17:33 Al-Israa (The Night Journey)

وهذا شامل لكل نفس { حَرَّمَ اللَّهُ } قتلها من صغير وكبير وذكر وأنثى وحر وعبد ومسلم وكافر له عهد. { إِلَّا بِالْحَقِّ } كالنفس بالنفس والزاني المحصن والتارك لدينه المفارق للجماعة والباغي في حال بغيه إذا لم يندفع إلا بالقتل. { وَمَنْ قُتِلَ مَظْلُومًا } أي: بغير حق { فَقَدْ جَعَلْنَا لِوَلِيِّهِ } وهو أقرب عصباته وورثته إليه { سُلْطَانًا } أي: حجة ظاهرة على القصاص من القاتل، وجعلنا له أيضا تسلطا قدريا على ذلك، وذلك حين تجتمع الشروط الموجبة للقصاص كالعمد العدوان والمكافأة. { فَلَا يُسْرِفْ } الولي { فِي الْقَتْلِ إِنَّهُ كَانَ مَنْصُورًا } والإسراف مجاوزة الحد إما أن يمثل بالقاتل أو يقتله بغير ما قتل به أو يقتل غير القاتل. وفي هذه الآية دليل إلى أن الحق في القتل للولي فلا يقتص إلا بإذنه وإن عفا سقط القصاص. وأن ولي المقتول يعينه الله على القاتل ومن أعانه حتى يتمكن من قتله.

يقول تعالى ناهيا عن قتل النفس بغير حق شرعي كما ثبت في الصحيحين أن رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم قال "لا يحل دم امرئ مسلم يشهد أن لا إله إلا الله وأن محمدا رسول الله إلا بإحدى ثلاث: النفس بالنفس والزاني المحصن والتارك لدينه المفارق للجماعة" وفي السنن "لزوال الدنيا عند الله أهون من قتل مسلم" وقوله: "ومن قتل مظلوما فقد جعلنا لوليه سلطانا" أي سلطة على القاتل فإنه بالخيار فيه إن شاء قتله قودا وإن شاء عفا عنه على الدية وإن شاء عفا عنه مجانا كما ثبتت السنة بذلك. وقد أخذ الإمام الحبر ابن عباس من عموم هذه الآية الكريمة ولاية معاوية السلطنة أنه سيملك لأنه كان ولي عثمان وقد قتل عثمان مظلوما رضي الله عنه وكان معاوية يطالب عليا رضي الله عنه أن يسلمه قتلته حتى يقتص منهم لأنه أموي وكان علي رضي الله عنه يستمهله في الأمر حتى يتمكن ويفعل ذلك ويطلب علي من معاوية أن يسلمه الشام فيأبى معاوية ذلك حتى يسلمه القتلة وأبى أن يبايع عليا هو وأهل الشام ثم مع المطاولة تمكن معاوية وصار الأمر إليه كما قاله ابن عباس واستنبطه من هذه الآية الكريمة وهذا من الأمر العجب وقد روى ذلك الطبراني في معجمه حيث قال حدثنا يحيى بن عبدالباقي حدثنا أبو عمير بن النحاس حدثنا ضمرة بن ربيعة عن ابن شودب عن مطر الوراق عن زهدم الجرمي قال: كنا في سمر ابن عباس فقال إني محدثكم بحديث ليس بسر ولا علانية إنه لما كان من أمر هذا الرجل ما كان يعني عثمان قلت لعلي اعتزل فلو كنت في حجر طلبت حتى تستخرج فعصاني وايم الله ليتأمرن عليكم معاوية وذلك أن الله يقول "ومن قتل مظلوما فقد جعلنا لوليه سلطانا فلا يسرف في القتل" الآية وليحملنكم قريش على سنة فارس والروم وليقيمن عليكم النصارى واليهود والمجوس فمن أخذ منكم يومئذ بما يعرف نجا ومن ترك وأنتم تاركون كنتم كقرن من القرون هلك فيمن هلك وقوله "فلا يسرف في القتل" قالوا معناه فلا يسرف الولي في قتل القاتل بأن يمثل به أو يقتص من غير القاتل وقوله: "إنه كان منصورا" أي أن الولي منصور على القاتل شرعا وغالبا وقدرا.

