The Heavier Blood Money (Diyah Mughaḍẓah) for Intentional and Semi-Intentional Murder
Author: Imran Ayub Lahori
Definition
In cases of intentional murder (qatl al-‘amd) or semi-intentional murder (shibh al-‘amd), the diyah becomes stricter (mughaḍẓah) — meaning: out of 100 camels, 40 must be pregnant she-camels.
Prophetic Rulings
① ʿAbdullāh ibn ʿAmr (رضي الله عنه) narrated that the Messenger of Allah ﷺ said:
ألا إن دية الخطأ شبه العمد ، ما كان بالسوط والعصا – مائة من الإبل منها أربعون فى بطونها أولادها
“Beware! The diyah for semi-intentional killing, committed with a whip or stick, is 100 camels, of which 40 are pregnant she-camels.”
[Ḥasan: Ṣaḥīḥ Abū Dāwūd: 3807, Kitāb al-Diyāt: Bāb fī Diyah al-Khaṭā’ Shibh al-‘Amd; Abū Dāwūd: 4547; Nasā’ī: 8/41; Ibn Mājah: 2627; Al-Tārīkh al-Kabīr by al-Bukhārī: 3/434]② From ʿAmr ibn Shuʿayb, from his father, from his grandfather:
عقل شبه العمد مغلظ مثل عقل العمد ولا يقتل صاحبه
“The diyah for semi-intentional killing is severe (mughaḍẓah) like that of intentional killing, but the killer is not executed.”
[Ḥasan: Ṣaḥīḥ Abū Dāwūd: 3819, Kitāb al-Diyāt: Bāb Diyāt al-Aʿḍā’; Abū Dāwūd: 4565; Dāraqutnī: 3/95; Irwā’ al-Ghalīl: 6/118]Scholarly Opinions
- Jumhūr (Majority): Diyah mughaḍẓah applies in both intentional murder and semi-intentional murder.
- Mālikīyah: In intentional murder, diyah mughaḍẓah applies if the victim’s heirs agree, and also in the case of a father killing his child.
- Imām Abū Ḥanīfah (رحمه الله): Diyah mughaḍẓah applies only in semi-intentional killing, not in intentional murder.
[Bidāyat al-Mujtahid: 2/409; Al-Umm: 6/113; Al-Mughnī: 12/23; Badā’iʿ al-Ṣanā’iʿ: 7/256; Tabyīn al-Ḥaqā’iq: 6/126; Mughni al-Muḥtāj: 4/53; Al-Muhadhdhab: 2/195; Kashshāf al-Qināʿ: 6/17; Al-Sharḥ al-Kabīr: 4/266]Types of Diyah
❀ Diyah Mughaḍẓah (Heavier): Applied in cases of intentional and semi-intentional killing.
❀ Diyah Mukhaffafah (Lighter): Applied in cases of mistaken killing.
- In intentional killing, diyah mughaḍẓah applies according to Imām al-Shāfiʿī and the Ḥanābilah.
- Imām Abū Ḥanīfah (رحمه الله) held that no diyah applies in intentional killing; instead, what is enforced is whatever both parties agree upon in reconciliation.
[Fiqh al-Sunnah: 3/52]Important Note
The strictness (taghlīẓ) applies only with camels — i.e., requiring 40 pregnant she-camels — not in other forms of diyah.
