the benefit derived from his utility would be many times greater than that derived from his entering [upon them]. The loss of one thing in favor of something more useful is not considered a loss, just as one who buys something worth ten with one dirham is not considered to have suffered a loss or deficiency. The color of the ghurrah is not taken into account. It is narrated from Abu 'Amr ibn al-'Ala' that the ghurrah must only be white, and that a black slave or a black slave girl is not acceptable. Our position is that the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) decreed a slave or a slave girl and did not specify [the color], despite the prevalence of blackness among their slaves and slave girls. Furthermore, it is an animal that is required as a blood money (diyah), so its color is not taken into account, just as with camels in the blood money.

Fourth Section: The value of the ghurrah is one-twentieth of the blood money, which is five camels. This is narrated from 'Umar and Zayd (may Allah be pleased with them both). This is also the view of al-Nakha'i, al-Sha'bi, Rabi'ah, Qatadah, Malik, al-Shafi'i, Ishaq, and the People of Opinion (Ashab al-Ra'y). This is because it is the minimum amount the Shari'ah has determined for offenses, which is the indemnity (arsh) for a mudi'ah (a head wound that exposes the bone) and the blood money for a tooth, so we have referred it to that. If it is said: "But three and a third camels are required for a finger joint, which is less than what you mentioned," we reply: The Lawgiver (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) explicitly stipulated a ghurrah with a value equal to the indemnity of a mudi'ah, which is five camels. When the parents of the fetus are People of the Book (Kitabiyyin), the ghurrah required has a value of half the value of the ghurrah required for a Muslim. In the case of a Magian (Majusiyyah) fetus, there is a ghurrah with a value of forty dirhams. If it becomes impossible to find a ghurrah for these dirhams, the dirhams become obligatory; because this is a situation of necessity. If one-twentieth of the blood money corresponds to all the base categories—such as its value being five camels, fifty dinars, or six hundred dirhams—there is no dispute. If the value of the camels varies, then one-twentieth of the blood money is [calculated] from other assets; for example, if the value of the camels is forty dinars or four hundred dirhams, the apparent meaning of al-Khiraqi's words is that it is valued in camels because they are the basis (al-asl). According to others among our companions, it is valued in gold or silver (wariq), so its value is set at fifty dinars or six hundred dirhams. If they disagree, it is valued for the gold-owner in gold and for the silver-owner in silver. If he is one who possesses both gold and silver, the offender may value it in whichever of the two he wishes, because the choice belongs to the offender to pay whichever of the base assets he chooses. It is also possible that it is always valued at the lower of the two values for that reason.