Hadith #499

Arabic Text

English Translation

It was narrated from 'Abdullah ibn 'Amr (رضي الله عنهما) — via Ya'qub, from his father, from Muhammad ibn Ishaq, from 'Amr ibn Shu'ayb, from his father, from his grandfather — that the Messenger of Allah ﷺ said: 'Whoever kills a believer intentionally is handed over to the victim's next of kin. If they wish, they may execute [him in retaliation]; if they wish, they may take the blood money — which is thirty hiqqas [she-camels in their fourth year], thirty jidha'as [she-camels in their fifth year], and forty khalifas [pregnant she-camels]. That is the blood money [diya] for intentional killing. Whatever they settle for [beyond this] is theirs — and this is the severest level of blood money. The blood money for quasi-intentional killing [shibh al-'amd] is the augmented level — the same as intentional killing — but the perpetrator is not executed. Quasi-intentional killing is when Shaytan stirs trouble between people and blood is shed without malice or the carrying of weapons — for the Messenger of Allah ﷺ said: "Whoever raises arms against us is not of us" — nor by lying in ambush on the road. Whoever is killed in a manner other than these is quasi-intentional; its blood money is augmented and the perpetrator is not executed. [Augmented diya applies also] in the sacred month, in the sacred precinct, and for a neighbor. For accidental killing, the diya is one hundred camels: thirty bint makhad [she-camels in their second year], thirty bint labun [she-camels in their third year], thirty hiqqas, and ten bakara [young male camels in their third year]. the Messenger of Allah ﷺ valued this for townspeople at four hundred dinars or the equivalent in silver. He would adjust it according to camel prices — raising it when they rose and lowering it when they fell, according to the times. In his era it reached between four hundred and eight hundred dinars, with the silver equivalent being eight thousand dirhams. He ruled that for those whose blood money falls on cattle-owners: two hundred cows. And for those whose blood money falls on sheep-owners: two thousand sheep. He ruled for the nose [if completely severed]: the full blood money. For the tip of the nose [al-arnaba]: half the blood money. For the eye: half the blood money — fifty camels, or the equivalent in gold or silver, or one hundred cows, or one thousand sheep. The leg: half the blood money. The hand: half the blood money. The ma'muma [wound penetrating to the brain membrane]: one-third of the blood money — thirty-three camels or equivalent in gold, silver, cattle, or sheep. The ja'ifa [penetrating wound into a body cavity]: one-third of the blood money. The munaqqila [wound causing bone displacement]: fifteen camels. The mawdiha [wound exposing bone]: five camels. Teeth: five camels each. [He also ruled] concerning a man who stabbed another with a horn in his leg, and the [victim] said: "O Messenger of Allah, grant me retaliation." the Messenger of Allah ﷺ said: "Do not be hasty until your wound heals." But the man refused and insisted on immediate retaliation — so the Messenger of Allah ﷺ granted it. Then the one who demanded retaliation became lame while the one from whom it was exacted recovered. The one who had demanded retaliation came to the Messenger of Allah ﷺ and said: "I have become lame while my [opponent] has recovered." the Messenger of Allah ﷺ said: "Did I not command you not to take retaliation until your wound healed — yet you disobeyed me? May Allah keep you far [from His mercy], and your wound is null." After this incident — after the man who became lame — the Messenger of Allah ﷺ commanded that anyone with a wound must not take retaliation until his wound heals. When the wound heals, he may then take retaliation.'