Praise be to Allah alone, and peace and blessings be upon the one after whom there is no prophet. To proceed:
In the ninth session of the Council of Senior Scholars, held in the city of Taif, in the month of Sha'ban 1396 AH; the letter from the esteemed authority received from His Highness the Deputy Prime Minister No. (33867) dated 2/12/1395 AH, which included approval of the proposal to reconsider the assessment of the blood money, in light of the changes in the values of camels, which are the asset in blood money, in a manner that achieves justice and fairness, was reviewed.
The Council examined the issue in light of the texts related to the principles of blood money, and since there is no known disagreement among scholars that camels are the asset in blood money, and that the blood money for a free Muslim is one hundred camels, and since the prevailing opinion among scholars is that the asset in blood money is camels, while other types are considered as values, as is one of the two narrations from Imam Ahmad, may Allah have mercy on him, and the choice of Al-Kharaqī, Al-Muwafaq, and others among the Hanbali scholars, which is the prevailing view among the Imams of the Da'wah, may Allah have mercy on them, based on the hadiths related to this, including:
The hadith of Abdullah ibn Amr that the Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him, said: "Indeed, the blood money for accidental killing that is similar to intentional killing, which is done with a whip or a stick, is one hundred camels, of which forty are pregnant." And the hadith of Amr ibn Hazm, may Allah be pleased with him, about the Prophet, peace be upon him, that he said: "And for the soul, it is one hundred camels." And the hadith of Abdullah ibn Mas'ud, may Allah be pleased with him, who said: The Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him, said: "The blood money for accidental killing is twenty female camels, twenty young camels, twenty she-camels, twenty young she-camels, and twenty female camels." Abu Dawood narrated with a good chain from Abdullah ibn Mas'ud, may Allah be pleased with him, that he said: "In cases of similar intentional killing, it is twenty-five female camels, twenty-five young camels, twenty-five female camels, and twenty-five young she-camels."
These hadiths indicate that the asset in blood money is camels, and because he, peace be upon him, differentiated between the blood money for intentional killing and its similarity, and the blood money for accidental killing, he made it more severe in the first case and lighter in the second. The differentiation mentioned cannot be realized with anything other than camels. From this, it is clear that the prevailing opinion is that the asset in blood money is specifically camels, while anything else is considered as values, and it is supported by the fact that the blood money for injuries, teeth, and fractures is mentioned in the hadiths as being assessed in camels.
Based on this chosen opinion, which is that the asset in blood money is camels, and that it is permissible to assess them; as it has been established from the Commander of the Faithful, Umar ibn al-Khattab, may Allah be pleased with him, that he delivered a sermon saying: "Indeed, camels have become expensive. So assess for the people of gold one thousand dinars, and for the people of silver twelve thousand, and for the people of cattle two hundred cows, and for the people of sheep two thousand sheep, and for the people of garments two hundred garments."
This indicates that Umar, may Allah be pleased with him, made the obligation for what is other than camels as a means of assessment; due to the high prices of camels. If the other types were assets in themselves, the obligation for them would not have been an assessment of camels, nor would the high prices of camels have any effect on that, nor would his mention have any meaning. This assessment is to be made in every time according to its circumstances.
Since the estimation of blood money in the year (1390 AH) was twenty-four thousand Saudi riyals for accidental killing, and twenty-seven thousand riyals for intentional killing and its similarity, as determined by the Judiciary Council, under its decision No. (155) dated: 6/11/1395 AH, was based on what the Council had reached at that time regarding the average value of the prices of camels, which are the asset in blood money, as previously mentioned. In light of the significant increase in the prices of camels after the mentioned date, and since the esteemed President of the General Administration of Scientific Research, Fatwa, Da'wah, and Guidance, has written to several courts in different regions of the Kingdom, requesting the assignment of two or three trustworthy experts to determine the average value of the types required in blood money from camels, and the responses from these courts included what the experts in each country determined regarding the average value, and due to the differing estimates received from the courts.
The Council has decided by a majority of its present members to adopt the lowest estimate because it is the most cautious, and because the original principle is the discharge of liability from anything beyond that. The killer, if he presents one hundred camels of the specified types, free from defects, must be accepted by the heirs of the victim wherever they are, even if their value in that place is less than in another place. According to this mentioned estimate: the blood money for intentional killing and its similarity is (forty-five thousand riyals), and the blood money for accidental killing is (forty thousand riyals), and this estimate shall continue to be applied unless the value of camels changes significantly, either by a large increase or a significant decrease that necessitates reconsideration.
And Allah is the Grantor of success, and peace and blessings be upon our Prophet Muhammad, and upon his family and companions.