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Should we rule with one-third of the blood money for a "ja'ifah" - a penetrating wound to the internal cavity - whether it damages internal organs or not, or should the definition of "ja'ifah" be redefined based on its effect on the body in light of medical advancements?

1 min readAlso available in العربية

The summary of the scholars' opinion is that for a penetrating wound (ja'ifah), the compensation is one-third of the blood money (diyyah) in all cases, and damage to internal organs is not taken into consideration. Ibn Qudamah stated that this is the view of the general body of scholars, citing the Prophet's (peace be upon him) statement in the letter of Amr ibn Hazm: "And for the penetrating wound, one-third of the blood money," and that it is a wound with a fixed compensation, so the amount of its compensation does not differ whether it was intentional or accidental. A penetrating wound is one that reaches the cavity of the abdomen, back, chest, or other parts, even if it is by the prick of a needle. None of the scholars has explicitly stated the consideration you mentioned regarding damage to internal organs.

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

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