The fourth objection stated that the development of society...

The fourth objection stated that the development of society does not accept the law of qisas, for qisas could only play a role in the ancient societies. Accordingly today, qisas being regarded as a ruling contrary to conscience must be deleted.

The answer lies in this one sentence: The above claim, taking into account the widespread nature of offences in today's world and the statistics of casualties of the battle-fields and other locations, is one which is worthless and merely a flight of the imagination. And upon the assumption that such a world does come into existence, Islam has never presented qisas to be the one and only way but has also placed the ruling of pardon alongside it.

Undoubtedly, in that assumed environment, the people might themselves prefer granting pardon to the killer - however, in today's world, wherein offences in various forms are surely more numerous and barbaric than those in the past, deletion of this law would not achieve anything except an increase in the offences.

With respect to the fifth objection it must be comprehended that the aim of qisas, as explicitly expressed by the Qur’an, is to safeguard the general life of the society and prevent the repetition of crime. Certainly, prisons do not possess a noticeable influence (especially today's prisons, which are better than the houses of many of the offenders). It is due to this that in countries where capital punishment had been annulled, in a short time, the crime and murder figures had skyrocketed.

This is particularly so if the sentence of imprisonment, as is usual, can be graced with pardon, for in such a case criminals would perpetuate criminal violations with a greater peace of mind and tranquillity of thought.[^2] [^1]: Suratul Baqarah (2), Verse 179 [^2]: Tafsir-e-Namuna, vol. 1, pg. 607 Previous…