twenty bint makhāḍ, twenty bint labūn, twenty male ibn labūn, twenty ḥiqqah, and twenty jadh‘ah. This is the report transmitted from Ibn Shihāb and Rabīʿah, and it is likewise the view of Abū Ḥanīfah and his companions—that is, the diyah is divided into fifths—except that they replace the male ibn labūn with a male ibn makhāḍ. Both versions are also related from Ibn Masʿūd.
Another narration from ʿAlī states that he divided it into quarters, omitting the twenty-five banī labūn; this was likewise adopted by ʿUmar ibn ʿAbd al-ʿAzīz. No musnad ḥadīth supports this, which, as Abū ʿUmar ibn ʿAbd al-Barr observes, indicates that the matter is discretionary—Allah knows best.
Al-Bukhārī and al-Tirmidhī record from Ibn Masʿūd that the Prophet ﷺ said:
“In the diyah for accidental killing there are twenty bint makhāḍ, twenty male ibn makhāḍ, twenty banāt labūn, twenty jadh‘ah, and twenty ḥiqqah.”
Abū ʿUmar objected to this ḥadīth because it is transmitted through Ḥanīf ibn Mālik from Ibn Masʿūd, and Ḥanīf is unknown. He added, “I prefer the report from ʿAlī, for there is no divergence on his narration, whereas the reports from Ibn Masʿūd disagree.”
Abū Dāwūd relates, on the authority of ʿAmr ibn Shuʿayb, from his father, from his grandfather, that the Messenger of Allah ﷺ ruled:
“Whoever is killed by mistake is owed a diyah of one hundred camels: thirty bint makhāḍ, thirty bint labūn, thirty ḥiqqah, and ten male banī labūn.”
Abū Sulaymān al-Khaṭṭābī remarks, “I know of no leading jurist who has acted upon this ḥadīth. Most scholars maintain that the diyah for accidental killing is apportioned into fifths, though they differ over the precise categories of camels.”
Some authorities—al-Shaʿbī, al-Nakhaʿī, and al-Ḥasan al-Baṣrī—are reported to have divided the accidental diyah into quarters: twenty-five jadh‘ah, twenty-five ḥiqqah, twenty-five banāt labūn, and twenty-five banāt makhāḍ. This is also narrated from ʿAlī and recorded by Abū Dāwūd.
The majority, however, have adopted the five-fold division for accidental homicide: twenty ḥiqqah, twenty jadh‘ah, twenty bint makhāḍ, twenty bint labūn, and twenty male banī makhāḍ—although they have not unanimously agreed on the inclusion of the male banī makhāḍ, because it