‫يم‬

ِ ‫ح‬ِ ‫َـن ال هر‬

ِ ‫حم‬ ِ‫م ه‬
ْ ‫َّللا ال هر‬ ْ ِ‫ب‬
ِ ‫س‬
In the Name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful

In Qisas there is Life

In the previous ayah, we learned that righteousness is not limited to turning our faces in a
certain direction, dressing up a certain way or performing a few rituals. Rather, Al-Birr or
righteousness is doing everything that Allah subhanahu wa ta’ala command us to do and
staying from everything that He prohibits. The commands in the previous ayah were
individual – those that each of us must act on to be called a true Muslim. In the present
ayah, Allah subhanahu wa ta’ala calls our attention to our collective duty as a Muslim
community. He says,

Background of the Ayah

In the pre-Islamic era, the Jewish tribe Banu An-Nadeer invaded Qurayzah (another Jewish
tribe) and defeated them. They made a law that when a person from Nadeer kills a person
from Qurayzah, he is not killed in retaliation, but only pays a hundred wasq of dates. On the
contrary, when a person from Qurayzah kills a Nadeer man, he would be killed for him. If
Nadeer wanted to forfeit (the execution of the murderer and instead require him) to pay a
ransom, the Qurayzah man pays two hundred wasq of dates [double the amount Nadeer
pays in diyah (blood money)]. Allah subhanahu wa ta’ala commanded that justice be
observed regarding the penal code, and that the path of the misguided and mischievous
persons be avoided, who in disbelief and transgression, defy and alter what Allah
subhanahu wa ta’ala has commanded them.

Allah subhanahu wa ta’ala gives us the law of Qisas [equal retaliation] that is, the killer will
be killed irrespective of the status of the parties involved. He says, “O you who have
believed! Prescribed for you is legal retribution for those murdered - the free for
the free, the slave for the slave, and the female for the female…”
 َ ْ
The word al-qisas [‫قصاص‬ِ ‫ ]ال‬is from the root qaf-saad-saad it means “to follow one’s
track, retrace or retaliate”. From the same root we have qisa [story/incident] where we
follow the narrator or else we will not get the story. Qisas also means likeness. In usage, it
denotes ‘even retaliation’ or to return like for like. In Islamic juristic terminology, qisas
means the equal retaliation of an aggression committed against someone. This retaliation is
allowed only with a condition that the principle of “like for like” is strictly observed.

ُ ْ
The word al-hurru [ُّ‫ ]اْلر‬is from the root Ha-ra-ra and it means “to be free (slave), be

freeborn, to emancipate or liberate a slave”. In the ayah it implies free.

In Al-Baqarah ayah 194, Allah subhanahu wa ta’ala says,

“So, whoever has assaulted you, then assault him in the same way that he has
assaulted you…” (2: 194)

And also in the concluding ayaat of Surah An-Nahl, Allah subhanahu wa ta’ala says,

“And, if you punish [an enemy, O believer], punish with an equivalent of that with
which you were harmed.” (16:126)

Therefore, as a term of the Shari’ah, the qisas is a punishment for killing or wounding in
which the principle of equality or likeness is taken into full consideration.

LESSONS:

 Islam is labeled as a barbaric religion because of its death penalty. Many so-called
Muslims support this view and denounce such punishments. The reality is that Islam
discourages crime and encourages equality. In the law above, notice that Allah
subhanahu wa ta’ala says: the free for the free, the slave for slave and woman for
woman. He does not tell us that the revenge can be taken from anybody. Many
times, the murderer after killing a person escapes the scene. While he is away, the
aggrieved party comes and annihilates the wife and children of the murderer or the
murderer presents his servant to take the revenge from. Was the crime committed
by the wife, the children and the servant? Why should they be harmed? Is it fair to
take revenge from someone else while the murderer is set free? Islam tells us to
take revenge from only him who has caused the harm and not hurt innocent lives.

 While the ignorant ones criticize the punishment they do not understand the wisdom
behind it. Shouldn’t a guilty person be punished for his crime? Is it okay to kill an
innocent person who has caused you no harm? No, we have to stand up for justice.
However, please note the justice will only be carried out through proper judicial
procedure. No individual is allowed to seek revenge on his own which means if
someone has been killed the deceased’s heirs cannot go and kill the murderer or his
family. The court is assigned the task to establish justice.

 In the ayah we are being addressed as a community: O you who believe. It means it
is our communal duty to support the oppressed and fight against oppression. The
oppressor should not be given any kind of protection until the oppressed are served
justice.
  If the murderer is set free then no one will be safe. Others will take inspiration from
him and kill innocent people. There will be widespread corruption and violence as we
are seeing today in the world. Were the criminals being held accountable and justice
was being served, there would not have been such widespread corruption. When the
guilty is not punished his heart becomes hard and no more feels the guilt of his sins.
Allah subhanahu wa ta’ala commands us to maintain the sanctity of human life.

We should remember that equal retribution is for three things:

1. Life: that is if an innocent person has been intentionally killed then the murderer will
be killed too.

2. Limbs: that is if a person deliberately injures another’s limb such that it can no
longer function or it has to be amputated then the one who caused injury will be
harmed in the same way. For example, if the person’s eye was injured then the one
who harmed his eye too will be injured. If an innocent person’s arm was damaged
then the one who harmed will face similar retribution.

3. Wounds: that is if the limb is not harmed such that it becomes non-functional but a
wound has been inflicted on purpose, then the one who harmed will be inflicted with
a similar wound.

Notice that the punishment here is for deliberate or intentional harm, whatever happens by
accident is another matter.

