Minhaj as-Sunnah - Ibn Taimiya - (6/281)

Minhaj as-SunnahIbn Taimiya

If Ubayd Allah ibn Umar acted on an interpretation, believing that al-Hurmuzān had assisted in killing his father and that he was entitled to kill him, this constituted a doubt that a qualified jurist could regard as precluding obligatory retaliation, for many questions concerning retaliation are matters of juristic reasoning.

Moreover, al-Hurmuzān had no next of kin to seek redress for his blood (1); rather, his guardian was the ruler. When someone in such a position was killed, the ruler could execute his killer, since he was his guardian, or pardon him [in return for blood money, lest the rights of the Muslims be lost] (2). If (3) it is assumed that Uthmān pardoned him and decided to give the equivalent of the blood money to Umar’s family because of Umar’s debt—for he owed eighty thousand and had instructed his family to settle his debt from the property of his agnatic kin (4), his blood-money group, the Banū Adi and Quraysh, since a man’s blood-money group consists of those who bear his financial burdens—then, had Ubayd Allah or his agnatic kin claimed blood money, if Umar’s killing had been accidental [or if Ubayd Allah had pardoned his killer in return for blood money] (5), they would have been the ones to settle Umar’s debt. Thus, if (6) Uthmān used it to help settle Umar’s debt, this was one of his praiseworthy deeds, for which he should be commended rather than condemned.

The public treasury possessed abundant funds during Uthmān’s time, and he used to give people generous grants many times greater than this. How, then, could he not give this amount to Umar’s family?

(1) H, R, and B read: “for his blood.” (2) The passage enclosed in square brackets is absent from N and M. (3) N and M read: “And if.” (4) B reads *asabatihi* (“his agnatic kin”); all other manuscripts read *usbati* (“the agnatic kin of”). (5) The passage enclosed in square brackets is absent from N and M. (6) N and M read: “Then if.”

وَإِذَا كَانَ عُبَيْدُ اللَّهِ بْنُ عُمَرَ مُتَأَوِّلًا يَعْتَقِدُ أَنَّ الْهُرْمُزَانَ أَعَانَ عَلَى قَتْلِ أَبِيهِ، وَأَنَّهُ يَجُوزُ لَهُ قَتْلُهُ، صَارَتْ هَذِهِ شُبْهَةً يَجُوزُ أَنْ يَجْعَلَهَا الْمُجْتَهِدُ مَانِعَةً مِنْ وُجُوبِ الْقِصَاصِ، فَإِنَّ مَسَائِلَ الْقِصَاصِ فِيهَا مَسَائِلٌ كَثِيرَةٌ اجْتِهَادِيَّةٌ. وَأَيْضًا فَالْهُرْمُزَانَ لَمْ يَكُنْ لَهُ أَوْلِيَاءٌ يَطْلُبُونَ دَمَهُ (١) وَإِنَّمَا وَلِيُّهُ وَلِيُّ الْأَمْرِ. وَمِثْلُ هَذَا إِذَا قَتَلَهُ قَاتِلٌ كَانَ لِلْإِمَامِ قَتْلُ قَاتِلِهِ، لِأَنَّهُ وَلَيُّهُ، وَكَانَ لَهُ الْعَفْوُ عَنْهُ [إِلَى الدِّيَةِ لِئَلَّا تَضِيعَ حُقُوقُ الْمُسْلِمِينَ] (٢) . فَإِذَا (٣) قُدِّرَ أَنَّ عُثْمَانَ عَفَا عَنْهُ، وَرَأَى قَدْرَ الدِّيَةَ أَنْ يُعْطِيَهَا لِآلِ عُمَرَ، لِمَا كَانَ عَلَى عُمَرَ مِنَ الدَّيْنِ، فَإِنَّهُ كَانَ عَلَيْهِ ثَمَانُونَ أَلْفًا، وَأَمَرَ أَهْلَهُ أَنْ يَقْضُوا دَيْنَهُ مِنْ أَمْوَالِ عَصَبَتِهِ (٤) عَاقِلَتِهِ بَنِي عُدَيٍّ وَقُرَيْشٍ، فَإِنَّ عَاقِلَةَ الرَّجُلِ هُمُ الَّذِينَ يَحْمِلُونَ كَلَّهُ، وَالدِّيَةُ لَوْ طَالَبَ بِهَا عُبَيْدُ اللَّهِ، أَوْ عُصْبَةُ عُبَيْدِ اللَّهِ إِذَا كَانَ قَتْلُهُ خَطَأً [أَوْ عَفَا عَنْهُ إِلَى الدِّيَةِ] (٥) فَهُمُ الَّذِينَ يُؤَدُّونَ دَيْنَ عُمَرَ، فَإِذَا (٦) أَعَانَ بِهَا فِي دَيْنِ عُمَرَ كَانَ هَذَا مِنْ مَحَاسِنِ عُثْمَانَ الَّتِي يُمْدَحُ بِهَا لَا يُذَمُّ. وَقَدْ كَانَتْ أَمْوَالُ بَيْتِ الْمَالِ فِي زَمَنِ عُثْمَانَ كَثِيرَةً، وَكَانَ يُعْطِي النَّاسَ عَطَاءً كَثِيرًا أَضْعَافَ هَذَا، فَكَيْفَ لَا يُعْطِي هَذَا لِآلِ عُمَرَ؟

(١) ح، ر، ب: بِدَمِهِ. (٢) مَا بَيْنَ الْمَعْقُوفَتَيْنِ سَاقِطٌ مِنْ (ن) ، (م) . (٣) ن، م: وَإِذَا. (٤) عَصَبَتِهِ: كَذَا فِي (ب) ، وَفِي سَائِرِ النُّسَخِ: عُصْبَةِ. (٥) مَا بَيْنَ الْمَعْقُوفَتَيْنِ سَاقِطٌ مِنْ (ن) ، (م) . (٦) ن، م: فَإِنْ.