labūns, twenty ibn labūns, and twenty bint makhāḍs. If camels are unavailable, the diyah is converted to their market value; another opinion sets it at one thousand dinars or twelve thousand dirhams. When the diyah is aggravated, one-third is added to the basic amount.

The diyah for accidental killing is likewise heightened in three situations: when the homicide occurs within the Sacred Precinct (ḥaram), during one of the four sacred months, or when a man kills a close blood relative whom he is forbidden to marry.

A woman’s diyah is one-half of a man’s. The diyah of a Jew or a Christian is one-third of a Muslim’s, whereas the diyah of a Magian is one-fifteenth of it.

A full diyah is owed for severing both hands, both feet, the nose, both ears, both eyes, the four eyelids, the tongue, both lips, and for the loss of speech, sight, hearing, smell, sanity, the penis, or the two testicles. For a muḍḥiyah wound or the loss of a tooth, the indemnity is five camels. For every limb that provides no functional benefit, a discretionary payment (ḥukūmah) is assessed. The diyah of a slave equals his market value. The diyah of a free foetus is a ghurrah—the price of a male or female slave—whereas the diyah of an enslaved foetus is one-tenth of its mother’s value.

Section

When a claim for blood is supported by circumstantial evidence (luwth) that lends credibility to the claimant, the claimant swears fifty oaths and becomes entitled to the diyah. If no such presumption exists, the oath is taken by the defendant. Anyone who unlawfully kills a protected life must offer an expiation: freeing a believing slave free of disabling defects; if he cannot find one, he must fast for two consecutive months.