(178–179) “O you who believe, legal retribution for those slain has been prescribed for you: the free person for the free person, the slave for the slave, and the female for the female. But if the offender is pardoned in any measure by his brother, then let the matter be pursued fairly and payment made to him graciously. This is a concession and mercy from your Lord. Whoever transgresses after that will have a painful punishment. In legal retribution there is life for you, O people of understanding, so that you may become God-fearing.”

Allah Most High reminds His believing servants of His favor in having prescribed for them “legal retribution for those slain”—that is, equivalence in retribution, such that the killer is put to death in the same manner in which he killed his victim, thereby establishing justice and equity among people.

The fact that all believers are addressed indicates that every one of them—including the killer’s next of kin and even the killer himself—must assist the slain person’s heir if he demands retribution and grant him access (1) to the killer. They may not obstruct this prescribed penalty or prevent the heir from exacting retribution, as was the custom of the Age of Ignorance and of those who resemble its people by harboring offenders.

He then explained this in detail, saying: “The free person for the free person.” Its express wording includes a male for a male, a female for a female, a female for a male, and a male for a female. Its express wording therefore takes precedence over the implied meaning of His words, “the female for the female.” The Sunnah likewise establishes that a man is put to death for killing a woman.

Parents and their ascendants, however remote, are excluded from this general rule: they are not put to death for killing a child or descendant, as established by the Sunnah. Furthermore, the word “legal retribution” indicates that it would not be just to put a parent to death for his child. A parent’s heart contains such compassion and mercy that it prevents him from killing his child unless his reason is impaired or the child has caused him extremely severe harm.

An unbeliever is likewise excluded from the general rule by the Sunnah, besides the fact that the verse specifically addresses the believers. Nor would it be just for an ally of Allah to be put to death for His enemy.

“And the slave for the slave,” whether male or female and whether their values are equal or different. By implication, this indicates that a free person is not put to death for a slave, since the two are not equal. Some scholars similarly adopted the implied meaning of “the female for the female” and therefore did not permit a man to be put to death for killing a woman. The reason for this has already been given.

This verse shows that the fundamental rule in cases of murder is obligatory retaliatory execution and that blood money is an alternative to it. He therefore says, “But if the offender is pardoned in any measure by his brother”—that is, if the slain person’s heir pardons the killer in return for blood money, or if only some of the heirs pardon him, retaliatory execution is waived and blood money becomes due. The choice between retaliatory execution and accepting blood money belongs to the slain person’s heir.

Once he grants pardon, the heir [that is, the slain person’s heir] must pursue the killer “fairly,” without causing him hardship or burdening him beyond his capacity. Rather, he must request and collect payment properly, without placing him in difficulty.

The killer, for his part, must make “payment to him graciously,” without delay, deficiency, or misconduct in word or deed. Is the recompense for the kindness shown to him through pardon anything other than kindness in settling what he owes? This is commanded in relation to every obligation that people owe to another person: the one entitled to payment must pursue it fairly, while the one who owes it must pay graciously (2).

His words, “if the offender is pardoned in any measure by his brother,” contain a tender appeal and encouragement to pardon in return for blood money. Better still is a complete pardon without compensation.

The word “brother” indicates that the killer does not become an unbeliever, for the brotherhood intended here is the brotherhood of faith, and murder has not removed him from it. It follows even more readily that other sins falling short of unbelief do not render their perpetrator an unbeliever; rather, they diminish his faith.

If all the slain person’s heirs, or even some of them, pardon the killer, his blood becomes inviolable and he is protected against both them and everyone else. He therefore says, “Whoever transgresses after that”—that is, ⦗85⦘ after the pardon—“will have a painful punishment,” meaning in the Hereafter. As for whether the transgressor is to be put to death, that is determined by what has already been stated: he has killed someone equal to him in legal status and must therefore be put to death for it.

Those who interpret the painful punishment as execution hold that the verse requires him to be put to death and does not permit him to be pardoned. Some scholars adopted this view, but the first view is correct, because his offense is no graver than that of anyone else who commits murder.

Allah Most High then explains His immense wisdom in prescribing legal retribution: “In legal retribution there is life for you.” That is, it protects lives and restrains the wicked, for one who knows that he will be put to death if he kills will rarely commit murder. When a killer is seen being put to death, others are alarmed and deterred. If a murderer’s punishment were something other than death, it would not curb evil as execution does. The same applies to all other divinely prescribed penalties: their exemplary severity and deterrent effect demonstrate the wisdom of the All-Wise, the All-Forgiving. The word “life” is left indefinite to convey its magnitude and abundance.

Because the true nature of this ruling is understood only by people of complete reason and weighty understanding, He addressed them specifically rather than others. This indicates that Allah Most High loves His servants to apply their thought and reason in reflecting upon the wisdom and benefits embodied in His rulings, which attest to His perfection, the perfection of His wisdom, how worthy He is of praise, His justice, and His vast mercy. Whoever does so deserves to be praised as one of the people of understanding to whom this address was directed and whom the Lord of all lords called upon. That is sufficient excellence and honor for people who understand.

His words, “so that you may become God-fearing,” mean that when a person knows his Lord and recognizes the profound purposes, exquisite wisdom, and sublime signs within His religion and law, this leads him to submit to Allah’s command and to regard disobedience to Him as grave and therefore abandon it. He thereby deserves to be among the God-fearing.