Prohibition of Unlawful Killing Allah forbids killing with no legitimate reason

It was reported in the Two Sahihs that the Messenger of Allah ﷺ said:

«لَا يَحِلُّ دَمُ امْرِىءٍ مُسْلِمٍ يَشْهَدُ أَنْ لَا إِلَهَ إِلَّا اللهُ وَأَنَّ مُحَمَّدًا رَسُولُ اللهِ، إِلَّا بِإِحْدَى ثَلَاثٍ: النَّفْسُ بِالنَّفْسِ، وَالزَّانِي الْمُحْصَنُ، وَالتَّارِكُ لِدِينِهِ الْمُفَارِقُ لِلْجَمَاعَة»

(The blood of a Muslim who bears witness to La ilaha illallah and that Muhammad ﷺ is the Messenger of Allah, is not permissible (to be shed) except in three cases: a soul for a soul (i.e., in the case of murder), an adulterer who is married, and a person who leaves his religion and deserts the Jama'ah.) The following is recorded in the books of the Sunan:

«لَزَوَالُ الدُّنْيَا عِنْدَ اللهِ أَهْوَنُ مِنْ قَتْلِ مُسْلِم»

(If the world were to be destroyed, it would be of less importance to Allah than the killing of a Muslim.)

وَمَن قُتِلَ مَظْلُومًا فَقَدْ جَعَلْنَا لِوَلِيِّهِ سُلْطَـناً

(And whoever is killed wrongfully, We have given his heir the authority.) The authority is over the killer. The heir has the choice; if he wishes, he may have him killed in retaliation, or he may forgive him in return for the payment of the Diyah (blood money), or he may forgive him with no payment, as is reported in the Sunnah. The great scholar and Imam Ibn `Abbas understood from the general meaning of this Ayah that Mu`awiyah should take power, because he was the heir of `Uthman, who had been killed wrongfully, may Allah be pleased with him, and Mu`awiyah did event- ually take power, as Ibn `Abbas said on the basis of this Ayah. This is one of the stranger of matters.

فَلاَ يُسْرِف فِّى الْقَتْلِ

(But let him not exceed limits in the matter of taking life.) They said: this means the heir should not go to extremes in killing the killer, such as mutilating the body or taking revenge on persons other than the killer.

إِنَّهُ كَانَ مَنْصُورًا

(Verily, he is helped.) means, the heir is helped against the killer by the Shari`ah and by divine decree.

And do not slay the soul whose life God has made inviolable except with due cause. Whoever is slain wrongfully We have certainly given his heir the one inheriting from him a warrant a sanction to retaliate against the slayer; but let him not commit excess let him not overstep the bounds in slaying by slaying other than the killer of the one slain or by other than that instrument with which he the slain was killed; for he is supported by the Law.

Commentary

This eighth injunction is about the prohibition of killing unjustly. Virtually all groups, religions and sects of the world take it to be a grave crime. In Hadith, the Holy Prophet ﷺ said, "The destruction of the en-tire world is lighter in the sight of Allah than the unjust killing of a believer." In addition to this, some reports also carry the words: "Even if the inhabitants of Allah's seven heavens and seven earths were to join in the killing of a believer unjustly, He will put all of them into the Hell." (Ibn Majah with a chain classified as Hasan and al-Baihaqi - from Mazhari)

And in another Hadith, the Holy Prophet ﷺ has been reported to have said, "Whoever abets in the killing of a believer by assisting the killer even with one word will be brought before Allah Ta’ ala on the day of Resurrection. And written on his forehead shall be: آیس من رحمۃ اللہ (Deprived of the mercy of Allah). (Mazhari from Ibn Majah and Isbahani)

And al-Baihaqi reports on the authority of Sayyidna ` Abdullah ibn ` Abbas and Sayyidna Mu'wiyah ؓ that the Holy Prophet ﷺ said, "Hopefully, Allah Ta` ala may forgive every sin except that of the person who died in the state of disbelief (kufr) or who killed a believer intentionally and unjustly."

