The ayah starts with مِن أَجلِ ذٰلِكَ. Literally the three words mean “From Time That”. However the phrase is generally rendered as “Because of that or on that account”. Obviously this indicates that the index ayah is consequent to something which has been said earlier which is:[3]

“And convey unto them, setting forth the truth, the story of the two sons of Adam1-how each offered a sacrifice, and it was accepted from one of them whereas it was not accepted from the other. [And Cain] said: “I will surely slay thee!” [Abel] replied: “Behold, God accepts only from those who are conscious of Him.”
The Quran then unfolds the full story of the two children of Sayyidna Adam.

So, it is the story of the two sons of Sayyidna Adam, Cain and Abel which leads to the index ayah under discussion. This is also a part of Jewish tradition as contained in both the Mishnah and the Talmud. The law defined in this ayah is clear and apparent, not needing any clarification. It declares that slaying of a human being unless it is for punishment for murder or for spreading corruption on earth will be regarded as slaying all mankind; whereas, if anyone saves a life, it shall be as though he had saved the lives of all mankind.

It may be added here that the specific law discussed in this ayah has become an important part of Jewish ethics. However, the eminent scholar Amin Ahsan Islahi in his famous tafseer “Tadubbar-e-Quran’ emphasises that the incident itself is not very relevant. It is the mentality behind it expressed by Qain and the followers of this bad Sunnah that matters. The scholar asserts “That is, these rogues shed the blood of Allah’s servants under malicious emotions and satanic motives and then instead of confessing and acknowledging and repenting and regretting, they spend all their intelligence in hiding this crime. They also feel sorry for their crime, not from the aspect that the greatest right of God’s servants was destroyed by their hands, instead they feel sorry if there is any omission from them in their plan to cover up the crime”

The index ayah encompasses a legislation which “achieves the dual purpose of weakening the motive to commit a murder and establishing the just punishment for such a crime whenever it takes place”. The outstanding scholar Sayyid Qutb enunciates categorically some principles about the index ayah in his brilliant tafseer “Fee Dhilal-il-Quran”. I feel obliged to use his words to convey the real force of his argument: “It should be clarified here that this rule applies to people in the land of Islam, whether Muslim or not, as long as they are living under the rule and protection of the Islamic authority. As for those who are in a land hostile to Islam, neither their lives nor their properties are protected unless they have concluded a peace treaty with the land of Islam. This legislative rule should be well remembered. We should also remember that the land of Islam is that in which the rule of Islam prevails and Islamic law is implemented. The hostile land is that which does not implement Islamic law.”

The address in the index ayah is primarily towards the Jews. The Israelites rebelled against God Almighty; insulted and even murdered innocent people. When the favour on them from God Almighty was transferred to a brother nation, jealousy and malice of the Israelites went out of all bounds. Hence, they are warned that killing one man because of his ideals is tantamount to killing all holding the same values. Similarly, to save an individual for his ethics and mores is akin to protecting the whole community. Allamaa Yousuf Ali exclaims at this point in his epic tafseer “What could be stronger condemnation of individual assassination and revenge?”

Though this law was ordained explicitly for the Children of Israel, it should not be misconstrued that it relates only to them. This law has always existed in the law of the Prophets. The Jews are highlighted here merely to focus on their wrongdoing and depravity; they were the first religious community threatened with eternal punishment for the sin of murder. Al-Rāzī argues that the Children of Israel are singled out here because of the alleged plot of certain Jews of Madinah against the Prophet. Some other commentators indicate that the moral principle applies equally to the Muslim community.

The holy books of Jews also carry a reference to this special law. The guidance given to Noah and his descendants in this matter is mentioned in the Book of Genesis of the Bible as follows:
“…I will avenge a man’s life for a man and for his brother’s bond. Whoever sheds man’s blood, his blood shall be of man, for God made man in his own image.”

The ayah mentions “We ordain unto the children of Israel”. It should be clarified that this statement, as stated earlier certainly does not restrict the rule enunciated herein only to the Jews. The reference to Jews here alludes to earliest pronunciation of the law. The moral itself remains a universal legitimacy. Further down the ayah it is stated “And, indeed, there came unto them…..”. “Them” here is reference to the Jews and the Christians, both followers of the Bible.

