His saying, exalted and majestic is He: "And do not kill your children for fear of poverty. We provide for them and for you. Indeed, killing them is a great sin." "And do not approach unlawful sexual intercourse. Indeed, it is a great immorality and evil is the way to it." "And do not kill the soul which Allah has forbidden, except by right. And whoever is killed unjustly, We have given his guardian authority, so let him not exceed limits in taking life. Indeed, he has been supported."

Al-A'mash and Ibn Waththab read: "And do not kill" with the intensification of the verb.

This verse is a prohibition against the burying of daughters alive, which the Arabs used to do. This is His saying, exalted and majestic is He: "And when the infant girl is asked." [Surah At-Takwir: 8]. It is said that their ignorance reached the point where one of them would stab his dog and kill his child. "Fear of poverty" is an accusative for the reason of it. "Poverty" means lack of wealth. The man became poor when nothing remained for him except the stones, which are the large smooth black stones. The majority read: "a great sin" with a kasrah on the khā and a sukoon on the ṭā, with the hamzah and the short vowel. Ibn 'Amir read: "a mistake" with a fatha on the khā and ṭā, and the hamzah is short. This is the reading of Abu Ja'far. These two readings are derived from: "he made a mistake" when the sin occurs intentionally. It is like: حذر (hadhar) and مثل (mithl) and شبه (shabah) as a noun and a source. From it is the saying of the poet:

"The mistake is a great sin, and righteousness is an extra good deed, like a date palm planted in the earth that is considered."

Al-Zajjaj said: "The man made a mistake, he makes a mistake, a mistake, like: he sinned, he sins, a sin. This is the source, and mistake is a noun from it." Some scholars said: "Mistake means the occurrence of sin with intention, and he made a mistake if it occurred without intention." From it is His saying, exalted and majestic is He: "Our Lord, do not impose blame upon us if we have forgotten or made a mistake." [Surah Al-Baqarah: 286]. Abu Ali Al-Farisi said: "This can occur in this place and that can occur in that place." So he made a mistake in the saying of the poet:

"Your servants make mistakes, and You are the Lord, a generous one, to whom blame does not befit."

And he made a mistake in the meaning of not intending in the other saying:

"And the people blame the prince if they make a mistake in the right path, and the guide is not to be blamed."

It has been narrated from Ibn 'Abbas, may Allah be pleased with them both: "Mistake" with a fatha on the khā and a sukoon on the ṭā and its hamzah. Ibn Kathir read: "a mistake" with a kasrah on the khā and a fatha on the ṭā and the hamzah is prolonged. This is the reading of Al-A'raj, with differences - and Talhah, and Shibl, and Al-A'mash, and 'Isa, and Khalid ibn Ilyas, and Qatadah, and Al-Hasan with differences - Al-Nahhas said: "I do not know a reason for this reading," and likewise Abu Hatim considered it an error. Abu Ali Al-Farisi said: "It is a source from خَاطَأ (khāṭa'a) to make a mistake, and although we did not find خَاطَأ (khāṭa'a), we found تَخَاطَأ (takhaṭa'a), which is compliant with خَاطَأ (khāṭa'a), so it indicates it to us, and from it is the saying of the poet:

"The arrow missed its target, and delayed my day, so I did not hurry."

And the saying of the other regarding the description of the mushroom:

"The hunter missed it until I found it, and its trunk was in the water's edge."

So it is as if those who kill their children are mistaken about the truth and justice. Al-Hasan read - as it has been narrated from him -: "khataa" with the opening of the kha and taa and elongation in the hamzah. Abu Hatim said: This is not known in the language, and it is an incorrect mistake that is not permissible. And it is not as Abu Hatim said. Abu al-Fath said: "khataa" is from "akhṭa't" in the same way as "‘aṭā" is from "‘aṭaytu", it is a noun meaning the source. Al-Hasan read differently: "khataa" with the opening of the kha and taa, unvowelled and without hamzah. Abu Rajaa and al-Zuhri read: "khitā" with the breaking of the kha and the opening of the taa like the one before it, and these two are lightened forms of: "khataa" and "khitā".

And His saying, the Most High: ﴿And do not approach zina﴾ is a prohibition. The word "zina" can be elongated or shortened, so from its shortening is the verse, and it is the language of all of the Book of Allah. And from its elongation is the saying of al-Farazdaq:

O Abu Hazim, whoever commits zina is known for his zina, and whoever drinks from the trunk becomes intoxicated.

