The Ruling on a Father Killing His Child

Question:
What is the stronger position if a father kills his child: is he subject to retaliation or not?

Answer:
No, the stronger position is that he is not subject to retaliation for his child. The stronger position, which is the view of most scholars, is that he is not subject to retaliation for his child, based on the saying of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) This is because the norm, the norm, is that a father’s compassion prevents him from killing his child, because retaliation was legislated to prevent killing. Allah the Exalted said: Retaliation was legislated to prevent killing and to deter the aggressor. It is not expected that a father would kill his child unless there is something beyond endurance, meaning the child did something to his father that is unbearable and cannot be tolerated. Something like this might happen, but this is rare, and the rare has no ruling. The criterion is the norm. The norm is that a father’s compassion prevents him from ever killing his child. So, compassion is sufficient to deter and prevent a father from killing his child. And if something rare happens, the rare has no ruling.