Jurisprudential Strategies for Preventing the Social Harm of Murder

Abstract

Today, social harms are considered major issues in human societies. Consequently, scholars are striving to find solutions to these problems. Social harms are multi-dimensional, lawful, controllable, and preventable phenomena. Scientific study in this area can greatly assist in planning the three stages of harm identification, prevention, and treatment. Islam, as the most comprehensive of the divine religions, places significant emphasis on the prevention of social harms. One of the most important social harms is intentional murder. Murder is the greatest violation of a person’s bodily integrity. The most important asset of an individual is their existence and life. The importance of preserving life lies in the fact that life is central to human duty and happiness. God has mentioned this topic in multiple verses of the Holy Quran. The aim of this research is to identify the main causes of intentional murder in Iran and to propose jurisprudential strategies for preventing this social harm using descriptive and analytical methods. The findings indicate that the main causes of intentional murders in Iran, in order, are: disputes and altercations, family conflicts, illicit relationships, financial disputes, theft, revenge, and extortion. The results of this research show that by scrutinizing the rich source of dynamic Islamic jurisprudence, strategies can be presented to prevent the occurrence of intentional murder, which will significantly reduce this harm. Dynamic Shiite jurisprudence offers strategies for preventing the social harm of intentional murder, such as: maintaining composure and controlling anger and rage, encouraging education and learning, avoiding greed, covetousness, and envy, refraining from suspicion, eliminating grudges and feelings of revenge, committing to piety and virtue, promoting chastity and modesty, emphasizing the importance of work and employment, avoiding unemployment, and increasing individuals’ tolerance thresholds.