Tafsir al-Baghawi - Al-Baghawi - (1/189)

Tafsir al-BaghawiAl-Baghawi

the opposing force, we would seek protection behind the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, for none was closer to the enemy than he was.” (1) That is, when the fighting became intense. “Those are the ones who have been true” in their faith, “and those are the ones who are mindful of Allah.”

“O you who believe, legal retribution has been prescribed for you in cases of killing: the free person for the free person, the slave for the slave, and the female for the female. But if the killer is granted any pardon by his brother, then there should be a fair settlement and payment made to him graciously. This is an alleviation and mercy from your Lord. Whoever transgresses after that shall have a painful punishment.” (178)

His saying, exalted is He, “O you who believe, legal retribution has been prescribed for you”: al-Sha‘bi, al-Kalbi, and Qatadah said: This verse was revealed concerning two Arab clans that had fought one another in the pre-Islamic period, shortly before Islam. There had been deaths and injuries between them for which they had not exacted compensation from one another before Islam came. Muqatil ibn Hayyan said: They were Banu Qurayzah and al-Nadir. Sa‘id ibn Jubayr said: They were al-Aws and al-Khazraj. They all said: One of the two clans held an advantage over the other in numbers and honour, and they would marry the women of the other without dowries. They swore: “For our slave, we shall kill one of their free men; for our woman, one of their men; and for one of our men, two of their men.” They set the compensation for their injuries at twice that for the injuries of the others. They brought their case before the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, so Allah, exalted is He, revealed this verse and commanded equality. They accepted this obligation and embraced Islam. (2)

His saying, “Legal retribution has been prescribed for you,” means that legal retribution has been made obligatory for you “in cases of killing.” Legal retribution is equality and equivalence in injuries and blood-money payments. Its origin is the expression “to follow a trail”: the one against whom an act has been committed follows what was done to him by doing the like of it in return.

He then clarified this equivalence, saying: “The free person for the free person, the slave for the slave, and the female for the female.” The sum of the ruling in this matter is that, when the blood-status of the two persons is equal—whether they are free Muslims, Muslim slaves, free persons under treaty, or their slaves—a male from each category is executed for killing either a male or a female, and a female is executed for killing either a female or a male. A believer is not executed for an unbeliever; nor is a free person executed for a slave, a parent for a child, or a Muslim for a protected non-Muslim subject. A protected non-Muslim subject is executed for a Muslim, a slave for a free person, and a child for a parent. This is the view of most of the people of knowledge among the Companions and those after them.

Abd al-Wahhab ibn Muhammad al-Khatib informed us; Abd al-Aziz ibn Ahmad al-Khallal informed us; Abu al-Abbas al-Asamm informed us; al-Rabi‘ ibn Sulayman informed us; al-Shafi‘i said: Sufyan ibn Uyaynah informed us, from Mutarrif, from al-Sha‘bi, from Abu Juhayfah, who said: “I asked Ali, may Allah be pleased with him, ‘Do you have anything from the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, besides the Quran?’ ⦗24/b⦘ He replied, ‘No—

(1) Narrated by Muslim in Jihad and Military Expeditions, chapter: “The Battle of Hunayn,” from al-Bara', 3:1776; and by al-Hakim in al-Mustadrak, 2:143, with the wording: “When the fighting grew intense …” (2) See al-Tabari, 3:359; al-Wahidi, al-Wasit, 1:254.