And it is narrated: O Abu Khalid, and "the fāḥisha" is what one conceals from sins due to its ugliness.

And "sabeelan" is in the accusative as a specification, the estimation is: And evil is his path, meaning that it leads to the Fire.

And His saying, the Most High: ﴿And do not kill﴾ and what preceded it from the actions is a command in the prohibition.

Al-Tabari went to say that it is an addition to His saying: ﴿And your Lord has decreed that you not worship except Him﴾ [al-Isra: 23], and the first is more correct and more eloquent for the meaning.

And the alif and lam in "the nafs" is for the genus, and "the truth" by which the soul is killed is what the Prophet ﷺ explained in his saying: "The blood of a Muslim is not lawful to spill except for one of three: disbelief after faith, or zina after chastity, or killing another soul."

The judge Abu Muhammad, may Allah have mercy on him, said:

And there are things connected to it that refer back to it, among them is cutting the road because it is in the meaning of killing the soul, and this is highway robbery. Among that is heresy, and the issue of abandoning prayer because it is in the meaning of disbelief after faith, and from this is the killing of Abu Bakr, may Allah be pleased with him, who prevented the zakat, and the killing of whoever refrains in the cities from the obligatory duties of sufficiency.

And His saying, the Most High: "wrongfully" is in the accusative as a state, and its meaning is: without these mentioned ways.

And "the wali" is the one responsible for the blood, and he is the one who is born from the deceased, or the one who the deceased bore, or they share a father. And there is no entry for women in the guardianship of blood according to a group of scholars, and they have that according to two others. And "the sultan" is the proof and the authority that has been given to him from the choice in accepting the blood money or forgiveness, as said by Ibn Abbas and al-Dahhak. And Qatadah said: "the sultan" is the leader.

Nafi', Ibn Kathir, Abu Amr, and Asim read: "So let him not transgress" with the letter 'ya', and this is the reading of the majority, meaning the guardian does not exceed the command of Allah. Exceeding is to kill someone other than the killer, or to kill two with one, and other forms of exceeding. All of this was done by the Arabs, and for this reason, there was a warning against it. The Messenger of Allah, blessings and peace be upon him, said: "Indeed, among the most severe people against Allah are three: a man who is killed other than the killer, or killed by the ignorance of the pre-Islamic era, or killed in the sacred sanctuary of Allah." A group said: What is meant by His saying: "So let him not transgress" is the killer that is implied in the speech, and the meaning is: let none of the transgressors kill a soul, for it is included in the context of this ruling. Ibn Amir, Hamza, and Al-Kisai read: "So let them not transgress" with the 'ta' from above, and this is the reading of Hudhayfa, Yahya ibn Waththab, and Mujahid - with a disagreement from Al-Amash and a group. Al-Tabari said: It is in the meaning of addressing the Prophet, peace be upon him, and his community after him, meaning: let them not kill anyone other than the killer.

Qadi Abu Muhammad, may Allah have mercy on him, said: It is valid to mean by it the guardian, meaning: let the guardian not transgress in killing anyone who is included in this ruling. Abu Muslim Al-Sarraj, the companion of the Abbasid call, read: "So let him not transgress" with the 'fa' being pronounced, meaning as a report, not as a prohibition. The intended meaning in this interpretation is only the guardian.

Qadi Abu Muhammad, may Allah have mercy on him, said: There is a consideration in using Abu Muslim's reading as an argument. In the reading of Ubayy ibn Ka'b: "So let them not transgress in killing, for indeed the guardian of the killed one was supported." The pronoun in His saying: "Indeed, he" refers back to the guardian, and it was said: to the killed one, and in my opinion, this is the stronger of the opinions; because he is the oppressed, and the term of support always counters oppression, as in His saying, peace and blessings be upon him: "And the support of the oppressed and the fulfillment of the oath," and as in His saying, blessings and peace be upon him: "Support your brother whether he is an oppressor or oppressed," and to many examples. It was said: to the killing, and Abu Ubaid said: to the killer; because if he is killed in this world and thus escapes from the punishment of the Hereafter, he has indeed been supported.

Qadi Abu Muhammad, may Allah have mercy on him, said: This is weak and far from the intended meaning.

Al-Dahhak said: This is the first that was revealed from the Qur'an regarding killing, and it is Meccan.