A Saudi Man Pardoned His Son’s Killer Just Days Before His Execution

A video of a man pardoning his son’s killer has been doing the rounds on social media. Here’s the backstory of that viral video.

Ati Al-Malki son, Abdullah, died in an incident that could be called a manslaughter at the hands of Rakan (name change to protect his identity).
The case went to the court who subsequently announced an execution which was scheduled to take place on April 17.

Then on the 27th of Ramadan, one of the holiest of holy nights for muslims, Al-Malki pardoned his son’s killer without asking for anything in return.

This is where the video begins with a crowd gathered around Al-Malki, filled with admiration and gratitude for his incredibly compassionate act.

It’s not every day you see such forgiveness in the face of tragedy.

الشيخ عاطي بن عطيه المالكي يعفو عن قاتل إبنه . شاهر ضيف الله الحارثي لوجه الله الكريم بيض الله وجهك وجزاك الله خير فمن عفى وأصلح فأجره على الله سبحانه والله يعتق رقابكم من النار pic.twitter.com/BP7Yyqy5Uz

— موسى المالكي🇸🇦 (@moussa_saudi) April 5, 2024

Naturally, the story spread like wildfire on social media, with people from all corners praising Al-Malki’s act of mercy.

In Saudi Arabia the families of the victims have the power to choose whether or not to pardon the perpetrator, and Al-Malki chose compassion over retribution.