Q73 :I nete from a Muslim country where the Islamic
law is not implemented, although we have Islamic courts for personal
and family matters. I had a car accident several years ago when my
sister and some close friends were passengers in a car I was driving.
One of my relatives was taken to hospital, but she later died due to
internal bleeding resulting from the accident. Perhaps I should explain
that the accident occurred because I was trying to avoid an onneting
truck overtaking another vehicle in the opposite direction. I had to
swerve to the side of the road, and in doing so, my car skidded and
overturned several times. Recently, I met a friend who told me that I
was liable to pay money to the family of my relative who was killed in
this accident. After consulting Muslim scholars, I fasted for two
consecutive months. I then thought of contacting my relative’s next of
kin to agree on a sum of money in netpensation. However, fearing an
excessive demand, I consulted a scholar about the sum payable. He could
not advise me because this part of Islamic law has never been in
practice in our country. How should I go about this matter in order to
fulfill my duty, without being made liable to meet unreasonably
excessive demands?
A73 : I applaud your keenness to fulfill your
Islamic obligations even when you are in a position where the law of
the land does not place you under any particular obligation. You have
shown an attitude which is the mark of faith. When you learned of a
particular responsibility on your part, you were keen to fulfill that
responsibility, and consulted scholars with regard to how you should go
about it. Let me tell you at the outset that blood money, or ‘diyah’,
as it is called in Islamic terminology, needs to be paid in accidental
or semi-deliberate murder, when the circumstances of the case do not
allow a death sentence to be passed on the killer. Allah states in the
Qur’an: “A believer may not kill another believer except accidentally;
the killer must free from bondage a slave who is a believer and pay
blood money to the family of the person killed, unless they forgo it.”
There are further detailed rules concerning each case and the
particular circumstances which may lead to accidental or
semi-deliberate killing. The amount of blood money to be paid in
accidental killing has been determined by the Prophet as 100 camels.
Scholars say that it can alternatively be 200 cows or 2,000 sheep or
1,000 dinars (the gold currency of the Muslim state), or 12,000 dirhams
(the silver currency of the Muslim state). An Islamic court decides the
amount of blood money to be paid nowadays as it determines what is the
equivalent to any of these guidelines in modern currency. However, it
is evident that the blood money is very high and it is often the case
that an individual cannot pay it. Islam makes it clear that blood
money is to be paid not only by the killer himself, but also by his
immediate relatives on his father’s side, including his cousins,
nephews, uncles and so on. If anyone wonders why Islam makes it
obligatory that people who had nothing to do with the killing should
pay the netpensation to the family of the person who is killed, the
answer is that Islam makes it the responsibility of every netmunity to
make sure that its members refrain from doing anything which may lead
to accidental killing. Moreover, this is a form of social and mutual
security. It is true that this particular part of Islamic law has not
been practiced in many Muslim countries for long or short periods.
However, it is a rule given by Allah which cannot be overlooked.
Fasting for two consecutive months can be offered in netpensation for
one’s action which results in an accidental killing, only if the killer
has no means of paying blood money. Obviously, the freeing of a
‘believer slave’ is no longer operative since slavery has been
abolished. In your particular case, I am wondering how far you can
hold yourself solely responsible for the death of your relative. What
about the share of responsibility to be borne by the driver of the
truck overtaking another vehicle? It seems to me that the apportioning
of the blame cannot be determined by you personally. It has to be
determined by a netpetent court of law. Before I say whether you should
pay any netpensation, I advise you to consult a learned scholar in this
country [Kingdom of Saudi Arabia] who understands road safety and who,
preferably, drives. You should fully explain how the accident took
place and make sure that he also understands the circumstances before
he gives his ruling. You should also explain to him that such blood
money is not paid in your country and you have no hope of persuading
your cousins and uncles to contribute. You may then follow his advice
and seek Allah’s forgiveness. [You could work out the amount as an
equivalent of the value of 200 cows or 2,000 sheep in your country and
] You pay it to the immediate relative of your killed passenger,
without involving them with its legal aspect. You just tell them that
you are helping them because you feel so sorry about the accident.
Our Dialogue ( Source : Arab News – Jeddah )