What is the blood money (diyah) for an accidental killing in a playful incident involving a pistol that led to the death of a young man, eighteen years of age, who was his mother's only son and an orphan from his father's side?
The killer must pay a full diyah (blood money) of one hundred camels, or their equivalent value if camels are unavailable or if both parties agree on their value.
Many Prophetic narrations indicate that the diyah for accidental killing is one hundred she-camels, such as the narration about the killing of Abdullah ibn Sahl, where the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, said: "(So the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, paid his diyah from his own [wealth], one hundred she-camels)."
Shafi'i jurists and Imam Ahmad hold that the primary form of diyah is camels or their value, and nothing else suffices unless the guardians of the victim pardon it.
In cases of semi-deliberate killing, the diyah is made more severe (mughallazhah) by one hundred camels of specific types (twenty-five bint makhad, twenty-five bint labun, twenty-five hiqqa, and twenty-five jadha'a), or their value.
This act is considered semi-deliberate because the killer aimed a pistol at the person, believing it contained no bullets, but the killing occurred. This classification is subject to the discretion of the Sharia judge, who examines the circumstances.
Summarized from the full answer at Ftawy · reviewed Sep 2, 2026
Read the full answer on Ftawyhttps://ftawy.com/en/questions/21381