Method of Qasamah

**How Qasamah is Performed:** When the conditions for Qasamah are met, the process begins with the claimants: **1. The Claimants' Oaths:** They swear fifty oaths, distributed according to their share of inheritance from the victim, that "so-and-so is the one who killed him." This must be done in the presence of the accused. **Evidence:** The Prophet ﷺ said in the hadith of Ibn Abi Hathmah: "Will you claim the blood money with fifty oaths from among you?" [Bukhari]. --- **2. If Claimants Refuse or Cannot Complete:** If the heirs refuse to swear, or decline to complete the fifty oaths, then the accused swears fifty oaths - if the claimants accept his oaths. **Evidence:** The Prophet ﷺ said in the previous hadith: "Then let the Jews swear to you?" They said: "They are not Muslims" - meaning they did not accept their oaths. If the accused swears, he is cleared of liability. --- **3. If Claimants Don't Accept Accused's Oaths:** If the claimants do not accept the accused's oaths, the Imam (ruler) pays the Diyah from the public treasury (Bayt al-Mal). This is what the Prophet ﷺ did when he paid the blood money from the public treasury when the Ansar refused to accept the oaths of the Jews - because no other means remained to establish the blood against the accused, so the compensation had to come from the public treasury to prevent the protected blood from being wasted. --- **4. Killing in a Crowd:** Whoever is killed in a crowd (like during Hajj or public gatherings) - his Diyah is paid from the public treasury. **Evidence:** Ali رضي الله عنه said to Umar رضي الله عنه about a man killed in the crowd at Arafat: "O Commander of the Faithful, the blood of a Muslim should not go unavenged. If you know the killer, [execute him], otherwise give his Diyah from the public treasury" [Ibn Abi Shaybah].