The index ayah states “…..and he who saves a life shall be as if he had given life to all mankind”. How does he do that? Whoever kills an individual without a valid reason, proves clearly that he has no respect for human life and betrays a dangerous lack of sympathy for the safety of human species. Fast forward this quality to all men, and we have a prescription for annihilation of the entire human race. On the other hand, a person who saves one life, is the savior of the whole mankind. This quality seems to be crucial and vital for the survival of humanity. The existence and viability of human life demands not only that everyone respects other fellow beings but actively contributes towards this aim.

This suggestion of “Whosoever saves the life of one” could include different scenarios. It could refer to those who, as the kin of the murder victim, forgo retaliation and agree to accept compensation or simply forgive the perpetrator; or it could be extended to those who save people from a fatal accident like drowning; it could be broadened to include more “indirect or spiritual modes of saving” like helping a person out of poverty or leading somebody who has lost the spiritual or moral path.
In the end, the ayah mentions “لَمُسرِفونَ”. Literally it means “(are) surely those who commit excesses.” However, Dr. Mohammed Asad, in his celebrated tafseer “The message of Quran” defines the term as “The present participle la-musrifun indicates their “continuously committing excesses” (i.e., crimes), and is best rendered as “they go on committing”. Which excesses? It is clear from the preceding ayahs in the Quran, that this alludes to the the violent crimes specially the common manslaughter committed by the Jews.

With the example of the wrong doing of the son of Adam in the background, God Almighty strongly urges the Children of Israel not to kill other human beings. The outstanding scholar Maulana Maudoodi laments in his brilliant tafseer “Tafheem-ul-Quran” that the Bible is totally devoid of these golden words embodying God’s ordinance. He does point out that Talmud has the following narration on this subject:

“To him who kills a single individual of Israel, it shall be reckoned as if he had slain the whole race and he who preserves a single individual of Israel, it shall be reckoned in the Book of God as if he had preserved the whole world. The Talmud also mentions that in trials for murder, the Israelite judges used to address the witnesses as follows: Whoever kills one person, merits punishment as if he had slain all the men in the world.”
There is another angle to the present discussion. ‘Min Ajl Dhaliq’ (’مِنْ اَجْلِ ذٰلِکَ) certainly does not and cannot indicate that this event was the soul driver for the law under discussion. This law was in force long before the history of Bani Israel. It should also be noted that the law of life for life was practiced by every nation from time immemorial; this law is not unique to the Israelites. The original philosophy of Qisas has been explained here to emphasize the weight and significance of murder and bloodshed. As pointed out by Imam Amin Ahsan Islahi this law existed in the nation of Noah and Abraham. He goes on, in his tafseer to describe the various instructions given to Hazrat Noah and his progeny as described in Torah:

“One is that every murder incident creates a stir in the entire nation. Until his vengeance is taken, let every man feel that he is deprived of the protection which he had hitherto enjoyed. Law is the protector of all. If the law is destroyed, not only the victim is killed, but everyone is under the influence of murder.
The second is that finding the killer is not only the responsibility of the deceased’s heirs, but the responsibility of the entire community, because the killer did not kill only the victim, but killed everyone.
The third is that if a person sees someone in danger, it is not permissible for him to ignore it as an old quarrel, rather his protection and support is necessary for him as much as possible, even though he himself has to do it. The risk had to be borne. Because the person who is strong in the support and defense of an oppressed person, he is not only strong in support of the oppressed, but he is strong in the support of all mankind, including himself. Fourthly, if a person conceals a murder or gives false testimony in favor of a murderer or becomes a guarantor of a murderer or shelters a murderer or knowingly advocates for a murderer or knowingly acquits him of a crime, he is as if He does all this for himself and for the murderer of his father, brother, son, because the murderer of one is the murderer of all.
Fifthly, helping the heirs or authorities of the deceased in the matter of retribution for a deceased person is actually giving life to the deceased, because it has been said in the Qur’an that retribution has life.

