The 35-year-old spends his days and nights praying and hoping Allah will accept his repentance by enabling the relatives of his victim to pardon him. Al-Mowais killed a neighbor following an argument in 2006, Al-Watan daily reported.
“After an exchange of heated words, I stabbed him. He succumbed to his wounds two days after being taken to hospital. It wasn’t a premeditated murder. I committed the crime in a fit of fury and was instigated by Satan,” he said.
Al-Mowais continually repents the murder and even thought of taking his own life the day he committed the crime. “Now I’m behind bars praying to Allah to forgive me. I pray that He changes the hearts of the dead man’s relatives and that they pardon me. All reconciliation efforts have failed as his children, who are grown up, are adamant not to excuse me,” he said, while calling on the intervention of Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah.
The 35-year-old is content with the facilities in jail. He spends his time reading the Holy Qur’an or participating in religious lectures offered to inmates. He says he does nothing else and calls on younger people to take heed. “They should keep away from the company of bad people. They should also stay away from crimes, especially those related to drugs, as well as murder and robbery,” he said.
Sheikh Sami bin Fahd Al-Hadi, head of Al-Hasa Courts, said executing murderers, as designated in Islamic law, is the proper way to deal with such people. “The law of Qisas (equality in punishment) is something that facilitates the smooth and normal life of human beings on earth. If people know that they risk being executed for murder, they will be very cautious. Qisas is an excellent deterrent,” he said.
He added that only the blood relatives of a slain man or the ruler are entitled to pardon a murderer. “If a murderer repented his crime and was executed, then he would be forgiven for the sin in the hereafter,” he said. “The prescribed Islamic law produces a positive impact on society as a whole. Reconciliation is the best option if it is feasible,” he said, adding that executions should ideally be carried out by swords.
