“Why did Sabine Wren live after being stabbed by a lightsaber, when xxxx died†is the wrong question.
The real question is: Why stab at all when you have the perfect hack and slash weapon?
You can take an offensive slash and hit your mark if your opponent fails to defend.
You can try to defend their strike and skillfully dodge, turning your defensive move into a successful strike of your own.
Shoot! You could even lose all hope and just flail and get lucky enough to remove a hand…..
But a stab? A stab is intentional.
Darth Maul didn’t get lucky. He saw an opening and wanted to send a message. He stabbed Qui-Gon Jinn in a manner that would kill him AND make Obi Wan lose his concentration…. Thus increasing his chances of winning the second duel… and it almost worked.
A stab means you left an opening so big that I didn’t have to defend, I didn’t have to lash out, I could pick whichever organ I wanted to hit (or miss) and determine how fast (or slow) and how painful (or painless) your death is going to be.
I think Shin Hati stabbed Sabine Wren in a way to say “I HAD you, I could have killed you, but you’re my toy and I’m going to relish in your death… I’m saving this one for later.â€
At least that’s my head canon.