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

The Qur'anic verse 5:32 claims that Allah decreed for the "sons of Israel" that whoever kills a single person, it is as though he killed all of mankind (a concept lifted from the Jewish Talmud). The verse is often cited by duaah in the wake of Islamic terrorist attacks and massacres as proof that the Qur'an forbids such senseless slaughter. Yet these apologetic claims leave out the context of the entire passage and also its implications in Islamic law for dissidents in an Islamic State who do not want to abide by the strictures of Shari'ah (Islamic Law).

Michael Pregill notes the common ecumenical usage of verse 32 in popular discourse, then observes "But reading the convergence of Mishnah and Qur'an as a specimen of pre-modern ecumenism is clearly anachronistic if we conflate it with or project it onto the historical milieu that the Qur'an was revealed to address. Rather, given the overarching thrust of the surah, we must conclude that the rabbinic precursor has been deliberately appropriated and its major themes strategically reconstrued to propel a more strident, if not openly militant, message."^[1]

Introduction

Many websites^[2][3][4] and public figures^[5][6] 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.

Qur'an 5:32

What is actually being presented by apologists and duaah here is a somewhat distorted paraphrasing of the following verse:

Although this verse often cited to the effect that Islam as a religion categorically forbids killing (particularly in the name of the relgion), in addition to the entirety of the verse itself it is instructive to look at the verse in context:

The full passage shows how the quoted portion related to the Qabeel and Habeel (Cain and Abel) cycle in Islam (including details taken from the Talmud, see Parallelism: Sanhedrin 37A). It is also apparent that the passage as a whole calls for the murder and torture of certain people, including those who "spread mischief" or "spread corruption", a concept about which the Islamic tradition has much to say.

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 ^[7]. 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" ^[8]. 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^[9] 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 ^[10]). 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.^[11]

On the other hand, 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" (fasaad فساد)

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

In his academic article on the topic, Michael Pregill argues that fasaad here and in verse 32 is being invoked against the Jews and that in Medinan passages, the scope of the word expands beyond the unfaithful peoples of the past to now being strongly associated with the Jews as a proximate threat to Muhammad and the community.^[1]

On the other hand, 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 states:

The classical 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 classical 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 some major classical 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' or 'corruption' 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, perhaps 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, and this stipulation forms one of the core principles of the laws of the Dhimma.

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.^[12][13]

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.

See Also

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

External Links

References