Chapter on Blood-Money (Diyāt)
Introduction
The word’s root is the verb wadā yadī (to compensate), in which the initial wāw has been replaced by a hāʾ, just as ʿidda (waiting period) comes from waʿd (promise). In origin diya is a verbal noun, but it came to denote the sum of money that is paid because of an offense.
The plural, diyāt, is formed by lightening the yāʾ.
In the legal sense, it is the money handed over to the victim, or to his heir, on account of a crime. The obligation of the diya is established by the Quran, the Sunnah, and scholarly consensus.
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The Quran: “Then a rightful compensation is handed over to his family” (Quran 4:92).
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The Sunnah: Both Ṣaḥīḥ al-Bukhārī and Ṣaḥīḥ Muslim report that “the Prophet ﷺ ruled that the diya of a woman is borne by her ʿāqila (patrilineal kin).”
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Consensus: Sharḥ al-Iqnāʿ and other works state, “It is unanimously agreed upon.” Al-Iqnāʿ and its commentary add, “Whoever destroys the life of a Muslim, a dhimmī under covenant, a mustaʾman visitor, or a muḥādan ally—whether by direct action or by an indirect cause such as testimony against him, and whether intentionally, by mistake, or quasi-intentionally—must pay his diya, either from his own wealth or from that of his ʿāqila.”
If the homicide is purely intentional, the diya is taken from the perpetrator’s own property; if it is quasi-intentional or accidental, it is taken from his ʿāqila.
The diya is a financial penalty that replaces qiṣāṣ (retaliation) whenever retaliation is forfeited or cannot be enforced for some valid reason—this applies when the offense was deliberate.
It becomes an original penalty when the offense is quasi-intentional or accidental, whether