as a slave or a free person, and his confession regarding it is accepted. If the offense was by error, its indemnity (arsh) attaches to his person, because that is harmful to him. If its indemnity is greater than his value, and he has wealth in his possession, it shall be satisfied from it; and if it is of the type that the paternal relatives (aqila) bear, his statement is not accepted in dropping the excess, because that harms the victim, so his statement is not accepted regarding it. It was said: The excess becomes obligatory upon the public treasury (bayt al-mal), because that was a right owed to the victim, so his statement is not accepted in dropping it. If an offense was committed against him necessitating retaliation (qisas), and the perpetrator was free, it lapses; because a free person is not subjected to retaliation for a slave, and he has confessed to the victim that which causes the retaliation to lapse. If it was an offense requiring payment that decreases with servitude, the lesser of the two matters becomes obligatory. If it was equal to the obligation before the confession, it becomes obligatory, and he pays the obligation to his master. If the obligation is greater because his value as a slave is more than his blood money (diya) as a free person, then only the indemnity of the offense against a free person becomes obligatory. The one who accepts his statement in all legal rulings mandates the indemnity of the offense against the slave. If the indemnity is borne by the paternal relatives when he is free, it falls away from the paternal relatives and does not become obligatory upon the perpetrator; because his confession of servitude entails his confession of its removal from the paternal relatives, and it was not accepted in obligating it upon the perpetrator, so it lapsed. It was said: It does not shift away from the paternal relatives. And the one who says: His confession is not accepted in all legal rulings, mandates the indemnity upon the perpetrator.

Book of Bequests (Wasiyya)