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If Anyone Slays a Person (Qur'an 5:32): Difference between revisions
If Anyone Slays a Person (Qur'an 5:32) (view source)
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==Introduction== | ==Introduction== | ||
Many | Many apologists will present you with the following verse, which they claim appears in the Qur'an and denounces killing and equates the slaying of one human life to that of genocide against the entirety of mankind. | ||
{{Quote|Qur'an|“If anyone slays a person, it would be as if he slew the whole people: and if any one saved a life, it would be as if he saved the life of the whole people.”}} | {{Quote|Qur'an|“If anyone slays a person, it would be as if he slew the whole people: and if any one saved a life, it would be as if he saved the life of the whole people.”}} | ||
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This verse (along with the "[[Misinterpreted_Qur'anic_Verses#Let_there_be_no_compulsion_in_religion_.282:256.29|No Compulsion]]" verse) is one of the most often-quoted verses purportedly taken from the Qur'an, thus proving the incompatibility of Islam with all forms of [[terrorism]]. For example; this verse has made appearances on (among others) ''The American Muslim'',<ref>Jacob Bender - [http://www.theamericanmuslim.org/tam.php/features/print/jewish_muslim_dialogue_and_the_value_of_peace/ Jewish-Muslim Dialogue and the Value of Peace] - The American Muslim, July 19, 2007</ref> ''CNN'',<ref>Arsalan Iftikhar - [http://edition.cnn.com/2009/OPINION/11/09/iftikhar.fort.hood/index.html Murder has no religion] - CNN, November 9, 2009 (refutation to Arsalan Iftikhar's piece: [[Murder Has A Religion]])</ref> and ''Wisdom Today''<ref>[http://wisdomtoday.wordpress.com/2009/06/08/islamophobia/ Islamophobia] - Wisdom Today, June 8, 2009</ref> [[websites]], and has been quoted by [[Keith Ellison]]<ref>Andrew G. Bostom - [{{Reference archive|1=http://www.americanthinker.com/blog/2011/03/keith_ellisons_taqiyya.html|2=2011-03-19}} Keith Ellison's Taqiyya] - American Thinker, March 13, 2011</ref> and President [[Barack Obama]].<ref>[http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2009/06/04/transcript-remarks-president-obama-cairo/ TRANSCRIPT: Remarks of President Obama in Cairo] - Fox News, June 4, 2009</ref> | This verse (along with the "[[Misinterpreted_Qur'anic_Verses#Let_there_be_no_compulsion_in_religion_.282:256.29|No Compulsion]]" verse) is one of the most often-quoted verses purportedly taken from the Qur'an, thus proving the incompatibility of Islam with all forms of [[terrorism]]. For example; this verse has made appearances on (among others) ''The American Muslim'',<ref>Jacob Bender - [http://www.theamericanmuslim.org/tam.php/features/print/jewish_muslim_dialogue_and_the_value_of_peace/ Jewish-Muslim Dialogue and the Value of Peace] - The American Muslim, July 19, 2007</ref> ''CNN'',<ref>Arsalan Iftikhar - [http://edition.cnn.com/2009/OPINION/11/09/iftikhar.fort.hood/index.html Murder has no religion] - CNN, November 9, 2009 (refutation to Arsalan Iftikhar's piece: [[Murder Has A Religion]])</ref> and ''Wisdom Today''<ref>[http://wisdomtoday.wordpress.com/2009/06/08/islamophobia/ Islamophobia] - Wisdom Today, June 8, 2009</ref> [[websites]], and has been quoted by [[Keith Ellison]]<ref>Andrew G. Bostom - [{{Reference archive|1=http://www.americanthinker.com/blog/2011/03/keith_ellisons_taqiyya.html|2=2011-03-19}} Keith Ellison's Taqiyya] - American Thinker, March 13, 2011</ref> and President [[Barack Obama]].<ref>[http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2009/06/04/transcript-remarks-president-obama-cairo/ TRANSCRIPT: Remarks of President Obama in Cairo] - Fox News, June 4, 2009</ref> | ||
Visiting the countless pro-Islamic websites, forums and blogs on the net, you are almost guaranteed to be confronted with this verse. But try as you might, you will not find it in a Qur'an, regardless of whether or not you're reading it in its original [[Arabic]] or in one of its many English translations. The reason for this is | Visiting the countless pro-Islamic websites, forums and blogs on the net, you are almost guaranteed to be confronted with this verse. But try as you might, you will not find it in a Qur'an, regardless of whether or not you're reading it in its original [[Arabic]] or in one of its many English translations. The reason for this is simple: the verse in question does not exist. | ||
===Qur'an 5:32=== | ===Qur'an 5:32=== | ||
What you are actually presented with by | What you are actually presented with by apologists is a distorted, out-of-context and wholly misleading paraphrasing of the following verse: | ||
{{Quote|{{Quran|5|32}}|On that account: '''We ordained for the Children of Israel''' that if anyone slew a person - '''unless it be in retaliation for murder or for spreading mischief in the land''' - it would be as if he slew all mankind: and if anyone saved a life, it would be as if he saved the life of all humanity. }} | {{Quote|{{Quran|5|32}}|On that account: '''We ordained for the Children of Israel''' that if anyone slew a person - '''unless it be in retaliation for murder or for spreading mischief in the land''' - it would be as if he slew all mankind: and if anyone saved a life, it would be as if he saved the life of all humanity. }} | ||
