He replied:

Praise be to Allah.

This is the burying alive of children concerning which Allah Most High said:

“And when the girl buried alive is asked for what sin she was killed.”

Allah Most High also said:

“Do not kill your children for fear of poverty.”

In the two Sahīh collections, Ibn Mas‘ūd reported that the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, was asked, “Which sin is the gravest?” He replied, “To set up a rival to Allah when He created you.” He was asked, “Then which?” He replied, “To kill your child for fear that he will share your food.”

If Allah has forbidden killing one’s child even in circumstances of need and fear of poverty, then its prohibition in the absence of such circumstances is all the more certain. According to the majority of scholars, this woman must pay blood money to the child’s heirs. By agreement of the imams, she is entitled to none of it. There are two opinions as to whether she must offer expiation. Allah knows best.

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

If a man slaps, wounds, or insults another man, may the latter do to him what he did?

He replied:

As for “retaliation for a slap or a blow” and similar acts, the position of the Rightly Guided Caliphs and other Companions, as well as the Successors, is that retaliation is prescribed in all such cases. This is also Ahmad’s expressly stated position, as transmitted by Ismā‘īl ibn Sa‘īd al-Shālanjī. Many jurists, however, held that retaliation is not prescribed in such cases, because exact equivalence is generally unattainable. This is the position of many followers of Abū Hanīfah, Mālik, al-Shāfi‘ī, and Ahmad.