The ruling on one who kills by mistake and is unable to free a slave or fast for two consecutive months
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Question: From 'Abd al-'Aziz ibn 'Abd Allah ibn Baz, to the honorable brother / A. A. Q., may Allah guide him, amen.
Peace be upon you, and the mercy of Allah and His blessings. After that:
Your letter dated 19/2/1394 AH has reached you, may Allah guide you, and what it contained of information: that an accident occurred to you, as a result of which a man died, and the honorable judge of al-Thaqibah ruled upon you with blood money and fasting for two consecutive months, and that you are unable to fast because you are a soldier, and your residence and food are with the other soldiers in a collective manner, to the end of what you mentioned, and your desire for a fatwa, was known.
And the answer: Nothing from the expiations takes the place of freeing a slave or fasting in this matter; rather, it is obligatory for you to free a slave if you find one, and if you are unable, then fasting, and there is no harm in delaying it until you are able to do so, as for feeding, it has no place in the expiation for killing.
And I ask Allah to make your matter easy, and to absolve your conscience, and to help us and you in all good; He is the best of those asked.
And peace be upon you and the mercy of Allah and His blessings.
Note: I said at the beginning of your letter, the text of which is: (inquiring from your excellency about what the decree ruled upon him), and this is an error; because the decree is not what rules upon the human being, rather the return of matters is to Allah alone, and He is the one who decrees the decrees; so be aware of that, and the best is to say in such a case: (about what Allah decreed upon me).
Peace be upon you, and the mercy of Allah and His blessings. After that:
Your letter dated 19/2/1394 AH has reached you, may Allah guide you, and what it contained of information: that an accident occurred to you, as a result of which a man died, and the honorable judge of al-Thaqibah ruled upon you with blood money and fasting for two consecutive months, and that you are unable to fast because you are a soldier, and your residence and food are with the other soldiers in a collective manner, to the end of what you mentioned, and your desire for a fatwa, was known.
And the answer: Nothing from the expiations takes the place of freeing a slave or fasting in this matter; rather, it is obligatory for you to free a slave if you find one, and if you are unable, then fasting, and there is no harm in delaying it until you are able to do so, as for feeding, it has no place in the expiation for killing.
And I ask Allah to make your matter easy, and to absolve your conscience, and to help us and you in all good; He is the best of those asked.
And peace be upon you and the mercy of Allah and His blessings.
Note: I said at the beginning of your letter, the text of which is: (inquiring from your excellency about what the decree ruled upon him), and this is an error; because the decree is not what rules upon the human being, rather the return of matters is to Allah alone, and He is the one who decrees the decrees; so be aware of that, and the best is to say in such a case: (about what Allah decreed upon me).
Source
binbaz.org.sa
The Arabic text is copied verbatim from the original source, without any edits.