The Ruling on the Blood Money (Diyah) of a Dhimmī
Author: Imran Ayub Lahori
Half the Diyah of a Muslim
The diyah of a dhimmī (non-Muslim living under Muslim protection) is half of that of a Muslim.
① ʿAmr ibn Shuʿayb, from his father, from his grandfather, narrated:
دية عقل الكافر نصف دية عقل المؤمن
“The diyah of a disbeliever is half the diyah of a believer.”
[Ḥasan Ṣaḥīḥ: Ṣaḥīḥ Tirmidhī: 1413, Kitāb al-Diyāt: Bāb Mā Jā’a fī Diyah al-Kuffār; Aḥmad: 2/180; Nasā’ī: 8/45; Ibn Mājah: 2644; Abū Dāwūd: 4542; Ṭayālisī: 1499; Bayhaqī: 8/101; Dāraqutnī: 3/129; Ibn Abī Shaybah: 9/287; ʿAbd al-Razzāq: 10/92; Sharḥ al-Sunnah: 10/203, 2542]② Another narration states:
أن رسول الله قضى أن عقل أهل الكتابين نصف عقل المسلمين وهم اليهود والنصارى
“The Messenger of Allah ﷺ ruled that the diyah of the People of the Book (Jews and Christians) is half of the diyah of Muslims.”
[Ṣaḥīḥ: Ṣaḥīḥ Ibn Mājah: 2139, Kitāb al-Diyāt: Bāb Diyah al-Kāfir; Ibn Mājah: 2644; Aḥmad: 2/215; Nasā’ī: 8/55]③ Another report states:
ودية أهل الكتاب يومئذ النصف من دية المسلمين
“In those days, the diyah of the People of the Book was half of that of Muslims.”
[Ḥasan: Ṣaḥīḥ Abū Dāwūd: 3806, Kitāb al-Diyāt: Bāb al-Diyah Kam Hiya; Abū Dāwūd: 4542]Scholarly Opinions
- Imām Mālik (رحمه الله): The diyah of a dhimmī is half of that of a Muslim.
- Ḥanafīs, Sufyān al-Thawrī, al-Zuhrī: A dhimmī’s diyah is equal to that of a Muslim.
- Imām Aḥmad (رحمه الله): If a dhimmī commits intentional murder, then his diyah equals that of a Muslim, otherwise not.
- Imām al-Shāfiʿī (رحمه الله): The diyah of a non-Muslim is 4,000 dirhams.
[Nayl al-Awṭār: 4/507; Al-Mabsūṭ: 26/84; Al-Mughnī: 12/15; Bidāyat al-Mujtahid: 2/414; Al-Umm: 6/92]Preferred Opinion (Rājiḥ)
The most correct opinion, without doubt, is that of Imām Mālik (رحمه الله) — that the diyah of a dhimmī is half of a Muslim’s diyah. This is closest to the authentic narrations, while other views are rejected.
❖ Note: The narration stating that the diyah of a Magian (Majūsī) is 800 dirhams is weak, since its chain contains Ibn Luhay‘ah, who is a weak narrator.
[Talkhīṣ al-Ḥabīr: 4/66; Nayl al-Awṭār: 4/507; Al-Kāmil by Ibn ʿAdī: 4/1524]