Date : 20-12-2015

Question :

When a driver runs a red light, exceeds the speed limit, or drives recklessly and so kills someone, is it considered deliberate murder?


The Answer :

All perfect praise be to Allah, The Lord of The Worlds; and May His peace and blessings be upon our Prophet Mohammad and upon all his family and companions.



It is imperative that every driver follows the rules and regulations of traffic to protect his life and wealth as well as the lives and wealths of other members of his society; therefore, it isn`t permissible for him to violate them. Some of these rules are: respecting the traffic light, driving safely and not exceeding the speed limit.



A driver, who violated the above rules and killed a person as a result, has committed a grave sin because his act led to wasting a Muslim`s life. In fact, it is considered semi-deliberate murder because such a driver is reckless and doesn't care about others' life.



As a result, the above driver is obliged to pay the Diyah(blood money) and make Kafarah(expiation) which is fasting two successive months. Allah, The Almighty, says, " Never should a believer kill a believer; but (If it so happens) by mistake, (Compensation is due): If one (so) kills a believer, it is ordained that he should free a believing slave, and pay compensation to the deceased’s family, unless they remit it freely"{An-Nissa`/92}. Moreover, the judge may implement any discretionary punishment(Ta`zeer). And Allah knows best.