Another very crucial ruling for the protection and guidance of Muslim society in their material and temporal dealings is highlighted in the index ayah. The verse is very clear on this matter. If the state and the law want to punish a person with death, it can be given in only two cases that have been described in this verse. Apart from these, corporal punishment cannot be given for any other crime as per the teachings of the Quran. Before equating a single homicide to that of the whole humanity, the ayah declares the two reasons acceptable in Islamic Shari’ah for capital punishment : مَن قَتَلَ نَفسًا بِغَيرِ نَفسٍ أَو فَسادٍ فِي الأَرضِ. “if anyone slays a human being unless it be [in punishment] for murder or for spreading corruption on earth”. These are the only two acceptable rationale by the Quran for killing a fellow human being. Unfortunately a devout Muslim in our times is ready to kill not only disbelievers but even fellow Muslims on multiple pretexts. The two common grounds are blasphemy and irtaad ie apostasy. The eminent Islamic scholar, Dr. Israr Ahmed admits in his popular series of video lectures “Daurah Tarjumah-e-Quran” that there is no punishment prescribed in the Quran for the Murtid ie an apostate. But he does endorse the capital punishment for Murtid and asserts that his view is based on the shari’ah of Sayyidna Moosa. I have discussed this issue in detail in an earlier article “Freedom of choice to select Faith and to Rescind it; Assured by the Holy Quran and Shariah; Notwithstanding Strong Scholarly Opinions”. It might interest you if you have the time.

Similarly it is widely propagated by our scholars that blasphemy against the the Holy Prophet amounts to culpable homicide deserving capital punishment. Unfortunately, this rule has been actually implemented in Pakistan bringing in a feeling of satisfaction and accomplishment to many and a sense of despair and depression in scores of others. Kindly refer to my article “Blasphemy against Prophet Mohammed; What the Quran and Sunnah ordain v/s How the Muslims perform and Why?” for a fuller discussion on this topic. Another article published earlier on the occasion of the controversy in France on this topic might interest you: Action in France: Blasphemy? or Laïcité?; Reaction by Muslims: Righteousness? Or A Great Sin?
The last segment of the ayah declares لَقَد جاءَتهُم رُسُلُنا بِالبَيِّناتِ ثُمَّ إِنَّ كَثيرًا مِنهُم بَعدَ ذٰلِكَ فِيالأَرضِ لَمُسرِفونَ “And, indeed, there came unto them Our apostles with all evidence of the truth: yet, behold, notwithstanding all this, many of them go on committing all manner of excesses on earth.” This is describing the style and approach of God Almighty to educate the Israelites. HE did not stop short after just detailing them their duty. To complete the training, a series of Messengers kept coming at regular intervals with “very clear commands and instructions and very eloquent and strong teachings and warnings.” Unfortunately, of no avail. Despite the teachings and warnings of a chain of Messengers, the children of Israel persisted in their nefarious activities in the land of God.

It is important to emphasize a historical fact at this point. At the time of revelation of these ayahs, the Muslims were regularly and persistently persecuted by the Jews. Many tribes of Jews such as Banu Nazir, Banu Quraizah, Banu Qainqaa had settled in the vicinity of Madinah. They had made agreements of peace, mutual support and defense with the Muslims. However they flouted these arrangements from day one. They worked hard against the interest of Muslims and tried their best to dislodge them from Madinah. They were enthusiastic and invisible players in all the attacks the Quraish made on Muslims.
Among the Jewish assaults on Muslims are included: repeated attempt to create a rift between the Ansar and immigrants; repeated plans to kill the Companions, even the Prophet himself; very ruthless and hard-hearted kidnapping and killing of women and children; attacks on the lives and honor of Muslims. This is what this last segment of the ayah is referring to when it declares “yet, behold, notwithstanding all this, many of them go on committing all manner of excesses on earth.”

……..and Allah knows best.
May Allah Ta’aala bless us with true understanding–“fahm”–of our Deen, Aameen.

Dr. Khalid Mitha