Sūrah Al-Qāriʿah The Calamity: Tafsīr al-Qurṭubī Qurʾānic Rulings and Law

DetailInformationClassificationSignificance

SurahAl-QāriʿahMeccanThe calamity of the Last Day and the scales of deeds

Key Fiqh IssueQiṣāṣ proportionality equivalence (miṯl) in retaliation for intentional harmWājib when conditions metCore Islamic criminal justice principle

School ComparisonAll four schools: qiṣāṣ requires equivalence (miṯl) life for life, limb for limb, no excess; schools differ on: what counts as equivalent limbs, whether women may retaliate against men, and blood money (diyah) as alternativeEquivalence requiredDefining "equivalent" is the most contested qiṣāṣ question

Uṣūl PrincipleAl-miṯliyyah fī l-ʿuqūbāt equivalence in punishments as a Qurʾānic principleCore principlePrevents excessive punishment the maximum is equivalent retaliation

Al-Qurṭubī derives from verses 6-9 the heavy scales leading to pleasant life, the light scales leading to a pit the divine model of proportional outcome assessment. He applies this to qiṣāṣ: the legal retaliation must be equivalent (miṯl) to the original harm, no more. Taking an eye for an eye is qiṣāṣ; taking a life for an eye is excess and ḥarām. The mīzān (scales) of divine justice is the model for human judicial proportionality.

Al-Qurṭubī maps the practical miṯl debates: Is a woman's life equivalent to a man's for qiṣāṣ purposes? All four schools say yes a man may be executed for killing a woman. Is a Muslim's life equivalent to a dhimmī's for qiṣāṣ? The schools differ significantly here: Ḥanafī says yes (equal qiṣāṣ across Muslim/dhimmī); Mālikī, Shāfiʿī, Ḥanbalī say no (a Muslim cannot be executed for killing a dhimmī, though compensation (diyah) is required). Blood money (diyah) as an alternative to qiṣāṣ is available in all schools when the victim's family chooses to accept it.

فَأَمَّا مَن ثَقُلَتْ مَوَازِينُهُ فَهُوَ فِي عِيشَةٍ رَّاضِيَةٍ Fa-ammā man thaqulat mawāzīnuhu fa-huwa fī ʿīshatin rāḍiyah Meaning: "As for he whose scales are heavy he will be in a pleasant life" Al-Qurṭubī: the scales model establishes proportional outcome heavy scales of good deeds lead to good outcome; the same principle applies to legal sanctions: the retaliation must be proportional to the harm (neither more nor less).

وَأَمَّا مَنْ خَفَّتْ مَوَازِينُهُ فَأُمُّهُ هَاوِيَةٌ Wa-ammā man khaffat mawāzīnuhu fa-ummuhu hāwiyah Meaning: "But as for he whose scales are light his refuge will be a pit" Al-Qurṭubī: the light scales of the criminal represent their lack of accumulated good deeds and the weight of harm they caused; al-Qurṭubī derives that crimes create a weight on the scale qiṣāṣ is the legal mechanism for restoring the scale's balance in this world.

Qiṣāṣ requires equivalence (miṯl) life for life, eye for eye, no excess permitted; taking more than the equivalent harm is itself ḥarām.
Man/woman equivalence in qiṣāṣ: all four schools agree a man is executed for killing a woman, a woman for killing a man; no gender-based exemption.
Muslim/dhimmī qiṣāṣ: Ḥanafī (Muslim executed for killing dhimmī); Mālikī, Shāfiʿī, Ḥanbalī (Muslim not executed for killing dhimmī; diyah required instead).
Diyah (blood money) as alternative: always available when the victim's family chooses it; it extinguishes the right to qiṣāṣ completely.
The state may pardon on behalf of the community (ḥaqq Allāh dimension) but cannot pardon the victim's family's right (ḥaqq al-ʿabd) both dimensions must be addressed in qiṣāṣ settlement.

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