Explore Verses Related to retribution
At a Glance
📖 Quranic Context
A foundational principle of Islamic criminal jurisprudence (Fiqh al-Jinayat) that aims to protect life, establish justice, and deter crime, while simultaneously encouraging mercy and forgiveness.
Qisas is presented as a divinely prescribed law that brings about life and societal stability (Quran 2:179), balanced by Allah's attributes of Mercy (Rahmah) and Forgiveness (Afuww).
💭 Theological Perspective
Addresses the human need for justice and recourse in the face of harm, while guiding it away from excessive vengeance towards a structured, just, and merciful legal process.
Provides a mechanism for the victim's family to find closure either through just retribution or the spiritual elevation of forgiveness, remedying feelings of grievance and anger.
Serves as a clear legal deterrent against murder and assault. The strong encouragement for forgiveness and accepting blood money (Diyah) is a key aspect of this guidance, representing a divine alleviation and mercy.
Offers a path for spiritual growth for the victim's family through the difficult act of forgiveness, for which Allah promises a great reward.
📜 Hadith Perspective
The Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) implemented the laws of Qisas, ensuring justice while consistently encouraging the involved parties to opt for forgiveness and Diyah.
- A Muslim's life is sacred and cannot be taken without just cause.
- The Prophet affirming the right of Qisas for the family of the victim, as in the case of a broken incisor tooth.
- Stipulations that a Muslim is not killed in retaliation for a non-believer (a ruling with differences of opinion among jurists).
Universal agreement among all schools of Islamic law on the legitimacy and principles of Qisas, with juristic differences existing in its specific conditions and applications.
💎 Deeper Insights
Search grounding reveals that Qisas is not merely 'an eye for an eye' but a legal revolution that ended the pre-Islamic tribal practice of collective and disproportionate revenge. By specifying 'the free for the free, the slave for the slave,' Quran 2:178 established the principle of individual accountability, preventing the powerful from killing a 'lesser' person from an opposing tribe in retaliation for the crime of one of their own.
— Ibn Kathir, Syed Abu-al-A'la Maududi
The Quran frames the law of Retribution as a source of 'life' (ḥayāh), as stated in 2:179: 'And there is for you in legal retribution [the saving of] life, O you of understanding'. This paradoxical concept, explained by scholars like Ibn Kathir, means that the existence of a just, deterrent punishment for murder is what truly protects the sanctity of life in a society and prevents endless cycles of vengeance.
— Ibn Kathir, At-Tabari