While discussing “Indemnification and Liability” in the extra-textual discussions course of the principles of jurisprudence, explicating the topic of “Indemnification for Damage,” Grand Ayatollah Saanei said, “The principle of ‘no harm’ in Islamic Laws says the same thing: they both maintain that no one has the right to inflict damage or harm on other beings, be it a human being, an animal, the nature, or the environment.”
“The generality of the principle of ‘no harm’ and other such principles provide that any harm or damage incurs liability and indemnification. Under ‘compelled testimony,’ for instance, the principle says that, if two just witnesses testified that a man had committed robbery, and the judge, on the basis of their testimony, found him guilty of the crime and decreed that his hand be cut off as punishment, and later the two witnesses turned up and said that they had made a mistake or given false testimony, they would be held liable for the damage they caused to him,” His Eminence added.
Grand Ayatollah Saanei then stated, “The same principle applies to a person who is sentenced to prison according to Islamic and legal measures and criteria. Even if they deserve to be imprisoned, we are not allowed to deprive them of their human rights, or to prevent them from nurturing their talents. If we do so, we will be liable for it. For instance, if such a prisoner is a craftsman, we should provide them with the tools they need for crafting, or if the prisoner is a writer, we should provide them with the tools they need for nurturing their intellectual talents. We cannot deprive them of the rights of learning, studying, and working. Based on the principle of ‘no harm,’ the principle of ‘persecution,’ the principle of ‘compensation of damage to others’ property,’ and as judged by the wise, such deprivations are against Islam and incur liability, and those who impose such deprivations upon prisoners shall be held responsible on the Judgment Day. We have always condemned such acts and if, in practice, our acts are contrary to our words, we will be losers in both this world and the hereafter.”
His Eminence added, “We seek refuge in God from killing others. We pray to God lest we kill people, and lest we kill people’s thoughts, which is even worse than taking their lives, and so is diverting people’s minds and attention away from the oppressive acts of the oppressors through deception and untruth. We shall take refuge in God since, on the Judgment Day, people will be judged, far more rigidly and strictly than on personal matters, on human rights, and the Holy Quran says, ‘So he who does an atom’s weight of good shall see it, and he who does an atom’s weight of evil shall see it. ’”
- The Quran: al-Zalzalah: 7 8