Is it mentioned in the uncommon opinions of scholars that a man is not killed for a woman, nor vice versa, and that retribution (qisas) requires no difference in gender, based on the apparent meaning of the verse: "O you who have believed, prescribed for you is legal retribution for those murdered — the free for the free, the slave for the slave, and the female for the female..."? Is this derivation sound, and who are those who hold this view?

We do not know of any scholar who said that a woman cannot be killed for [the murder of] a man. The correct view, adopted by the majority of scholars, is that a man is to be killed for [the murder of] a woman. This is the opinion of the majority of jurists. Some scholars, however, held the view that a man should not be killed for [the murder of] a woman, citing the verse: "The free for the free, and the slave for the slave, and the female for the female." However, this opinion contradicts what the majority of scholars hold, based on the evidence of Allah's saying: "And We ordained for them therein a life for a life." And due to the generality of the Prophet’s (peace be upon him) saying: "The lives of Muslims are equal."

The correct view is that the verse: "The free for the free, and the slave for the slave, and the female for the female" is not abrogated, and that it addresses the ruling on each gender killing its own kind. This verse does not indicate that a male should not be killed for [the murder of] a female. Rather, the killing of a male for [the murder of] a female is derived from the consensus of the Ummah, because they are equal in sanctity, inheritance, the prescribed punishment for adultery, and for slander, so they must be equal in retaliation.