Al-Qudūrī - Al-Quduri - (192)

Chapter on Qisāmah (the Multiple-Oath Procedure)

When a slain person is found within a quarter and no one knows who killed him, the victim’s walī (guardian-heir) chooses fifty men from among its inhabitants to swear by Allah, saying, “We did not kill him, nor do we know who killed him.” Once they have sworn, judgment is entered against the people of that quarter for the diyah (blood-money). The walī himself is not asked to swear, nor is a ruling of intentional homicide awarded in his favor. If the inhabitants are fewer than fifty, the oaths are repeated among them until the full fifty oaths are completed.

A child, an insane person, a woman, or a slave does not take part in the qisāmah.

If the corpse bears no mark of violence, there is neither qisāmah nor diyah. The same applies when blood is seen flowing from his nose, anus, or mouth; but if it issues from his eyes or ears, he is deemed to have been killed.

If the body is found mounted on an animal being led by someone, the diyah is paid by that man’s ʿāqilah (his male agnates) rather than by the quarter’s residents. If it is found in a person’s house, the qisāmah is taken from that householder and the diyah is borne by his ʿāqilah.

According to Abū Ḥanīfah, tenants are not included in the qisāmah alongside the owners; liability falls on the original allottees of the district, not on those who later purchased property there—even if only one of the former remains.

If the victim is found aboard a ship, the qisāmah is taken from everyone on board—passengers and crew alike. If he is found in a neighborhood mosque, the qisāmah is on that neighborhood’s inhabitants; but if he is found in the congregational mosque or on the main thoroughfare, no qisāmah is taken and the diyah is paid from the public treasury (bayt al-māl).

If he is found in open wilderness with no habitation nearby, the case is void and no diyah is due. If he is discovered between two villages, liability rests with the nearer one. If he is found in midstream of the Euphrates, carried along by the water, no diyah is owed; but if he is stranded on the bank, responsibility falls upon the nearest village.

باب القسامة وإذا وجد القتيل في محلة ولا يعلم من قتله استحلف خمسون رجلا منهم يتخيرهم الولي: بالله ما قتلناه ولا علمنا له قاتلا فإذا حلفوا قضي على أهل المحلة بالدية ولا يستحلف الولي ولا يقضي له بالجناية وإن لم يكمل أهل المحلة كررت الأيمان عليهم حتى يتم خمسون ولا يدخل في القسامة صبي ولا مجنون ولا امرأة ولا عبد وإن وجد ميت لا أثر به فلا قسامة ولا دية وكذلك إن كان الدم يسيل من أنفه أو من دبره أو من فمه فإن كان يخرج من عينيه أو من أذنه فهو قتيل وإذا وجد القتيل على دابة يسوقها رجل فالدية على عاقلته دون أهل المحلة وإن وجد القتيل في دار إنسان فالقسامة عليه والدية على عاقلته ولا يدخل السكان في القسامة مع الملاك عند أبي حنيفة وهي على أهل الخطة دون المشترين ولو بقي منهم واحد وإن وجد القتيل في سفينة فالقسامة على من فيها من الركاب والملاحين وإن وجد القتيل في مسجد محلة فالقسامة على أهلها وإن وجد في الجامع أو الشارع الأعظم فلا قسامة فيه والدية على بيت المال وإن وجد في برية ليس بقربها عمارة فهو هدر وإن وجد بين قريتين كان على أقربهما وإن وجد في وسط الفرات بمر به الماء فهو هدر فإن كان محتسبا بالشاطئ فهو على أقرب القرى من ذلك