as if it had taken form. This is invalidated by the drop (nutfah) and the clot (alaqah).
Third Section: The ghurrah is a slave or a slave-girl. This is the opinion of the majority of scholars. Urwah, Tawus, and Mujahid said: It is a slave, a slave-girl, a horse, or a mule, because "ghurrah" is a name for that, and it has come in the hadith of Abu Hurayrah, who said: The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) decreed for the fetus a ghurrah of a slave, a slave-girl, a horse, or a mule. Ibn Sirin substituted "a hundred sheep" in place of the horse, and al-Sha'bi said something similar, because it was narrated in a hadith from the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) that he set for its offspring a hundred sheep. It was narrated by Abu Dawud. It was narrated from Abd al-Malik ibn Marwan that he decreed for a fetus, if it is aborted (umliṣa), twenty dinars; if it is a mudghah, forty; if it is a bone, sixty; if the bone is clothed with flesh, eighty; and if its creation is complete and it is clothed with hair, one hundred dinars. Qatadah said: If it is a clot (alaqah), it is one-third of a ghurrah, and if it is a mudghah, it is two-thirds of a ghurrah. Our argument is the decree of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) regarding the abortion of the woman as a slave or a slave-girl, and the Sunnah of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) takes precedence over what contradicts it. The mention of the horse and the mule in the hadith is an error exclusively attributed to Isa ibn Yunus among all the narrators, so it is apparent that he erred regarding it, and it is abandoned in the case of the mule without disagreement, and likewise in the case of the horse. This hadith that we mentioned is the most authentic of what has been narrated concerning it, and it is agreed upon (muttafaq alayh), and the majority of scholars have held this opinion, so what contradicts it is not to be considered. The statement of Abd al-Malik ibn Marwan is an arbitrary determination (tahakkum) with an estimation that no religious text (shar') has established, and likewise is the statement of Qatadah, and the statement of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) is more deserving of being followed than theirs.
(27) Omitted from the original. (28) Its verification has been presented in 11/463; it is in this wording according to Abu Dawud. (29) In the chapter: "On the blood money (diyah) for the fetus," from the Book of Blood Money (al-Diyat). Sunan Abi Dawud 2/499. In the narration: "five hundred" instead of "a hundred." Abu Dawud said: The correct reading is "a hundred." (30) In B: "mulis." (31) The "wa" (and) was omitted from B and M. (32) In B: "khalafahu" (contradicted it). In M: "khalafahum" (contradicted them). (33) In M: "wa kadhalik" (and likewise). (34) In B there is an addition: "wa in" (and if).
