Blood-Money

Yahya related to me from Malik from Abu'z-Zinad from Sulayman ibnYasar that a slave was set free by one of the people on hajj and hismaster had abandoned the right to inherit from him. The ex-slave thenkilled a man from the Banu A'idh tribe. An A'idhi, the father of theslain man came to Umar ibn al-Khattab seeking the blood-money of hisson. Umar said, "He has no blood-money." The A'idhi said, "What wouldyou think if it had been my son who killed him?" Umar said, "Then youwould pay his blood-money." He said, "He is then like the black andwhite Arqam snake. If it is left, it devours and if it is killed, ittakes revenge."

Yahya related to me from Malik from Abdullah ibn Abi Bakr ibnMuhammad ibn Amr ibn Hazm from his father that in a letter which theMessenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, sent toAmr ibn Hazm about blood-money he wrote that it was one hundred camelsfor a life, one hundred camels for a nose if completely removed, athird of the blood-money for a wound in the brain, the same as thatfor a belly wound, fifty for an eye, fifty for a hand, fifty for afoot, ten camels for each finger, and five for teeth, and five for ahead wound which laid bare the bone.

Yahya related to me from Malik that Ibn Shihab said, "The fullblood-money for murder when it is accepted is twenty-five yearlings,twenty-five two-year-olds, twenty-five four-year-olds, and twenty-fivefive-year-olds."

Yahya related to me from Malik from Yahya ibn Said that Marwanibn al-Hakam wrote to Muawiya ibn Abi Sufyan that a madman was broughtto him who had killed a man. Muawiya wrote to him, "Tie him up and donot inflict any retaliation on him. There is no retaliation against amadman."

Malik said about an adult and a child when theymurder a man together, "The adult is killed and the child pays halfthe full blood-money."

Malik said, "It is like that with afreeman and a slave when they murder a slave. The slave is killed andthe freeman pays half of his value."

Yahyarelated to me from Malik that he heard Ibn Shihab say, "The precedentof the sunna when a man injures a woman is that he must pay the blood-money for that injury and there is no retaliation against him."

Malik said, "That is an accidental injury, when a man strikes awoman and hits with a blow what he did not intend, for instance, if hestruck her with a whip and cut her eye open and the like of that."

Malik said about a woman who has a husband and children whoare not from her paternal relatives or her people, that since he isfrom another tribe, there is no blood-money against her husband forher criminal action, nor any against her children if they are not fromher people, nor any against her maternal brothers when they are notfrom her paternal relations or her people. These are entitled to herinheritance but only the paternal relations have paid blood-money fromsince the time of the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him andgrant him peace. Until today it is like that with the mawla of awoman. The inheritance they leave goes to the children of the womaneven if they are not from her tribe, but the blood-money of thecriminal act of the mawla is only against her tribe."

Yahya related to me from Malik from Ibn Shihab from Abu Salamaibn Abd ar-Rahman ibn Awf from Abu Hurayra that a woman from theHudhayl tribe threw a stone at a woman from the same tribe, and shehad a miscarriage. The Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him andgrant him peace, gave a judgement that a slave or slave-girl of faircomplexion and excellence should be given to her.

Malik said, "The reckoning of the fingers isthirty-three dinars for each fingertip, and that is three and a thirdshares of camels."

Yahya related to mefrom Malik from Yahya ibn Said that Said ibn al-Musayyab used to say,''When a tooth is struck and becomes black, there is complete blood-money for it. If it falls out after it becomes black, there is alsothe complete blood-money for it."

Malik said that Ibn Shihab said, "The precedent of the sunna inthe intentional murder is that when the relatives of the murderedperson relinquish retaliation, the blood-money is owed by the murdererfrom his own property unless the tribe helps him with it willingly."

Malik said, "What is done in our community is that the blood-money is not obliged against the tribe until it has reached a third ofthe full amount and upwards. Whatever reaches a third is against thetribe, and whatever is below a third, is against the property of theone who did the injury."

Malik said, "The way of doing thingsabout which there is no dispute among us, in the case of someone whohas the blood-money accepted from him in intentional murder or in anyinjury in which there is retaliation, is that that blood-money is notdue from the tribe unless they wish it. The blood-money for that isfrom the property of the murderer or the injurer if he has property.If he does not have any property, it is a debt against him, and noneof it is owed by the tribe unless they wish."

