that no liability attached to any blood shed, property taken, or sexual relations engaged in on the basis of an interpretation of the Quran.” In another wording: “In this regard, treat them like the people of the pre-Islamic era.” For this reason, “the Prophet (may Allah bless him and grant him peace) did not hold Usāmah liable for the blood of the man he killed after the man had said, ‘There is no deity worthy of worship except Allah,’” because he killed him on the basis of an interpretation. That is, although they regarded what was prohibited as lawful, their ignorance and reliance on an interpretation placed them in the same position as the people of the pre-Islamic era regarding exemption from liability, though they differed from them with respect to Allah’s pardon and mercy. For this community has been pardoned for error and forgetfulness, unlike the unbeliever, who is not forgiven for the disbelief into which he fell through error.

Section

What I have explained concerning obligations a Muslim omits or prohibited acts he commits on the basis of an interpretation derived from independent legal reasoning or following another’s judgment is clear to me. His position in this regard is better than that of an unbeliever acting on an interpretation. This does not prevent me from fighting a rebel acting on an interpretation, flogging someone who drinks intoxicants on the basis of an interpretation, or taking similar measures. An interpretation does not waive worldly punishment in every case, since punishment is intended to avert the harm caused by transgression, just as it does not waive punishment for an unbeliever.

Rather, the issue concerns making up the obligations he omitted, and the contracts he concluded and assets he received on the basis of an interpretation,