blood money, and for the two feet is the blood money." In the letter of the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, to 'Amr ibn Hazm: "And for the hand, fifty camels." This is because they possess visible beauty and complete utility, and there is nothing in the body of their type other than them, so the blood money is due for them, like the two eyes. The hand for which blood money is due is from the wrist, because the term "hand" when used without qualification refers to it, evidenced by the fact that when Allah, the Exalted, said: "As for the thief, both male and female, cut off their hands" (Quran 5:38), the obligation was to cut them from the wrist. Similarly, in Tayammum, it is obligatory to wipe the hands up to the wrists. If someone cuts his hand from above the wrist, such as cutting it from the elbow or the middle of the forearm, there is nothing due upon him except the blood money for the hand. Ahmad stipulated this in the narration of Abu Talib. This is the opinion of 'Ata', Qatada, al-Nakha'i, Ibn Abi Layla, and Malik. It is also the opinion of some of the companions of al-Shafi'i. The apparent position of his school, according to his followers, is that along with the blood money for the hand, a discretionary penalty (hukuma) is due for what exceeds it; because the name "hand" applies to it up to the wrist, and because the intended benefit of the hand—gripping, taking, and pushing—is through the palm, while what is above it is subordinate to the palm. Since blood money is due for cutting it from the wrist without disagreement, a discretionary penalty is due for the excess, just as if one were to cut it after having already cut the palm. Abu al-Khattab said: This is the opinion of al-Qadi. Our position is that "hand" is a name for the whole [limb] up to the shoulder, evidenced by the saying of the Almighty: "and your hands to the elbows" (Quran 5:6). When the verse of Tayammum was revealed, the Companions wiped up to the elbows. Tha'lab said: The hand is up to the shoulder. In the common custom of the people, all of this is called a hand. Thus, if he cuts it from above the wrist, he has only cut a hand, so he is not liable for more than its blood money. As for cutting it in the case of theft, the intended purpose is achieved by it, and cutting a part of a thing is called cutting it, just as one says: "He cut his garment" when he cuts a side of it. Their statement that the blood money is due for cutting it from the wrist—we say: Likewise, it is due for cutting the fingers separately, and no more than what is due for cutting the fingers is due for cutting it from the wrist, and for the male organ, the same is due for cutting it from its base as is due for cutting its glans. As for when he cuts the hand from the wrist, then cuts it again from the elbow, a discretionary penalty is due for what was cut a second time, because the blood money for the hand was already mandatory upon him due to the first cut, so a discretionary penalty became due for the second, just as if he cut the fingers and then cut the palm, or cut the glans of the male organ then cut the rest of it, or as if two people did that.