Arabic (Original)
قَالَ يَحْيَى قَالَ مَالِكٌ الأَمْرُ الَّذِي لاَ اخْتِلاَفَ فِيهِ عِنْدَنَا أَنَّهُ لاَ يَحْلِفُ فِي الْقَسَامَةِ فِي الْعَمْدِ أَحَدٌ مِنَ النِّسَاءِ وَإِنْ لَمْ يَكُنْ لِلْمَقْتُولِ وُلاَةٌ إِلاَّ النِّسَاءُ فَلَيْسَ لِلنِّسَاءِ فِي قَتْلِ الْعَمْدِ قَسَامَةٌ وَلاَ عَفْوٌ . قَالَ يَحْيَى قَالَ مَالِكٌ فِي الرَّجُلِ يُقْتَلُ عَمْدًا أَنَّهُ إِذَا قَامَ عَصَبَةُ الْمَقْتُولِ أَوْ مَوَالِيهِ فَقَالُوا نَحْنُ نَحْلِفُ وَنَسْتَحِقُّ دَمَ صَاحِبِنَا . فَذَلِكَ لَهُمْ . قَالَ مَالِكٌ فَإِنْ أَرَادَ النِّسَاءُ أَنْ يَعْفُونَ عَنْهُ فَلَيْسَ ذَلِكَ لَهُنَّ الْعَصَبَةُ وَالْمَوَالِي . أَوْلَى بِذَلِكَ مِنْهُنَّ لأَنَّهُمْ هُمُ الَّذِينَ اسْتَحَقُّوا الدَّمَ وَحَلَفُوا عَلَيْهِ . قَالَ مَالِكٌ وَإِنْ عَفَتِ الْعَصَبَةُ أَوِ الْمَوَالِي بَعْدَ أَنْ يَسْتَحِقُّوا الدَّمَ وَأَبَى النِّسَاءُ وَقُلْنَ لاَ نَدَعُ قَاتِلَ صَاحِبِنَا فَهُنَّ أَحَقُّ وَأَوْلَى بِذَلِكَ لأَنَّ مَنْ أَخَذَ الْقَوَدَ أَحَقُّ مِمَّنْ تَرَكَهُ مِنَ النِّسَاءِ وَالْعَصَبَةِ إِذَا ثَبَتَ الدَّمُ وَوَجَبَ الْقَتْلُ . قَالَ مَالِكٌ لاَ يُقْسِمُ فِي قَتْلِ الْعَمْدِ مِنَ الْمُدَّعِينَ إِلاَّ اثْنَانِ فَصَاعِدًا تُرَدَّدُ الأَيْمَانُ عَلَيْهِمَا حَتَّى يَحْلِفَا خَمْسِينَ يَمِينًا ثُمَّ قَدِ اسْتَحَقَّا الدَّمَ وَذَلِكَ الأَمْرُ عِنْدَنَا . قَالَ مَالِكٌ وَإِذَا ضَرَبَ النَّفَرُ الرَّجُلَ حَتَّى يَمُوتَ تَحْتَ أَيْدِيهِمْ قُتِلُوا بِهِ جَمِيعًا فَإِنْ هُوَ مَاتَ بَعْدَ ضَرْبِهِمْ كَانَتِ الْقَسَامَةُ وَإِذَا كَانَتِ الْقَسَامَةُ لَمْ تَكُنْ إِلاَّ عَلَى رَجُلٍ وَاحِدٍ وَلَمْ يُقْتَلْ غَيْرُهُ وَلَمْ نَعْلَمْ قَسَامَةً كَانَتْ قَطُّ إِلاَّ عَلَى رَجُلٍ وَاحِدٍ .
English Translation
Yahya (upon him be peace) said that Malik said, "The way of doing things in our community about which there is no dispute is that women do not swear in the swearing for the intentional act. If the murdered man only has female relatives, the women have no right to swear for blood and no pardon in murder." Yahya said that Malik said about a man who is murdered, "If the paternal relatives of the murdered man or his mawali say, 'We swear and we demand our companion's blood,' that is their right." Malik said, "If the women want to pardon him, they cannot do that. The paternal relatives and mawali are entitled to do that more than them because they are the ones who demand blood and swear for it." Malik said, "If the paternal relatives or mawali pardon after they demand blood and the women refuse and say, 'We will not abandon our right against the murderer of our companion,' the women are more entitled to that because whoever takes retaliation is more entitled than the one who leaves it among the women and paternal relatives when the murder is established and killing obliged." Malik said, "At least two claimants must swear in murder. The oaths are repeated by them until they swear fifty oaths, then they have the right to blood. That is how things are done in our community." Malik said, "When people beat a man and he dies in their hands, they are all slain for him. If he dies after their beating, there is swearing. If there is swearing, it is only against one man and only he is slain. We have never known the swearing to be against more than one man." Malik spoke about a slave who had his hand or foot broken and then the break mended . He said, "The one who injured him is not obliged to pay anything. If that break causes him loss or scar, the one who injured him must pay according to what he diminished of the value of the slave." Malik said, "What is done in our community about retaliation between slaves is that it is like retaliation between freemen. The life of the slave-girl for the life of the slave, and her injury for his injury. When a slave intentionally kills a slave, the master of the murdered slave has a choice. If he wishes, he kills him, and if he wishes, he takes the blood-money. If he takes the blood-money, he takes the value of his slave. If the owner of the slave who killed wishes to give the value of the murdered slave, he does it. If he wishes, he surrenders his slave. If he surrenders him, he is not obliged to do anything other than that. When the owner of the murdered slave takes the slave who murdered and is satisifed with him, he must not kill him. All retaliations between slaves for cutting off of the hand and foot and such things are dealt with in the same way as in the murder." Malik said about a muslim slave who injures a jew or christian, "If the master of the slave wishes to pay blood-money for him according to the injury, he does it. Or else he surrenders him and he is sold, and the jew or christian is given the blood-money of the injury or all the price of the slave if the blood-money is greater than his price. The jew or christian is not given a muslim slave."
Urdu Translation
امام مالک فرماتے ہیں: ہمارے ہاں بلا اختلاف یہ بات ہے کہ قسامہ میں عمداً قتل میں عورتیں قسم نہیں کھاتیں۔ اگر مقتول کے صرف عورتیں وارث ہوں تو انہیں عمداً قتل میں نہ قسامہ کا حق ہے نہ معافی کا۔