What is the ruling on eating one's female cousin when extremely hungry in the desert due to getting lost and fearing perishing?
It is impermissible to kill an inviolable human being in order to save oneself, and necessity does not permit it, by the consensus of scholars, because harm is not removed by similar harm. From this premise, killing the cousin in a state of famine is a grave and unjustified error, and the perpetrator must repent. The guardians of the slain have the right to retribution (qisas) or forgiveness and acceptance of blood money (diyah). The one compelled to kill must provide compensation because he killed unjustly.
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