What is the prescribed compensation for the complete loss of the beard (Lihya), eyebrows, or eyelashes?
Chapter on Diyat (Blood Money) for Wounds
Al-Mughni
Book of Blood-Money (Diyyāt)
Primary text
The full Diyah is mandatory for the complete absence of the beard if it fails to grow, for the eyebrows if they fail to grow, and for the eyelashes. This ruling for the beard, eyebrows, and eyelashes is the position held by Abu Hanifa, Al-Thawri, Sa'id ibn al-Musayyib, Shurayh, Al-Hasan, and Qatada, and is narrated from Ali and Zayd ibn Thabit. The justification is that the loss entails the destruction of complete beauty, necessitating a full Diyah, analogous to the deaf ear or the mutilated nose. Furthermore, the eyebrow serves to deflect sweat from the eye, and the eyelash protects and guards the eye, functioning like the eyelid.
Supporting text
Malik and Al-Shafi'i, supported by Ibn al-Mundhir, maintain that only an arbitrator's assessment (hukuma) is due because this involves the loss of aesthetic beauty without functional loss, similar to a crippled hand or an intact but blind eye.