The meaning of Unjust Killing

Imam al-Bukhari and Muslim have reported on the authority of Sayyidna ` Abdullah ibn Masud رضی اللہ تعالیٰ عنہما that the Holy Prophet ﷺ said, "The blood of any Muslim who bears testimony that Allah is one and I am His Messenger is not halal (lawful) except under three situations. (1) He has, despite being married, committed adultery (for his legal punishment is that he should be stoned to death). (2) He who has killed a person unjustly [ for his punishment is that the waliyy (legal heir) of the person killed can get him killed under the law of qisas (even retaliation)]. (3) A person who has reneged [ as an apostate: murtadd ] from the religion of Islam (for he too is killed in punishment).

Who has the right to take Qisas?

It has been said in this verse that this is the right of the waliyy (legal heir) of the person killed. In the absence of a lineal waliyy, the head of the Islamic government will have this right - for, he too, in a way, is the waliyy of all Muslims. Therefore, in Islamic juristic terminology, the former is called real and the later, legal.

Injustice is not answered by injustice, but by justice: So, be just even when punishing criminals

The statement: فَلَا يُسْرِ‌ف فِّي الْقَتْلِ ('fala yusriffi al-qatl': but he shall not cross the limit in the matter of taking life) is a special provision of Islamic law the outcome of which is that it is not permissible to avenge injustice by counter injustice. Even when retaliating, it is necessary to uphold the demand of justice. Until such time that the legal heir (waliyy) of the person killed upholds justice and seeks an even retaliation in favor of the person killed represented by him, through the legal provisions of Qisas, then, the law of the Shari` ah stands in his favor. The reason is that he is surely supported, and Allah Ta` a1 is the supporter. And in case, he is all blinded by the desire of revenge and exceeds the limits of Islamic legal retaliation, then he, instead of being the one oppressed (mazlum), became the oppressor (Zalim) while the oppressor (zalim) be-came the one oppressed by him (mazlum). Now things will stand reversed. Allah Ta` ala and His Law will not support him. Instead, it will support the other party and shield him from injustice.

During the days of the Jahiliyyah, it was common practice of the Arabs that, in retaliation of a person killed, they would avenge him by killing anyone they could lay their hands on from among the family or friends of the killer. There were occasions when it would turn out that the person killed was someone notable among them. In that case, they would not take it as sufficient to kill only the killer in even retaliation for their man. In fact, to avenge one life, they would take the lives of two, three or many more men. Some of them would become so crazy in the heat of their passion for revenge that they would not be simply satisfied after having killed the killer. They went on to commit the horror of cutting off body parts such as the nose, ears etc. to serve as deterrents. All such actions are extra to the limits set by the Islamic Law of Even Retaliation (al-qisas), and are patently haram (unlawful). Therefore, such activities have been stopped by the proviso: I ) (but he shall not cross the limit in the matter of taking life).

An anecdote worth remembering

Someone accused Hajjaj ibn Yusuf before certain Mujtahid Imams. Hajjaj ibn Yusuf is the most notorious tyrant of Islamic history. Since, he has killed thousands of Sahabah and Tabi` in unjustly, therefore, it generally happens that people tend to overlook the evil lurking behind calling him evil. The pious elder before whom this accusation was leveled against Hajjaj ibn Yusuf asked the accusers, "Do you have any authority or evidence to support your accusation?" They said, "No." Then he said, "If Allah Ta’ ala will avenge the unjust killing of thousands of in-nocent people by Hajjaj ibn Yusuf, remember that anyone who is unjust to Hajjaj will also not be allowed to escape from that revenge. Allah Ta` la will wreak vengeance of Hajjaj from him too. There is no partisanship in the justice of Allah Ta` ala, therefore, it is not possible that He would release others to go about maligning His sinning servants by giving them a free hand to accuse and blame them at will.