فِقهُ القِصَاص — القِصَاصُ فِي الشَّرِيعَةِ الإِسلَامِيَّة: بَيَانُ أَحكَامِ القِصَاصِ فِي النَّفسِ وَالجَرحِ وَالدِّيَةِ وَالعَفو
Fiqh al-Qisas (فِقهُ القِصَاص — Jurisprudence of Retaliation; *qisas*: from *q-s-s*: to trace, to follow the tracks; qisas = literally 'tracing the tracks' — i.e., following the harm back and exacting an equivalent response; the basic definition: qisas = equal retaliation for intentional homicide or intentional bodily injury; the retaliatory act must be equivalent to the original harm [life for life, eye for eye]; distinct from: [a] ta'zir [discretionary punishment by the judge]; [b] hudud [fixed divine punishments for specific crimes]; [c] diyah [blood money — the financial alternative to qisas]; the classification of killings: [1] al-qatl al-'amd [intentional homicide]: with a lethal weapon or lethal means; gives rise to qisas; [2] al-qatl shibh al-'amd [quasi-intentional homicide]: intentional act but not with a lethal weapon; in most schools, gives rise to diyah only, not qisas; [3] al-qatl al-khata' [unintentional homicide]: accident; gives rise to diyah only; the key Quranic verses: [1] 2:178-179: 'ya ayyuha al-ladhina amanu kutiba 'alaykum al-qisasu fi al-qatla — al-hurru bi-al-hurri wa-al-'abdu bi-al-'abdi wa-al-untha bi-al-untha — fa-man 'ufiya lahu min akhihi shay'un fa-ittiba'un bi-al-ma'rufi wa-ada'un ilayhi bi-ihsan — dhalika takhfifun min rabbikum wa-rahmah — fa-man i'tada ba'da dhalika fa-lahu 'adhab alim — wa-lakum fi al-qisasi hayatun ya uli al-albab la'allakum tattaqun' [O you who believe, prescribed for you is qisas concerning those killed — the free for the free, the slave for the slave, the female for the female — but whoever is pardoned by his brother, that is an easement and a mercy — so let there be performance with accepted conduct and payment to him with goodness — this is an alleviation from your Lord and a mercy — and whoever transgresses after that for him is a painful punishment — and for you in qisas there is life, O people of understanding, so that you may become God-fearing]; [2] 5:45: 'wa-katabna 'alayhim fiha anna al-nafsa bi-al-nafsi wa-al-'ayna bi-al-'ayn wa-al-anfa bi-al-anfi wa-al-udhuna bi-al-udhun wa-al-sinna bi-al-sinn wa-al-juruha qisas — fa-man tasaddaqa bihi fa-huwa kaffaratun lahu — wa-man lam yahkum bima anzala Allahu fa-ula'ika hum al-zalimun' [And We prescribed for them in it [the Torah]: life for life, eye for eye, nose for nose, ear for ear, tooth for tooth, and for wounds — retaliation; but whoever forgoes it as charity, it is an expiation for him; and whoever does not judge by what God has revealed — those are the wrongdoers]; the structural doctrine of qisas: [1] qisas as haqq al-'abd [right of the individual/victim]: qisas belongs to the victim or the victim's family [wali al-dam — guardian of the blood]; this is crucial: the victim's family can choose to [a] demand qisas [execution], [b] accept diyah [blood money], or [c] grant pardon ['afw]; the state cannot impose qisas over the victim's family's wishes — it is not a divine right [haqq Allah] but an individual right; [2] this makes qisas structurally different from hudud: hudud = divine right [haqq Allah]; the ruler enforces them and cannot remit them; qisas = individual right [haqq al-'abd]; only the victim/family can waive it; [3] 'afw [pardon] is Quranically encouraged: 2:178's structure: the default is qisas; but the verse pivots to 'but whoever is pardoned...' — presenting pardon as the mercy-option; 2:178's final statement: 'for you in qisas there is life' — deterrence through the seriousness of the consequence; 5:45's parallel: 'whoever forgoes it as charity, it is an expiation for him' — forgiving qisas accrues to the forgiver's spiritual account; hadith: 'whoever forgives, God will honor him'; [4] diyah [blood money] as the financial alternative: if qisas is waived in exchange for compensation, the diyah is paid; classical diyah = 100 camels [for male Muslim] or equivalent; modifications for female [half in classical fiqh], dhimmi, and other categories vary by school; modern codifications have fixed monetary equivalents; school differences on qisas applicability: [1] can a Muslim be executed for killing a dhimmi [non-Muslim protected person]? Hanafi: yes; Shafi'i: no; [2] father for killing his own child: most schools exempt the father from qisas; [3] group killing: one person killed by a group — all can be executed [qisas]; some schools limit this) is Islamic criminal law's most nuanced doctrine.
Retaliation and Its Pivot
2:178-179’s structure is the key to understanding qisas: the verse prescribes equal retaliation — life for life, free for free — and then immediately introduces the pivot: “but whoever is pardoned by his brother, that is an easement and a mercy.” The verse does not present retaliation as the ideal; it presents it as the legitimate response, while pointing toward pardon as the mercy-option. 5:45 confirms this: “whoever forgoes it as charity, it is an expiation for him.”
The cumulative effect is a system in which retaliation is lawful and serves deterrence (“for you in qisas there is life”), but pardon is spiritually superior. The victim’s family holds the choice.
Individual Right, Not Divine Right
Qisas’s most doctrinally significant feature is its classification as haqq al-‘abd (individual right) rather than haqq Allah (divine right). This distinguishes it sharply from the hudud punishments, which belong to God and cannot be remitted by any person. Qisas belongs to the victim or the victim’s family (wali al-dam). They — not the state — decide whether to demand execution, accept blood money, or grant pardon. The qadi cannot impose qisas over the family’s wishes, and cannot cancel it if the family demands it.
This structure means that qisas is not “the state punishing crime” in the modern sense. It is a victim-family right that the legal system recognizes, regulates, and enforces if demanded.
Blood Money as Alternative
If the victim’s family waives qisas in exchange for diyah (blood money), the offender pays and the matter is settled. Classical diyah was fixed at 100 camels for a male Muslim victim. Schools varied on the diyah for women (half in classical Hanbali and Shafi’i fiqh; equal in some modernist readings), for non-Muslim victims (half in most classical positions), and for non-fatal injuries (a fractional schedule based on the injury’s severity and the body part affected).
See also: Fiqh Al Hudud, Fiqh Al Shahadah, Fiqh Al Usul Al Fiqh, Fiqh Al Aqd Wal Shurut, Fiqh Al Ijtihad Wal Taqlid