Answer: Allah the Exalted has mentioned only two alternatives—freeing a slave or fasting—whereas in other expiations He has listed three. This proves that for accidental killing nothing suffices except one of the two: manumission or fasting.

Question: Several years ago I was involved in a traffic accident that led to the death of a person. I paid part of the blood-money to his heirs and they waived the remainder. I was told, however, that an expiation is still due: either fasting two consecutive months or feeding sixty poor people. I cannot manage the fast because I am a government employee whose job is such that I cannot combine it with fasting, and I must keep working since it is, after Allah, my source of livelihood. May I switch to feeding instead? How is it done? And what if I am presently unable even to feed the poor—does the expiation remain a debt on my conscience until I am able to fulfill it? Please advise me, and may Allah bless you.

Answer: Allah, the Most High, says, “It is not for a believer to kill another believer except by mistake; and whoever kills a believer by mistake must free a believing slave and pay blood-money handed over to his family, unless they remit it as charity … but whoever cannot find [one] must fast for two consecutive months, seeking repentance from Allah; and Allah is All-Knowing, All-Wise” (4:92).

Therefore, anyone who kills a believer by mistake—or kills someone living under Muslim protection—must offer the expiation that Allah has set forth, observing the order between the two acts:

First: the emancipation of a slave. If a slave is available and he is able to purchase one, he must set that slave free; or if a slave is already in his possession, he must liberate him as expiation for what he has committed