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What is the ruling regarding a 16-year-old boy who drove his father's car with his father's permission, and caused the death of a child by running him over?

1 min readAlso available in العربية

The adult responsible for a car accident that led to the death of a child is obligated to offer expiation (kaffarah) and pay blood money (diyyah) if they were negligent in driving (such as driving without a license or speeding). The blood money is paid by their agnatic relatives ('asabah) because it is an accidental killing. However, if there was no negligence or carelessness on their part, and the fault lay with the child, then nothing is incumbent upon them.

Adulthood is established upon reaching the age of fifteen, even if other signs of puberty have not appeared. This is supported by the hadith of Ibn 'Umar, may Allah be pleased with them both.

Summarized from the full answer at Ftawy · reviewed Sep 2, 2026

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