Page 285
wa-lā taqtulū n-nafsa llatī ḥarrama llāhu ʾillā bi-l-ḥaqqi wa-man qutila maẓlūman fa-qad jaʿalnā li-waliyyihī sulṭānan fa-lā yusrif fī l-qatli ʾinnahū kāna manṣūran
Do not kill a soul [whose life] Allah has made inviolable, except with due cause, and whoever is killed wrongfully, We have certainly given his heir an authority. But let him not commit any excess in killing [the murderer], for he has been assisted [by law].
— Ali Quli Qarai
Surah Isra’ – Verse 33
33. “And do not kill any one whom Allah has forbidden, save for just cause, and whoever is killed unjustly We have appointed to his heir authority (to demand blood compensation or retaliation), thus he must not exceed limits in slaying; verily he is (justly) assisted (by Allah).”
To protect the oppressed is one of Allah’s ways of treatment. The issue dealt with in this verse is respect for human blood and the utter prohibition of ‘murder’. He says:
“And do not kill any one whom Allah has forbidden, save for just cause…”
Not only murder is punishable from the point of view of Islam but also the slightest harm done to a human being is punishable as well, and one can proclaim that this viewpoint of Islam in protecting and respecting human beings’ blood, soul and prestige is unequalled and unsurpassed in other religions. There are, of course, certain cases where respect for human blood is missing as in cases of those who have committed murders or parallel crimes. Therefore, He makes an exception to the rule by the phrase ‘save for just cause’.
Certainly, respect for human blood is not only a matter exclusive to the Muslims as a category. On the contrary, non-Muslims who are not at war with Muslims and they are coexisting with the Muslims in a peaceful manner, are also being covered by this rule. Their life, wealth and wives are thus protected and any violation of their rights in this respect is prohibited. Then the Holy Qur’an alludes to the right of retaliation which has been accorded to the heirs of the shed blood, saying:
“…and whoever is killed unjustly We have appointed to his heir authority (to demand blood compensation or retaliation)…”
However, such a person must not exceed beyond the limits of his rights, and overdo in retaliation for the murder, for he is fully supported. The verse continues saying:
“…thus he must not exceed limits in slaying; verily he is (justly) assisted (by Allah).”
Certainly, the heirs of the murdered are supported by Allah as long as they observe Islamic limits and do not exceed those codes. This sentence makes allusion to the ways of the behaviour which were prevalent during the Age of Ignorance and, nowadays also sometimes takes place in case some innocent victims are being probably murdered who are defenseless in retaliation for the killing of one single person and in addition to the killing of the murderer himself.
Explanations
The Qur’anic sentence:
‘Thus he must not exceed limits in slaying’
signifies that when the issue of retaliation is involved, do not kill other than the murderer and do not amputate him which has a common practice during the ‘Age of Ignorance’. Murder and killing is among the capital sins. He who kills any one in cases other than those of retaliation or of causes of corruption, seems to have killed all the people.
“…whoever slays a human being for other than man slaughter or mischief in the earth, it is as he had slain mankind as a whole…” 2
The punishment for such a murder is suffering eternal pains of the hell.
“And whoever kills a believer intentionally, his recompense is Hell wherein shall he abide forever…” 3
Such a punishment holds constant for the person who uses arms and threatens to kill and is known as inciting corruption, and as waging war against Allah. In quotations, we have it that one of the examples of the heir of the blood is Hadrat-i-Mahdi (a.j.) who will take his vengeance of his grandfather Imam Hussayn (as)
“We have appointed to his heir authority (to demand blood compensation or retaliation). 4 ”
As a preventive measure the Divine support of the oppressed and the according of the right of one’s heir to retaliation and the consignment of such a right to the heir are noteworthy. It is also a preventive measure for preventing over retaliation.
Footnotes