Fourth condition: the absence of a direct line of descent. In other words, the victim must not be a child of the killer, nor a grandchild through his son—however far the line extends—nor through his daughter, no matter how remote. Consequently, neither of the two parents, however far up the ancestry, is executed for killing a child, however far down the line, because the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said, “A father is not put to death for his child.”

Ibn ʿAbd al-Barr remarked, “This ḥadīth is well known to the scholars of the Hijaz and Iraq; it is widely circulated among them…,” end quote.

On the strength of this report and others like it, the general texts that mandate qiṣāṣ are qualified, and this is the position adopted by the majority of scholars.

Conversely, a child is put to death for killing either parent, for the general divine statement applies: “Prescribed for you is retaliation concerning the slain” (Qurʾān 2:178); only the father who kills his child has been singled out for exemption by specific evidence.

When these four conditions are fulfilled, the heirs of the slain party are entitled to qiṣāṣ.

“There is life for you in retribution” (Qurʾān 2:179). Shame, then, on those who claim that qiṣāṣ is barbaric and cruel! They turn a blind eye to the savagery of the murderer who dared to kill the innocent, who spread terror in the land, who widowed women, orphaned children, and leveled homes. Such people show mercy to the aggressor but none to the victim—shame on their reasoning and shame on their short-sightedness. “Do they seek the judgment of the Age of Ignorance? Who can judge better than Allah for a people who are certain?” (Qurʾān 5:50).