What is the number of oaths required when one heir is absent and the other is present?
Chapter on Qasamah (Oaths regarding murder)
Al-Mughni
Book of Blood-Money (Diyyāt)
Primary text
When one heir is absent, there are two views regarding the number of oaths for the present heir. One view holds that the present heir swears twenty-five oaths because the oaths are divided between him and his absent brother, and one cannot swear on behalf of another. If the absent heir later attends, he swears twenty-five oaths, building upon his brother's oath. Another position, held by Abu Bakr and Al-Qadi, is that the present heir swears fifty oaths initially, and there is disagreement whether the absent heir, upon returning, must swear fifty or twenty-five oaths; one opinion suggests fifty because the brother's right was not established without fifty oaths.
Supporting text
The opposing principle asserts that since the heirs did not agree on the claim, the Qasamah is not established, just as if there were direct contradiction. Furthermore, the right in the agreed-upon portion is established only through their combined oaths, and one cannot substitute for the other in swearing oaths, similar to other claims.