Is the Diya estimated in gold or camels?
Answer:
All perfect praise be to Allah, The Lord of The Worlds, and may His peace and blessings be upon our Prophet Muhammad and upon all of his family and companions.
The obligation of estimating Diya whether in gold or camels ism one of the famous controversial issues among scholars, since the majority, are of the view that it is permissible to estimate the Diya either in gold or in camels and this is the opinion of Hanafiee, Malikee and Hanbaliee doctrines although each one has its own details in this regard.
According to our doctrine (Shafiee's doctrine) ;in principle, the value of Diya should be estimated in camels but if this wasn't possible, then the value of camels should be estimated in cash out of the country's currency in which it was due.
In this regard, Al-Khateeb Ash-Rbini (May Allah have mercy on his soul) stated:" If camels didn't exist , there was hardship in finding them or their price was higher than normal, then and according to Shafiee's newest opinion in this regard, their real value should be estimated and paid in cash according to the market price and at the due date regardless of their price back then, because value should to be considered if there was a hardship in fulfilling the first condition (Camels); in addition, the value of the camels should be estimated with the same currency of country in which Diya was due in the first place in order to maintain accuracy." [Mughni Al-Muhtaj].
For further details, kindly refer to resolution No. (129) issued by the Board of Iftaa in which the amount of legal Diya and rulings are clarified. And Allah knows best.