Legitimacy of Qiṣāṣ (Retribution) and Its Islamic Ruling
Author: Imran Ayub Lahori
❖ Definition of Qiṣāṣ
Linguistic Meaning:
- Qiṣāṣ means retaliation, retribution, or punishment for a crime.
- From the forms: iqtaṣṣa-yaqtaṣu (to take qiṣāṣ), and taqāṣa-yataqāṣa (to demand qiṣāṣ from one another).
[al-Munjid, p.694; al-Qāmūs al-Muḥīṭ, p.564]
Sharʿī Definition:
To punish the criminal with a penalty equal to the crime he committed.
[al-Fiqh al-Islāmī wa Adillatuhu 7/5661]
❖ The Legislation and Obligation of Qiṣāṣ
① ﴿يَا أَيُّهَا الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا كُتِبَ عَلَيْكُمُ الْقِصَاصُ فِي الْقَتْلَى﴾
"O you who believe! Qiṣāṣ (retaliation) is prescribed for you in cases of murder."
[al-Baqarah: 178]
② ﴿وَلَكُمْ فِي الْقِصَاصِ حَيَاةٌ يَا أُولِي الْأَلْبَابِ﴾
"And in Qiṣāṣ there is life for you, O people of understanding."
[al-Baqarah: 179]
③ ﴿وَكَتَبْنَا عَلَيْهِمْ فِيهَا أَنَّ النَّفْسَ بِالنَّفْسِ …﴾
"And We ordained for them therein: a life for a life, an eye for an eye, a nose for a nose, an ear for an ear, a tooth for a tooth, and wounds equal for equal."
[al-Māʾidah: 45]
④ Hadith:
"The blood of a Muslim is not lawful except in three cases: life for life, a married adulterer, and one who abandons his religion and separates from the community."
[Bukhārī 6878; Muslim 1676; Tirmidhī 1402; Abū Dāwūd 4352; Nasāʾī 7/92; Ibn Mājah 2534; Aḥmad 1/382]
⑤ Ibn ʿAbbās رضي الله عنهما:
Among Banū Isrāʾīl, only Qiṣāṣ was obligatory, no blood money (diyah). Allah revealed for this Ummah:
﴿كُتِبَ عَلَيْكُمُ الْقِصَاصُ فِي الْقَتْلَى﴾
and also:
﴿فَمَنْ عُفِيَ لَهُ مِنْ أَخِيهِ شَيْءٌ﴾
— meaning: in cases of intentional murder, accepting diyah is also permissible.
[Bukhārī 4498; Nasāʾī al-Kubrā 11014; al-Dāraquṭnī 3/198]
⑥ Consensus:
There is ijmāʿ (consensus) of the Ummah on the obligation of Qiṣāṣ.
[al-Fiqh al-Islāmī wa Adillatuhu 7/5662]
❖ Prophetic Hadiths on Qiṣāṣ
➊ ʿĀʾishah رضي الله عنها narrates that the Prophet ﷺ said:
"It is not permissible to shed the blood of a Muslim except for one of three reasons… (one of them being): if he kills a soul, then he is killed in retaliation."
[Ṣaḥīḥ: Abū Dāwūd 3659, 4353; Aḥmad 6/214; Nasāʾī 7/101; al-Ḥākim 4/367; Muslim 1676]
➋ Abū Hurayrah رضي الله عنه narrates that the Prophet ﷺ said:
"Whoever has his relative killed, he is given two options: either to take the blood money (diyah) or to execute the killer in retaliation."
[Bukhārī 2434; Muslim 1355; Abū Dāwūd 4505; Tirmidhī 1405, 2667; Nasāʾī 8/38; Ibn Mājah 2624; Aḥmad 2/238]
❖ Juristic Opinions
✔ Imām al-Shāfiʿī:
Both qiṣāṣ and diyah are obligatory, but the heirs of the murdered have the choice between them.
✔ Imām Mālik, al-Ṭabarī, and the Ḥanafīs:
Qiṣāṣ is obligatory in intentional murder, not diyah.
[al-Umm 6/10; Badāʾiʿ al-Ṣanāʾiʿ 10/4633; al-Mughnī 11/457]
Preferred Opinion (Rājiḥ):
The view of Imām al-Shāfiʿī is stronger: qiṣāṣ is legislated, but the heirs have the option of accepting diyah instead.
[Nayl al-Awṭār 4/443]
❖ Conclusion
- Qiṣāṣ is explicitly legislated in the Qur’an and Sunnah.
- It is a means of preserving life and justice.
- The heirs of the murdered person have two options:
① Retaliatory execution of the murderer.
② Accepting diyah as compensation. - The stronger opinion is that both options are valid, with the choice resting upon the victim’s heirs.
