Does a *Mūḍiḥah* on parts of the body other than the head or face necessitate a fixed compensation?
Chapter on Diyat (Blood Money) for Wounds
Al-Mughni
Book of Blood-Money (Diyyāt)
Primary text
The majority of scholars, including our Imam (Aḥmad), Mālik, Al-Thawrī, Al-Shāfi'ī, and Isḥāq, hold that there is no fixed compensation (*muqaddar*) for a *Mūḍiḥah* on parts of the body other than the head or face; only *hukūmah* applies. This is based on the linguistic specificity where the term *Mūḍiḥah* is restricted to the wounds of the head and face, evidenced by the consensus of the two rightly guided Caliphs stating that the *Mūḍiḥah* of the head and face are equal, implying that the rest of the body is treated differently. Furthermore, the disfigurement and danger associated with wounds to the head and face are greater than those elsewhere on the body, and applying the fixed amount to other body parts could result in the compensation for a lesser injury exceeding the *diyah* of the entire limb.
Supporting text
Al-Layth ibn Sa'd states that a *Mūḍiḥah* can occur on the body. Al-Awzā'ī holds that injuries to the body are compensated at half the rate of head injuries. A similar opinion is related from 'Aṭā' Al-Khurāsānī, stating that the *Mūḍiḥah* on the rest of the body warrants twenty-five dinars.