Is the correct interpretation of the verse of Qisas, "O you who have believed, prescribed for you is legal retribution for those murdered — the free for the free, and the slave for the slave, and the female for the female," that a free man is not killed if he kills a slave, and only blood money is taken, and that a man is not killed if he kills a woman, while a woman is killed if she kills a man, and a slave is killed if he kills a free person?

The noble verse "the free for the free, the slave for the slave, and the female for the female" clarifies the ruling on killing among equals. Some scholars held that it is an established verse, containing a generalization clarified by the Almighty’s saying: "And We ordained for them therein a life for a life" (Al-Ma'idah: 45) and the Sunnah of the Prophet, peace be upon him. Others, however, considered it abrogated by the verse in Al-Ma'idah.

Scholars unanimously agreed that a man is killed for a woman, and a woman is killed for a man.

Regarding a free person being killed for a slave, scholars differed on this matter: 1. The Hanafis, a group of the Salaf, and Sheikh Al-Islam Ibn Taymiyyah held that a free person is killed for a slave, due to the generality of the verses and hadiths such as "The believers, their blood is equal." 2. The majority held that a free person is not killed for a slave, because a slave is not equal to a free person in status. They believe that a slave is deficient due to slavery, and thus a free person is not killed for him; rather, blood money is paid for his killing.

Sheikh Ibn 'Uthaymin preferred the view that a free person is killed for a slave due to the generality of the legal texts.