28/11. Chapter:
Sahih Muslim 1682a — Pregnant Woman 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 for Pregnant Woman: Sahih Muslim 1682a and the Tent-Pole Case
Sahih Muslim : 1682a
Sahih MuslimHadith Number 1682a
حَدَّثَنَا إِسْحَاقُ بْنُ إِبْرَاهِيمَ الْحَنْظَلِيُّ، أَخْبَرَنَا جَرِيرٌ، عَنْ مَنْصُورٍ، عَنْ إِبْرَاهِيمَ، عَنْ عُبَيْدِ بْنِ نُضَيْلَةَ الْخُزَاعِيِّ، عَنِ الْمُغِيرَةِ بْنِ شُعْبَةَ، قَالَ ضَرَبَتِ امْرَأَةٌ ضَرَّتَهَا بِعَمُودِ فُسْطَاطٍ وَهِيَ حُبْلَى فَقَتَلَتْهَا - قَالَ - وَإِحْدَاهُمَا لِحْيَانِيَّةٌ - قَالَ - فَجَعَلَ رَسُولُ اللَّهِ صلى الله عليه وسلم دِيَةَ الْمَقْتُولَةِ عَلَى عَصَبَةِ الْقَاتِلَةِ وَغُرَّةً لِمَا فِي بَطْنِهَا . فَقَالَ رَجُلٌ مِنْ عَصَبَةِ الْقَاتِلَةِ أَنَغْرَمُ دِيَةَ مَنْ لاَ أَكَلَ وَلاَ شَرِبَ وَلاَ اسْتَهَلَّ فَمِثْلُ ذَلِكَ يُطَلُّ . فَقَالَ رَسُولُ اللَّهِ صلى الله عليه وسلم " أَسَجْعٌ كَسَجْعِ الأَعْرَابِ " . قَالَ وَجَعَلَ عَلَيْهِمُ الدِّيَةَ .
Al-Mughirah bin Shu'bah Narrated from:
A woman struck her co-wife with a tent-pole and she was pregnant and she killed her. One of them belonged to the tribe of Lihyan. Allah's Messenger (ﷺ) made the relatives of the murderer responsible for the payment of blood-wit on her behalf, and fixed a slave or a female slave as the indemnity for what was in her womb.One of the persons amongst the relatives of the murderer said: Should we pay indemnity for one who, neither ate, nor drank, nor made any noise, who was just like a nonentity? Thereupon Allah's Messenger (ﷺ) remarked: He speaks rhymed phrases like the people of the desert. He did impose indemnity upon them.
Reference : Sahih Muslim 1682aIn-book reference : Book 28, Hadith 52USC-MSA web (English) reference : Book 16, Hadith 4170
Summary of Sahih Muslim Hadith 1682a
This Hadith is about diyat for a pregnant woman and compensation for the unborn child. Al-Mughira b. Shu'ba reports that a woman struck her co-wife with a tent-pole while she was pregnant, and she died. The Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم made the relatives of the offender responsible for the blood-wit and fixed a slave or female slave as compensation for what was in the womb. One relative questioned why they should pay for one who had not eaten, drunk, or cried out. The Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم responded that the man used rhymed phrases like desert people, and the compensation was still imposed. The report is direct and serious. It shows that harmful action against a pregnant woman was judged with responsibility for both the woman and the unborn child, and that wordplay did not cancel the judgment.
What we learn from this hadith
- The death of the pregnant woman was treated as a serious case requiring diyat.
- The unborn child was given a separate form of compensation.
- An objection in rhymed speech did not stop the ordered payment.
