Verse of Qisas
| Verse's Information | |
|---|---|
| Name | Verse of Qisas |
| Sura | Sura al-Baqara (Qur'an 2) |
| Verse | 178-179 |
| Juz' | 2 |
| Topic | Jurisprudential |
| About | Permissibility of Qisas |
| Related Verses | Qur'an 2:194, Qur'an 5:45, Qur'an 17:33 |
Qur'an 2:178-179, commonly known as the Verse of Qisas, refers to the set of verses that elucidate the law of Qisas (retaliation in kind) and the philosophy underpinning the legislation of this ruling.[1] 'Allama Tabataba'i posits that the verse suggests forgiveness is preferable to retaliation.[2] Jurists have utilized these verses to deduce the jurisprudential permissibility of Qisas.[3]
In these verses, the right of retaliation is established for the next of kin (awliyāʾ al-dam); however, this right is framed as being open to pardon. Furthermore, the implementation of Qisas is presented as a mechanism for ensuring the life and security of society. Rulings related to Qisas also appear in Qur'an 2:194, Qur'an 17:33, and Qur'an 5:45.[4]
| “ | يَا أَيُّهَا الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا كُتِبَ عَلَيْكُمُ الْقِصَاصُ فِي الْقَتْلَى ۖ الْحُرُّ بِالْحُرِّ وَالْعَبْدُ بِالْعَبْدِ وَالْأُنثَىٰ بِالْأُنثَىٰ ۚ فَمَنْ عُفِيَ لَهُ مِنْ أَخِيهِ شَيْءٌ فَاتِّبَاعٌ بِالْمَعْرُوفِ وَأَدَاءٌ إِلَيْهِ بِإِحْسَانٍ ۗ ذَٰلِكَ تَخْفِيفٌ مِّن رَّبِّكُمْ وَرَحْمَةٌ ۗ فَمَنِ اعْتَدَىٰ بَعْدَ ذَٰلِكَ فَلَهُ عَذَابٌ أَلِيمٌ * وَلَكُمْ فِي الْقِصَاصِ حَيَاةٌ يَا أُولِي الْأَلْبَابِ لَعَلَّكُمْ تَتَّقُونَ
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| “ | O you who have faith! Retribution is prescribed for you regarding the slain: freeman for freeman, slave for slave, and female for female. But if one is granted any remission by his brother, let the pursuing be honorable, and let the payment to him be with kindness. That is a concession and a mercy from your Lord. So whoever transgresses after that shall have a painful punishment. And there is life for you in retribution, O you who possess intellects, so that you may be Godwary.
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” |
| — Qur'an 2:178-179 | ||
According to 'Allama Tabataba'i, Qur'an 2:178 indicates that forgiveness is more beloved than retaliation; the phrasing "yet if one is pardoned by his brother" is employed to evoke affection and mercy in the next of kin, by referring to the murderer as a "brother."[5] Ja'far Subhani, a contemporary Shi'a exegete, asserts that while Qisas may appear to be an act of death and destruction, it is, in reality, the revitalization of society. He considers the content of the verse to be more eloquent and profound than the pre-Islamic Arabic proverb "Killing is the best deterrent for killing" (al-qatl anfa li-l-qatl); this is because the verse not only deems Qisas necessary but defines its execution as the very source of societal life.[6]
Exegetes note that during the Age of Ignorance (Jāhiliyya), the custom dictated that if a tribe member were killed, the tribe would resolve to kill as many members of the murderer's tribe as possible. This vendetta mentality often escalated to the point of destroying an entire clan over the death of a single individual. This verse was revealed to establish the just ruling of Qisas. This Islamic ruling represented a middle ground between two prevailing laws of the time: some required retaliation exclusively, while others mandated only blood money. Islam established Qisas in the absence of the victim's heirs' satisfaction, and blood money (diya) when both parties reach a mutual agreement.[7]
Notes
- ↑ Makārim Shīrāzī, Tafsīr-i nimūnih, 1995, vol. 4, p. 393; Farhang-nāmih-yi ʿulūm-i Qurʾān, p. 125.
- ↑ Ṭabāṭabāʾī, al-Mīzān, vol. 1, p. 433.
- ↑ Najafī, Jawāhir al-kalām, 1404/1984, vol. 42, pp. 7-9.
- ↑ Ṭayyib, Aṭyab al-bayān, 1999, vol. 2, p. 318.
- ↑ Ṭabāṭabāʾī, al-Mīzān, vol. 1, p. 432.
- ↑ Subḥānī, Aḥkām al-qiṣāṣ fī al-sharīʿa al-islāmiyya al-gharrāʾ, vol. 1, p. 12.
- ↑ Makārim Shīrāzī, Tafsīr-i nimūnih, 1995, vol. 1, p. 603; Abū al-Futūḥ al-Rāzī, Rawḍ al-jinān wa rūḥ al-jinān, 1408/1988, vol. 2, p. 329.
References
- Abū al-Futūḥ al-Rāzī, Ḥusayn b. ʿAlī. Rawḍ al-jinān wa rūḥ al-jinān. Mashhad: Astan Quds Razavi, 1408 AH.
- Makārim Shīrāzī, Nāṣir. Tafsīr-i nimūnih. Tehran: Dār al-Kutub al-Islāmiyya, 1374 Sh.
- Najafī, Muḥammad Ḥasan. Jawāhir al-kalām fī sharḥ sharāʾiʿ al-islām. Beirut: Dār Iḥyāʾ al-Turāth al-ʿArabī, 1404 AH.
- Subḥānī, Jaʿfar. Aḥkām al-qiṣāṣ fī al-sharīʿa al-islāmiyya al-gharrāʾ. Qom: Imam Sadiq (a) Institution, n.d.
- al-Shaykh al-Ṭūsī, Muḥammad b. al-Ḥasan. al-Tibyān fī tafsīr al-Qurʾān. Beirut: Dār Iḥyāʾ al-Turāth al-ʿArabī, n.d.
- Ṭabāṭabāʾī, Sayyid Muḥammad Ḥusayn. al-Mīzān fī tafsīr al-Qurʾān. Qom: Manshurat Isma'iliyan, n.d.
- al-Ṭabrisī, Faḍl b. Ḥasan. Majmaʿ al-bayān fī tafsīr al-Qurʾān. Beirut: Muʾassasat al-Aʿlamī li-l-Maṭbūʿāt, 1415 AH.
- Ṭayyib, Sayyid ʿAbd al-Ḥusayn. Aṭyab al-bayān fī tafsīr al-Qurʾān. Tehran: Islam Publications, 1378 Sh.