In its transition from pre-Islamic Arab custom to the Shari‘a, the Islamic law of homicide underwent a series of modifications, designed to make it fit Islamic values and principles. This chapter discusses two such major modifications. The first one involves restricting the liability for blood revenge to the perpetrator, while the second sharpens the distinction between accidental and intentional homicide. It is argued that by these modifications Muslim jurists emphasized individual responsibility, intention, fault rather than mere causation, and punishment rather than compensation, thereby bringing homicide closer to a crime. In this way, they expressed the conception that homicide is an offense against the interests of the entire community, and not just against private rights.