Diya of the Fracture of Several Vertebrae of the Spine: Criticism of the Expression of the Note on the Islamic Penal Code Articles 647 and 543

If several vertebrae of the spine in the lumbar region are damaged by one behavior or several behaviors, there are three points of view in the legal doctrine and judicial opinions regarding the amount of diya. The first viewpoint, referring to the expression of the note of Article 647 of the Islamic Penal Code, believes that the diya of all the vertebrae of the spine is integrated, and as a result, one diya must be paid for the fracture of all the vertebrae. The second viewpoint, referring to Article 543, Paragraph C of the Islamic Penal Code, believes that the diya of adjacent vertebrae (bones) are one and the same as a whole, while the diya of the non-adjacent vertebrae each should be paid separately. The third viewpoint is that the payment of the diya of none of the vertebrae interfere with each other and as a result, the payment of each vertebra should be paid separately. By criticizing the expression of the note to Article 647 and Paragraph C of Article 543 of the Islamic Penal Code, the present study concludes the weakness of the first two viewpoints and selects the third viewpoint on the basis of numerous jurisprudential and legal principles and evidences.