The Amount of Blood Money (Diyah) for a Muslim
Author: Imran Ayub Lahori
Definition and Meaning of Diyah
- Linguistic Meaning: The word diyāt is the plural of diyah, meaning blood money. It comes from the root wadā – yadī (like ḍaraba), meaning “to give diyah,” and from itadā – yatadī (form iftial), meaning “to receive diyah.”
[Al-Munjid: p. 985; Al-Qāmūs al-Muḥīṭ: p. 1207] - Shar‘ī Definition: Wealth that becomes obligatory upon a person due to committing a crime.
Legitimacy of Diyah
Allah Almighty says:
وَمَن قَتَلَ مُؤْمِنًا خَطَأً فَتَحْرِيرُ رَقَبَةٍ مُّؤْمِنَةٍ وَدِيَةٌ مُّسَلَّمَةٌ إِلَىٰ أَهْلِهِ [Al-Nisā’: 92]
“And whoever kills a believer by mistake, (the expiation is) freeing a believing slave and a compensation (diyah) handed over to the family of the deceased.”
Imām Wahbah al-Zuḥaylī notes that there is consensus (ijmā‘) on its legitimacy.
[Al-Fiqh al-Islāmī wa Adillatuh: 7/5703]Prophetic Rulings on the Amount of Diyah
① Hadith of ʿAmr ibn Ḥazm
أن فى النفس الدية مائة من الإبل
“For a (murdered) soul, the diyah is 100 camels.”
It also states:
وعلى أهل الذهب ألف دينار
“For those who have gold, it is 1,000 dinars.”
[Muwaṭṭa’: 2/849; Dārimī: 2/188]② Hadith of ʿAmr ibn Shu‘ayb, from his father, from his grandfather
قضى رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم أن من كان عقله فى البقر على أهل البقرة مائتي بقرة ومن كان عقله فى الشاء على أهل الشاء ألفى شاة
“The Messenger of Allah ﷺ decreed that for those who have cattle, it is 200 cows; and for those who have sheep, it is 2,000 sheep.”
[Ṣaḥīḥ Ibn Mājah: 2128; Ibn Mājah: 2630; Abū Dāwūd: 4541; Nasā’ī: 4815; Aḥmad: 6755]③ During the Prophet’s Era
The diyah was set at 800 dinars or 8,000 dirhams, and the diyah of Ahl al-Kitāb was half of that of a Muslim.
When ʿUmar ibn al-Khaṭṭāb (رضي الله عنه) became Caliph, he said that camels had become expensive, so he set new values:
ففرضها عمر على أهل الذهب ألف دينار وعلى أهل الورق اثنى عشر ألفا ….. و على أهل الحلل مائتي حلة
“ʿUmar fixed the diyah as 1,000 dinars for those with gold, 12,000 dirhams for those with silver, and 200 garments (ḥullah) for those with clothes.”
[Ṣaḥīḥ Abū Dāwūd: 3806, 4542]Juristic Opinions
- Imām al-Shāfiʿī (رحمه الله): The basic standard of diyah is 100 camels. Any other form of payment must equal the value of camels.
- Imām Abū Ḥanīfah (رحمه الله): Diyah is 100 camels, 1,000 dinars, or 10,000 dirhams.
- Abū Yūsuf and Muḥammad (رحمهما الله):
- 100 camels for those with camels.
- 200 cows for those with cattle.
- 2,000 sheep for those with sheep.
- 1,000 garments for those with clothing.
[Al-Rawḍah al-Nadiyyah: 2/657; Al-Umm: 6/123; Badā’iʿ al-Ṣanā’iʿ: 10/4663; Al-Mughnī: 12/6; Bidāyat al-Mujtahid: 2/411]Preferred Opinion (Rājiḥ)
The opinion of Imām al-Shāfiʿī (رحمه الله) is the strongest and most correct — the standard of diyah is camels, and other forms must be valued accordingly.
