Back to search

What if health conditions do not permit fasting for two consecutive months, and what is meant by the phrase "the blood money for this child is on your family (Aaqila)," and how is its value estimated?

1 min readAlso available in العربية

In cases of accidental killing, an expiation (kaffara) is obligatory: freeing a believing slave. If one is not found, then fasting for two consecutive months. Scholars differed regarding those unable to fast: the majority view is that there is no feeding [of the poor], while the Shafi'is hold that feeding is permissible by analogy with the expiation for ẓihār (a pre-Islamic form of divorce) and fasting. The most preponderant view is to differentiate between permanent inability, in which case feeding is obligatory, and temporary inability, in which case one waits until able to fast. The ‘āqila are the male agnates (relatives from the father's side) who bear the responsibility of paying the blood money (diya) on behalf of the perpetrator in cases of accidental killing.

Summarized from the full answer at Ftawy · reviewed Sep 2, 2026

Read the full answer on Ftawy