a slave girl with silver ornaments using a stone, so the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) killed him between two stones. [Muttafaq ‘alayh]. Abu Hurayrah also narrated that he said: The Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) stood up and said: "Whoever has a person killed, he is in the best of two options: either he accepts blood money or he demands retribution (qisas)." [Muttafaq ‘alayh]. This is because it usually kills, so it resembles a sharp object. As for the hadith, it is interpreted as referring to a small blunt object, because he mentioned the staff and the whip, and linked the stone to them, which indicates that he intended something similar to them. Their saying that it cannot be defined is invalid, for we make qisas obligatory based on what we are certain will cause death by its intensity, and if we are in doubt, we do not make it obligatory alongside the doubt. The issue of small wounds has already been discussed. Furthermore, it is not correct to define it by the wound, as proven by the case where one kills another with fire or with a heavy iron object. Once this is established, this type is divided into several categories: one of them is striking him with a large heavy object that usually kills, whether it is made of iron, such as the mallet, the anvil, and the hammer, or a heavy stone, or a large piece of wood. Al-Khiraqi defined the large piece of wood as anything larger than the tent pole of a fustat (a medium-sized tent), meaning the poles that the Bedouins use for their dwellings.
(13) Al-awdah: silver ornaments. See Gharib al-Hadith 3/188. (14) Recorded by al-Bukhari in: Chapter: If one is killed with a stone or a staff, from the Book of Blood Money (al-Diyat). Sahih al-Bukhari 9/5, 6; and Muslim in: Chapter: The Establishment of Retribution in Killing with a Stone and Otherwise, from the Book of Qasamah. Sahih Muslim 3/1299, 1300. It was also recorded by Abu Dawud in: Chapter: Retribution is Taken from the Killer, and Chapter: Retribution with Non-Iron, from the Book of Blood Money. Sunan Abi Dawud 2/487-489; and al-Nasa’i in: Chapter: Retribution of a Man for a Woman, and Chapter: Retribution with Non-Iron, from the Book of Qasamah. al-Mujtaba 8/20, 32; and Imam Ahmad in: al-Musnad 3/170, 171. (15) In A and M: an addition of "that". (16) Recorded by al-Bukhari in: Chapter: How to Identify Lost Property of the People of Makkah, from the Book of Luqtah, and in: Chapter: Whoever Has a Person Killed, He is in the Best of Two Options, from the Book of Blood Money. Sahih al-Bukhari 3/165, 9/6; and Muslim in: Chapter: The Sanctity of Makkah..., from the Book of Hajj. Sahih Muslim 2/988, 989. It was also recorded by Abu Dawud in: Chapter: The Heir of the Intentional Victim is Satisfied with Blood Money, from the Book of Blood Money. Sunan Abi Dawud 2/481; and al-Nasa’i in: Chapter: Is Blood Money Taken from the Intentional Killer, from the Book of Qasamah. al-Mujtaba 8/34. (17) In M: "with the likeness of". (18) Al-latt: that which is crushed or pulverized, meaning struck or ground. (19) In B: "the Arabs".
