If Anyone Slays a Person (Qur'an 5:32)

This article analyzes the Qur'anic verse 5:32 and the definition of 'Mischief' in Islam.

Introduction

Many websites^[1][2][3] and public figures^[4][5] have claimed that the following verse appears in the Qur'an, and that it denounces killing and equates the slaying of one human life to that of genocide against the entirety of mankind.

However, this verse, as above quoted, cannot be found in any printed copy of the Qur'an, translation or otherwise. The reason for this is simple: the verse in question does not exist.

Qur'an 5:32

What is actually presented by apologists is a somewhat distorted paraphrasing of the following verse:

Analysis

Its Context

The preceding verses 5:27-31 talk about the biblical story of Cain and Abel. Abel offered animal sacrifice to Allah and Abel offered crops. Allah liked the animal sacrifice, but he rejected the crops, so Cain got angry and killed Abel ^[6]. Then comes the verse 5:32, beginning with "for that reason" or "on that account" (مِنْ أَجْلِ ذَٰلِكَ, min ajli dhaalika), meaning "for the reason Cain killed Abel" ^[7]. Then the verse describes a decree given to "the Children of Israel" i.e. the Jews who, according to Islam, received an earlier set of scriptures. Incidentally, the Qur'an here is mistakenly referencing a human rabbinical commentary found in the Talmud^[8] as if it had been a decree in the words of Allah.

The next two verses explain how the principle should be applied by Muslims, particularly regarding the caveat about those who cause mischief ('fasadin', which appears both in verse 32 and verse 33 and was an Arabic word defined in dictionaries as corruption, unrighteousness, disorder, disturbance ^[9]). What is often presented as being a purely peaceful message, at the same time includes a warning:

Scope of the principle

The principle in verse 5:32 seems to refer to the killing and saving of not just believers, but any person ('nafsan' نفسا, which means a soul) who is not excluded by the exceptions. Nevertheless, the highly respected Qur'anic exegesis of Ibn Kathir contains evidence that it wasn't universally interpreted in that way, with some hadith narrations that restrict the principle to the killing of a believer, while other narrations use a more general formulation like the Qur'anic verse.

For 5:32 he cites the early Qur'anic commentator and Tabi'un, Sayid ibn Jubayr (who lived at the time of Prophet Muhammad, and was a companion of Aisha):

He also cites another Tabi'un and commentator of the Qur'an, Mujahid ibn Jabr (a student of Ibn Abbas; a paternal cousin of Muhammad) while commenting on verse 5:32:

Muslim scholars generally consider Mujahid ibn Jabr to be a narrator of the highest reliability.^[10]

Ibn Abbas is also cited by ibn Kathir for this verse, giving the more general opinion, that it refers to the killing of a "soul that Allah has forbidden killing". Being a companion of Muhammad, Ibn Abbas was present around the time these verses were revealed. Together with ibn Jabr, he went through the Qur'an thirty times and memorized the meanings.

Uthman is also recorded in ibn Kathir's tafsir to have paraphrased the verse as applying to all people. This refers to the siege of Uthman's house by a Muslim delegation who had intercepted a letter from him calling for their execution. He convinces an ally not to fight the besiegers by citing verse 5:32.

The Meaning of "Mischief" (fasadin)

The Qur'an describes the punishments for those who "wage war against Allah and his messenger" and strive for "mischief" in the Land as execution, crucifixion, the cutting off of hands and feet from opposite sides, or exile from the land:

Definitions of these groups can be found in hadiths, tafsirs, and even other Qur'an verses.

The polytheists were among those described by the clauses "those who wage war against Allah and his messenger, and strive with might and main for mischief through the land". A hadith graded hasan by al-Albani in Sunan Abu Dawud confirms this:

The tafsirs for verses 5:32-33 provide wide definitions and examples of what is meant by "war against Allah and his messenger" and "mischief", as well as pointing to a specific incident of murder narrated in sahih hadiths.

