Taysīr al-ʿAllām - Abd Allah al-Bassam - (645)

Taysīr al-ʿAllāmAbd Allah al-Bassam

In situations like this, the statement of the wounded party is accepted for the purpose of directing suspicion toward a particular person. That individual is then placed under arrest, examined, questioned, and cross-examined; if the murder is proven against him he is executed, otherwise he is required to swear an oath and is released.
The killer is to be executed in the same manner he used: if he killed with a sword he is killed with a sword; if he killed with a rifle he is shot with that rifle; if he drowned the victim he is drowned; if he burned the victim he is burned—in requital for what he did and in accordance with Allah’s words: “If you retaliate, then retaliate with the like of that with which you were afflicted” (Q 16:126); “The recompense of an evil deed is an evil deed of like degree” (Q 42:40); and “Whoever transgresses against you, transgress against him to the extent of his transgression against you” (Q 2:194). This is one of the two narrations from Imam Aḥmad, preferred by Shaykh Ibn Taymiyyah, who said, “This view is closer to the Book, the Sunnah, and justice.” Al-Zarkashī remarked, “Its evidences are stronger,” and it is the position of ʿUmar ibn ʿAbd al-ʿAzīz and of the Imams Mālik, al-Shāfiʿī, Aḥmad, Abū Thawr, as well as our teacher ʿAbd al-Raḥmān ibn Saʿdī.

In this ruling justice is manifest, the purpose of retaliation is fully realized, and criminals are deterred.

As for the well-known view within the Hanbalī school, lawful retaliation for homicide is carried out only with the sword, based on the Prophet’s saying, “No retribution except with the sword,” related by Ibn Mājah. Yet the hadith is weak; Ibn ʿAdī stated, “All of its chains are weak.”

Hadith 6
Abū Hurayrah (may Allah be pleased with him) reported: When Allah granted His Messenger (Allah bless him and grant him peace) the conquest of Mecca, the tribe of Hudhayl killed a man from Banū Layth in revenge for someone they had lost in the pre-Islamic period. The Prophet (Allah bless him and grant him peace) therefore stood and proclaimed: “Allah held the elephant back from Mecca and made His Messenger and the believers prevail over it. It was never lawful for anyone before me, nor will it be lawful for anyone after me; it has only been made lawful for me for one hour of the day. At this moment it is sacred: its trees are not to be cut, its pasture is not to be grazed, its thorns are not to be lopped, and nothing that falls to the ground is to be picked up except by one who will announce it. Whoever has someone killed among his relatives is granted two options: either he may kill (the murderer) or he may accept blood-money.”

A man from Yemen named Abū Shāh then stood up and said, “Messenger of Allah, have this statement written down for me.” The Messenger of Allah (Allah bless him and grant him peace) said, “Write it for Abū Shāh.”

Then al-ʿAbbās rose and said, “Messenger of Allah, except the idhkhir; we use it in our houses and our graves.” The Messenger of Allah (Allah bless him and grant him peace) said, “Except the idhkhir.” ⦗1⦘

(1) In this form the hadith is unique to Sahih Muslim. Al-Bukhari records a comparable report as a mursal tradition from Mujahid. Another source (cited with the abbreviation “Sh”) connects the isnad to Ibn Abbas, stating that it runs “with the same, or a similar, wording,” and then adds: “It was also narrated by Abu Hurayra from the Prophet.” All of this is noted by Abd al-Haqq in his work reconciling the two Sahihs.

٣- قبول قول المجني عليه في مثل هذه الحال لإلقاء التُّهمة على أحد، فيقرر ويحبس ويسأل ويناقش، فإن ثبت عليه القتل، أخِذَ به، وإلاَّ، حلف وتُرك. ٤- أن القاتل يقتل بمثل ما قتل به، فإن قتل بسيف قتل به، وإن قتل ببندقية قتل بها، أو بغرق غرق، أو بتحريق حرق جزاء لما فعل، وعملا بقوله تعالى: ﴿وإن عاقبتم فَعَاقِبُوا بمثل مَا عوقبتم بِهِ﴾ ﴿وجزاء سيِّئةٍ سيِّئة مِثْلُهَا﴾ ﴿فمن اعتَدَى عَلَيكم فاعتدوا عَلَيْهِ بِمِثْل مَا اعْتَدَى عليكم﴾ وهي إحدى الروايتين عن الإمام أحمد، اختارها الشيخ (ابن تيميه) وقال: [هذا أشبه بالكتاب والسنة والعدل] . قال الزركشي: [وهي أصح دليلا] وهو مذهب عمر بن عبد العزيز، ومذهب الأئمة مالك، والشافعي، وأحمد، وأبي ثور، واختارها شيخنا (عبد الرحمن بن سعدي) . وفي هذا يظهر العدل، ويكمل معنى القصاص، ويرتدع المجرمون. أما المشهور من مذهب الحنابلة، فلا يستوفى القصاص في النفس إلا بالسيف، لقوله ﷺ: [لا قَوَدَ إلا بالسيف] رواه ابن ماجة. لكن الحديث ضعيف، فقد قال ابن عدي: [طرقه كلها ضعيفة] . الحديث السادس عَنْ أبي هريرة ﵁ قالَ: لَمَّا فَتَحَ الله عَلَى رَسُولِهِ ﷺ مَكَّةَ، قَتَلَتْ هُذَيْل رَجلا مِنْ بَني لَيْثٍ بِقتِيل كَان لَهُمْ فِي الْجَاهِلِيَّةِ، فَقَامَ النبي ﷺ فَقَالَ: " إنَّ الله ﷿ قَدْ حَبَسَ عَنْ مكَّةَ الفِيلَ، وَسلَّطَ عَلَيْهَا رَسُولَهُ وَالْمُؤمِنِينِ. وَإنَّهَا لَمْ تَحِلَّ لأحَدٍ كَانَ قبلي وَلا تَحِلُّ لأحَدٍ بَعدِي، وَإنَمَا أحلّت لي سَاعَة مِن النَّهار، وَإنَّهَا ساعتي هذِهِ حَرَام: لا يُعضَدُ شَجَرُهَا وَلا يختلى خَلاهَا ولا يُعْضَدُ شَوْكهَا وَلا تُلْتَقَط ساقِطتهَا إلا لِمُنْشِدٍ. وَمَنْ قُتِلَ لَهُ قَتيل فهو بخير النَّظَرَين: إما أن يَقتُل وإمَّا إن يُدَى ". فقَامَ رَجُل مِنْ أهْلِ اليمن يُقَالُ له أبُو شَاهٍ، فَقَالَ: يا رسول الله، اكْتُبُوا لي. فَقَالَ رَسُول الله ﷺ " اكْتُبُوا لأبي شاهٍ ". ثُمَّ قَامَ الْعَبَّاسُ فَقَالَ: يَارَسُولَ الله، إلا الأذخِر، فَإنَّا نَجْعَلُهُ فِي بُيوتِنَا وقُبُورنَا. فَقَالَ رَسُولُ الله ﷺ"إلا الأذْخِرَ" (١) .

(١) هذا الحديث بهذا السياق من أفراد (مسلم) وروى (البخاري) نحوه من حديث مجاهد مرسلا، ش أسند الحديث إلى ابن عباس قال، بمثل هذا أو نحو هذا، ثم قال: رواه أبو هريرة عن النبي ﷺ، قاله (عبد الحق) في جمعه بين الصحيحين.