As for the Qur’an, Allah the Exalted says: “The penalty for those who wage war against Allah and His Messenger and strive to spread corruption on earth…” (Qur’an 5:33).

Killing by stealth falls under the heading of ḥirābah (armed criminality), so the murderer must be executed as a prescribed ḥadd, not as retaliation (qiṣāṣ).

As for the Sunnah, it is established in the two Ṣaḥīḥs that “A Jewish man crushed the head of a slave-girl between two stones for some silver ornaments. He was apprehended, confessed, and the Messenger of Allah ﷺ ordered that his head be crushed between two stones.” The Prophet’s command to execute the Jew without referring the matter to the girl’s heirs—who would normally control the right of retaliation—shows that his execution was a ḥadd, not qiṣāṣ.

As for the precedent of the early generations, it is authentically reported that ʿUmar ibn al-Khaṭṭāb (may Allah be pleased with him) executed a group—five, or seven—who had murdered a single man by stealth, and he said: “Had all the people of Ṣanʿāʾ conspired in it, I would have executed them all.” This ruling of the rightly guided Caliph concerning stealth-killing contains no indication that he referred the case to the heirs; had the right been theirs, he would have done so. This proves that the execution was a ḥadd, not qiṣāṣ.

As for the legal rationale, murder by stealth constitutes a right owed to Allah. Any crime in which the right of Allah is paramount admits of no pardon from anyone—just like the obligation of zakāh. Moreover, society cannot practically protect itself from such killings, much as it cannot protect itself from highway robbery. Allah alone grants success.

May Allah’s blessings and peace be upon our Prophet Muḥammad, his family, and his Companions.

Council of Senior Scholars