What is the required Fidyah for trimming fingernails according to the Hanafi school?
Chapter on Ransom (Fidyah) and Penalty for Hunting
Al-Mughni
Book of Hajj
Primary text
Abu Hanifa stipulates that the obligation of the sacrifice (Dam) only applies upon trimming the nails of a complete hand. If only four nails from each hand are trimmed, the Dam is not required because the full utility of the hand has not been removed, resembling the case of one or two nails. The counter-argument posits that trimming what constitutes the plural (i.e., multiple nails) necessitates the Dam, similar to shaving a quarter of the head, where full utility is not achieved but the Dam is mandatory. The view that excludes the Dam for a few nails is rejected as it implies that lesser amounts necessitate the penalty while greater amounts might not, or that the penalty should be less for smaller violations than larger ones, which is unsound.
Supporting text
If the obligation for the Dam is established (i.e., trimming four or three nails depending on the view), the person has the option among the three prescribed expiations (Fidyah), just as in the case of hair, because the ruling on nails is derived through analogy to hair, meaning the ruling of the derivative follows the principal. No proportional Dam is required for fewer than four or three nails because when an act of worship requires a whole animal for expiation, a part of that animal is not accepted, similar to Zakat.