If a man is killed and among his heirs are minors who have not reached puberty, is the execution of the retaliation delayed until they reach puberty, or is it permissible for the adults to proceed with the retaliation alone? And is the pardon of the female heirs taken into account?
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The questioner : O Shaykh, if a man is killed and among his heirs are minors
The Shaykh : Yes
The questioner : who have not reached puberty
The Shaykh : Yes, indeed
The questioner : Is it obligatory to delay the execution of the retaliation until the minors reach puberty, because perhaps some of them may pardon him, in which case the retaliation would be dropped? Or is it permissible for the adults to proceed with the retaliation alone? And is the pardon of the female heirs taken into account? And are those who have the authority to pardon only the heirs, or all the residuary heirs?
The Shaykh : The well-known view in our school, the Hanbali school, is that it is obligatory to delay the retaliation until these individuals reach puberty. As for if there is a person of unsound mind among them, since the end of a person of unsound mind’s condition is unknown, his guardian has the right to pardon in exchange for blood money, provided there is a need. The sane adults do not have the right to proceed with the retaliation alone, due to the possibility of leniency. The right in this matter does not belong to all relatives, nor to all residuary heirs; the right belongs to the heirs, whether they inherit by fixed shares or by residuary right. As for relatives who do not inherit, they have no right. However, there is a view that we should know, which is that in the case of a treacherous killing, the matter does not revert to the opinion of the heirs of the killed person, but the killer must be killed in all cases. This is the school of Imam Malik (may Allah have mercy on him), and it was chosen by Shaykh al-Islam Ibn Taymiyyah. For example, if a man lies in wait for a person and then kills him, he is killed in all cases. Or if he comes to him in his sleep and kills him, or something similar to that, he is killed in all cases, and the opinion of the heirs is not considered, because it is a treacherous killing, and it is corruption on earth, and the punishment for those who corrupt is killing. And because it is not possible to guard against this, unlike a person who fights another person in an open fight and then kills him; that is the case where the matter reverts to the heirs of the killed person.
The questioner : Shaykh... you mentioned that the opinion of the females is considered?
The Shaykh : Yes, we mentioned this if they are heirs.
The questioner : May Allah reward you, may Allah bless you.
The Shaykh : Amen, until we meet tomorrow, if Allah wills.
The Shaykh : Yes
The questioner : who have not reached puberty
The Shaykh : Yes, indeed
The questioner : Is it obligatory to delay the execution of the retaliation until the minors reach puberty, because perhaps some of them may pardon him, in which case the retaliation would be dropped? Or is it permissible for the adults to proceed with the retaliation alone? And is the pardon of the female heirs taken into account? And are those who have the authority to pardon only the heirs, or all the residuary heirs?
The Shaykh : The well-known view in our school, the Hanbali school, is that it is obligatory to delay the retaliation until these individuals reach puberty. As for if there is a person of unsound mind among them, since the end of a person of unsound mind’s condition is unknown, his guardian has the right to pardon in exchange for blood money, provided there is a need. The sane adults do not have the right to proceed with the retaliation alone, due to the possibility of leniency. The right in this matter does not belong to all relatives, nor to all residuary heirs; the right belongs to the heirs, whether they inherit by fixed shares or by residuary right. As for relatives who do not inherit, they have no right. However, there is a view that we should know, which is that in the case of a treacherous killing, the matter does not revert to the opinion of the heirs of the killed person, but the killer must be killed in all cases. This is the school of Imam Malik (may Allah have mercy on him), and it was chosen by Shaykh al-Islam Ibn Taymiyyah. For example, if a man lies in wait for a person and then kills him, he is killed in all cases. Or if he comes to him in his sleep and kills him, or something similar to that, he is killed in all cases, and the opinion of the heirs is not considered, because it is a treacherous killing, and it is corruption on earth, and the punishment for those who corrupt is killing. And because it is not possible to guard against this, unlike a person who fights another person in an open fight and then kills him; that is the case where the matter reverts to the heirs of the killed person.
The questioner : Shaykh... you mentioned that the opinion of the females is considered?
The Shaykh : Yes, we mentioned this if they are heirs.
The questioner : May Allah reward you, may Allah bless you.
The Shaykh : Amen, until we meet tomorrow, if Allah wills.