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Diya (Arabic: دية; pl.: diyāt, Arabic: ديات) in Islamic law, is the financial compensation paid to the victim or heirs of a victim in the cases of murder, bodily harm or property damage by mistake. It is an alternative punishment to qisas (equal retaliation). In Arabic, the word means both blood money and ransom, and it is spelled sometimes as diyah or diyeh.[citation needed]
It only applies when murder is committed by mistake and secondly victim's family has the free consent to compromise with the guilty party; otherwise qisas applies.[where?][by whom?]
Diya compensation rates have historically varied based on the gender and religion of the victim.[1][2][3] In the modern era, diya plays a role in the legal system of Iran, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates.[4]
In Iran, the diya for recognized religious minorities (Zoroastrians, Jews, and Christians, with the exception of evangelical Protestants) is half that of a Muslim man. The diya for Muslim women in insurance claims, such as the loss of life in automobile accidents, is equal to that of a Muslim man, but is half of a Muslim man's in all other cases.[5]
In Pakistan, the diya is the same for Muslims and non-Muslims,[6][7][8] while in Saudi Arabia it differs depending on the religion of the victim.[3]
- ^ Aaron Spevack (2014), The Archetypal Sunni Scholar: Law, Theology, and Mysticism, SUNY Press, ISBN 978-1438453712, p. 81
- ^ Anver M. Emon (2012), Religious Pluralism and Islamic Law: Dhimmis and Others in the Empire of Law, Oxford University Press, ISBN 978-0199661633, pp. 234-235
- ^ a b Cite error: The named reference
usstdeptwas invoked but never defined (see the help page). - ^ Court Uncourt. Volume IV, Issue IV. STA Law Firm Dubai. 2018. p. 13. Archived from the original on 2023-11-26. Retrieved 2023-03-21.
- ^ "2023 Report on International Religious Freedom: Iran". U.S. Department of State. Retrieved November 15, 2024.
This law also sets the amount of diya for recognized religious minorities and women at half that of a Muslim man. Women are entitled to equal diya as men for insurance claims where loss of life occurred in automobile accidents, but not for other categories of death, such as murder. In cases of bodily harm, according to the law, certain male organs (for example, the testicles) are worth more than the entire body of a woman.
- ^ Cite error: The named reference
PakistaniHanafiwas invoked but never defined (see the help page). - ^ Cite error: The named reference
Tavana35was invoked but never defined (see the help page). - ^ Tellenbach, Sylvia (2014). The Oxford Handbook of Criminal Law, Oxford University Press. pg. 261