Is the Diyyah for a woman half of that for a man? If so, what is the proof from the Sunnah and what is the reasoning behind this. What if the woman killed was breadwinner of the family?

All perfect praise be to Allaah, The Lord of the Worlds. I testify that there is none worthy of worship except Allaah, and that Muhammad is His slave and Messenger. We ask Allaah to exalt his mention as well as that of his family and all his companions.

We inform the questioner that juristic evidences are not limited only to the Prophetic narrations. The juristic ruling is deduced from the Quran, Prophetic narrations, consensus of Muslim scholars, and analogy based on true evidences.

The consensus of Muslim scholars is that a woman's blood money is half that of a man's blood money.

Ibn Qudaamah reported in his book 'Al-Mughni' from Imaams Ibn Al-Munthir and Ibn 'Abdul Bar that all the jurists have agreed upon the fact that a woman's blood money is half that of a man's blood money.

Imaam As-Shaafi'ee wrote in his book 'Al-Umm,' 'I did not know any scholar who disagreed in the past or present that the blood money of a woman is half that of the blood money of a man.'

This is what was proved from the companions of the Prophet . 'Umar said, "A woman's blood money is half that of a man's blood money." [Ibn Abu Shyabah] The same ruling is reported from 'Ali Ibn Abu Taalib and Ibn Mas'ood through sound chains.

Therefore, the ruling that a woman's blood money is half that of a man's blood money, is reported from the companions of the Prophet who were the most knowledgeable people of this nation after the Prophet . No narration proves any disagreement among them concerning this matter, and the consensus of jurists has been held upon this fact.

The disagreement of some people with the above ruling, is not considered since the consensus of jurists has already been held earlier.

The ruling does not change even if the murdered woman was the only sustainer for her family.

As for the wisdom in this ruling is: first of all a Muslim must submit to the rulings of Islamic jurisprudence whether he perceives the wisdom or not. Allaah Says (which means): {It is not for a believing man or a believing woman, when Allaah and His Messenger have decided a matter, that they should [thereafter] have any choice about their affair. And whoever disobeys Allaah and His Messenger has certainly strayed into clear error.}[Quran 33:36]

Allaah also Says (which means): {But no, by your Lord, they will not [truly] believe until they make you, [O Muhammad ], judge concerning that over which they dispute among themselves and then find within themselves no discomfort from what you have judged and submit in [full, willing] submission.}[Quran 4:65]

Despite the above fact, there is no harm for a believer to find out the wisdom behind a ruling, because acquiring the wisdom increases one's faith. However, if he can not find out the wisdom of some rulings he should believe that it is nothing but a trial from Allaah. Allaah examines His slaves by preventing them from knowing the wisdom behind certain rulings, in order to test them and to make evident whether or not they submit to His commands without knowing the wisdom.

The scholars have mentioned some of the wisdom due to which a woman's blood money is half of a man's blood money. They said that the inheritors of a dead person are the beneficiaries of the blood money. It is a general rule in all systems and laws that the compensation to a harmed person should be in equal to his harm or injury. It is a known fact that the material damage that befalls the inheritors by the death of a male testator, who is the main provider in most cases, is not similar to the damage that befalls on the inheritors by the death of a person who is not the provider, as it is in the case of a woman. As long as this is the common phenomena, the compensation is set based on what is generally practiced, and the unusual cases are not considered in making laws. Remember that even the best rules have their exceptions. What is mentioned here is concerning the harm the inheritors usually experience at the death of their testator. The same thing is true with regard to Muslim nation, i.e., the loss that faces the nation in general by the death of a man is greater than the loss it faces by the death of a woman. A man carries the huge responsibilities that generally a woman cannot, such as holding the highest religious and political positions, guarding the borders, taking part in Jihaad, building up this world and developing many technologies which are essential for Muslim nation. The laws that defend the rights of women are living proofs for what we say, since most laws prohibit using women in hard and dangerous work. It means that men have to undertake them.

Islamic law states that a woman's blood money is half that of a man's blood money and her share in inheritance is half that of the share of a man. The preference given to a man in the above matters is in return of many responsibilities he has to shoulder and he would be held accountable for in Islam. For instance, in Islam, only the man is responsible and has to suffer to earn bread for his wife and family and has to spend on them. In addition to that, there are many other responsibilities he has to fulfill according to Islam, such as to participate in paying blood money and other compensation of crimes if one of his relatives commits them by mistake, he has to take part in Jihaad, has to protect the country and many other responsibilities from which a woman is exempted.

Therefore, it is unfair to consider men and women as equals in the above matters.

The expiation of accidental killing is freeing a slave. If one cannot afford to, then he/she has to fast two consecutive months.

All the Muslim scholars have agreed that a woman has to refrain from fasting during her period, and it does not affect the consecution of her fasting.

It is written in the juristic encyclopedia, "All the jurists have agreed that abandonment of fasting during menses does not affect the ruling of fasting consecutively in the expiation that needs fasting two consecutive months, such as the expiation of accidental killing. The reason is that a woman does not have control over her menses, and she is ordered to abandon fasting during her menses. Delaying the expiation, i.e., fasting consecutively, to the age of menopause has risks."

Allaah Knows best.