Al-Muqaddimāt al-Mumahhidāt - Ibn Rush al-Jadd - (3/288)

Al-Muqaddimāt al-MumahhidātIbn Rush al-Jadd

and if they wish to exact retaliation, they are entitled to do so. But if one of them kills after they have accepted the blood money, it has been held that the ruler must execute him and that the victim’s next of kin may not pardon him. This interpretation is based on Allah’s words, mighty and majestic:

“But whoever transgresses after that will suffer a painful punishment.” [al-Baqarah: 178]

This interpretation is further supported by the report that the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said: “I will not pardon a man who kills after accepting blood money.” This appears in Ibn Sallām’s Quran commentary.

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Scholars differ over whether, if the victim’s next of kin wish to pardon in return for blood money, the killer is obliged to accept this. There are two opinions:

First: he is not obliged to accept it. This is Ibn al-Qāsim’s position and the established position of Mālik.

Second: he is obliged to accept it. This is Ashhab’s position. The disagreement rests on differing interpretations of Allah’s words, mighty and majestic:

“But if anything is remitted to anyone by his brother, then let there be a reasonable pursuit and a gracious payment to him.” [al-Baqarah: 178]

The interpretation adopted by the scholars who have closely examined the matter, and which they understood to accord with Mālik’s position, is that the giver is the killer. The meaning is: whoever is given some blood money by his brother—the killer—and accepts it should seek payment from him reasonably, and the killer should pay him graciously.

“This is an alleviation from your Lord and a mercy.” [al-Baqarah: 178]

That is, an alleviation of what had been prescribed for those before you, since previously there had been no blood money: retaliation alone had been obligatory.

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As for the report that the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said, “Whoever has a relative killed has the better of two courses: to have the killer put to death, to pardon, or to accept blood money,” according to this interpretation, accepting blood money means accepting it if it is offered and the killer willingly agrees to pay it. Some scholars, however, understood the hadith according to its apparent meaning and held that the victim’s next of kin may

وإن شاءوا أن يقتصوا فذلك لهم إلا أن يقتل بعد أن يأخذوا الدية فقد قيل إن الوالي يقتله ولا يجوز لأولياء المقتول العفو عنه تأويلا على قول الله ﷿: ﴿فَمَنِ اعْتَدَى بَعْدَ ذَلِكَ فَلَهُ عَذَابٌ أَلِيمٌ﴾ [البقرة: ١٧٨] وقد شد هذا التأويل ما روي أن رسول الله ﷺ قال: «لا أعافي رجلا قتل بعد أخذ الدية»، وقع في تفسير ابن سلام. فصل واختلفوا إن أرادوا أن يعفوا عن الدية هل يلزم ذلك القاتل أم لا على قولين: أحدهما: أن ذلك لا يلزمه، وهو مذهب ابن القاسم والمعلوم من قول مالك. والثاني: أن ذلك يلزمه وهو قول أشهب. والأصل في الاختلاف مبني على الاختلاف في تأويل قول الله ﷿: ﴿فَمَنْ عُفِيَ لَهُ مِنْ أَخِيهِ شَيْءٌ فَاتِّبَاعٌ بِالْمَعْرُوفِ وَأَدَاءٌ إِلَيْهِ بِإِحْسَانٍ﴾ [البقرة: ١٧٨]. فالذي ذهب إليه المحققون وتأولوه على مذهب مالك أن العافي هو القاتل. ومعنى الكلام من أعطي من أخيه القاتل شيئا من العقل فرضي به فليتبعه بمعروف وليؤد إليه بإحسان ﴿ذَلِكَ تَخْفِيفٌ مِنْ رَبِّكُمْ وَرَحْمَةٌ﴾ [البقرة: ١٧٨] يعني مما كان كتب على من قبلكم لأن فيما كان قبل لم تكن دية وإنما كان الواجب القصاص. فصل وما روي أن رسول الله ﷺ قال: «من قتل له قتيل فهو بخير النظرين بين أن يقتل أو يعفو أو يأخذ الدية» معناه إن بذلت له وطاع بها القاتل على هذا التأويل. ومن أهل العلم من حمل الحديث على ظاهره فقال: إن لولي المقتول أن