Hadith 3516

(1) His statement: “Paid the blood money for the two men from Banu Amir with the blood money of the Muslims” etc.: Meaning, the blood money for a Muslim and a protected non-Muslim, even if he is a Magian, is equal. Malik said: "The blood money for a Jew or Christian is six thousand dirhams," due to his (ﷺ) statement: "The blood money for a disbeliever is half the blood money for a Muslim," and the full amount is twelve thousand dirhams. Al-Shafi’i said: "The blood money for a Christian or Jew is four thousand dirhams, and for a Magian, eight hundred dirhams," as it is narrated thus. This is his old view, and Ahmad and Malik in a narration agree. His new view is one-third of one hundred camels or their value if unavailable, and likewise for a Magian. We rely on what is narrated from Ibn Abbas that the Prophet (ﷺ) paid for the two covenanted men who had a covenant from the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ), and Amr ibn Umayyah Al-Damri killed them, eight hundred camels. He (ﷺ) said: "The blood money for every person under a covenant during his covenant is one thousand dinars." From Al-Zuhri, Abu Bakr and Umar used to make the blood money for a protected non-Muslim equal to that of a Muslim. It cannot be said that the deficiency of disbelief is greater than that of femininity or slavery, so his blood money should be reduced accordingly, and since slavery is a consequence of disbelief, if it reduces for its consequence, then for it is more so. We say: The reduction in the blood money for a woman or slave is not due to the deficiency of femininity or slavery but due to the deficiency in ownership attributes. A woman does not own marriage, and a slave does not own property, while a free male owns both, so his value is greater, and theirs is less. A disbeliever is equal to a Muslim in this regard, so his compensation should be like his. (Commentaries on Al-Kanz, excerpted from them).