Malik said,"The tribe does not pay blood-money to anyone who injures himself,intentionally or accidentally. This is the opinion of the people offiqh in our community. I have not heard that anyone has made the tribeliable for any blood-money incurred by intentional acts. Part of whatis well-known of that is that Allah, the Blessed, and the Exalted,said in His Book, 'Whoever has something pardoned him by his brother,should follow it with what is accepted and pay it with good will'(Sura 2 ayat 178) The commentary on that - in our view - and Allahknows best, is that whoever gives his brother something of the blood-money, should follow it with what is accepted and pay him with goodwill."

Malik spoke about a child who had no property and awoman who had no property. He said, "When one of them causes an injurybelow a third of the blood-money, it is taken on behalf of the childand woman from their personal property, if they have property fromwhich it may be taken. If not, the injury which each of them hascaused is a debt against them. The tribe does not have to pay any ofit and the father of a child is not liable for the blood-money of aninjury caused by the child and he is not responsible for it."

Malik said, "The way of doing things in our community about whichthere is no dispute, is that when a slave is killed, the value for himis that of the day on which he was killed. The tribe of the murdereris not liable for any of the value of the slave, great or small. Thatis the responsibility of the one who struck him from his own personalproperty as far as it covers. If the value of the slave is the blood-money or more, that is against him in his property. That is becausethe slave is a certain type of goods."

Yahya related to me from Malik from Ibn Shihab that Umar ibn al-Khattab demanded of the people at Mina, "If anyone has knowledge ofblood-money, let him inform me." Ad-Dahhak ibn Sufyan al-Kilabi stoodup and said, "The Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and granthim peace, wrote to me that the wife of Ashyam ad-Dibabi inheritedfrom the blood-money of her husband." Umar ibn al-Khattab said to him,"Go into the tent until I come to you." When Umar ibn al-Khattab camein, ad-Dahhak told him about it and Umar ibn al-Khattab gave adecision based on that.

Ibn Shihab said, "The killing ofAshyam was accidental."

Malik said that he had heardthat Said ibn al-Musayyab and Sulayman ibn Yasar were asked, "Does onedeal more harshly in taking the blood-money in the sacred month?" Theysaid, "No. But it is increased in it because of violating the month."It was said to Said, "Does one increase for the wound as one increasesfor the life?" He said, "Yes."

Malik added, "I think thatthey meant the same as what Umar ibn al-Khattab did with respect tothe blood-money of the Mudliji when he struck his son." (i.e. giving120 camels instead of 100).

11 Malik related to me from Yahya ibn Said from Urwa ibn az-Zubayr that a man of the Ansar called Uhayha ibn al-Julah had a youngpaternal uncle who was younger than him and who was living with hismaternal uncles. Uhayha took him and killed him. His maternal unclessaid, "We brought him up from a baby to a youth till he stood firm onhis feet, and we have had the right of a man taken from us by hispaternal uncle." Urwa said, "For that reason a killer does not inheritfrom the one he killed."

Malik said, "The way of doing thingsabout which there is no dispute is that the intentional murderer doesnot inherit anything of the blood-money of the person he has murderedor any of his property. He does not stop anyone who has a share ofinheritance from inheriting. The one who kills accidentally does notinherit anything of the blood-money and there is dispute as to whetheror not he inherits from the dead person's property because there is nosuspicion that he killed him for his inheritance and in order to takehis property. I prefer that he inherit from the dead person's propertyand not inherit from the blood-money."

Malik said, "Everyone leading an animal by the halter, driving it, andriding it is responsible for what the animal strikes unless the animalkicks out without anything being done to it to make it kick out. Umaribn al-Khattab imposed the blood-money on a person who was exercisinghis horse."

Malik said, "It is more fitting that a personleading an animal by the halter, driving it, or riding it incur a lossthan a person who is exercising his horse." (See hadith 4 of thisbook).

