Al-Muqaddimāt al-Mumahhidāt - Ibn Rush al-Jadd - (3/308)

Al-Muqaddimāt al-MumahhidātIbn Rush al-Jadd

and the Children of Israel passed by him in search of the cow. When they saw it in his possession, they offered to buy it from him in exchange for another cow, but he refused. They offered him two, but he refused. They kept increasing their offer until they reached ten, yet he still refused. They said, “By Allah, we will not leave you until we obtain it from you!” They took him to Moses, peace be upon him, and said, “O Moses, we found a cow belonging to this man, but he refuses to give it to us, although we have offered him its price.” Moses told him, “Give them your cow.” He replied, “O Messenger of Allah, surely I have the greater right to my own property.” Moses said, “You are right.” He then told the people, “Give this man an offer that satisfies him.” They offered him its weight in gold, so he sold it to them and received its price. They slaughtered it and did as they had been commanded, striking the slain man with part of it. Allah restored him to life, and he identified his killer.

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Further evidence supporting Mālik’s position is the report that qasāma oaths were practised before Islam and that the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, retained them in Islam to deter people from killing. The apparent meaning is that this practice was retained in Islam as it had existed before Islam. The pre-Islamic Arabs accepted a slain person’s accusation against his killer and passed judgment on that basis.

Moreover, requiring qasāma oaths does not depend upon absolute certainty or conclusive proof. What is sought is an indication that reinforces the claim of the victim’s heirs and casts suspicion upon the defendant, making their claim appear most likely to be true. Hence the terms latkh and lawth, both conveying the sense of incriminating suspicion. All this serves to safeguard lives and prevent people from daring to take them.

It is well known that, as death approaches, people turn back to Allah, feel the need to repent, abandon their sins, and regret them. This is a self-evident fact that cannot be denied. Thus, when someone in that condition identifies his killer, his statement is most likely to be true: it is implausible to suspect that someone in such a condition would wish to incur the sin of murder.

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As for a person’s statement, “So-and-so killed me accidentally,” two positions are reported from Mālik:

The first is that his statement is accepted and qasāma oaths are sworn on its basis, just as in cases of intentional killing.

فمرت به بنو إسرائيل يطلبون البقرة فأبصروا البقرة عنده فسألوه أن يبيعها منهم ببقرة فأبى فأعطوه اثنتين فأبى، فزادوه حتى بلغوا عشرا فأبى، فقالوا له والله لا نتركك حتى نأخذها منك، فانطلقوا به إلى موسى ﵇ فقالوا يا موسى إنا وجدنا عند هذا بقرة فأبى أن يعطينا إياها وقد أعطيناه ثمنها. فقال له موسى أعطهم بقرتك، فقال: يا رسول الله أنا أحق بمالي، فقال صدقت. وقال للقوم أرضوا صاحبكم فأعطوه وزنها ذهبا فباعهم إياها وأخذ ثمنها، فذبحوها وفعلوا ما أمروا به من ضرب القتيل ببعضها فأحياه الله فأخبر بقاتله. فصل ومن الدليل أيضا على صحة قول مالك ما روي أن القسامة كانت في الجاهلية فأقرها رسول الله ﷺ في الإسلام ليتناهى الناس عن القتل. فظاهر هذا أنها مقرة في الإسلام على ما كانت عليه في الجاهلية، وقد كانت العرب في الجاهلية تقبل دعوى المقتول على قاتله وتحكم به. وأيضا فإنه ليس المبتغى في إيجاب القسامة القطع والبت، وإنما المبتغى شبهة تنضاف إلى دعوى الولاة تقويها وتلطخ المدعى عليه حتى يغلب على الظن صدق دعواهم، ولذلك سمي لطخا ولوثا، كل ذلك حراسة للدماء ومنعا من الاجتراء عليها. والمعلوم من حال الناس عند الموت الإنابة والاستشعار للتوبة والإقلاع عن المعاصي والندم عليها، هذا ما لا يدفع ضرورة، فإذا أخبر في تلك الحال بقاتله غلب على الظن صدق مقاله إذ يبعد أن يتهم من هو في تلك الحال أن يريد أن يبوء بإثم القتل. فصل وأما قوله قتلني فلان خطأ ففي ذلك عن مالك روايتان: إحداهما: أن قوله يقبل وتكون معه القسامة كالعمد.