than the epistle of ʿAmr ibn Ḥazm, for the Companions of the Messenger of Allah ﷺ and the Successors used to refer back to it and set aside their own opinions.”

Al-Ḥākim said, “ʿUmar ibn ʿAbd al-ʿAzīz and the leading scholar of his age, al-Zuhrī, both testified to the authenticity of this document.”

Key vocabulary in the hadith:
• iʿtabaṭ: to kill someone without any offence or provocation that would warrant his death; the killer is subject to retaliation. Anyone who dies without a discernible illness is also described as muʿtabat.
• qatlan (killing): a killing committed without a crime or cause that would justify it; here it functions as an absolute object because it is a specific kind of killing.
• fa-innah (“for indeed he/it”): the apodosis of the conditional clause.
• bayyina (decisive proof): any clear evidence that establishes the truth.
• ’ūʿiba: to take something completely, leaving nothing behind; in this context it refers to the total severing of a person’s nose.
• al-shafatayni (the two lips): the fleshy parts that cover the teeth.
• qawad: retributive retaliation (qiṣāṣ); it is said, “The ruler qāda the killer for the slain,” meaning he executed him in return. The word derives from the idea of making the offender submit to the consequence of his deed.
• al-bayḍatayn (the two testes): the male reproductive glands (singular: khuṣya).
• al-ṣulb: the backbone, the spinal column.
• al-maʾmūma: a head wound that pierces the skin and reaches the dura mater, the membrane surrounding the brain.
• al-jāʾifa: a wound that penetrates into the inner cavity of the body, whether through the abdomen or