Tafsir of Al-Baqarah 2:179

This is a continuation of the Almighty’s statement: "It has been prescribed for you." The intention behind it is to condition the soul to submit to the ruling of Qisas, as it is burdensome to the self. This statement is of the utmost eloquence. The most concise phrase the Arabs possessed regarding this meaning was, "Killing is the most effective deterrent against killing" (al-qatlu anfā lil-qatli). The Quranic expression is superior to this in several aspects:

1. Brevity of letters: The spoken words here consist of ten letters (if the tanwin is not counted as a separate letter), whereas the other phrase contains fourteen.
2. Universality: There is life in every Qisas, whereas not every act of killing is an effective deterrent against killing; indeed, killing unjustly is more likely to incite further killing.
3. Nuance of the tanwin: The tanwin on "life" (hayātan) denotes either a specific category or magnification.
4. Antithesis (tibāq): The craftsmanship of placing Qisas and "life" in opposition, for Qisas is the forfeiture of life; thus, it is the direct counterpart to it.
5. Focus on the objective: The explicit mention of what is sought in essence—namely, life—since the negation of killing is desired only for the sake of life, not for its own sake.
6. Originality in paradox: The placement of a thing within its opposite, and the fact that when a container encompasses an object, it protects it from dispersion; thus, in this context, Qisas protects life from calamities.
7. Absence of repetition: It avoids the repetition present in the Arabic phrase, which is not free from unpleasantness, nor is the repetition of the end of the sentence to the beginning considered a literary merit here.
8. Sweetness and fluency: It lacks the succession of "light causes" found in their saying. In their phrase, there are no two consecutive mobile letters except in one place, which undoubtedly diminishes the fluency of the speech and its flow on the tongue. Furthermore, transitioning from Fa to Lam is more balanced than transitioning from Lam to Hamza, due to the Hamza’s distance from the Lam; likewise, moving from Sad to Ha is more balanced than from Alif to Lam.
9. No need for qualification: Their saying requires a qualifying condition, whereas this does not.
10. Definiteness: Defining Qisas with the Lam of the genus indicates the reality of this ruling, encompassing beating, wounding, killing, and otherwise, whereas their phrase does not include all of this.
11. Avoidance of potential misunderstanding: It is free from the form af‘al (more/most), which might deceptively imply that the prescribed action also involves the negation of killing.
12. Inclusion of the positive: It contains that which is worthy of being fought for—namely, life—unlike their phrase, which focuses on the negation of something bracketed by two acts of killing, which is more fitting for them.
13. Avoidance of logical error: It is free from what the outward appearance of their phrase suggests: that a thing can be the cause of its own negation, which is impossible.

And so on. Glory be to Him whose Word has been exalted and whose sign has dazzled.

The intended meaning of "life" is either worldly—which is the apparent meaning—because the legislation of Qisas and the knowledge of it deter the killer from murdering, thereby becoming a cause for the "life" of two souls in this existence. Furthermore, they used to kill those other than the murderer, or an entire group for the sake of one individual, which would spark civil strife, and the "War of Basus" would be set in motion. When the actual murderer is subjected to Qisas, the rest are spared, which becomes a cause for their life. The first interpretation requires an implied addition, and the second requires specification.

Alternatively, it may refer to the life of the Hereafter, based on the principle that if the murderer undergoes Qisas in this world, he will not be held accountable for the right of the victim in the Hereafter. In this case, the address is specific to the killers, although the outward appearance suggests it is general.

The two prepositional phrases ("for you" and "in Qisas") are either both predicates of "life," or one is a predicate and the other is a modifier, or they serve as a state (hal) for the hidden pronoun within "life."

Abu al-Jawza’ read it as fi al-qasas (in the narratives). This is a verbal noun meaning the passive object, and what is meant by "the narrated" is this specific ruling or the Quran in its entirety. In that case, "life" refers to the life of the hearts, not the bodies. It is also permissible that al-qasas is a verbal noun synonymous with al-qisas (retribution), in which case "life" remains as it is.

"O you who possess intellects"—meaning those who possess minds purged of the impurities of desire. He specifically addressed them, despite the previous address being general, because they are the ones who reflect on the wisdom of Qisas, such as the preservation of souls and the protection of lives. It is also said that it is to indicate that the ruling is specific to adults and not children.

"That you may become righteous"—meaning fearing your Lord by avoiding His acts of disobedience that lead to torment, or by fearing the Qisas itself, which would lead to avoiding killing. This is narrated from Ibn Abbas, al-Hasan, and Zayd—may Allah the Almighty be pleased with them—and the sentence is connected to the beginning of the discourse.