and the Prophet’s ﷺ words to Abū Rimtha concerning his son: “You are not accountable for his offence, nor is he accountable for yours”; and his words ﷺ: “Allah has pardoned my community for mistakes, forgetfulness, and what they are compelled to do.” Nevertheless, the Sunnah and scholarly consensus establish this ruling as an exception to the apparent meaning of all these texts in the Quran, prophetic traditions, and transmitted reports.

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It consists of five equal groups: twenty one-year-old she-camels, twenty two-year-old she-camels, twenty two-year-old male camels, twenty three-year-old she-camels, and twenty four-year-old she-camels. This is the position of Mālik—may Allah have mercy on him—and all his companions, as well as that of al-Shāfiʿī, Abū Hanīfa, and their companions, except that Abū Hanīfa substitutes one-year-old male camels for the two-year-old males. A group of the early scholars, including ʿAlī ibn Abī Tālib, held that blood money for accidental killing consists of four equal groups. They differed considerably over the ages of the camels, but this is not the place to set out those differences, since my purpose is not to recount disagreements but to summarize the school’s position. None of these matters admits of personal judgment or analogy. Each party claims that its position rests on transmitted authority as an independent basis, not on analogy.

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For those whose wealth consists of gold or silver, blood money is the amount at which ʿUmar ibn al-Khattāb—may Allah be pleased with him—valued it: one thousand dinars, with his assessment for those whose wealth consists of silver being ten thousand dirhams. Abū Hanīfa and his companions adopted this view. There is no disagreement in the reports from ʿUmar ibn al-Khattāb