Retribution (Qisās) – With What Should It Be Carried Out?
Author: Imran Ayub Lahori
The Hanafi View
According to the Hanafis, Qisās is to be carried out only by the sword.
📚 [Al-Mabsūt: 122/66, Al-Mughnī: 510/11, Bidāyat al-Mujtahid: 45/2, Nayl al-Awṭār: 457/4]
Their evidence is based on the narration:
لا قود إلا بالسيف
“Qisās is only with the sword.”
📚 [Da‘īf: Ḍa‘īf Ibn Mājah: 581, Irwā’ al-Ghalīl: 287/7, Ibn Mājah: 2667, Kitāb al-Diyāt: Bāb Lā Qawad Illā bi al-Sayf, Sharḥ Ma‘ānī al-Āthār: 184/3, Dāraqutnī: 106/3, Bayhaqī: 62/8, Kashf al-Astār of al-Bazzār: 1527]
Ḥāfiẓ Ibn Ḥajar (رحمه الله) also declared it weak. 📚 [Talkhīṣ al-Ḥabīr: 38/4]
Clarification
Since this narration is weak, the ruling derived from it is incorrect.
✅ Qisās may be carried out with any means, not restricted to the sword.
