سورة البقرة

Imam Sadiq (peace be upon him): [The Imam] was asked, "Is this verse concerning the Muslims?" He said, "This verse is specifically concerning the believers."

Imam al-Askari (peace be upon him): يا أَیُّهَا الَّذِینَ آمَنُوا کُتِبَ عَلَیْکُمُ الْقِصاصُ فِی الْقَتْلی [O you who believe! Retaliation is prescribed for you in the matter of the slain] — meaning, act with equity, and that the killer be killed by the very same manner in which he killed the one he slew.

Imam Ali (peace be upon him): Allah, Blessed and Exalted, sent His Messenger (peace be upon him and his family) with kindness and mercy. It was from his mercy and compassion that at the beginning of his mission he did not turn his people away from the customs to which they had grown accustomed; rather he allowed (gave respite) so that Islam might take firm hold in their hearts and the religion might penetrate their breasts, until little by little the religion settled in their breasts [and they accepted it]. One example of this [where Allah gradually opposed the customs to which people had grown accustomed] was the initial acceptance of the ruling of qisas (retaliation), for the people used to act according to what was in the Torah and had grown accustomed to it. That (ruling of the Torah) was as Allah says: وَ کَتَبْنَا عَلَیهِمْ فِیهَا أَنَّ النَّفْسَ بِالنَّفْسِ وَ الْعَینْ‌َ بِالْعَینْ [And We prescribed for them therein that a life is for a life and an eye for an eye], and for male and female, or freeman and slave, there was no separate ruling for qisas. So Allah the Exalted abrogated what is in the Torah with this statement: یا أَیُّهَا الَّذِینَ آمَنُوا کُتِبَ عَلَیْکُمُ الْقِصاصُ فِی الْقَتْلی الْحُرُّ بِالْحُرِّ وَ الْعَبْدُ بِالْعَبْدِ وَ الْأُنْثی بِالْأُنْثی [O you who believe! Retaliation is prescribed for you in the matter of the slain: the free for the free, the slave for the slave, and the female for the female]. So the aforementioned verse abrogated the verse وَ کَتَبْنَا عَلَیهِمْ فِیهَا أَنَّ النَّفْسَ بِالنَّفْسِ وَ الْعَینْ‌َ بِالْعَین [And We prescribed for them therein that a life is for a life and an eye for an eye].

Imam Sadiq (peace be upon him): If a free person kills a slave, he is not put to death in retaliation; rather he must be severely beaten and pay the blood-money (diyah) of that slave. And if a man kills a woman and the guardians of the slain woman demand retaliation by death, the guardians of the slain must return half of the blood-money of that man to his family.

Imam Ali (peace be upon him) [regarding the ruling of qisas]: The life of a woman is not equal to the life of a man; rather, it is half of it. So it is obligatory that at the time of retaliation for a life, the difference between the two be paid in full. (Half of the diyah must be returned.)

Imam Sajjad (peace be upon him): The ruling of qisas, before it was abrogated, was that when a woman was killed, [in exchange for her one] woman had to be retaliated against.

Imam Sajjad (peace be upon him): A murderer who is pardoned, and he (the murderer) and the guardian of the slain agree on payment of the diyah and pardon him upon receiving the diyah — then the guardian of the blood, who had the right of the customary qisas, must be followed, and likewise [the blood-money] must be paid with goodness to the one who pardoned the murderer; in such a way that no harm reaches him (the one who requested payment of diyah in place of qisas), and the payment of the diyah is not delayed and [the guardian of the blood] is not left waiting.

Imam Sadiq (peace be upon him): If someone possesses a right and has come to an agreement with his [religious] brother regarding the payment of diyah, it is fitting that he not be harsh with him; and likewise, if a right lies upon someone's shoulders and he has the ability to pay it, it is fitting that he not delay in paying it to his [religious] brother, and that he pay it [the diyah] to him with goodness.

Imam Sadiq (peace be upon him): He is the man who accepts the diyah [in place of qisas]. So it is fitting for him to deal gently with the one upon whom the payment of diyah is obligatory, and not be harsh with him; [likewise] for the one who must pay the diyah, it is fitting that he pay it with goodness, and if he has the [financial] ability, he should not delay in paying it to the one entitled to it.

Imam Sadiq (peace be upon him): The meaning is a person who accepts the blood-money [in place of retaliation]. So Allah the Mighty and Majestic commanded the one who holds the right to deal kindly with the killer and not to place him under pressure in discharging the debt. Likewise [Allah] commanded the one upon whom the payment of the blood-money rests not to wrong [the other party], and, if he has the means, not to delay in paying the blood-money, but to pay it with goodness and grace.

Imam Sadiq (peace be upon him): It behooves the one who holds the right that, if his [religious] brother has the means to pay the blood-money, he should not press him hard; and [likewise] it behooves the one who is able to pay the blood-money not to keep his brother waiting, and if he has the means, to pay the blood-money with goodness and kindness — that is, when retaliation is remitted, the blood-money should be paid in its place to the heirs of the slain, so that the blood of a Muslim person is not wasted.

Imam Sadiq (peace be upon him): فَاتِّباعٌ بِالْمَعْرُوفِ [then prosecution should be made according to usage] — that is, the one who pardons [should act according to what is customary], and it is obligatory upon the one who has been pardoned to pay the blood-money in a goodly manner.

Imam Sajjad (peace be upon him): This is an alleviation and a mercy from your Lord, in that He has permitted the guardian of the slain to pardon the killer in exchange for taking the blood-money. For if there were no course open to him other than killing or pardoning [without the right to receive blood-money], then certainly the willingness of the guardian of the slain to pardon without receiving any compensation would seldom arise; and so the killer's escape from being put to death would be reduced.

Imam Kazim (peace be upon him), in a long hadith in reply to a Jew concerning the superiority of this ummah (Islam) over the other nations, said: "...Among the virtues is that, regarding one from among these people who commits intentional murder, the guardian of the slain may pardon him if he wishes, and if he wishes he may accept the blood-money; whereas the people of the Torah, who are of your religion, put the killer to death without his being pardoned and without any blood-money being accepted from him. Allah the Mighty and Majestic said: ذلِکَ تَخْفِیفٌ مِنْ رَبِّکُمْ وَ رَحْمَةٌ [this is an alleviation from your Lord and a mercy]."

Imam Sajjad (peace be upon him): Whoever pardons the murderer and consents to accepting the diyah (blood-money), and then goes back on his decision [and seeks retaliation], for him on the Day of Resurrection there is a painful punishment with Allah the Mighty and Majestic.

Imam Sadiq (peace be upon him): Halabi says: I asked Imam Sadiq (peace be upon him) about the interpretation of the verse فَمَنِ اعْتَدَی بَعْدَ ذَلِکَ فَلَه عَذَابٌ أَلِیمٌ [So whoever exceeds the limit after this, for him is a painful punishment]. The Imam said: "He is a man who accepts the diyah (blood-money), or pardons, or makes a settlement, and then transgresses his limit [and again demands retaliation] and kills him. Allah the Mighty and Majestic has said: فَلَه عَذَابٌ أَلِیمٌ [for him is a painful punishment]."

Imam Sadiq (peace be upon him): He is the one who accepts the diyah (blood-money) or makes a settlement; then he mutilates or kills the one upon whom the diyah was owed; so Allah has promised him a painful punishment.