'Abdullāh Ibn 'Abbās / Muḥammad al-Fīrūzabādī
تفسير : (it is not for a believer) it is not allowed for a believer, meaning here 'ayyash ibn abi rabi'ah (to kill a believer) harith ibn zayd ((unless (it be) by mistake) even if it be by mistake. (he who hath killed a believer by mistake must set free a believing slave) a slave who believes in allah and his messenger, (and pay the blood money) in full (to the family of the slain) to the next of kin of the victim who have the right to demand retaliation, (unless they remit it as a charity) unless the next of kin of the victim remit the blood money to the killer as a charity. (if he) the victim (be of a people hostile unto you) who are at war with you, (and he) i.e. the victim (is a believer, then (the penance is) to set free a believing slave) the killer should set free a slave who believes in allah and his messenger and so does not have to pay the blood money. harith belonged to a people who were at war with the messenger of allah (pbuh). (and if he) the victim (cometh of a folk between whom and you there is a covenant) a treaty and peace, (then the blood money must be paid) in full (unto his folk) to the next of kin of the victim (and (also) a believing slave must be set free) a slave who believes in the divine oneness of allah. (and whoso hath not the wherewithal) to set free a believing slave (must fast two consecutive months) continuously. (a penance from allah) if he does this, allah will forgive him for killing a believer by mistake. (allah is knower) of him who kills by mistake, (wise) in that which he ought to do.
Jalāl al-Dīn al-Maḥallī
تفسير : it is not for a believer to slay a believer, in other words, no such slaying should result at his hands, except by mistake, killing him by mistake, unintentionally. he who slays a believer by mistake, when he meant to strike some other thing, as in the case of hunting or [shooting at] trees, but then happens to strike him with what in most cases would not kill, then let him set free, let him emancipate, a believing slave (raqaba denotes nasama, ‘a person’), an obligation on him, and blood-money is to be submitted, to be paid, to his family, that is, the slain person’s inheritors, unless they remit it as a charity, to him by waiving [their claim to] it. in the sunna this [blood-money] is explained as being equivalent to one hundred camels: twenty pregnant, twenty female sucklings, twenty male sucklings, twenty mature ones and twenty young ones [not more than five years old]; and [the sunna stipulates] that it is incumbent upon the killer’s clan, namely, his paternal relations [and not other relatives]. they share this [burden of the blood-money] over three years; the rich among them pays half a dinar, while the one of moderate means [pays] a quarter of a dinar each year; if they still cannot meet this, then it can be taken from the treasury, and if this is not possible, then from the killer himself. if he, the slain, belongs to a people at enmity, at war, with you and is a believer, then the setting free of a believing slave, is incumbent upon the slayer, as a redemption, but no bloodmoney is to be paid to his family, since they are at war [with you]. if he, the slain, belongs to a people between whom and you there is a covenant, a treaty, as is the case with the protected people (ahl al-dhimma), then the blood-money, for him, must be paid to his family, and it constitutes a third of the blood-money for a believer, if the slain be a jew or a christian, and two thirds of a tenth of it, if he be a magian; and the setting free of a believing slave, is incumbent upon the slayer. but if he has not the wherewithal, for [setting free] a slave, failing to find one, or the means to obtain one, then the fasting of two successive months, is incumbent upon him as a redemption: here god does not mention the transition to [an alternative to fasting which is] giving food [to the needy], as in the case of [repudiating one’s wife by] zihār, something which al-shāfi‘ī advocates in the more correct of two opinions of his; a relenting from god (tawbatan, ‘relenting’, is the verbal noun, and is in the accusative because of the implied verb). and god is ever knowing, of his creation, wise, in what he has ordained for them.
Ali ibn Ahmad al-Wahidi
تفسير : (it is not for a believer to kill a believer unless (it be) by mistake…) [4:92].
abu ‘abd allah ibn abi ishaq informed us> abu ‘amr ibn nujayd> abu muslim ibrahim ibn ‘abd allah> ibn hajjaj> hammad> muhammad ibn ishaq> ‘abd al-rahman ibn al-qasim> his father who reported that al-harith ibn shadid was hard on the prophet, allah bless him and give him peace. he was on his way to embrace islam when he was met by ‘ayyash ibn abi rabi‘ah, and not realising that al-harith wanted to embrace islam, he killed him. and so allah, exalted is he, revealed this verse (it is not for a believer to kill a believer unless (it be) by mistake…).
al-kalbi explained this event, saying: “‘ayyash ibn abi rabi‘ah al-makhzumi had embraced islam but was fearful of coming in the open about it. he fled to medina and took refuge in one of its fortresses. his mother was distressed a great deal. she said to her two sons abu jahl and al-harith ibn hisham, who were his half brothers from his mother’s side: ‘by allah, i will stay outside in the sun, not eating or drinking, until you bring him back to me’. and they went looking for him, accompanied by al-harith ibn zayd ibn abi anisah, until they reached medina. they went to ‘ayyash in his fortress, and said to him: ‘come down, your mother has not entered the confines of a house since you left. she has also sworn that she will not eat or drink until you go back to her. by allah we give you assurance that we will not coerce you to do anything nor will we come between you and your religion’. when they mentioned his mother’s distress and gave him their assurance, he came down to them. they took him out of medina, tied him up with strings and whipped him a hundred lashes each, and then took him to his mother. his mother said to him: ‘i will not untie your fetters until you disbelieve in that which you have believed’, and he was left fettered in the sun until he gave them some of what they had wanted. al-harith ibn yazid went to him and said: ‘o ‘ayyash, by allah, if that which you followed was guidance, you have now left it, and if it was error, you were already in error’. ‘ayyash got very angry because of what al-harith said to him and this prompted him to say to him: ‘by allah, i will kill you if i find you alone’. afterwards, ‘ayyash embraced islam and migrated to the messenger of allah, allah bless him and give him peace, in medina. al-harith ibn yazid also embraced islam and migrated to medina. this happened at a time when ‘ayyash was not present. as such, he was unaware of al-harith becoming muslim. as he was walking outside quba’, he met al-harith ibn yazid. when he saw him, he attacked and killed him. people said to him: ‘what on earth have you done? he had become muslim!’ ‘ayyash went back to the messenger of allah, allah bless him and give him peace, and said: ‘o messenger of allah, you know what happened between me and al-harith; i was unaware of his acceptance of islam and i killed him’. and so gabriel, peace be upon him, came down with the words of allah, exalted is he, (it is not for a believer to kill a believer unless (it be) by mistake…)”.
