Muwatta Malik #1720
The Oath of Qasama
The Arabic includes the chain of narration (sanad) and the collector's commentary; the English translation shows the Prophet's words only.
قَالَ يَحْيَى قَالَ مَالِكٌ الْقَسَامَةُ فِي قَتْلِ الْخَطَإِ يُقْسِمُ الَّذِينَ يَدَّعُونَ الدَّمَ وَيَسْتَحِقُّونَهُ بِقَسَامَتِهِمْ يَحْلِفُونَ خَمْسِينَ يَمِينًا تَكُونُ عَلَى قَسْمِ مَوَارِيثِهِمْ مِنَ الدِّيَةِ فَإِنْ كَانَ فِي الأَيْمَانِ كُسُورٌ إِذَا قُسِمَتْ بَيْنَهُمْ نُظِرَ إِلَى الَّذِي يَكُونُ عَلَيْهِ أَكْثَرُ تِلْكَ الأَيْمَانِ إِذَا قُسِمَتْ فَتُجْبَرُ عَلَيْهِ تِلْكَ الْيَمِينُ . قَالَ مَالِكٌ فَإِنْ لَمْ يَكُنْ لِلْمَقْتُولِ وَرَثَةٌ إِلاَّ النِّسَاءُ فَإِنَّهُنَّ يَحْلِفْنَ وَيَأْخُذْنَ الدِّيَةَ فَإِنْ لَمْ يَكُنْ لَهُ وَارِثٌ إِلاَّ رَجُلٌ وَاحِدٌ حَلَفَ خَمْسِينَ يَمِينًا وَأَخَذَ الدِّيَةَ وَإِنَّمَا يَكُونَ ذَلِكَ فِي قَتْلِ الْخَطَإِ وَلاَ يَكُونُ فِي قَتْلِ الْعَمْدِ .
Yahya said that Malik said, "The way of doing things in our
community about Yahya said that Malik said, "The procedure in swearing
in manslaughter is that those who claim blood swear and it becomes due
by their swearing. They swear fifty oaths, and there is blood-money
for them according to the division of their inheritances. If it is not
possible to divide up the oaths which they swear between them evenly,
one looks to the one who has most of those oaths against him, and that
oath is obliged against him."
Malik said, "If the slain man
only has female heirs, they swear and take the blood-money. If he only
has one male heir, he swears fifty oaths and takes the blood-money.
That is only in the accidental killing, not in the intentional one."
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About Muwatta Malik
This hadith is #1720 from Muwatta Malik, in the Book of The Oath of Qasama.