Is retribution obligatory when a husband kills his wife?
General Chapter
Al-Mughni
Book of Wounds
Primary text
Retribution is obligatory when a husband kills his wife if there are no children from both parents involved in the killing, according to the opinion held by the majority of scholars. The supporting evidence lies in the general applicability of the legal texts (Umumat al-Nass) and the principle that husband and wife are two equivalent persons, where each can be held liable for defamation (qadhf) against the other, thus they are treated as strangers (ajnabiyyin) in matters of retribution.
Supporting text
Al-Zuhri holds that the husband is not killed for killing his wife because he possessed her through the marriage contract, which is likened to owning a slave woman (ammah). This view is rejected because the husband only owns the right to sexual enjoyment, similar to a rented person. The fact that his inheritance share from her is limited and that if another person killed her, the diyah or retribution would go to her heirs (not him, unless he is an heir) distinguishes this case from that of a slave.