disagreement among any of the scholars regarding its authenticity. His words in it, “Will you swear oaths and thereby become entitled to retribution for your companion’s blood—or to his killer?” show that the killer may be executed on the basis of qasāma. If qasāma established only liability for blood money, rather than execution, as al-Shāfi‘ī held in one of his two opinions, the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, would have said: “Will you swear oaths and thereby become entitled to your companion’s blood money?”

This is clear, particularly in light of a version of the hadith transmitted through someone other than Mālik, in which the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said to the victim’s next of kin: “Name your companion’s killer, then swear fifty oaths against him, and he will be handed over to you.”

This statement of the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, is supported by another report, transmitted by ‘Amr ibn Shu‘ayb, from his father, from his grandfather: he had a man of Banū Nasr executed on the basis of qasāma at Bahrat al-Raghā’, on the bank of Liyya al-Bahra. It is also reported that he, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, ruled by qasāma in the case of ‘Āmir ibn al-Adbat when Yuhlim ibn Hamāma al-Laythī killed him. His next of kin swore the oaths, after which the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, invited them to accept blood money. They agreed, and he paid a hundred camels in compensation—the hadith continues.

These reports explain the intended meaning of the words of Allah, Mighty and Majestic, in the Quran:

“And whoever is killed unjustly, We have given his heir authority.” [al-Isrā’: 33]

Ibn Habīb related these last two reports in al-Wādiha.

In support of his view, expressed in one of his two opinions, that qasāma establishes an entitlement only to blood money, not to retribution for blood, al-Shāfi‘ī relied on the Prophet’s words in Mālik’s hadith: “Either pay blood money for their companion or face war.” This provides no proof for his position, since it may mean: if you agree to accept blood money and forgo retaliation after qasāma. Understood in this way, the different wordings of the hadith do not conflict.

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A version of this hadith transmitted through someone other than Mālik relates that the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, first called upon the Jews to swear. Abū Hanīfa and his companions relied on this and said: If someone is found slain in a quarter, bearing marks of violence, and his next of kin alleges that the inhabitants of that quarter killed him, or accuses a particular individual among them, fifty men from the quarter, chosen by the next of kin, must swear: “By Allah, we did not kill him, nor do we know who killed him.” If they do not