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Sura 2
Aya 178
178
يا أَيُّهَا الَّذينَ آمَنوا كُتِبَ عَلَيكُمُ القِصاصُ فِي القَتلَى ۖ الحُرُّ بِالحُرِّ وَالعَبدُ بِالعَبدِ وَالأُنثىٰ بِالأُنثىٰ ۚ فَمَن عُفِيَ لَهُ مِن أَخيهِ شَيءٌ فَاتِّباعٌ بِالمَعروفِ وَأَداءٌ إِلَيهِ بِإِحسانٍ ۗ ذٰلِكَ تَخفيفٌ مِن رَبِّكُم وَرَحمَةٌ ۗ فَمَنِ اعتَدىٰ بَعدَ ذٰلِكَ فَلَهُ عَذابٌ أَليمٌ

Bijan Moeinian

The capital punishment is hereby declared as a law for you the believers. The man or the woman who has committed the murder, regardless of his/her social status, should face the death. The victim’s kin, however, may pardon the murderer. An appreciative response, in the form of blood money, will be then in order. This leniency (turning the criminal case into a civil case) indicates how merciful God is [the State, therefore, does not have any right to prosecute the murderer on criminal basis.] Once the blood money is paid, those who recourse to retaliation (the relatives, state or any interested party) should know that they are invoking God’s anger.