65/25.2. Chapter:
Sahih Bukhari 4762 — Ibn Abbas on Intentional Murder and Abrogation
The Statement of Allah the Exalted: "And those who invoke not any other ilāh (God) along with Allah, nor kill such person..." (V.25:68)
Repentance for Murder in Islam: Ibn Abbas’s Report
Sahih Bukhari : 4762
Sahih BukhariHadith Number 4762
حَدَّثَنَا إِبْرَاهِيمُ بْنُ مُوسَى، أَخْبَرَنَا هِشَامُ بْنُ يُوسُفَ، أَنَّ ابْنَ جُرَيْجٍ، أَخْبَرَهُمْ قَالَ أَخْبَرَنِي الْقَاسِمُ بْنُ أَبِي بَزَّةَ، أَنَّهُ سَأَلَ سَعِيدَ بْنَ جُبَيْرٍ هَلْ لِمَنْ قَتَلَ مُؤْمِنًا مُتَعَمِّدًا مِنْ تَوْبَةٍ فَقَرَأْتُ عَلَيْهِ {وَلاَ يَقْتُلُونَ النَّفْسَ الَّتِي حَرَّمَ اللَّهُ إِلاَّ بِالْحَقِّ}. فَقَالَ سَعِيدٌ قَرَأْتُهَا عَلَى ابْنِ عَبَّاسٍ كَمَا قَرَأْتَهَا عَلَىَّ. فَقَالَ هَذِهِ مَكِّيَّةٌ نَسَخَتْهَا آيَةٌ مَدَنِيَّةٌ، الَّتِي فِي سُورَةِ النِّسَاءِ.
Al-Qasim bin Abi Bazza Narrated from:
Narrated Al-Qasim bin Abi Bazza: That he asked Sa`id bin Jubair, "Is there any repentance of the one who has murdered a believer intentionally?" Then I recited to him:-- "Nor kill such life as Allah has forbidden except for a just cause." Sa`id said, "I recited this very Verse before Ibn `Abbas as you have recited it before me. Ibn `Abbas said, 'This Verse was revealed in Mecca and it has been abrogated by a Verse in Surat-An-Nisa which was later revealed in Medina."
Reference : Sahih al-Bukhari 4762In-book reference : Book 65, Hadith 284USC-MSA web (English) reference : Vol. 6, Book 60, Hadith 285
Summary of Sahih Bukhari Hadith 4762
This report focuses on repentance for murder in Islam through the words of Sa'id bin Jubair and Ibn Abbas. Al-Qasim asked whether a person who intentionally murdered a believer had any repentance. He recited the verse, “Nor kill such life as Allah has forbidden except for a just cause.” Sa'id replied that he had recited the same verse to Ibn Abbas. Ibn Abbas said this was a Meccan verse and that it had been abrogated by a later Medinan verse in Surat An-Nisa. The hadith text does not give a full legal ruling for every case. It records a specific scholarly report about two Qur’anic verses and how Ibn Abbas understood their order.
What we learn from this hadith
- Questions about serious sins were taken back to people of knowledge.
- The report shows attention to when verses were revealed.
- Intentional murder of a believer is treated as a grave matter in the text.
