Are Women Liable for Blood-Money Payment? An Attempt to Modify a Ḥanafī Rule

Against the view that only men are liable for blood-money payment due for homicide, which goes back to pre-Islamic custom and was adopted by the Sharī'a, by the fifth/ eleventh century a new opinion appeared in Hanafī doctrine. According to this opinion, women who perpetrated a homicide were required to pay a share of the blood money due. Examining the context of this opinion in Hanafī literature, I suggest that it reflects the jurists’ tendency to put more weight on the Islamic principle of individual responsibility, regardless of gender. I propose that this opinion developed among Persian Hanafīs in eastern Iran, and follow the path through which it was incorporated into Hanafī standard law. Finally, I estimate the extent to which this opinion did influence Hanafī doctrine.