Chapter on the legal rulings for head-and-face wounds (shijāj) and broken bones

Shijāj is the plural of shajjah, a wound that occurs specifically on the head or face. The word derives from shajj, “to split,” because the injury splits the skin. When the same kind of cut is found elsewhere on the body it is called a jurḥ (general wound) rather than a shajjah.

In classical Arab usage the shajjah is divided into ten types, each with its own name and legal ruling:

1. Ḥārisa: a scratch that only grazes the skin, splitting it slightly without drawing blood. It is also called Qāshira because it merely peels the surface.
2. Bāzila: a wound from which a small amount of blood seeps. It is likewise known as Dāmiʿa, likened to the gentle flow of tears.
3. Bāḍiʿa: a cut that penetrates the flesh beneath the skin.
4. Mutalāḥima: a wound that plunges deeply into the flesh, hence its name.
5. Samḥāq: a wound that passes completely through the flesh so that nothing remains between it and the bone except a thin membrane called samḥāq; the injury is named after this membrane.