His statement, “The blood-money for a Jew or Christian is half that of a Muslim”: a Jew or Christian is called a kitābī because they are People of a Scripture. The scriptures to which they still trace their affiliation are the Torah and the Gospel; thus, whoever affiliates himself with them is called a kitābī.

His statement, “The blood-money for a Jew or Christian,” includes one under a treaty, a dhimmī, and one granted safe-conduct, but it does not include a hostile non-Muslim, for his life is not inviolable and no blood-money is due for him. The blood-money of these people is half that of a Muslim, based on the hadith of ‘Amr ibn Shu‘ayb, from his father, from his grandfather: the Prophet ﷺ “ruled that the blood-money of the People of the Scripture is half that of the Muslims.” Recorded by Ahmad (1).

If an ordinary person were to read this, he might say, “Glory be to Allah! The minds of the disbelievers are deficient compared with those of Muslims!” This illustrates one of the dangers some scholars have mentioned concerning a person’s relying solely on books: he may read what is written and understand it contrary to its intended meaning, thereby going astray and leading others astray. What is meant by ‘aql in the hadith is blood-money. It was called ‘aql, using the verbal noun, because it derives from the expression, “I tethered the camel.” It was given this name because it was their custom for the person paying the blood-money to bring the camels to the home of the person entitled to it, make them kneel, and tether them.

In another wording of the hadith: “The blood-money of the disbelievers is half that of the Muslims” (2). There is a difference between the wording, “the blood-money of the disbelievers,” and the wording, “the blood-money of—