The Effect of the Conduct Leading to Murder on the Intentionality of the Murder

According to clause A of Article 290 of the Islamic Penal Code adopted in 1392 sh/ 2013, if a person intends to kill someone by doing something and the murder occurs in practice, the type of means or behavior committed has no role in the murder, and the murder is considered intentional and subject to retribution. The jurisprudential basis of this legal article is the well-known opinion of jurists. However, some other Imami jurists believe that if the means or behavior committed is not typically lethal, such a murder is not considered intentional and is quasi-intentional. The present article describes the above two views and mentions the relevant arguments and argues in a legal-discretionary (fiqhī-ijtahādī) procedure on the preference of the unpopular opinion. As a result, if the killer is intentional in his behavior and the murder takes place, such a murder would be considered intentional if the means or behavior committed is typically fatal, otherwise, the murder would be quasi-intentional, even if there is a tangible causal relationship between the perpetrator's behavior and the result achieved.