What is the ruling on compensation when a partner in a female slave strikes her, causing her to miscarry?
General Chapter
Al-Mughni
Book of Blood-Money (Diyyāt)
Primary text
If one of two partners strikes a jointly-owned female slave and she miscarries, the striker is liable for *kaffarah* (expiation) because he destroyed a human being. He must guarantee the partner half of one-tenth of the mother's value. The guarantee for his own share is waived because it belongs to him. This view is attributed to Al-Qadi, the implication of the saying of Ibn Hamid, and the school of Al-Shafi'i.
Supporting text
The implication of the saying of Abu Bakr and Abu Al-Khattab holds that the striker is not liable to compensate for what he freed. Liability is determined by the state at the time of injury, which was the striking. This view is considered sounder because the destruction resulted from a non-guaranteed act, similar to wounding an enemy combatant who subsequently embraces Islam and then dies from the wound's complication. Furthermore, since death could have resulted from the striking itself, renewed liability after death is not established, and the default is the exoneration of responsibility.