And here [51] they have been granted [their demand] based on their claim, whereas our hadith is more specific than it, so it must be given precedence. Furthermore, it is an argument against them, because the claimants were granted [their demand] based merely on their claim without any evidence (bayyina) or oath from them. Ibn Abd al-Barr narrated it with his chain of transmission from Amr ibn Shu'ayb, from his father, from his grandfather, that the Prophet, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, said: "The evidence is upon the claimant, and the oath is upon the one who denies, except in cases of Qasama (the collective oath to establish liability for homicide)." [52] It is mandatory to act upon this addition, because an addition from a reliable narrator (thiqa) is accepted, and because these are repeated oaths. Thus, one begins with the oaths of the claimants, just as in Li'an (oaths of imprecation). Once this is established, the oaths of Qasama are fifty, repeated, according to what has come down in the authentic hadiths, and upon which the scholars have reached consensus; we know of no one who has opposed this.

Fourth Section: When the heirs (awliya') take the oath, they become entitled to retaliation (qawad), provided that the claim is for intentional homicide, unless there is a barrier preventing it. This is narrated from Ibn al-Zubayr and Umar [54] ibn Abd al-Aziz, and it is the opinion held by Malik, Abu Thawr, and Ibn al-Mundhir. From Mu'awiya, Ibn Abbas, al-Hasan, and Ishaq, it is reported that only blood money is obligatory by it, due to the saying of the Prophet, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, to the Jews: "Either you pay the blood money for your companion, or you prepare for a war from Allah." [56] Also, because the oaths of the claimants are only based on preponderant conjecture (ghalabat al-zann) and the ruling of the apparent, so it is not permissible to shed blood based on them, as a strong ambiguity (shubha) exists; and because it is an argument by which neither marriage is established nor retaliation is made obligatory, just like the witness and the oath. Regarding al-Shafi'i, there are two views, corresponding to the two schools of thought. Our evidence is the saying of the Prophet, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him: "Fifty of you shall swear against a man from them, and he shall be handed over to you in his entirety." [56]