Comparative study of diyat in islamic and pakistani law.

Diyat better known as blood money and defined financial compensation paid to the victim in case of murder, bodily harm or property damage.  One group of our scholars regards it as the monetary value of human life, while another group considers it to be the monetary compensation of the economic loss inflicted by the slayer upon the family of the murdered person. Diyat only applies when victim’s family want to compromise with the guilty party, otherwise qisas applies. It is substitute of Qisas which is equal retaliation. The principle in qisas is An eye for an eye. All these rulings are of course derived from Quran and sunnah. As to talk about compensation rate, they are varied. The formula set up traditionally by islam is as follows: For a free muslim male, the value is 100 camels. This was valued at 1000 to 12000 dirhams corresponding to 4.25 kilograms of Gold, and 29.7 to 35.64 kilograms of silver. All four school of thoughts are agreed upon this the difference of opinion lies in religion, sex, and legal status (free or slave) of victim. Muslim woman’s life diyat is half of as mentioned in case of free man. According to hanafi’s the non-muslim citizen is killed by muslim, qisas could be applicable followed by diyat (only if his heir wants to), The maliki, shafi and hanbali code of sharia ruled that qisas does not apply against a muslim but only diyat. Hanafi and hanbali states the blood money for muslim or non muslim victims shall be same. Maliki school considered payable diyat for muslim and non muslim male’s value of life half of a muslim, while shafi school considered it worth a third. In case of slave by a muslim murderer the blood money is market price paid for the slave, to the owner of slave. To add on, in hanifi and maliki sharia doctrines a diyat shall not be payable to non-muslim’s from a murderer’s estate, if the murderer dies for natural or other causes during trial. Life of polytheists and atheists as one-fifteenth the value of a Muslim during sentencing.

Pakistan as an Islamic state practice the rulings of islam. (theoretically, yes). Pakistan which is predominantly Hanafi sunni muslim notion introduces Qisas and diyat ordinance in 1990, amending sections 229 to 338 of Pakistan penal code.  The new Ordinance replaced British era criminal laws on bodily hurt and murder with sharia-compliant provisions, as demanded by the Shariat Appellate Bench of Pakistan's Supreme Court. The Criminal Procedure Code was also amended to give legal heirs of a murdered person to enter into compromise and accept diyah compensation, instead of demanding qisas-based retaliatory penalties for murder or bodily hurt. However the hurt to anyone’s property now fell in torts category. The Pakistan Penal Code modernized the Hanafi doctrine of qisas and diya by eliminating distinctions between Muslims and non-Muslims. Also, qisas and diyat law made murder a private offense not a crime against society or state, and thus the pursuit, prosecution, and punishment for murder has become the responsibility of the victim's heirs and guardians.

The fedral government in July 2019 announced the blood money from 2055963 to 2320202 for the fiscal year 2019-2020, equivalent to 30630 grams of silver. According to the law, in awarding Diyat, courts need to take into account the financial position of the convict and the victim’s heirs but the amount fixed must not be less than the value that is declared by the federal government at the start of each fiscal year. Axiomatically, I want to throw some controversial questions to the concerned, so that they can look upon some better amendments in this law. What shall be done to those who kill women in the name of honor killing, where the killers were from the same family and thus, have the power to forgive the killer? What about the murders of poor from affluent people, where the only punishment the criminal bears – monetary compensation?, which is easily affordable for him.