Surah An-Nisa 4:92-96 - Quran Translation Commentary

92. And never should a believer kill a believer except by mistake. And he who has killed a believer by mistake must set free a believing (Momin) slave¹⁶⁸ and pay the blood – money to the heirs of the slain¹⁶⁹, except that they forgo. If he (the victim) be of a people hostile to you and is himself a believer a believing , slave should be set free . And if he (slain person) be of a people between whom and you there is a covenant, then the blood–money must be paid to his heirs and a believing slave must be set free ¹⁷⁰, And he who has not the means, (to do all this) must fast for two consecutive months ¹⁷¹ by way of repentance as prescribed by Allah¹⁷²; and Allah has all knowledge and all wisdom.

93. And whosoever kills a believer intentionally, his recompense is hell, to abide therein (for ever): and the wrath and the curse of Allah are upon him, and He has prepared a dreadful torment for him ¹⁷³.

94. O you who believe ! When you go forth in the way of Allah, investigate carefully, and do not say to anyone who offers you salutation: “You are not a believer !¹⁷⁴ ”–- coveting the gain of the life of this world. With Allah are spoils abundant. You your selves were like this before, then Allah conferred on you His favours¹⁷⁵; therefore, carefully investigate. Verily Allah is well aware of all that you do.

95. Among the faithful, those who sit (at home) without any due excuse and those who fight in the way of Allah with their wealth and lives are not equal. Allah has granted a rank higher to those who fight with their wealth and lives than to those who sit (at home ). And to both Allah has promised good¹⁷⁶; but Allah has preferred those who fight to those who sit (at home) with a mighty reward.

96. Ranks bestowed by Him, and forgiveness and mercy. And Allah is Oft-Forgiving, Most Merciful.

Commentary

168. This is the penance for unintentionally killing some one. Since the slain person was a Momin (faithful), the penance for this was prescribed as freeing of a believing slave. In the present time there are no slaves available for being freed, so other forms will have to be adopted for meeting the requirements of this penance, viz fasting for two consecutive months, as has been mentioned in the verse further on.

169. ‘Diyat’ or blood money was fixed at one hundred camels by the Prophet. -(Ahkamul Quran; Jassas, Vol.II page 283).

If the penance is to be given in the form of cash, then the price of one hundred camels should be paid.

170. In this verse three circumstances concerning the killing of a Muslim have been mentioned. In the first case the slain person may be a citizen of Darul Islam (Islamic state). In such a case penance will have to be offered and blood money will also have to be paid. In the second case the victim may be a citizen of Darul Harab (non-Islamic state). In this case only penance will have to be offered. In the third case the slain person may be a citizen of a country or nation with which the Muslims may have signed an agreement of peace. In such a case penance will have to be offered and blood money will also have to be paid.

In a hadith it is reported that once the Prophet sent Khalid bin Waleed to the people of Bani Khuzaima, with an invitation to embrace Islam. They declared their embracing of Islam in a vague word, instead of saying ‘Aslamna’ (we have accepted) they said ‘Sabana’. On account of some misunderstanding, Khalid killed a few of their people. When the Prophet was informed of this, he raised his hands in prayer saying that he was innocent of whatever Khalid did. Thereafter he sent Ali for paying the blood money of the persons killed by Khalid, and made good their losses, even to the extent of paying the price for their dog.

This is narrated in Bukhari. Quoting this narration Ibn Katheer says that from this tradition a conclusion can be drawn that if the leader or his deputy (commander in chief, etc) commits a mistake its compensation will be paid from Baitul Mal, state fund. –(Tafseer Ibn Katheer Vol.l,p.535).

171. In the present days when there are no slaves, the alternative would be to observe fast for two consecutive months. By consecutive (or continually) is meant that without any excuse permissible by the Shariah no day for two months should go without fast. A person who is unable to observe fast for two consecutive months, for him a group of ulema has suggested a solution of feeding sixty poor and needy persons. This suggestion is based on the penance fixed for ‘Zihar’.

172. This penance is prescribed by Allah as a mark of repentance, so that the killer may realise the seriousness of his error, and turn to Allah with a sorry and heavy heart.

And whosoever kills a believer intentionally, his recompense is hell, to abide therein (for ever): and the wrath and the curse of Allah are upon him, and He has prepared a dreadful torment for him.(Al-Quran)

173. In this verse five kinds of punishment have been mentioned for wilfully killing a Muslim. First; he will be sent to hell; secondly he will stay there for ever; third, Allah’s wrath will be on him; fourth, Allah’s curse will be on him; and fifth, he will be subjected to a very grievous punishment, which has been especially prepared for him. This shows the seriousness of the sin. In Islam, this is the greatest sin after polytheism and in the tradition it has been termed as kufr (rejection of faith).

In the hadith, it is reported that the Prophet has said:

“To abuse a Muslim is an evil act, and to fight him is the rejection of faith.” -( Muslim -Kitabul Eeman).

“Do not become disbelievers after me that you may kill one another.” -’- (Muslim -Kitabul Eeman).

174. That is: When you set forth for launching an attack on any region, investigate fully as to where the Muslims are, so that you may not attack them by mistake. And if somebody salutes you to express that he is a Muslim, do not refuse to answer his salutation. If you want to attack him being greedy of the booty, then you should know that Allah has abundant profits and spoils, therefore make the reward in the Hereafter your objective.

In Islam the objective and purpose of fighting or waging a war is not merely to occupy land or territory, but it is the establishment of Truth and Justice. Therefore, if in the thick of war any person from the forces of the enemy says, “As-Salamu- Alaikum” or recites the kalimah to show that he is a Muslim, then inspite of the probability that he may be doing so to save his life, he cannot be killed, for there is every possibility that he may in reality be a Muslim. Therefore as a precaution he should not be killed.

A guiding principle is derived from this that no person who recites the kalimah should be called an infidel and whoever calls himself a Muslim should be considered as a Muslim except that after investigation it is established that his claim is false.

175. That is: Before this you had also joined the ranks of Muslims by merely reciting the kalimah. Thereafter Allah gave firmness in your faith and you became firm and steadfast Muslims. Similarly if these persons declare themselves as Muslims then recognise them as such.

176. This refers to the circumstance when the call for Jihad had not been made general and the fighting of a few persons was considered sufficient. The Prophet used to send small units for small campaigns. which were called ‘Sariyyah. In such circumstances the call for Jihad is bestowing a higher rank on those who are called. But in the case when the call for Jihad is general and when it becomes a compulsory duty in such a condition there is no promise of good for those who sit at home without any excuse permissible by the Shariah.

It may be noted that in the ghazawat (battles) in which the Prophet had personally taken part during these campaigns those who avoided joining the Prophet have been very severely reprimanded by Quran. It is contrary to faith that the messenger of Allah may risk his own precious life while his followers may sit at home for protecting their own lives. The obvious demand of the faith is that the life of the Prophet should be more valuable and more precious than one’s own life. And it is a fact that on such occasions only those people avoided joining the Prophet in his battles against the infidels who were hypocrites otherwise every Muslim was a devoted soldier and life-sacrificer for the Prophet.