How much is blood money in the UAE, and can your family get more than that?

How much blood money can your family receive?

AED 200,000, as of 12 November 2026. The Crimes and Penalties Law sets the diya for manslaughter of a male or female at AED 200,000.¹ The Cabinet may raise or lower that amount by decision, on a proposal from the Minister of Justice.¹

Ask the court or the Public Prosecution handling the case which amount it applies.

What does arsh mean for your injury?

Arsh is a Sharia payment for a bodily injury that does not cause death.² The 1985 civil law described it as “shari’a damages for personal injury not resulting in death”.² The new civil law refers to diya and arsh together when it deals with bodily harm.³

If arsh is raised in your case, ask the court how it is being assessed.

Can your family get compensation as well as blood money?

A court may award it under the civil law in force since 1 June 2026, if you ask for it. Article 259 of the new Civil Transactions Law says that where diya or arsh is due, the court may, on the injured party’s request, award compensation where the death or injury causes material and moral harm that the diya or arsh does not cover.³

The government’s announcement of the law says it “permits the combination of blood money or assessed compensation with additional damages” where harm is “not fully covered”.⁴

The 1985 law was different. Article 299 of the 1985 civil law said diya or arsh was not payable in addition to compensation unless the parties agreed.²

Ask the court in your claim for compensation beyond the diya. The article applies on request.

Who in your family can claim for their own loss?

A spouse and relatives up to the second degree. Article 254 of the new civil law lets the court award them compensation for the moral harm they suffer from the death or incapacity of the injured person.³

The guide for families after a death lists the documents and steps.

How have courts handled blood money in cases like yours?

Gulf News reported on 30 December 2025 that four doctors were convicted of gross medical negligence after a woman died from bleeding after childbirth in Dubai. Each was fined Dh50,000 and ordered to pay blood money to her heirs. A civil court then ordered the hospital and the four doctors to pay Dh2 million to her husband and two children, and said it was bound by the criminal ruling on the error.⁵

Al Tamimi & Company reported that in Judgment No. 377 of 2025, a bodily injury case, the Dubai Court of Cassation rejected an argument that compensation should be capped at diya or arsh.⁶

The criminal complaint page explains the criminal route, and the compensation page covers the civil claim.

The small print

• Where the amount sits. Article 30 of the Crimes and Penalties Law lists the penalties for a misdemeanour, and its third item sets the diya amount. Article 1 says the provisions of Islamic Sharia apply to crimes punishable by diya. The Decree-Law repealed Federal Law by Decree No. 1 of 2019 on determining diya in manslaughter cases.¹
• Article 259. Paragraph 1 requires compensation for bodily harm. Paragraph 2 allows compensation beyond diya or arsh on the injured party’s request.³
• Change of law. The new civil law entered into force on 1 June 2026. Article 4(1) says it does not apply retroactively to earlier facts and acts unless the law provides otherwise.³
• Judgment 377 of 2025. Al Tamimi & Company reports that the court relied on Article 292 of the 1985 law, which assesses compensation on actual loss, and noted the patient had not claimed arsh.⁶