for the excess.

If several persons jointly sever a limb or inflict a wound that incurs retaliation, they are all liable to retaliation.

Any subsequent harm caused by the original offense is guaranteed: whether it leads to death or anything less, the offender is answerable with retaliation or blood-money.¹ The after-effects of the retaliation itself, however, are waived.

Retaliation is not carried out for a limb or a wound until it has healed, nor is blood-money demanded for it before then.

¹ i.e., the diya appropriate to the injury.