28/11. Chapter:
Sahih Muslim 1682b — Unborn Child Compensation
The Diyah for a fetus; and the Diyah for accidental killing and the ambiguous killing must be paid by the shahiqilah of the killer
Compensation for Unborn Child in Islam: Sahih Muslim 1682b Explained
Sahih Muslim : 1682b
Sahih MuslimHadith Number 1682b
وَحَدَّثَنِي مُحَمَّدُ بْنُ رَافِعٍ، حَدَّثَنَا يَحْيَى بْنُ آدَمَ، حَدَّثَنَا مُفَضَّلٌ، عَنْ مَنْصُورٍ، عَنْ إِبْرَاهِيمَ، عَنْ عُبَيْدِ بْنِ نُضَيْلَةَ، عَنِ الْمُغِيرَةِ بْنِ شُعْبَةَ، . أَنَّ امْرَأَةً، قَتَلَتْ ضَرَّتَهَا بِعَمُودِ فُسْطَاطٍ فَأُتِيَ فِيهِ رَسُولُ اللَّهِ صلى الله عليه وسلم فَقَضَى عَلَى عَاقِلَتِهَا بِالدِّيَةِ وَكَانَتْ حَامِلاً فَقَضَى فِي الْجَنِينِ بِغُرَّةٍ . فَقَالَ بَعْضُ عَصَبَتِهَا أَنَدِي مَنْ لاَ طَعِمَ وَلاَ شَرِبَ وَلاَ صَاحَ فَاسْتَهَلَّ وَمِثْلُ ذَلِكَ يُطَلُّ قَالَ فَقَالَ " سَجْعٌ كَسَجْعِ الأَعْرَابِ " .
Al-Mughirah bin Shu'bah Narrated from:
A woman killed her fellow-wife with a tent-pole. Her case was brought to Allah's Messenger (ﷺ), and he gave judgment that blood-wit should be paid by the relatives (of the offender) on the father's side. And as she was pregnant, he decided regarding her unborn child that a male or a female slave of good quality be given. Some of her offender's) relatives said: Should we make compensation for one who never ate, nor drank, nor made any noise, who was like a nonentity? Thereupon Allah's Messenger (ﷺ) said: He was talking rhymed phrases like the rhymed phrases of desert Arabs.
Reference : Sahih Muslim 1682bIn-book reference : Book 28, Hadith 53USC-MSA web (English) reference : Book 16, Hadith 4171
Summary of Sahih Muslim Hadith 1682b
This Hadith explains compensation for an unborn child in a case where a woman killed her fellow-wife with a tent-pole. The case was brought to the Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم. He ruled that blood-wit should be paid by the offender’s relatives on the father’s side. Since the slain woman was pregnant, he also ruled that compensation should be given for the unborn child in the form of a male or female slave of good quality. Some relatives objected, saying the unborn child had not eaten, drunk, or cried out. The Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم described their wording as rhymed phrases like those of desert Arabs. The text does not add more details about the family dispute, so the safe lesson is clear: the Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم did not accept a speech-based objection as a reason to remove compensation after the harm had happened.
What we learn from this hadith
- The offender’s relatives were assigned the blood-wit payment.
- The unborn child was given a separate compensation ruling.
- The Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم rejected the objection based on rhymed wording.