Malik said, "What is done in our community about aperson who digs a well on a road or ties up an animal or does the likeof that on a road used by muslims, is that since what he has done isincluded in that which he is not permitted to do in such a place, heis liable for whatever injury or other thing arises from that action.The blood-money of that which is less than a third of the full blood-money is owed from his own personal property. Whatever reaches a thirdor more, is owed by his tribe. Any such things that he does which heis permitted to do on the muslims' road are something for which he hasno liability or loss. Part of that is a hole which a man digs tocollect rain, and the beast from which the man alights for some needand leaves standing on the road. There is no penalty against anyonefor this."

Malik spoke about a man who went down a well, andanother man followed behind him, and the lower one pulled the higherone and they fell into the well and both died He said, "The tribe ofthe one who pulled him in is responsible for the blood-money."

Malik spoke about a child whom a man ordered to go down into awell or to climb a palm tree and he died as a result. He said, "Theone who ordered him is liable for whatever befalls him, be it death orsomething else."

Malik said, "The way of doing things in ourcommunity about which there is no dispute is that women and childrenare not obliged to pay blood-money together with the tribe in theblood-moneys which the tribe must pay. The blood-money is onlyobligatory for a man who has reached puberty."

Malik saidthat the tribe could bind themselves to the blood-money of mawali ifthey wished. If they refused, they were people of the diwan or werecut off from their people. In the time of the Messenger of Allah, mayAllah bless him and grant him peace, people paid the blood-money toeach other as well as in the time of Abu Bakr as-Siddiq before therewas a diwan. The diwan was in the time of Umar ibn al-Khattab. No oneother than one's people and the ones holding the wala' paid blood-money for one because the wala' was not transferable and because theProphet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said, "The wala'belongs to the one who sets free."

Malik said, "The wala' isan established relationship."

Malik said, "What is done inour community about animals that are injured is that the person whocauses the injury pays whatever of their value has been diminished."

Malik said about a man condemned to death and one of theother hudud befell him, "He is not punished for it. That is becausethe killing overrides all of that, except for slander. The slanderremains hanging over the one to whom it was said because it will besaid to him, 'Why do you not flog the one who slandered you?' I thinkthat the condemned man is flogged with the hadd before he is killed,and then he is killed. I do not think that any retaliation isinflicted on him for any injury except killing because killingoverrides all of that."

Malik said, "What is done in ourcommunity is that when a murdered person is found among the main bodyof a people in a village or other place, the house or place of thenearest people to him is not responsible. That is because the murderedperson can be slain and then cast at the door of some people to shamethem by it. No one is responsible for the like of that."

Malik said about a group of people who fight with each other and whenthe fight is broken up, a man is found dead or wounded, and it is notknown who did it, "The best of what is heard about that is that thereis blood-money for him, and the blood-money is against the people whoargued with him. If the injured or slain person is not from either ofthe two parties, his blood-money is against both of the two partiestogether."

Yahya related to me from Malik from Yahya ibn Said from Said ibnal-Musayyab that Umar ibn al-Khattab killed five or seven people forone man whom they had killed secretly by trickery. Umar said, "Had allthe people of Sana joined forces against him, I would have killed themall."

Yahya related to me from Malik from Muhammad ibn Abd ar-Rahmanibn Sad ibn Zurara that he had heard that Hafsa, the wife of theProphet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, killed one of herslave-girls who had used sorcery against her. She was a mudabbara.Hafsa gave the order, and she was killed.

Malik said, "Thesorcerer is the one who uses sorcery for himself and no one else usesthat for him. It is like the one about whom Allah, the Blessed, theExalted, said in His Book, 'They know the one who devotes himself toit will have no share in the Next World.' (Sura 2 ayat 102) I thinkthat that person is killed if he does that himself."

Yahya related to me from Malik from Abu'z-Zinad from Sulayman ibnYasar that a slave was set free by one of the people on hajj and hismaster had abandoned the right to inherit from him. The ex-slave thenkilled a man from the Banu A'idh tribe. An A'idhi, the father of theslain man came to Umar ibn al-Khattab seeking the blood-money of hisson. Umar said, "He has no blood-money." The A'idhi said, "What wouldyou think if it had been my son who killed him?" Umar said, "Then youwould pay his blood-money." He said, "He is then like the black andwhite Arqam snake. If it is left, it devours and if it is killed, ittakes revenge."