RIYADH, 27 June — Everything was set for the execution of Jahwi Hussein Qasim Abubakar, 20, a Yemeni national convicted of killing Saud ibn Daghaileeb Al-Marzouki Al-Buqami. The executioner raised his sword and the man, his eyes covered, resigned himself to the inevitable.
Entirely unexpected, Saud’s father stood up to make the surprise announcement: “I have pardoned him, seeking the pleasure of Allah.”
The amazed crowd who had gathered to witness the execution in Riyadh chanted Allahu Akbar and praised the father’s magnanimity.
Jahwi prostrated himself, thanking God for giving him a new life. The atmosphere was filled with joy as people, moved by the noble gesture, prayed for the man who had pardoned his son’s killer.
“We have forgiven the murderer seeking the pardon and blessings of Allah. We have rejected large sums offered as blood money, because they will be worthless compared with the reward I shall receive from Allah for saving the life of a Muslim,” Al-Marzouki told Okaz newspaper.
Brig. Muhammad Al-Zahrani, director of prisons in Riyadh, said: “ It was a unique experience.”
