There were two Jewish tribes, Qurayzah and Nadir. Nadir was nobler than Qurayzah. So whenever a man from Qurayzah killed a man from Nadir, he was killed in retaliation, but when a man from Nadir killed a man from Qurayzah, the matter was settled by paying a blood-money of one hundred camel-loads of dates.When the Prophet ﷺ was sent, a man from Nadir killed a man from Qurayzah. The people of Qurayzah said, "Hand him over to us so we may kill him."The people of Nadir replied, "Let the Prophet judge between us and you."So they came to him, and the verse was revealed, "And if you judge, judge between them with justice" [Maidah 5:42]. Justice here means a life for a life. Then the verse was revealed, "Is it the judgment of ignorance that they seek?" [Maidah 5:50].
كان قريظة والنضير. وكان النضير أشرف من قريظة. فكان إذا قتل رجل من قريظة رجلا من النضير قتل به، وإذا قتل رجل من النضير فودي بمئة وسق من تمر، فلما بعث النبي ﷺ قتل رجل من النضير رجلا من قريظة. فقالوا: ادفعوه إلينا نقتله. فقالوا: بيننا وبينكم النبي، فأتوه، فنزلت: {وإن حكمت فأحكم بينهم بالقسط} [المائدة: ٤٢] والقسط: النفس بالنفس، ثم نزلت: {أفحكم الجهلية يبغون} [المائدة: ٥٠].
Abu Dawud (4494), Nasai (4732), and Ibn Jarud (772) narrated it, and Ibn Hibban (5057) and Hakim (4/366) graded it sahih, all of them from the hadith of Abdullah bin Musa, from Ali bin Salih, from Simak bin Harb, from Ikrima, from Ibn Abbas, who mentioned it.Simak bin Harb's narration from Ikrima is inconsistent, but he was corroborated by Dawud bin Husayn, from Ikrima, from Ibn Abbas, who said, "The verses in Maidah, His saying, "So judge between them, or turn away from them. And if you turn away from them, they will not harm you at all. But if you judge, judge between them with justice. Indeed, Allah loves those who act justly" [Maidah 5:42], were revealed only concerning blood money regarding Banu Nadir and Banu Qurayza. This was because the slain of Banu Nadir, who had nobility, had their full blood money paid, while Qurayza used to pay half the blood money. So they brought this dispute to the Messenger of Allah ﷺ, and Allah revealed this concerning them. The Messenger of Allah ﷺ then ruled with the truth in this matter, making the blood money equal between them."Abu Dawud (3591), Nasai (4733), and Ahmad (3434) all narrated it through the route of Muhammad bin Ishaq, who said, "Dawud bin Husayn informed me," and he mentioned it.Many scholars have held that this noble verse applies generally, meaning that a man is to be executed for killing a woman. This is likewise stated in the letter of Amr bin Hazm, "A man is to be executed for a woman." This is the view of Malik, Abu Hanifa, Shafii, and Ahmad, according to one opinion.It is also reported from Abu Hanifa that a Muslim is to be executed for killing a dhimmi disbeliever, and a free man for killing a slave, based on the general application of this verse. What qualifies this general ruling will follow.