Tafsir al-Sadi - Abd al-Rahman al-Sadi’ - (233)

Tafsir al-SadiAbd al-Rahman al-Sadi’

(45) “We ordained for them therein: a life for a life, an eye for an eye, a nose for a nose, an ear for an ear, a tooth for a tooth, and legal retaliation for wounds. But whoever forgoes it as charity, it will be an expiation for him. Those who do not judge by what Allah has sent down—it is they who are the wrongdoers.”

These are among the rulings contained in the Torah, by which the prophets who submitted to Allah judged the Jews, as did the devout scholars and rabbis. Allah ordained therein that a person who intentionally kills another is to be put to death for the victim, subject to the condition of legal equivalence. An eye is removed for an eye, an ear is taken for an ear, and a tooth is extracted for a tooth.

The same applies to comparable bodily parts for which exact retaliation can be carried out without injustice. “And legal retaliation for wounds.” Retaliation means that the offender is treated as he treated the victim. Thus, anyone who intentionally wounds another is given a wound identical to the one he inflicted on the victim—in extent, location, length, width, and depth. It should be understood that the revealed law of those before us is also law for us unless our own Sacred Law provides otherwise.

“But whoever forgoes it as charity”—that is, forgoes retaliation for a life or for anything less than life, such as bodily parts and wounds, by pardoning the offender after acquiring the right of retaliation against him—

“it will be an expiation for him.” That is, it will be an expiation for the offender, because the injured person has waived his right, and Allah Most High is all the more entitled and disposed to pardon what is due to Him. It is also an expiation for the one who grants the pardon: just as he pardoned the person who wronged him, or someone connected to him, Allah will pardon his own lapses and offenses.

“Those who do not judge by what Allah has sent down—it is they who are the wrongdoers.” Ibn Abbās said: “It is disbelief lesser than disbelief, wrongdoing lesser than wrongdoing, and disobedience lesser than disobedience.” It is major wrongdoing when one deems such judgment lawful, and a grave major sin when one commits it without deeming it lawful.

﴿٤٥﴾ ﴿وَكَتَبْنَا عَلَيْهِمْ فِيهَا أَنَّ النَّفْسَ بِالنَّفْسِ وَالْعَيْنَ بِالْعَيْنِ وَالأنْفَ بِالأنْفِ وَالأذُنَ بِالأذُنِ وَالسِّنَّ بِالسِّنِّ وَالْجُرُوحَ قِصَاصٌ فَمَنْ تَصَدَّقَ بِهِ فَهُوَ كَفَّارَةٌ لَهُ وَمَنْ لَمْ يَحْكُمْ بِمَا أَنْزَلَ اللَّهُ فَأُولَئِكَ هُمُ الظَّالِمُونَ﴾ . هذه الأحكام من جملة الأحكام التي في التوراة، يحكم بها النبيون الذين أسلموا للذين هادوا والربانيون والأحبار. إن الله أوجب عليهم فيها أن النفس -إذا قتلت- تقتل بالنفس بشرط العمد والمكافأة، والعين تقلع بالعين، والأذن تؤخذ بالأذن، والسن ينزع بالسن. ومثل هذه ما أشبهها من الأطراف التي يمكن الاقتصاص منها بدون حيف. ﴿وَالْجُرُوحَ قِصَاصٌ﴾ والاقتصاص: أن يفعل به كما فعل. فمن جرح غيره عمدا اقتص من الجارح جرحا مثل جرحه للمجروح، حدا، وموضعا، وطولا وعرضا وعمقا، وليعلم أن شرع من قبلنا شرع لنا، ما لم يرد شرعنا بخلافه. ﴿فَمَن تَصَدَّقَ بِهِ﴾ أي: بالقصاص في النفس، وما دونها من الأطراف والجروح، بأن عفا عمن جنى، وثبت له الحق قبله. ﴿فَهُوَ كَفَّارَةٌ لَّهُ﴾ أي: كفارة للجاني، لأن الآدمي عفا عن حقه. والله تعالى أحق وأولى بالعفو عن حقه، وكفارة أيضا عن العافي، فإنه كما عفا عمن جنى عليه، أو على من يتعلق به، فإن الله يعفو عن زلاته وجناياته. ﴿وَمَن لَّمْ يَحْكُم بِمَا أَنزلَ اللَّهُ فَأُولَئِكَ هُمُ الظَّالِمُونَ﴾ قال ابن عباس: كفر دون كفر، وظلم دون ظلم، وفسق دون فسق، فهو ظلم أكبر، عند استحلاله، وعظيمة كبيرة عند فعله غير مستحل له.