a woman may be put to death for killing a man nor a man for killing a woman is the report that this verse was revealed specifically to abolish the pre-Islamic practice whereby tribes asserted their superiority and power over one another. When one tribe dominated another through greater numbers and strength, and a free man from the dominant tribe killed a free man from the subordinate tribe, they would not surrender the killer for retaliation, but would offer a slave or a woman in his place. If a slave from the subordinate tribe killed a slave from the dominant tribe, or a free woman killed a free woman, the dominant tribe would not accept retaliation against either killer. Instead, they would demand a free man in place of the slave and a man in place of the woman. Allah therefore commanded His believing servants not to follow this practice, but to put the free killer to death for the free person killed, the slave killer for the slave killed, and the female killer for the female killed.
The verse cannot mean anything else, for Allah Most High says:
“We prescribed for them therein: a life for a life.” [al-Mā’idah: 45]
The Muslims unanimously agree that a man is put to death for killing a woman, and a woman for killing a man, subject to the condition we have mentioned: that the victim must not be of a lower status than the killer through lacking freedom or Islam. One scholar, however, held that when a man is put to death for killing a woman, half the blood money should be awarded in his favor. This was ‘Uthmān al-Battī. His is a rejected opinion, contradicted by the established principles.
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A sound and clear interpretation of this verse has been related from Mālik, may Allah have mercy on him, through Abū al-Mus‘ab. He said:
“The best interpretation I have heard of this verse is that ‘the free for the free’ refers to the entire class of free persons, with males and females alike included. Likewise, ‘the slave for the slave’ refers to the entire class of slaves, with males and females alike included. Allah Most High then expressly repeated ‘the female for the female’ to repudiate the pre-Islamic practice. Do you not see that His words, ‘We prescribed for them therein: a life for a life’ [al-Mā’idah: 45], through to ‘and wounds are subject to retaliation’ [al-Mā’idah: 45], establish equality in this matter among free persons within their class and slaves within theirs?”
This is sound, because the definite article al- is prefixed to a singular noun to make it definite, either by referring to something already known or by encompassing the entire class. Where there is no previously established referent, it must be understood as encompassing the entire class; otherwise, the noun would be indefinite. According to this interpretation, it is as though Allah Most High had said: “Free persons for free persons, and slaves for slaves.”