he must fast one day for every mudd, however many days that may total, but the count is never taken beyond two lunar months.

The game is to be appraised, at the place where it was killed, in terms of food; the corresponding value in livestock is not assessed. If the game is first priced in dirhams and those dirhams are then converted into food, the expiation is valid, though the first method is sounder according to Mālik. The appraisal rests with the two arbiters, and the feeding of the poor is to be carried out in the very spot where the game was taken, whether inside the Sanctuary or outside it. If no food is available there, then in the nearest place where food can be obtained. This is the preferred view: the compensatory animal is not slaughtered, nor is food distributed in its stead, except where the penalty became due.

Fasting, however, is permissible anywhere, and even feeding the poor in any location would, in Mālik’s opinion, fulfill the obligation. Each poor person receives one mudd, or the offender fasts one day in place of every mudd.

A fresh judgment must be sought for every incident, whether or not an earlier appraisal exists; yet, if one suffices with the valuations laid down by the Companions for game compensation, that is praiseworthy.

It is also reported from Mālik that, apart from the Meccan pigeon, the onager, the gazelle, and the ostrich, every species of game requires a new appraisal, while for these four the valuations handed down by the early generations—may Allah have mercy on them—are sufficient.