are unanimously agreed that it falls upon the ʿāqilah,” and Al-Muwaffaq said: “We know of no disagreement whatsoever that it is borne by the ʿāqilah.” The same ruling applies to the dīyah for anything that approximates accidental homicide, such as a sleeping person rolling over onto someone and killing him, or unlawfully digging a well so that a passer-by falls into it and dies.

Any loss that results from an act expressly permitted by the Sharīʿah entails no liability. Thus, if a man disciplines his child or his wife, or if a ruler chastises one of his subjects, and none of them exceeds the proper limits, then—should the one disciplined die—nothing is due from the disciplinarian, because he has performed an act the law allows and has not overstepped it. If, however, he is excessive in his punishment, striking beyond what is customary so that the victim dies, he is liable, for his excess constitutes transgression.

If the person disciplined is a pregnant woman and, because of the beating, she miscarries, the disciplinarian must pay compensation for the fetus: a ghurra—that is, the value of a male or female slave—in accordance with the report in the two Ṣaḥīḥs stating that the Messenger of Allah ﷺ “ruled that for a woman’s miscarriage the due is a male or female slave.” This is the opinion held by the majority of scholars.

Likewise, anyone who so frightens a pregnant woman that she miscarries—such as when a governor summons her or a man lodges a complaint against her with the police—must pay compensation for the fetus, for it perished through his action. This is based on the report from ʿUmar—may Allah be pleased with him—who sent for a woman who was away from home and whom he used to visit. When she heard of the summons she exclaimed, “Woe to her! What does ʿUmar want with me?” and while she was