diyyah

Diyyah, also spelled diyya or diya, is a form of blood money in Islamic law (Sharia). It refers to compensation paid to the heirs of a person who was killed or to an injured party, with the aim of reconciling relatives, preventing retaliatory violence, and providing a form of legal settlement. Diyyah operates within the framework of qisas, the law of retaliation, but in many cases the victim’s heirs may accept diya in lieu of pursuing retaliation.

Diyyah applies in cases of homicide and in some situations of bodily injury, depending on the juristic school. The amount is traditionally determined by Islamic jurists and may vary by context and status of the deceased, such as gender or social status, though modern practice often translates these amounts into monetary sums or fixed scales. Classical schools (Hanafi, Maliki, Shafi'i, Hanbali) gave specific values in terms of livestock as a gauge for the diya; for example, some traditional opinions set the diya for a free adult male at a higher level than that for a female or a slave, with regional and temporal variations.

In modern legal contexts, many Muslim-majority countries codify diya as a monetary sum set by statute or court practice. Payment is usually made by the offender or the offender’s family, and heirs may forgive or accept a reduced amount. If the offender cannot pay and the state cannot enforce payment, diya arrangements may be adjusted within the broader system of criminal or civil liability. Diyyah remains a live concept in traditional juristic interpretation as well as in contemporary reform efforts and harmonization with secular legal frameworks.