may Allah be pleased with them. Ibn Abd al-Barr said: It is the opinion of Sa'id ibn al-Musayyib and al-Zuhri, because Amr ibn Shu'ayb narrated from his father, from his grandfather, that the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said: "The blood money of a Jew and a Christian is like the blood money of a Muslim." Furthermore, Allah the Almighty mentioned the blood money of a Muslim in His Book, saying: {And blood money delivered to his family}. He said the same regarding the Dhimmi (protected subject) without distinguishing between them, which indicates that their blood money is one and the same. Additionally, he is a male, free, and protected, so his blood money is complete, like that of a Muslim.

Our evidence is what Amr ibn Shu'ayb narrated from his father, from his grandfather, from the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) who said: "The blood money of a Mu'ahid (covenanted person) is half the blood money of a Muslim." In another wording, the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) decreed that the blood money [of the People of the Book] is half the blood money of the Muslims. It was narrated by Imam Ahmad. In another wording: "The blood money of a Mu'ahid is half the blood money of a free person." al-Khattabi said: There is nothing more established than this regarding the blood money of the People of the Book, and there is no harm in its chain of narration (isnad). Ahmad held this view, and the word of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) is more deserving [to be followed]. Moreover, it is a significant reduction in the blood money, thus it affects its halving just as femaleness does. As for the hadith of Ubadah, it was not mentioned by the authors of the Sunan, and the apparent [conclusion] is that it is not authentic.