or does something that is permissible for him to do, which results in the destruction of a free person, whether Muslim or disbeliever, the blood money shall be upon his 'aqilah, and he is obligated to free a believing slave.)

The general sense is that error [homicide] is when one performs an act without intending to hit the person killed, but hits him and kills him, such as throwing at game or a target and hitting a person and killing him. Ibn al-Mundhir said: All scholars we have memorized from agree that erroneous killing is when the thrower throws something and hits someone else; I do not know of any disagreement among them regarding this. This is the opinion of Umar ibn Abd al-Aziz, Qatada, al-Nakha'i, al-Zuhri, Ibn Shubruma, al-Thawri, Malik, al-Shafi'i, and the People of Opinion [Ashab al-Ra'y]. This type of error necessitates blood money upon the 'aqilah and atonement [kaffara] upon the killer's wealth, without any disagreement that we are aware of. The primary source for the obligation of blood money and atonement is the saying of Allah the Almighty: "And whoever kills a believer by mistake, then the freeing of a believing slave and a blood money payment delivered to his family, unless they give [it as] charity" (1). This is the same whether the person killed is a Muslim or a disbeliever who has a treaty; due to the saying of Allah the Almighty: "But if he was from a people between whom and you is a treaty, then a blood money payment delivered to his family and the freeing of a believing slave" (1). There is no retribution [qisas] in any of this because Allah the Almighty obligated blood money for it and did not mention retribution, and the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said: "Error, forgetfulness, and what they are forced to do have been lifted from my nation" (2). Furthermore, because he did not obligate retribution in cases of quasi-intentional homicide, it is even more appropriate that it not be obligated in cases of error.

Section: If he intends an act that is prohibited, but kills a human being—such as intending to kill an animal or a protected human being but hits another and kills him—it is also considered error, because he did not intend to kill him. This is the school of al-Shafi'i. Similarly, Ibn al-Mundhir said: All scholars we have memorized from agree that erroneous killing is when the thrower throws something and hits someone else. It is derived from the opinion of Abu Bakr that this is intentional, based on his statement regarding someone who threw at a Christian, and the arrow did not reach him until he had embraced Islam, that it is intentional [homicide] necessitating retribution, because he intended a prohibited act with which he killed a person.