The Liability of a Parental Relative of a Murderer and Society

One of the issues which have been brought forth for discussion in Islamic law is liability of a paternal relative of a murderer with the exception of women. In pre-Islamic society it was based on social contract among the people in a community they enjoyed the legal support. This law was also ratified by legistlators in post Islamic society, but in today’s society there is no such commitment to the legistlation. Although social justice is one of the basic principles of Islamic law, but it seems the above mention liability law is in conflict with social justice and with laws related to personal punishment. The person liable is the one who accepts responsibility of the crime. The issue of liability of a paternal relative of a murderer can mostly be seen in accidental crimes such as car accidents. To implement such laws has it's own difficulties: first it is difficult to have access to such person, secondly if he is poor the problem will be turned over to the government which creates a burden for the public treasury. Considering the fact that some Islamic scholars have approved the liability of such person with their own reasoning, the aim of this article is to study all the theological reasons to find a solution for these problems, taking into consideration the valuable thoughts of these Islamic scholars. Due to the rich sources of Islamic laws it can be said that the liable person was approved by the theologians. Today the commitment of the insurance company is an example which can be accepted in cases of a contract between the indivual and the insurance company, which is signed in advance.