Diyah (; : diyāt, ) in Islamic law, is the financial compensation paid to the victim or heirs of a victim in the cases of killing, bodily harm or property damage not done deliberately. It is an alternative punishment to qisas (equal retaliation). In Arabic, the word means both blood money and ransom, and it is transcribed sometimes as diya or diyeh.
Diya compensation rates have historically varied based on the gender and religion of the victim and whether they are free or slave.Aaron Spevack (2014), The Archetypal Sunnī Scholar: Law, Theology, and Mysticism in the Synthesis of al-Bājūri, SUNY Press, , p. 81.Anver M. Emon (2012), Religious Pluralism and Islamic Law: Dhimmis and Others in the Empire of Law, Oxford University Press, , pp. 234–235. (If a killing is intentional, qisas (execution) and not diyah applies unless the family of the victim pardons the killer.)
In the modern era, diya plays a role in the legal system of Iran, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates.
In Iran, the diya for recognized religious minorities (Zoroastrians, Jews, and Christians, with the exception of evangelical Protestants) is half that of a Muslim man. In Iran the diya for Muslim women in insurance claims, such as the loss of life in automobile accidents, is equal to that of a Muslim man, but is half of that of a Muslim man in certain cases.
In Pakistan, the diya is the same for Muslims and non-Muslims,Tellenbach, Sylvia (2014). The Oxford Handbook of Criminal Law, Oxford University Press. p. 261. while in Saudi Arabia it differs depending on the religion of the victim. Diyat in Saudi Arabia is the market value of 100 adult camels or their equivalent, which is currently 300,000 to 400,000 riyals. In 2021, Hefazat-e-Islam Bangladesh demanded from the contemporary Bangladesh government 20 to 40 million taka as diyat, equivalent to the value of 100 camels, for each of their slain members.
Basis in Scripture The Qur'an specifies the principle of Qisas (i.e. retaliation) and compensation (diyah) in cases where one Muslim kills another Muslim.Richard J. Terrill (2012), World Criminal Justice Systems: A Comparative Survey, Routledge, , pp. 559
Hadiths also mention it:
Umar ibn Abd al-Aziz, an early caliph admired for his piety and scholarship, ruled on Diya:
In traditional Islamic law Islamic law treats homicide and unintentional homicide (not just bodily injury and property damage), as a civil dispute between believers,Tahir Wasti (2009), The Application of Islamic Criminal Law in Pakistan: Sharia in Practice, Brill Academic, , pp. 283-288 rather than corrective punishment by the state to maintain order. The offender must either face equal retaliation known as Qisas ("Life for life, eye for eye, nose for nose, ear for ear, tooth for tooth, and wounds equal for equal." Quran 5:45), pay diyat to the victim or heirs of the victim, or be forgiven by the victim or victim's heir(s)., and
In all cases of death, injury, and damage, under traditional sharia doctrine, the prosecutor is not the state but only the victim or the victim's heir (or owner, in the case when the victim is a slave).Rudolph Peters (2006), Crime and Punishment in Islamic Law, Cambridge University Press, , pp. 44-49, 114, 186-187 Diyah is similar in practice to "out-of-court settlement" in a tort case, but with important differences. Under sharia practice, tort-like civil liability settlement is limited to property damage, while in the cases of bodily injury and death, the "blood money" diyah compensation is fixed by a formula (such as the value of certain number of camels).Eugene Cotran and Chibli Mallat (1995), Yearbook of Islamic and Middle Eastern Law - 1994, Volume 1, Kluwer Law Publishers, , pp. 275 The victim, victim's heir or guardian may alternatively forgive the bodily injury or murder as an act of religious charity (expiation of their own past sins).
The value of diyat, under all schools of sharia, varied with the victim's religion, gender and legal status (free or slave). For a free male Muslim, the diyah value of their life was traditionally set as the value of 100 camels. This was valued at 1000 dinars or 12000 dirhams, corresponding to 4.25 kilograms of gold, or 29.7 to 35.64 kilograms of silver. The diyah value in case the victim was a non-Muslim (Dhimmi) or slave varied in the sharia of different schools of Islamic law, and what religion the victim was.Rudolph Peters (2006), Crime and Punishment in Islamic Law, Cambridge University Press, , pp. 51
Diyah must be paid by the murderer or the estate of the murderer. In some cases, such as when the murderer is a juvenile, the diyah is owed by the family of the murderer (Aqila).Eugene Cotran and Chibli Mallat (1995), Yearbook of Islamic and Middle Eastern Law - 1994, Volume 1, Kluwer Law Publishers, , pp. 275 In other cases, the group ('Aqila) that must pay diyah to the victim or victim's heirs is the tribe or urban neighbors of the culprit.Chibli Mallat (2007), Introduction to Middle Eastern Law, Oxford University Press, , p. 18.
Diyah for Non-Muslims Diyah is not the same for non-Muslims and Muslims in sharia courts.Arsani William, An Unjust Doctrine of Civil Arbitration: Sharia Courts in Canada and England, Stanford Journal of International Relations, Spring 2010, 11(2), pp. 40-47M Kar (2005), Encyclopedia of Women and Islamic Cultures: Family, Law and Politics (Ed: Suad Joseph, Afsāna Naǧmābādī), Brill, , pp. 406-407 In cases of unintentional crimes, Muslims and non-Muslims are treated differently in the sentencing process.
In early history of Islam, there were considerable disagreements in Muslim jurist opinions on applicability of qisas and diyah when a Muslim murdered a non-Muslim (dhimmi, musta'min or a slave).
