four camels; and for a mūdiha, five camels”—meaning when the wound is on the head. This is a sound opinion, but Mālik neither accepted nor adopted it. The Seven Jurists held that accidental wounds less severe than a mūdiha entail payment of the treating practitioner’s fee. Some Iraqi scholars held that no retaliation applies to wounds less severe than a mūdiha. This is an untenable view, for Allah says:
“And for wounds, equal retaliation.” [al-Mā’idah: 45]
Retaliation is therefore obligatory for every deliberately inflicted wound unless something precludes it, and nothing precludes retaliation for wounds less severe than a mūdiha.
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According to Mālik, may Allah have mercy on him, a mūdiha occurs only on the skull. It entails retaliation when inflicted deliberately, and five camels when inflicted accidentally, as established “from the Prophet ﷺ in his letter to Amr ibn Hazm—unless it is on the face and disfigures it, in which case the compensation is increased in proportion to the disfigurement.”
As for the hāshima, which crushes the bone, Mālik, may Allah have mercy on him, did not recognize it as a separate category. He said: “I do not consider that a hāshima can occur on the head without being a munaqqila.” Ibn al-Qāsim and Ashhab disagreed over retaliation for it: Ibn al-Qāsim did not permit it, whereas Ashhab did. According to Ashhab’s view, retaliation is carried out by inflicting a mūdiha. If it heals as a mūdiha without the bone having been crushed, the person seeking retaliation is entitled to nothing further. If the bone is crushed, that constitutes equal retaliation. If the injury progresses to a munaqqila or results in his death, he is a casualty of Allah’s decree, and no blood money is due.
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The compensation for a hāshima, according to the scholars who recognize it—and they are the majority—is ten camels. This is the position of al-Shāfi‘ī and Abū Hanīfa. It is also reported from Zayd ibn Thābit, with no Companion known to have disagreed with him.
As for the munaqqila, which dislodges bone fragments, its prescribed compensation is fifteen camels. This is reported from the Prophet, peace be upon him, in his letter to Amr ibn Hazm, through a transmission other than Mālik’s. The scholars agree on this amount. Deliberate and accidental injuries are treated alike in this regard, since no retaliation applies to it because it is a potentially fatal injury. This is contrary to the report that Abd Allāh ibn al-Zubayr exacted retaliation for a munaqqila.
As for the ma’mūma, which penetrates the bone and reaches the brain—the “mother of the head”—its compensation is one-third of the blood money, whether inflicted deliberately or accidentally. No retaliation applies to it because it is a potentially fatal injury. There is no disagreement concerning this among the scholars.