[The Principle of Qisas]

However, this is one part of the ayah over which ignorant people raise havoc. Read what
comes next.

Take Blood Money in Place of Murder

If the deceased’s family demand murder for murder but the murderer requests them to
forgive his sin and take blood money instead then it should be accepted. This is the case
when the murderer acknowledges his sin and accepts being guilty. It was a terrible mistake
on his part and he won’t repeat the sin. In order to compensate for their loss, the aggrieved
party will be paid a monetary retribution. For example, the person murdered was the sole
earner of the family; how will the children sustain themselves without the father? Therefore,
for the crime that has been committed and the forgiveness that the murderer desires to
save his own life, he must compensate the injured party.

Therefore, Allah subhanahu wa ta’ala says, “But whoever overlooks from his brother
anything, then there should be a suitable follow-up and payment to him with good
conduct.” Whether or not the murderer seeks forgiveness, the aggrieved party too can
relent on its own and forgive the qisas. However, this does not forgive the offence. It will
become necessary for the killer to pay diyah [blood money] as fixed, in a fair manner, and
promptly. This means that in case of intentional murder, the victim’s family has the right to
pardon the murder and accept blood money [diyah] instead.

In this ayah, Allah subhanahu wa ta’ala teaches us the etiquette of accepting blood money.
He says, “...then there should be a suitable follow-up,” meaning when the relative
agrees to take the blood money, he should collect his rightful dues with kindness. “…and
payment to him with good conduct…” meaning, the killer should accept the terms of
settlement without causing further harm or resisting the payment. It has been seen that if a
member from a poor family has been murdered by a rich man, the rich man’s family seeing
the weak position of the murdered man’s family gives lesser blood money. This is unfair.
The law of blood-money and pardon is a relief granted by Allah subhanahu wa ta’ala in His
grace, otherwise, there would have been no choice but to face the punishment of death.

The claimant too, should pursue the matter in a recognized manner causing no harassment
to the defendant. He should not ask for more than what has been agreed. If, after all that,
anyone crosses the limit set by Allah subhanahu wa ta’ala, such as, the filing of a false or
doubtful case of murder, or a post-pardon re-opening of a murder case, he will be severely
punished.

In the end, the ayah points out that wise people should have no difficulty in seeing that the
law of even retaliation does not take life, instead, it gives life, for such a deterrent law will
make people fear the punishment of killing somebody and thus lives will be saved.

“This is alleviation from your Lord and a mercy,” meaning the legislation allowing you
to accept the blood money for intentional murder is alleviation and mercy from your Allah
subhanahu wa ta’ala. The earlier nations did not have this legislation.

Sa’eed bin Mansur reported that Ibn ‘Abbas radhiAllahu ‘anhu said, “The Children of Israel
were required to apply the qisas in murder cases and were not allowed to offer pardons (in
return for blood money).”

Allah subhanahu wa ta’ala had mercy on this Ummah by giving them the diyah which was
not allowed for any nation before it. The Jews were allowed to either apply the penal code
(for murder, i.e., execution) or to pardon the killer, but they were not allowed to take blood
money. The Christians were required to pardon (the killer, but no diyah was legislated). This
Ummah (Muslims) is allowed to apply the penal code (execution) or to pardon and accept
the blood money.

LESSONS:

 If the murderer is not killed or blood money is not accepted but rather it is decided
that he be locked up in a jail then it is wastage of one’s time and money. Understand
this by an example, challenging the death penalty many opponents demand that
instead of killing a person imprison him. The imprisonment sentence announced in
most cases is over 30 – 40 years. The person is cut off from the world for three to
four decades and when later he is set free the outside world has completely changed
for him. His family and friends do not want to maintain relations with him. He has no
place to go. And since he has lived such a long period in isolation the new world
makes no sense to him. He eventually ends up taking up his own. Moreover, being a
prisoner he is fed by the tax-payers money. So a person who killed another human
being and spread corruption is being raised or supported by others’ money? That
does not make any sense. Allah subhanahu wa ta’ala gave us the perfect law and
commanded us to either forgive the person and accept blood money or to kill him
(through judicial orders) and not unnecessarily prolong the case. Locking up for 30 –
40 years is wastage of human life in itself.

 Crime rate is significantly low, in the countries where capital punishment is executed.

“So after this whoever transgresses the limits, he shall have a painful torment,”
meaning those who kill in retaliation after taking the diyah or accepting it, they will suffer a
painful and severe torment from Allah subhanahu wa ta’ala. Again, we are being reminded
about our agreements and mutual contracts. Once an agreement has been made and blood
money has been accepted then the murderer should be set free. He should not be killed in
revenge because monetary compensation has already been made.

[Watch: Peyam e Subh (in Urdu) for detailed discussion on the law of Equal Retribution]

Notice that when Allah subhanahu wa ta’ala talks about forgiveness He uses the word
brother – one’s emotions have been stirred that yes, a crime has been committed but the
other human being is still your brother in faith. If he is remorseful then forgive him for his
mistake. Also note that while there is a law to take revenge, forgiveness is still most
desired. If a person forgives another in this world then Allah subhanahu wa ta’ala will
forgive him too for his sins and raise in his status. We ask Allah subhanahu wa ta’ala to
grant us patience and wisdom, and the ability to make the right decisions, aameen.

ْ ُ َّ َ َ َ َّ َّ ْ َ َ َ
‫يعُّال َع ِليم‬‫َر َّبناُّتق َّبلُّ ِمناُُّّۖ ِإنكُّأنتُّالس ِم‬
“Our Lord, accept [this] from us. Indeed You are the All-Hearing, the All-Knowing.” [Al-Baqarah 2: 127]
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