An alleviation is, however, allowed in case the person who suffers from the death of the murdered person makes a remission and is satisfied with diyah or blood-money. Another case in which blood-money takes the place of a death sentence is that of unintentional killing. The Holy Qur’ān says: “And a believer would not kill a believer except by mistake. And he who kills a believer by mistake should free a believing slave, and blood-money should be paid to his people unless they remit it as alms. But if he be from a tribe hostile to you and he is a believer, the freeing of a believing slave (suffices). And if he is from a tribe between whom and you there is a covenant, the blood-money should be paid to his people along with the freeing of a believing slave” (4:92).
It may be noted here that by the hostile tribe, spoken of in the above quotation, is meant a tribe at war with the Muslim state. The murder of a non-Muslim living under a Muslim state or in a friendly non-Muslim state, is punishable in exactly the same way as the murder of a Muslim. The Holy Prophet is reported to have said: “Whoever kills a mu‘āhad (a non-Muslim living under the protection of a Muslim state), he shall not perceive the odour of Paradise, and its odour is perceivable from a distance of forty years’ journey” (Bu. 88:30; Tr. 15:11; Ah. II, p. 186). Thus, even from a purely religious point of view, not the least distinction is made between the murder of a Muslim and a non-Muslim, and therefore any distinction in their temporal punishments is out of the question. And where the Holy Qur’ān speaks of a murderer, it always speaks of the murderer of a nafs (person) and not of a Muslim: “Whoever kills a person unless it be for manslaughter or for mischief in the land, it is as though he had killed all men” (5:32). It is true that ‘Alī is stated to have with him a written paper, according to which a Muslim was not to be killed for an unbeliever,3 but evidently this related to a state of war and not a state of peace; the latter is expressly spoken of in the ḥadīth already quoted. In fact, the rights of non-Muslims in a Muslim state are in all respects at par with those of Muslims, so much so that Muslims are required even to fight in their defence4, and the Holy Prophet is
3 Bu. 88:31.
4 Bu. 56:174.