She then likewise performs liʿān, saying: “I testify by Allah that this husband of mine is indeed among the liars concerning his accusation that I committed zina with so-and-so, and that this child is his and not the product of zina.” She repeats this four times. Then, on the fifth occasion, she says: “May Allah’s anger be upon me if this husband of mine is among the truthful concerning his accusation that I committed zina with so-and-so.” Once she has said this, no fixed penalty is imposed upon her, and the child is not attributed to the husband. The marriage is not dissolved until the judge separates them.
If the husband performs liʿān but she does not, no fixed penalty is imposed upon her. Is she to be detained until she performs liʿān or confesses? There are two reports. According to one, she is detained; according to the other, she is not detained.
If a woman slanders her husband, the fixed penalty is imposed upon her, and she does not perform liʿān. If the husband later admits that he was lying after performing liʿān, the child is attributed to him, and the fixed penalty for slander is imposed upon him. According to one report, his wife remains unlawful to him; according to another, she is lawful to him.
As for retaliation and blood money in cases of offenses against persons, offenses against life are of three types: intentional, accidental, and quasi-intentional.
Purely intentional killing is when a person deliberately kills another using an instrument that cuts with its edge, such as iron; something that penetrates flesh as iron does; or something that generally kills by its weight, such as stones or wood. This is intentional killing and entails retaliation.
The ruling concerning intentional killing is that, provided the two parties are legally equal in status, the victim’s heir entitled to the blood-right has the choice between retaliation and blood money. The person entitled to this right is the heir to the victim’s estate, whether male or female, through a prescribed share or agnatic succession. They may not exact retaliation unless they all agree to do so. If one of them pardons the killer, retaliation is waived and blood money becomes due.
If one of them is a minor or insane, the adult or sane heir may not act independently until the minor reaches puberty and the insane person regains sanity.
The equivalence of the two bloods means that the killer is not superior to the victim by virtue of being free or Muslim. If the killer is superior to the victim in either respect—such as when a free person kills a slave, or a Muslim kills a disbeliever—there is no retaliation.