whether he must offer expiation, there is disagreement. If he does so, he has taken the more cautious course, for expiation is obligatory in cases of accidental killing.

As for intentional killing, the majority hold that no expiation is required. This is the view of Mālik, Abū Hanīfah and Ahmad, according to the well-known position reported from him. Al-Shāfiʿī and Ahmad, according to another reported position, hold that expiation is obligatory.

If someone dies owing an expiation without having performed it, his next of kin should feed sixty needy people on his behalf. This substitutes for the fasting he lacked the strength to perform. If the needy may be fed on his behalf for missed Ramadan fasts, then doing so here is all the more appropriate.

When a woman fasts for two consecutive months, menstruation does not interrupt their continuity. Rather, she resumes where she left off once she becomes ritually pure, by agreement of the imams. Allah knows best.

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

“A man struck another man with a sword, paralyzing his hand. He later came to him and gave him exactly four feddans of farmland as a settlement. The injured man enjoyed its yield for twelve years, but they never put anything in writing, and the injured man is in poor circumstances. Is the assailant liable for compensation?”

Answer

He replied:

“If he reached a settlement with him for the paralysis of his hand in return for something, then the agreed settlement is binding. The injured man may not demand more, nor may the assailant reduce it. If, however, he gave him something without reaching a settlement, the injured man may claim the remainder of his entitlement. Paralysis of a hand entails the compensation prescribed for the loss of a hand. Allah knows best.”