Retribution for murder is one of the caveats in verse 5:32 for which the peaceful principle does not apply. Some of the punishments prescribed in verse 5:33 are ordered by Muhammad after the following murder incident narrated in sahih hadiths and cited in earlier tafsirs in reference to these verses:

In al-Suyuti's Tafsir al-Jalalayn, the following commentary is found in relation to this incident and Qur'an verse 5:33:

Besides this specific incident, the tafsirs interpret "mischief" (the Arabic word fasadin in verses 5:32 and 33) and even "waging war on Allah and his Messenger" in an alarmingly wide manner. In ibn Kathir's tafsir, the definition of "Mischief" according to Islam is explained in the context of Quran 2:11:

In relation to verse 5:33 Ibn Kathir says:

In the Tafsir attributed to ibn Abbas (date and true author unknown):

In the Tafsir al-Jalalayn, by al-Suyuti, the following commentary is found in relation to Qur'an verse 5:32. It covers much broader categories of people than the commentary regarding the specific punishments in 5:33 quoted from it above:

These broader definitions found in the tafsirs seem intended to accommodate the Islamic death penalties for married adulterers and apostates found in hadiths. At the same time, a broader understanding of what constitutes 'mischief' in Islam is found even within the Qur'an, whether or not this was the intention in verses 5:32 and 33. See verse 3:63, for example, where those who merely dispute Islam are mischief makers:

According to Shaykh Yusuf al-Qaradawi, the world's most quoted independent Islamic jurist:

So what is first offered as the height of moral teachings found in the Qur'an, is generally understood by traditional scholars as compatible with an array of violent and intolerant practices.

The Worth of a Non-Believer

According to sahih hadith, Muhammad said the life of a non-Muslim is not sacred:

The prominent scholar Ibn Taymiyyah (d. 1328 CE) regarded Muhammad's command in the above hadith as applying to those who fought against the Muslims.

Muhammad also gave the verdict (fatwa) that a Muslim can not be killed for killing a non-Muslim.

The majority of Muslim scholars held this view, while a minority (the Hanafi school of jurisprudence) believed that a Muslim can be killed if he kills a non-Muslim Dhimmi who is under the "protection" of the Islamic community.^[11][12]

The lack of Qisas for killing a non-Muslim does not necessarily contradict the principle in Qur'an verse 5:32, and murder of both Muslims and non-Muslims is a punishable crime in predominantly Muslim countries around the world today. At the same time, the death penalty for apostasy still exists on the lawbooks of some of these countries.

Today

In the Islamic world, those who propagate their non-Islamic faiths or publicly criticize Islam are often harassed, imprisoned and even executed by their communities or their governments, under laws against "spreading disorder [mischief] through the land" and apostasy.

Certain prominent Islamist leaders have pretended to oppose these practices, only to deny their own remarks later on, to instead endorse intolerance and the prosecution (and indeed execution) of non-Muslims and religious minorities.^[13]

See Also

• Parallelism: Sanhedrin 37a - verse 5:32 is a Rabbinic commentary misattributed to Allah
• Misrepresentations of Islamic Scripture

External Links

• The Most Peaceful Verse - Faith Freedom International (archived), http://www.faithfreedom.org/the-most-peaceful-verse/ 
• Can Infidels be Innocents? - Daniel Pipes (archived), http://www.danielpipes.org/blog/2005/08/can-infidels-be-innocents 
• Fort Hood in light of the Quran: An Open Letter To CNN - Answering Islam (archived), http://www.answering-islam.org/authors/nakdimon/fort_hood_cnn.html 

Videos

• Killing of Non-Muslims is Legitimate - Anjem Choudary on HardTalk
• Does Qur'an 5:32 Forbid Killing? (A Response to CNN and Arsalan Iftikhar on the Fort Hood Massacre)
• Understanding the Islamic Bombing of the Boston Marathon

References