He—may Allah have mercy on him—was asked about a man killed by a group. Two men were present at his killing, the group had agreed to kill him, and the district judge and the provincial authorities’ deputies witnessed him being struck.

He replied:

Praise be to Allah. If evidence establishes who struck him until he died, whether one person or more, the victim’s heirs may have all of them executed in retaliation, or only some of them. If the killer’s identity is unknown, the victim’s heirs may swear that a particular individual killed him, and judgment granting them the right to retaliation shall be given in their favour. And Allah knows best.

He—may Allah have mercy on him—was asked:

A group gathered and swore an oath together to kill a Muslim man. They took along another group who had not been present when they swore their oath. They approached the man, struck him with swords and maces, and threw him into the sea. Are they all subject to retaliation, or not?

He replied:

If they jointly kill a person whose life is inviolable, with all of them directly participating in the killing, they are all subject to execution in retaliation. But if some directly carried out the killing, while others stood guard over