the option for his ransom and handing him over transfers to him, just as with the first master. If he was unaware, he has the option between retaining him or returning him, like other defective goods.

1466- Issue: He said, "The 'aqilah (those responsible for paying blood money) are the paternal uncles, and their children, even if they are distant, according to one of the two narrations from Abu 'Abd Allah [Imam Ahmad]. The other narration is: the father, the son, the brothers, and all the agnates ('asabah) are part of the 'aqilah."

The 'aqilah are those who bear the 'aql. The 'aql is the blood money (diyah), which is called 'aql because it restrains (ta'qilu) the tongue of the guardian of the victim. It is also said that the 'aqilah are so named because they protect (yamna'una) the killer; the 'aql means protection (al-man'). For this reason, some sciences are called 'aql, because they prevent one from rushing into harms. There is no disagreement among the scholars that the 'aqilah are the agnates ('asabah), and that others such as maternal brothers, other uterine relatives, the spouse, and anyone other than the agnates are not among the 'aqilah. There is disagreement regarding the fathers and sons: are they part of the 'aqilah or not? There are two narrations from Ahmad on this; the first is that all agnates are part of the 'aqilah, which includes the killer's fathers, sons, brothers, paternal uncles, and their children. This is the choice of Abu Bakr and the Sharif Abu Ja'far. It is also the school of Malik and Abu Hanifah, because 'Amr ibn Shu'ayb reported from his father, from his grandfather, who said: The Messenger of Allah (may Allah bless him and grant him peace) decreed that the blood money for a woman is between her agnates, whoever they may be, and they do not inherit anything from her except what remains after her heirs have taken their share; if she is killed, her blood money is divided among her heirs. Narrated by Abu Dawud. And because they are agnates, they resemble the brothers. This is confirmed by the fact that the 'aql is established for mutual support, and they are among those who provide it, and because the agnates, in bearing the 'aql, are like they are in inheritance in terms of prioritizing the closest and then the next closest; his fathers and sons are the most entitled of the agnates to his inheritance, so they are the most worthy of bearing his 'aql. The second narration is that his fathers and sons are not part of the 'aqilah, and this is the opinion of al-Shafi'i, because Abu Hurayrah reported, saying: Two women from Hudhayl fought, and one of them threw a stone at the other and killed her. They brought the case to the Messenger of Allah (may Allah bless him and grant him peace), and he decreed the blood money for the woman to be upon her 'aqilah, while her children and those with them inherited from her. Agreed upon. In another narration: Then the killer died, and the Prophet (may Allah bless him and grant him peace) assigned her inheritance to her children and the blood money to the agnates. Narrated by Abu Dawud and al-Nasa'i. In a narration from Jabir ibn 'Abd Allah, he said: The Messenger of Allah (may Allah bless him and grant him peace) assigned the blood money of the killed woman to her 'aqilah and exonerated her husband and her children. He said: The 'aqilah of the killed woman said: "Her inheritance is ours." The Messenger of Allah (may Allah bless him and grant him peace) said: "Her inheritance is for her husband and her children." Narrated by Abu Dawud. If this is established regarding children, we draw an analogy for the father, because he is in the same position. Moreover, the wealth of his child and his father is like his own wealth; for this reason, the testimony of either of them for him is not accepted, nor is his testimony for them, and each of them is obligated to spend on the other if the other is in need while the former is affluent, and they are emancipated if he possesses them. Therefore, blood money is not required from his wealth, just as it is not required from the wealth of the killer. The apparent text of al-Khiraqi indicates that there are two narrations regarding the brothers, just as with the child and the father, while others among our companions consider them to be among the 'aqilah in all circumstances, and I do not know of any disagreement on this from others.