it involves loss of life or something short of that.

When the term diya is used without qualification, it refers to the full compensation.

Scholars have differed regarding its original basis. The well-known view in the Hanbali school, attributed to Ahmad, is that the diya has five principal equivalents: 100 camels, 200 cattle, 2,000 sheep, 1,000 mithqāl of gold, or 12,000 dirhams of silver. These five constitute the foundations of the diya; if the person liable brings any one of them, the victim—or his heir—must accept it, for the choice rests with the one upon whom the diya is due.

This opinion is one of the rulings unique to Imām Ahmad’s madhhab.

The majority of scholars, however, hold that the original form of the diya is camels and that the other four items are merely substitutes. Ibn Munjā stated, “This report is the sound one in light of the evidence,” and al-Zarkashī considered it “the more evident proof,” citing the Prophet’s ﷺ words: “Indeed, for someone killed by a whip or a stick, the compensation is one hundred camels.”