الْقَوْمُ الْقَوْمَ اتَّقَيْنَا بِرَسُولِ اللَّهِ ﷺ فَمَا يَكُونُ أَحَدٌ أَقْرَبَ إِلَى الْعَدُوِّ مِنْهُ (١) . يَعْنِي إِذَا اشْتَدَّ الْحَرْبُ ﴿أُولَئِكَ الَّذِينَ صَدَقُوا﴾ فِي إِيمَانِهِمْ ﴿وَأُولَئِكَ هُمُ الْمُتَّقُونَ﴾ ﴿يَا أَيُّهَا الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا كُتِبَ عَلَيْكُمُ الْقِصَاصُ فِي الْقَتْلَى الْحُرُّ بِالْحُرِّ وَالْعَبْدُ بِالْعَبْدِ وَالْأُنْثَى بِالْأُنْثَى فَمَنْ عُفِيَ لَهُ مِنْ أَخِيهِ شَيْءٌ فَاتِّبَاعٌ بِالْمَعْرُوفِ وَأَدَاءٌ إِلَيْهِ بِإِحْسَانٍ ذَلِكَ تَخْفِيفٌ مِنْ رَبِّكُمْ وَرَحْمَةٌ فَمَنِ اعْتَدَى بَعْدَ ذَلِكَ فَلَهُ عَذَابٌ أَلِيمٌ (١٧٨) ﴾ قَوْلُهُ تَعَالَى: ﴿يَا أَيُّهَا الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا كُتِبَ عَلَيْكُمُ الْقِصَاصُ﴾ قَالَ الشَّعْبِيُّ وَالْكَلْبِيُّ وَقَتَادَةُ: نَزَلَتْ هَذِهِ الْآيَةُ فِي حَيَّيْنِ مِنْ أَحْيَاءِ الْعَرَبِ اقْتَتَلُوا فِي الْجَاهِلِيَّةِ قَبْلَ الْإِسْلَامِ بِقَلِيلٍ وَكَانَتْ بَيْنَهُمَا قَتْلَى وَجِرَاحَاتٍ لَمْ يَأْخُذْهَا بَعْضُهُمْ مِنْ بَعْضٍ حَتَّى جَاءَ الْإِسْلَامُ، قَالَ مُقَاتِلُ بْنُ حَيَّانَ: كَانَتْ بَيْنَ بَنِي قُرَيْظَةَ وَالنَّضِيرِ، وَقَالَ سَعِيدُ بْنُ جُبَيْرٍ: كَانَتْ بَيْنَ الْأَوْسِ وَالْخَزْرَجِ، وَقَالُوا جَمِيعًا كَانَ لِأَحَدِ الْحَيَّيْنِ عَلَى الْآخَرِ طُولٌ فِي الْكَثْرَةِ وَالشَّرَفِ وَكَانُوا يَنْكِحُونَ نِسَاءَهُمْ بِغَيْرِ مُهُورٍ فَأَقْسَمُوا: لَنَقْتُلَنَّ بِالْعَبْدِ مِنَّا الْحُرَّ مِنْهُمْ وَبِالْمَرْأَةِ مِنَّا الرَّجُلَ مِنْهُمْ وَبِالرَّجُلِ مِنَّا الرَّجُلَيْنِ مِنْهُمْ، وَجَعَلُوا جِرَاحَاتِهِمْ ضِعْفَيْ جِرَاحَاتِ أُولَئِكَ فَرَفَعُوا أَمْرَهُمْ إِلَى النَّبِيِّ ﷺ، فَأَنْزَلَ اللَّهُ تَعَالَى هَذِهِ الْآيَةَ وَأَمَرَ بِالْمُسَاوَاةِ فَرَضُوا وَأَسْلَمُوا (٢) . قَوْلُهُ ﴿كُتِبَ عَلَيْكُمُ الْقِصَاصُ﴾ أَيْ فُرِضَ عَلَيْكُمُ الْقِصَاصُ ﴿فِي الْقَتْلَى﴾ وَالْقِصَاصُ الْمُسَاوَاةُ وَالْمُمَاثَلَةُ فِي الْجِرَاحَاتِ وَالدِّيَاتِ، وَأَصْلُهُ مِنْ قَصَّ الْأَثَرَ إِذَا اتَّبَعَهُ فَالْمَفْعُولُ بِهِ يَتْبَعُ مَا فُعِلَ بِهِ فَيَفْعَلُ مِثْلَهُ. ثُمَّ بَيَّنَ الْمُمَاثَلَةَ فَقَالَ: ﴿الْحُرُّ بِالْحُرِّ وَالْعَبْدُ بِالْعَبْدِ وَالْأُنْثَى بِالْأُنْثَى﴾ وَجُمْلَةُ الْحُكْمِ فِيهِ أَنَّهُ إِذَا تَكَافَأَ الدَّمَانِ مِنَ الْأَحْرَارِ الْمُسْلِمِينَ أَوِ الْعَبِيدِ مِنَ الْمُسْلِمِينَ أَوِ الْأَحْرَارِ مِنَ الْمُعَاهِدِينَ أَوِ الْعَبِيدِ مِنْهُمْ قُتِلَ مِنْ كُلِّ صِنْفٍ مِنْهُمُ الذَّكَرُ إِذَا قُتِلَ بِالذَّكَرِ وَبِالْأُنْثَى، وَتُقْتَلُ الْأُنْثَى إِذَا قَتَلَتْ بِالْأُنْثَى وَبِالذَّكَرِ، وَلَا يُقْتَلُ مُؤْمِنٌ بِكَافِرٍ وَلَا حُرٌّ بِعَبْدٍ، وَلَا وَالِدٌ بِوَلَدٍ، وَلَا مُسْلِمٌ بِذِمِّيٍّ، وَيُقْتَلُ الذِّمِّيُّ بِالْمُسْلِمِ، وَالْعَبْدُ بِالْحُرِّ، وَالْوَلَدُ بِالْوَالِدِ. هَذَا قَوْلُ أَكْثَرِ أَهْلِ الْعِلْمِ مِنَ الصَّحَابَةِ وَمَنْ بَعْدَهُمْ. أَخْبَرَنَا عَبْدُ الْوَهَّابِ بْنُ مُحَمَّدٍ الْخَطِيبُ أَخْبَرَنَا عَبْدُ الْعَزِيزِ بْنُ أَحْمَدَ الْخَلَّالُ أَخْبَرَنَا أَبُو الْعَبَّاسِ الْأَصَمُّ أَخْبَرَنَا الرَّبِيعُ بْنُ سُلَيْمَانَ أَنَا الشَّافِعِيُّ أَخْبَرَنَا سُفْيَانُ بْنُ عُيَيْنَةَ عَنْ مُطَرِّفٍ عَنِ الشَّعْبِيِّ عَنْ أَبِي جُحَيْفَةَ قَالَ: "سَأَلْتُ عَلِيًّا ﵁ هَلْ عِنْدَكَ عَنِ النَّبِيِّ ﷺ شَيْءٌ سوى القرآن؟ ٢٤/ب فَقَالَ لَا

(١) رواه مسلم في الجهاد والسير باب: في غزوة حنين عن البراء ٣ / ١٧٧٦. والحاكم في المستدرك: ٢ / ١٤٣ بلفظ: كنا إذا حمي. (٢) انظر: الطبري: ٣ / ٣٥٩، الوسيط للواحدي: ١ / ٢٥٤.