Ibn Shubruma and al-Thawrī said that the ‘āqila bears compensation for injuries inflicted by a man or a woman when it reaches the amount prescribed for a mūdiha. This was also the view of Ibrāhīm al-Nakha‘ī, who said: “Whatever compensation the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, prescribed is borne by the ‘āqila.” He meant a mūdiha and more serious injuries, since the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, prescribed no fixed compensation for lesser injuries. The evidence supporting Mālik’s position is that the original rule is that no one bears liability for another’s offence, whether involving bloodshed or property, for Allah, Exalted is He, says:
“No soul earns anything except to its own account.” [al-An‘ām: 164]
The Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, also said to Abū Rimtha concerning his son: “You are not liable for his offences, nor is he liable for yours.” An exception to this requires an established Sunnah or consensus. They unanimously agree that the ‘āqila bears compensation amounting to one-third of the blood money or more: those who say that it bears both small and large amounts, and those who say that it bears one-tenth or one-twentieth, all hold that it bears one-third. Thus, by consensus, one-third is excepted from the agreed original rule.
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Compensation for a woman’s wounds equals that for a man’s wounds below one-third of the blood money. Once it reaches one-third, she does not receive that full amount; rather, compensation reverts to her own scale, so that at this threshold and above it she receives half the compensation due to a man. There is considerable disagreement on this matter. It has been said that her compensation equals a man’s up to one-twentieth of the blood money, after which it reverts to her own scale]; and it has been said that it equals his up to one-half of the blood money, after which it reverts to her own scale. Another view is that she receives half a man’s compensation, whether the amount is small or large. This is the position adopted by al-Shāfi‘ī and Abū Hanīfa.
The evidence supporting Mālik’s position is that this has been reported from the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, in reports in which ‘Amr ibn Shu‘ayb and ‘Ikrima quote him without naming an intervening Companion. Sa‘īd ibn al-Musayyab also transmitted it in this manner, and his reports of this kind have the same standing as those with connected chains. Mālik, may Allah have mercy on him, related in his Muwatta’:
“Rabī‘a ibn Abī Abd al-Rahmān asked Sa‘īd ibn al-Musayyab, ‘How much compensation is due for a woman’s finger?’ He replied, ‘Ten camels.’ He asked, ‘How much for two fingers?’ He replied, ‘Twenty camels.’ He asked, ‘How much for three?’ He replied, ‘Thirty camels.’ He asked, ‘How much for four?’ He replied: