What is the ruling and compensation for a Muslim killed unintentionally (*khata'*)?
General Chapter
Al-Mughni
Book of Wounds
Primary text
If a Muslim is killed unintentionally, there is no *qisas* applied. The perpetrator is liable for half the blood-money (*diyah*) payable from his estate, and the other half from his *aqilah* (blood-kin association). Additionally, the perpetrator must free a believing slave (*'itqu raqabah mu'minah*). This ruling is established by the Quran, citing the verse stating that whoever kills a believer by mistake must free a believing slave and pay blood-money to his family (Quran 4:92), and the verse absolving responsibility for unintentional oaths (Quran 33:5). The Sunnah is established by the Prophet's saying that the penalty for error and forgetfulness has been lifted from his Ummah. There is consensus (*ijma'*) among the scholars that no *qisas* is due.
Supporting text
It is narrated from Ahmad, and also attributed to Malik, that the partner sharing in the act bears the *qisas* penalty because he participated in the killing with deliberate aggression (*'amdan 'udwanan*), making him like a partner to an intentional killer. Their justification is that his action was intentional and aggressive without excuse. The established reasoning against this is that the killing was not purely intentional, thus not warranting *qisas*, similar to near-intentional killing (*shibh al-'amd*). Furthermore, if one partner acted intentionally and the other mistakenly, this combination does not mandate *qisas*.