Book ONE
General Provisions on Crimes and Punishments

Part One
Crimes

Chapter Five
Reasons for Rejecting the Characteristic of a Crime

Section One
Reasons of Permitted Lawfulness

Legitimate Self-Defense
Article (27):
Legitimate Self-defense arises when a person faces an immediate danger from a crime to himself/herself,his/her honor or his/her property, or the lives, honor and property of others without resorting to the public authorities to evade this danger in due time. Accordingly the defending person may repel such danger by any appropriate means or any appropriate method.


Limitations of Self-Defense
Article (28):
Intentional murder is not lawful in self-defense, unless it was intended to repulse any act that threatens to lead6 to any of the following crimes, with such fear being reasonable:
1. Murder or serious injury, if such injuries fall on the defendant or any of his relatives.
2. Attempted forced rape or sodomy on the defendant thereof, his spouse or any person who is considered his kin or relative.
3. Forced or threatened armed kidnapping of the defendant, his spouse, children or one of his “sanctified relations”8 to whom the latter's marriage is forbidden. Strong evidence must be presented for all forms of self-defense; if they prove as such, there is no punishment by In-Kind retribution [qisas], blood money or compensation for injury to be meted out to the defendant accordingly.


Article (29):
The right of self-defense for the defense of property does not allow for intentional murder, unless it is intended to repulse any of the following:
1. Intentional arsenals.
2. Serious robbery cases.
3. Unlawful entry at night to an inhabited house or any of its auxiliaries.