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Firstly, this verse is written in past tense (''Ordained'', not ''Ordain'') and clearly does not apply to Muslims but to "the Children of Israel" i.e. the Jews who, according to Islam, recieved an [[Taurat|earlier set]] of scriptures. In fact, it's [[Parallelism:_Sanhedrin_37a|mistakingly]] referencing a rabbinical commentary found in the Talmud as if it were the words of God. | Firstly, this verse is written in past tense (''Ordained'', not ''Ordain'') and clearly does not apply to Muslims but to "the Children of Israel" i.e. the Jews who, according to Islam, recieved an [[Taurat|earlier set]] of scriptures. In fact, it's [[Parallelism:_Sanhedrin_37a|mistakingly]] referencing a rabbinical commentary found in the Talmud as if it were the words of God. | ||
Secondly, when the clause which allows killing is reinserted and we read it in context with the following two verses directed at Muslims (notice the reference to Allah's messenger and the switch to present tense), what first appeared on the surface to be a peaceful message, is in actual fact a | Secondly, when the clause which allows killing is reinserted and we read it in context with the following two verses directed at Muslims (notice the reference to Allah's messenger and the switch to present tense), what first appeared on the surface to be a peaceful message, is in actual fact a warning to non-believers: | ||
{{Quote|{{Quran|5|33-34}}|The punishment of those who wage war against Allah and His Messenger, and strive with might and main for mischief through the land is: execution, or crucifixion, or the cutting off of hands and feet from opposite sides, or exile from the land: that is their disgrace in this world, and a heavy punishment is theirs in the Hereafter; Except for those who repent before they fall into your power: in that case, know that Allah is Oft-forgiving, Most Merciful.}} | {{Quote|{{Quran|5|33-34}}|The punishment of those who wage war against Allah and His Messenger, and strive with might and main for mischief through the land is: execution, or crucifixion, or the cutting off of hands and feet from opposite sides, or exile from the land: that is their disgrace in this world, and a heavy punishment is theirs in the Hereafter; Except for those who repent before they fall into your power: in that case, know that Allah is Oft-forgiving, Most Merciful.}} | ||
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===Its Application to Muslims=== | ===Its Application to Muslims=== | ||
According to the highly respected [[Tafsir|Qur'anic exegesis]] of Ibn Kathir- early | According to the highly respected [[Tafsir|Qur'anic exegesis]] of Ibn Kathir- early Qur'anic commentator and [[Tabi'un]], Sayid ibn Jubayr (who lived at the time of [[Muhammad]], and was a companion of [[Aisha]]), had said: | ||
{{Quote|1=[http://www.theholybook.org/content/view/6966/2/ Human Beings Should Respect the Sanctity of Other Human Beings]<BR>Tafsir Ibn Kathir|2=<font size="4">[فَكَأَنَّمَا قَتَلَ النَّاسَ جَمِيعاً]</font><BR><BR> | {{Quote|1=[http://www.theholybook.org/content/view/6966/2/ Human Beings Should Respect the Sanctity of Other Human Beings]<BR>Tafsir Ibn Kathir|2=<font size="4">[فَكَأَنَّمَا قَتَلَ النَّاسَ جَمِيعاً]</font><BR><BR> | ||
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==Conclusion== | ==Conclusion== | ||
In this instance, as in [[Misinterpreted Verses |many others]], it is | In this instance, as in [[Misinterpreted Verses |many others]], it is the apologists, not the skeptics, who are misinterpreting verses and quoting them out of context. A simple reading of the verse and those that surround it makes this clear.<ref>See [{{Reference archive|1=http://anartisticatheist.tumblr.com/post/41669861132/skepticalavenger-skapunkbeyond-had-to-reblog|2=2013-01-28}} this] related Tumblr post by the Artistic Atheist for an informative discussion concerning the context of verse 5:32 and verse 3:151 (the "cast terror into the hearts of the unbelievers" verse).</ref> | ||
In the Islamic world, those who dare propagate their non-Islamic faiths or [[free Speech|publicly criticize Islam]] are usually [[persecution of Non-Muslims|executed | In the Islamic world, those who dare propagate their non-Islamic faiths or [[free Speech|publicly criticize Islam]] are usually [[persecution of Non-Muslims|harassed, imprisoned or even executed]] by their governments, under laws against "spreading disorder [mischief] through the land" and [[Islam and Apostasy|apostasy]]. | ||
If verse 5:32 means what [[Murder Has A Religion|some apologists claim]] it to mean, why are they so reluctant to quote the verse accurately rather than presenting a misleading paraphrasing of what they wished the verse had said? Furthermore, why are moderate Muslims and apologists unable to silence fellow Muslims on an intellectual level by using that very verse? | If verse 5:32 means what [[Murder Has A Religion|some apologists claim]] it to mean, why are they so reluctant to quote the verse accurately rather than presenting a misleading paraphrasing of what they wished the verse had said? Furthermore, why are moderate Muslims and apologists unable to silence fellow Muslims on an intellectual level by using that very verse? | ||