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What is the Sharia ruling on what some Bedouin tribes in Beersheba do, regarding paying blood money in murder cases by handing over a girl from the killer's family to the victim's family to bear a male child who would compensate for the slain, and then she returns to her family?

1 min readAlso available in العربية

"Blood money (Diyya) is a right belonging to the heirs of the slain, and it is relinquished if they forgive. If some of the adult, mature heirs forgive, their right is forfeited. Diyya is applicable in cases of unintentional killing (Qatl al-Khata') and quasi-intentional killing (Qatl Shibh al-'Amd). As for intentional killing (Qatl al-'Amd), the obligatory ruling is punitive retribution (Qisas), unless the heirs agree to forgiveness or Diyya.

What some tribes do, which is giving a girl to the family of the slain to bear a male child and then return to her home, is an abominable act (munkar) and impermissible because it alters the rulings of Sharia. It would be either adultery (zina) or a void temporary marriage (nikah al-mut'ah).

The legitimate solution is to act according to what Allah has legislated, whether it be forgiveness or the payment of Diyya. Diyya for unintentional and quasi-intentional killing falls upon the killer's 'Aqila (male relatives on the father's side), while for intentional killing, it falls upon the killer himself."

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

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