Document Type : Research Paper
Author
Assistant Professor of Jurispradence and Islamic Law Department, Shahid Madani University.
Abstract
For decades, inequality in paying the male and female diya (or blood money)
has been debated and researched not only among the jurisprudents in the field of
jurisprudence, but also outside this field. Except two Sunni scholars(Assam and
Ibn Olayh), the rest of Ulama are of the opinion that the female diya is half that
of males’. This religious verdict cannot belittle the high and true human values
pertaining to man and woman. The only person who has issued a fatwa
regarding the equality of the male and female diya is Ayatollah Saanei.
Following his fatwa, lots of debates have been ensued and lots of viewpoints
have been suggested. In this article, we shall analyze the above point as a
jurisprudential issue in light of the current useful, accepted Jurisprudence. The
views of Ayatollah Saanei as delineated in his book The Equality of Male and
Female Diya, Muslim or non-Muslim, which is based on his jurisprudential
points, will be quoted, analyzed, and criticized. We are of the opinion that
jurisprudential issues and questions must be inferred and dealt with based on
specialized methodology and basic principles of Ijtehad. No Mujtahid abides by
methodology outside this mainstream. If Javaheri jurisprudence is dynamic, it is
because it was emphasized and ascertained by late Imam Khomeini (PBUH),
because it can be adapted to the conditions of and go with the contemporary
civilization, and because it can be interpreted with a knowledge of the
spatiotemporal elements of a given period. In this regard, we must confess that
Islamic rules as proposed by Islam, as the last and the most complete religion,
can never be limited to a certain time or to specific circumstances only. If
somebody thinks in opposition to this line of thought or has a different
viewpoint, they have not only blackmailed the aforementioned dynamism in
jurisprudence but also have caused it to stop. Therefore, taking the high
competence and ability of Shia jurisprudence together with the openness of the
channels of jurisprudence for research, in mind, there will be felt no need to
disturb the main principles of reasoning, when a deficiency regarding female
diya may occur, at a certain period of time, or, as regards special cases, because
these lacks and shortages can be compensated for by other means.
Keywords
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