Is the substitution of the Ghurra with monetary value or other commodities permissible?
General Chapter
Al-Mughni
Book of Blood-Money (Diyyāt)
Primary text
If the party liable for the Ghurra wishes to pay a substitute value, and the recipient agrees, it is permissible, as this right belongs to an individual human being, allowing mutual consent in the settlement. If either party refuses to accept a substitute, they have the right to insist on the stipulated slave or female slave, as the right is inherently established in that specific form, and no substitute is accepted without mutual consent.
Supporting text
Ibn Sirin and Al-Sha'bi stipulated one hundred sheep as an equivalent, citing a narration that the Prophet (PBUH) set the compensation for her offspring at one hundred sheep. Furthermore, 'Abd al-Malik ibn Marwan ruled that the compensation should be quantified based on the stage of fetal development, ranging from twenty dinars for an extruded fetus ('imlas) up to one hundred dinars if the creation was completed and hair had grown. Qatadah opined that if the fetus was an adherent clot ('alaqah), the compensation is one-third of the Ghurra, and if it was a chewed morsel (mudghah), it is two-thirds of the Ghurra. These quantified estimations are rejected because they are arbitrary determinations not mandated by the Sharia; the ruling of the Messenger of Allah (PBUH) is superior to their opinions.