The Correct View on the Issue of Executing a Muslim in Retaliation for a Dhimmi or Mustaa'min

The questioner : And what we have mentioned regarding equivalence applies to a free Muslim with a free Muslim. As for the dhimmi, the majority of scholars hold that he is not an equivalent to a Muslim, just as the mustaa'min who comes from the lands of the disbelievers...

The Shaykh : to the Muslims. How?

The questioner : is not an equivalent to a Muslim.

The Shaykh : Yes, I say so. Let it be a Muslim.

The questioner : that he is not an equivalent to a Muslim.

The Shaykh : No, defining it for the Muslim is better.

The questioner : Just as the mustaa'min who comes from the lands of the disbelievers as an ambassador, a merchant, or the like, is not an equivalent to him according to the consensus, though some say that he is an equivalent to him. Likewise, there is a dispute regarding executing a free person in retaliation for a slave.

The Shaykh : It has been established for us that the correct view is that a Muslim is not executed in retaliation for a disbeliever in any case, whether he is a dhimmi, a treaty partner, or a mustaa'min. And the correct view is also that a free person is executed in retaliation for a slave.