Blood money in Islam

Diyah (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 killing, bodily harm or property damage not done deliberately. 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.

Diya compensation rates have historically varied based on the gender and religion of the victim and whether they are free or slave. (If a killing is intentional, qisas (execution) and not diyah applies unless the family of the victim pardons the killer.)

In the modern era, diya plays a role in the legal system of Iran, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates.

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.

In Pakistan, the diya is the same for Muslims and non-Muslims, while in Saudi Arabia it differs depending on the religion of the victim.

The Qur'an specifies the principle of Qisas (i.e. retaliation) and compensation (diyah) in cases where one Muslim kills another Muslim.

It is not for a believer [Muslim] to kill a believer unless (it be) by mistake. He who hath killed a believer by mistake must set free a believing slave, and pay the diya to the family of the slain unless they remit it as a charity. If he (the victim) be of a people hostile unto you, and he is a believer, then (the penance is) to set free a believing slave. And if he cometh of a folk between whom and you there is a covenant, then the diya must be paid unto his folk and (also) a believing slave must be set free. And whoso hath not the wherewithal must fast two consecutive months. A penance from Allah. Allah is Knower, Wise.

— Quran 4:92