What is the ruling on an assailant who stabbed a person nine times following a verbal dispute, and is his crime considered intentional murder warranting retribution (qisas)?

This crime is not premeditated murder nor any other type of killing; rather, it is one of the injuries for which Islamic jurisprudence estimates and determines what is due. It is not permissible to exact retribution (qisas) without referring to the ruler (Sultan) or his deputy, because it is a matter that requires independent juristic reasoning (ijtihad) and in which injustice is feared.