Jurists of different schools of Islamic jurisprudence assign different values to non-Muslims. According to the Hanbali sharia, the life of a Christian or Jew is worth half that of a Muslim, and thus the diyah awarded by modern-era Hanbali courts is half that awarded in case of Muslim's death. Maliki fiqh also consider the life of a Christian or Jew to be worth half a Muslim's life, but Shafi'i schools of jurisprudence consider it to be worth a third that of a Muslim. The legal schools of Hanbali, Maliki and Shafi'i Sunni Islam as well as those of Shia Islam have considered the life of polytheists and atheists as one-fifteenth the value of a Muslim during sentencing.
Most scholars of Hanafi school of sharia ruled that, if a Muslim killed a dhimmi, qisas was applicable against the Muslim, but this could be averted by paying a diyah. In one case, the Hanafi jurist Abu Yusuf initially ordered qisas when a Muslim killed a dhimmi, but under Caliph Harun al-Rashid's pressure replaced the order with diyah if the victim's family members were unable to prove the victim was paying jizya willingly as a dhimmi.Yohanan Friedmann (2006), Tolerance and Coercion in Islam: Interfaith Relations in the Muslim Tradition, Cambridge University Press, , pp. 42-43 The Maliki, Shafi'i and Hanbali code of sharia have historically ruled that Qisas does not apply against a Muslim, if he murders any non-Muslim (including dhimmi) or a slave for any reason.Rudolph Peters and Peri Bearman (2014), The Ashgate Research Companion to Islamic Law, , pp. 169-170J. Norman D. Anderson (2007), Islamic Law in Africa, Routledge, , pp. 372-373
A diyah was payable instead. The early Hanafi jurists considered the payable diyah for Muslim and non-Muslim victims to be same, while the Maliki and Hanbali schools considered a non-Muslim value of life as worth half of a Muslim, and the Shafi'i school considered it worth a third. The Ja'fari school considered a non-Muslim victim's value to be only 800 dirhams in contrast to 10000 dirhams for a Muslim victim. The compensation value payable to the owner of a slave by a Muslim murderer, was the market price paid for the slave.
In the Hanafi and Maliki sharia doctrines, a diyah was not payable to a non-Muslim from a murderer's estate, if the murderer dies for natural or other causes during the trial.
If the victim was musta'min (non-Muslim foreigner visiting), or an apostate (converting from Islam to another religion), neither diya nor qisas applied against the Muslim who killed the victim.Yohanan Friedmann (2006), Tolerance and Coercion in Islam: Interfaith Relations in the Muslim Tradition, Cambridge University Press, , pp. 42-50Rudolph Peters and Peri Bearman (2014), The Ashgate Research Companion to Islamic Law, , pp. 129-130 But Abdul Aziz bin Mabrouk Al-Ahmadi narrates that the Hanafi scholars say that Musta'min is entitled to Diyya equal to Diyya of a Muslim, and he quotes this opinion from a group of other Muslim scholars, including some of the Companions of the Prophet, and he also narrates that this is one of the opinions of the Hanbalis if the killing occurred intentionally.
Application in contemporary Muslim countries In the modern era, diya plays a role in the legal system of Iran, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates.A Guide to the Legal System of the Islamic Republic of Iran , March 2006 For example, in Saudi Arabia, the heirs of a Muslim victim have a right to settle for Diya instead of the execution of the murderer.AI REPORT 1998: SAUDI ARABIA , Amnesty International
The amount of diya is calculated differently by different states where it makes part of the legal code. In Pakistan and Saudi Arabia, the amount is determined by the judge. In the United Arab Emirates, the government negotiates the amount with the family or heirs of the victim on behalf of the offender. In Iran, the family or heirs of the victim negotiate it directly with the offender.
In Pakistan, the diya for Muslim citizens, non-Muslim citizens and foreigners is the same. Iran made the diya for Muslims and non-Muslims equal in 2003. Nonetheless, the diyah compensation rights of Muslims and non-Muslims have varied among Muslim nations and were unequal in some countries in the late 20th century, remaining unequal in the 2010s in Saudi Arabia.J Anderson (1951), Homicide in Islamic Law, Bulletin of the School of Oriental and African Studies, Cambridge University Press, Volume 13, pp. 811-828Ahmed Ali (1980), Compensation in Intentional Homicide in Islamic law, Journal of Islamic and Comparative Law, Volume 9, pp. 39-54
The customary law of the Somali people also recognizes the obligation of diyah, but defines it as being between subgroups, or mag, who may be part of different clans or even the same clan.For a more detailed explanation of its role in Somali customary law, see I.M. Lewis, "Clanship and Contract in Northern Somaliland", Africa , 29 (1959), pp. 274-293
Some of these countries also define, by lawful legislation, a hierarchy of compensation rates for the lives of people; religious affiliation and gender are usually the main modulating factors for these Blood Money rates.
Saudi Arabia In Saudi Arabia, when a person kills another, intentionally or unintentionally, the prescribed blood money must be decided by sharia court. The amount of compensation is based on the percentage of responsibility. Blood money is to be paid not only for murder, but also in the case of unnatural death, interpreted to mean death in a fire, industrial or road accident, for instance, as long as the responsibility for it falls on the accused. The diyah compensation amount depends on the religion of the victim."I. DISPOSAL OF MORTAL REMAINS (LOCAL BURIAL/DESPATCH TO INDIA)" Consulate General of India, Jeddah, Retrieved on September 3, 2010.