28/11. Chapter:
Sahih Muslim 1681c — Fetal Diyat
The Diyah for a fetus; and the Diyah for accidental killing and the ambiguous killing must be paid by the shahiqilah of the killer
Diyat of Fetus in Islam: What Sahih Muslim 1681c Teaches
Sahih Muslim : 1681c
Sahih MuslimHadith Number 1681c
وَحَدَّثَنِي أَبُو الطَّاهِرِ، حَدَّثَنَا ابْنُ وَهْبٍ، ح وَحَدَّثَنَا حَرْمَلَةُ بْنُ يَحْيَى التُّجِيبِيُّ، أَخْبَرَنَا ابْنُ وَهْبٍ، أَخْبَرَنِي يُونُسُ، عَنِ ابْنِ شِهَابٍ، عَنِ ابْنِ الْمُسَيَّبِ، وَأَبِي، سَلَمَةَ بْنِ عَبْدِ الرَّحْمَنِ أَنَّ أَبَا هُرَيْرَةَ، قَالَ اقْتَتَلَتِ امْرَأَتَانِ مِنْ هُذَيْلٍ فَرَمَتْ إِحْدَاهُمَا الأُخْرَى بِحَجَرٍ فَقَتَلَتْهَا وَمَا فِي بَطْنِهَا فَاخْتَصَمُوا إِلَى رَسُولِ اللَّهِ صلى الله عليه وسلم فَقَضَى رَسُولُ اللَّهِ صلى الله عليه وسلم أَنَّ دِيَةَ جَنِينِهَا غُرَّةٌ عَبْدٌ أَوْ وَلِيدَةٌ وَقَضَى بِدِيَةِ الْمَرْأَةِ عَلَى عَاقِلَتِهَا وَوَرَّثَهَا وَلَدَهَا وَمَنْ مَعَهُمْ فَقَالَ حَمَلُ بْنُ النَّابِغَةِ الْهُذَلِيُّ يَا رَسُولَ اللَّهِ كَيْفَ أَغْرَمُ مَنْ لاَ شَرِبَ وَلاَ أَكَلَ وَلاَ نَطَقَ وَلاَ اسْتَهَلَّ فَمِثْلُ ذَلِكَ يُطَلُّ . فَقَالَ رَسُولُ اللَّهِ صلى الله عليه وسلم " إِنَّمَا هَذَا مِنْ إِخْوَانِ الْكُهَّانِ " . مِنْ أَجْلِ سَجْعِهِ الَّذِي سَجَعَ .
Abu Hurairah Narrated from:
Two women of the tribe of Hudhail fought with each other and one of them flung a stone at the other, killing her and what was in her womb. The case was brought to Allah's Messenger (ﷺ) and he gave judgment that the diyat (indemnity) of her unborn child is a male or a female slave of the best quality, and he also decided that the diyat of the woman is to be paid by her relative on the father's side, and he (the Holy Prophet) made her sons and those who were with them her heirs.Hamal b. al-Nabigha al-Hudhali said: Messenger of Allah, why should I play blood-wit for one who neither drank, nor ate, nor spoke, nor made any noise; it is like a nonentity (it is, therefore, not justifiable to demand blood-wit for it). Thereupon Allah's Messenger (ﷺ) said: He seems to be one of the brothers of soothsayers on account of the rhymed speech which he has composed.
[1] ‘Âqilah : The relatives who must pay the ‘Aql or Diyah (blood money), meaning, the male relatives on the father's side.Reference : Sahih Muslim 1681cIn-book reference : Book 28, Hadith 50USC-MSA web (English) reference : Book 16, Hadith 4168
Summary of Sahih Muslim Hadith 1681c
This Hadith is a detailed report about diyat of fetus in Islam. Two women from Hudhail fought, and one threw a stone that killed the other woman and what was in her womb. The case reached the Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم. He ruled that the diyat of the unborn child was a male or female slave of best quality. He also ruled that the diyat of the woman should be paid by her relatives on the father’s side, and that her sons and those with them would inherit from her. A man objected with rhymed words, saying the unborn child had not eaten, drunk, spoken, or made a sound. The Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم rejected that style of speech and linked it to the speech of soothsayers. This Hadith about unborn child compensation shows that clever wording is not a way to erase responsibility after harm.
What we learn from this hadith
- A harmful fight led to responsibility for both the woman and the unborn child.
- The Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم gave separate judgments for compensation and inheritance.
- Rhymed objection did not remove the payment ordered in the case.
