A woman says: For a long time, I have been living in psychological anxiety and a guilty conscience as a result of an incident that happened to me when my daughter was five months old.
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The questioner : From al-Hassa, the listener Umm 'Imad sent a message saying: O honorable Shaykh, for a long time, I have been living in psychological anxiety and a guilty conscience as a result of an incident that happened to me when my daughter was five months old. I was sleeping and woke up to her screaming. Instead of taking her, I hit her, but I did not mention the name of Allah over her. The child went quiet, and I thought she had fallen asleep. When I woke up in the morning, I found that she could not move or speak, and all her limbs were tense. She is still in this condition to this day, and she is seven years old. Although I believe in the divine decree and destiny of Allah, I do not rule out that I may be the cause of what happened to her, and this is what torments me, O honorable Shaykh. Am I sinful, and do I owe an expiation? We ask for your advice, may you be rewarded.
The Shaykh : There is no doubt that this action is a wrong one and is not good upbringing. If a child screams, he should be calmed with gentleness, softness, and tenderness. And whoever does not show mercy to people, Allah will not show mercy to him. The merciful are shown mercy by the Most Merciful, and those with hard hearts, may Allah protect us from them, are the farthest people from mercy. It is obligatory for this woman to repent to Allah (Mighty and Majestic) for what she did. She owes blood money for everything this girl has lost of her senses, such as movement, for example, and hearing if she has lost her hearing, and other things for which blood money is due, according to what the scholars have mentioned.
The questioner : Yes.
The Shaykh : And I ask Allah for forgiveness and pardon for us and for her. Yes.
The questioner : How is the blood money paid, O Shaykh?
The Shaykh : The scholars say that if a person commits a crime against another person.
The questioner : Yes.
The Shaykh : And destroys one of the benefits.
The questioner : Yes.
The Shaykh : Such as the benefit of hearing or sight or the like, then he owes blood money for that benefit. For example, if he commits a crime against him such that he becomes blind, he owes the full blood money for sight. If he commits a crime against him such that he becomes deaf, he owes the full blood money for hearing. If he commits a crime against him such that he becomes paralyzed and cannot move, he owes the full blood money, which is the blood money for movement, and so on.
The Shaykh : There is no doubt that this action is a wrong one and is not good upbringing. If a child screams, he should be calmed with gentleness, softness, and tenderness. And whoever does not show mercy to people, Allah will not show mercy to him. The merciful are shown mercy by the Most Merciful, and those with hard hearts, may Allah protect us from them, are the farthest people from mercy. It is obligatory for this woman to repent to Allah (Mighty and Majestic) for what she did. She owes blood money for everything this girl has lost of her senses, such as movement, for example, and hearing if she has lost her hearing, and other things for which blood money is due, according to what the scholars have mentioned.
The questioner : Yes.
The Shaykh : And I ask Allah for forgiveness and pardon for us and for her. Yes.
The questioner : How is the blood money paid, O Shaykh?
The Shaykh : The scholars say that if a person commits a crime against another person.
The questioner : Yes.
The Shaykh : And destroys one of the benefits.
The questioner : Yes.
The Shaykh : Such as the benefit of hearing or sight or the like, then he owes blood money for that benefit. For example, if he commits a crime against him such that he becomes blind, he owes the full blood money for sight. If he commits a crime against him such that he becomes deaf, he owes the full blood money for hearing. If he commits a crime against him such that he becomes paralyzed and cannot move, he owes the full blood money, which is the blood money for movement, and so on.