Mujāhid reported: A man threw a sword at his son, which killed him. He was brought to ‘Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) for judgment. ‘Umar said: "Had I not heard the Messenger of Allah (may Allah’s peace and blessings be upon him) say: ‘A father is not to be killed (in retribution) for killing his child,’ I would have ordered you to be killed before you leave."
GradingSahih/Authentic by virtue of its parallel channels of transmission and supportive narrations
AttributionNarrated by Ibn Majah - Narrated by At-Termedhy - Narrated by Ahmad
Explanation
According to the Hadīth, a man threw a sword at his son, causing him to bleed to death. When he was brought to the Commander of the Believers, ‘Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) he said that had he not heard the Messenger of Allah (may Allah’s peace and blessings be upon him) stating that a father is not to be killed for killing his son or daughter, he would have ordered the father to be killed before even leaving his place. This proves that the general texts stating the legal retribution in cases of deliberate and unrightful murder are not applicable to the case in which a father kills his son or daughter. According to the majority of the scholars, the father is the reason for the existence of the child, who is also part of his father, so the child should not be a reason for his father’s execution. However, the father must, in such a case, pay the blood money, as proven by another narration classified as Hasan by Al-Albāni, according to which ‘Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) took the blood money from the father.