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Question

Reference number: 293148 | The Jurisprudence of Penalties | Feb. 19, 2020

Should a father who killed his son by accident (he killed his son as he reversed his tractor and crashed into the son by mistake) pay Diya (blood-money) or expiation?

Answer

Praise Be to Allah and Peace Be Upon His Messenger.

Referring to your question, killing a Muslim by mistake requires the killer to pay the blood money even though the killer who made the accident is a father, and the victim is a son. The Diya is paid to the family of the deceased.

Shaikh Muhammad Ahmad Hussain, the General Mufti (Muslim Legal Scholar), in the Palestinian Legal Verdict Council stated the Diya of a victim who was killed by mistake provided that it is proved as an accidently killing. He said it should be a hundred camels (decision No. 2/86). The equivalent amount of money is JD 84,000. The Diya is to be paid to the family of the victim to be distributed fairly as it is considered to be inheritance. There is no difference whether the deceased is old or young.

However, the Palestinian Legal Verdict Council called the family of a victim (in general) to be merciful with the killer or even to forgive him. Allah says: “But if the killer is forgiven by the brother (or relatives, etc.) of (the killed) against blood-money, then adhering to it with fairness and payment of the blood-money to the heir should be made in fairness. So after this, whoever transgresses the limits (i.e. kills the killer after taking the blood-money) he shall have a painful torment.” Al-Baqara: 178

Moreover, our religion states that the killer must fast sixty days in a row, and this is also decided by the Legal Verdict Council according to decisions No. 2/43 and 3/47

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