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What is the correct action to take after a child (6.5 years old) caused the loss of sight of my child (4 years old) with a stick, and the case was legally dismissed because the law does not punish a child under seven years of age?

1 min readAlso available in العربية

The resolution of disputes takes place in the Sharia courts or by those acting on their behalf, as they are best equipped to hear the parties and comprehend the claims and evidence, whereas the mufti (issuer of fatwas) only hears from one party. Generally, the religious ruling regarding the intentional act of a minor is considered an error, so retaliation (qisas) is not applied to him, and the blood money (diyah) is obligatory upon his aqilah (male relatives responsible for paying blood money) if the act was intentional. The loss of the benefit of sight necessitates full blood money.

If a minor who has not reached puberty commits a crime that necessitates blood money as an error, his blood money is on his aqilah. However, if it was intentional, his intentional act is considered an error by the majority of scholars, and the blood money is obligatory upon his aqilah. The aqilah are the male agnates such as paternal uncles and their sons, and brothers and their sons. The aqilah bear what is more than one-third of the blood money, but they do not bear less than one-third. If something becomes obligatory upon the minor and he does not possess wealth, then according to one narration from Ahmad, his father bears it, and according to the narration of the majority, it is a debt upon him and nothing is upon his father.

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

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