In the name of Allah, the Most Merciful, the Bestower of Mercy.
May Allah bless Muhammad, his family, and his Companions.

Book of Wounds

Section: The Derivation of the Term for Wounds

Allah, Mighty and Majestic, says:

“It is He who takes your souls by night and knows what you have earned by day.” [al-An‘ām: 60]

He also says:

“Or do those who commit evil deeds think” [al-Jāthiya: 21]

And He says:

“and such hunting animals as you train for the chase” [al-Mā’ida: 4]

The word jirāh (wounds) is derived from jawārih (bodily members), since wounds can only be inflicted by them. Thus, anyone who commits an offence, inflicts a wound, commits a sin, or incurs guilt with his hand, his tongue, or any bodily member is called a jārih in the language. However, jirāh has come in conventional usage to denote wounds inflicted on the bodies of living creatures. Similarly, dābba is a name for anything that moves upon the earth, whether human beings or other animals, but in conventional usage it denotes horses, mules, and donkeys. When someone says, “Today I bought a dābba,” we understand only that he bought a horse, a mule, or a donkey, even though the term also applies to other animals.

Likewise, when someone says, “Today I sentenced a jārih to pay compensation or receive disciplinary punishment,” he is understood only to mean that he passed judgment against someone who wounded a living creature, not someone who committed some other kind of act.

Allah, Mighty and Majestic, says:

“We prescribed for them therein: a life for a life, an eye for an eye, a nose for a nose, an ear for an ear, a tooth for a tooth, and for wounds, equal retaliation.” [al-Mā’ida: 45]