Is retaliation (*qisas*) applicable between individuals regarding bodily injury (*al-atraf*) when there is a disparity in status?
General Chapter
Al-Mughni
Book of Wounds
Primary text
Retaliation in kind for bodily injury applies between two persons between whom retaliation for the soul (*an-nafs*) is permissible. Specifically, a free Muslim is subject to retaliation by a free Muslim, a slave by a slave, a *dhimmi* (protected non-Muslim) by a *dhimmi*, a male by a female, and a female by a male. Furthermore, an inferior is subject to retaliation by a superior, such as a slave by a free person, or an unbeliever by a Muslim.
Supporting text
The ruling of Malik, Ath-Thawri, Ash-Shafi'i, Abu Thawr, Ishaq, and Ibn al-Mundhir dictates that where retaliation for the soul is not established, retaliation for the limb is also not established. Thus, a Muslim is not retaliated against for killing a disbeliever, nor a free person for a slave, nor a father for his son. Abu Hanifa mandates that there is no retaliation for a limb between parties with differing compensations, meaning the superior is not retaliated against by the inferior, nor a man by a woman, nor a free person by a slave. However, he permits retaliation between a Muslim and a disbeliever. He bases this on the principle that equality (*takafu'*) is considered in limbs, evidenced by a healthy person not being taken for an injured one, and that disparity in gender or status similarly prevents *qisas* in limbs, just as the left limb is not exchanged for the right.