and the rationale for this is the lower status arising from the absence of freedom.
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Neither a Muslim man nor a Muslim woman is put to death for killing a disbelieving man or woman, because the Messenger of Allah ﷺ said:
“Muslims’ blood is of equal worth.”
This indicates that a disbeliever’s blood is not equal in worth to a believer’s blood. Since they are not equal, retaliation does not apply.
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Retaliation is prescribed between men and women when the victim is not of a lower status than the killer through lacking freedom or Islam. Thus, a free man is put to death for killing a free woman, a free woman for killing a free man, a male slave for killing a female slave, and a female slave for killing a male slave, even though this runs contrary to what is indicated by the words of Allah, mighty and majestic:
“The free for the free, the slave for the slave, and the female for the female.” [al-Baqarah: 178]
This is because that implication is countered by the general wording of Allah’s statement, mighty and majestic:
“We prescribed for them therein: a life for a life.” [al-Mā’idah: 45]
This wording must therefore be applied generally, so that a free man is put to death for killing a free woman, and a free woman for killing a free man. By analogy, the same must apply to a male slave who kills a female slave and a female slave who kills a male slave; a disbelieving man who kills a disbelieving woman and a disbelieving woman who kills a disbelieving man; and a Christian male slave who kills a Christian female slave and a Christian female slave who kills a Christian male slave.
It does not follow, however, that this wording must be applied generally so that a free man is put to death for killing a male slave, a free woman for killing a female slave, a Muslim man for killing a disbelieving man, or a Muslim woman for killing a disbelieving woman. This is because the verse refers only to free Muslims. The evidence for this is that Allah did not address it to us as part of our revealed law. Rather, He, exalted is He, informed us that He prescribed it in the Torah for Moses son of ʿImrān—may Allah’s blessings be upon