Surah 5. Al-Maida, Ayah 32
| مِنْ أَجْلِ ذَٰلِكَ كَتَبْنَا عَلَىٰ بَنِي إِسْرَائِيلَ أَنَّهُ مَنْ قَتَلَ نَفْسًا بِغَيْرِ نَفْسٍ أَوْ فَسَادٍ فِي الْأَرْضِ فَكَأَنَّمَا قَتَلَ النَّاسَ جَمِيعًا وَمَنْ أَحْيَاهَا فَكَأَنَّمَا أَحْيَا النَّاسَ جَمِيعًا ۚ وَلَقَدْ جَاءَتْهُمْ رُسُلُنَا بِالْبَيِّنَاتِ ثُمَّ إِنَّ كَثِيرًا مِنْهُمْ بَعْدَ ذَٰلِكَ فِي الْأَرْضِ لَمُسْرِفُونَ |
| Transliteration | : | 'inni -y ured 'an tabo' bi- 'ithm -e wa- 'ithm -ka fa- takon min as.h.aab an- naar wa- dhaalika jazaa' az.- z.aalimen |
| Pickthall | : | For that cause We decreed for the Children of Israel that whosoever killeth a human being for other than manslaughter or corruption in the earth, it shall be as if be had killed all mankind, and whoso saveth the life of one, it shall be as if he had saved the life of all mankind. Our messengers came unto them of old with clear proofs (of Allah's sovereignty) , but afterwards lo! many of them became prodigals in the earth. |
| Asad | : | Because of this did We ordain unto the children of Israel that if anyone slays a human being - unless it be [in punishment] for murder or for spreading corruption on earth - it shall be as though he had slain all mankind; whereas, if anyone saves a life, it shall be as though he had saved the lives of all mankind.40 And, indeed, there came unto them41 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.42 |
| Malik | : | On account of that incident, We ordained for the Children of Israel that whoever kills a person, except as a punishment for murder or mischief in the land, it will be written in his book of deeds as if he had killed all the human beings on the surface of the Earth and whoever will save a life shall be regarded as if he gave life to all the human beings on the surface of the Earth. Yet, even though Our Rasools came to them one after the other with clear revelations, it was not long before, many of them committed excesses in the land. |
| Yusuf Ali | : | On that account: We ordained for the Children of Israel that if anyone slew a person unless it be for murder or for spreading mischief in the land it would be as if he slew the whole people: and if anyone saved a life it would be as if he saved the life of the whole people. Then although there came to them Our apostles with clear Signs yet even after that many of them continued to commit excesses in the land. 737 |
Note - 40This moral truth is among those to which the first
sentence of verse {15} of this surah alludes, and its
succinct formulation fully explains the reason why the
story of Cain and Abel is mentioned in this context. The
expression "We have ordained unto the children of Israel"
does not, of course, detract from the universal validity
of this moral: it refers merely to its earliest
enunciation.
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Note - 41I.e., to the followers of the Bible, both the Jews and
the Christians.
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Note - 42The present participle la-musrifun indicates their
"continuously committing excesses" (i.e., crimes), and is
best rendered as "they go on committing" them. In view of
the preceding passages, these "excesses" obviously refer
to crimes of violence and, in particular, to the ruthless
killing of human beings.
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Note - 737The story of Cain is referred to in a few graphic details
in order to tell the story of Israel. Israel rebelled
against Allah, slew and insulted righteous men who did
them no harm but on the contrary came in all humility.
When Allah withdrew His favour from Israel because of its
sins and bestowed it on brother nation, the jealousy of
Israel plunged it deeper into sin. To kill or seek to
kill an individual because he represents an ideal is to
kill all who upold the ideal. On the other hand, to save
an individual life in the same circumstances is to save a
whole community. What could be stronger condemnation of
individual assassination and revenge?
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This moral truth is among those to which the first sentence of verse {15} of this surah alludes, and its succinct formulation fully explains the reason why the story of Cain and Abel is mentioned in this context. The expression "We have ordained unto the children of Israel" does not, of course, detract from the universal validity of this moral: it refers merely to its earliest enunciation. |
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The present participle la-musrifun indicates their "continuously committing excesses" (i.e., crimes), and is best rendered as "they go on committing" them. In view of the preceding passages, these "excesses" obviously refer to crimes of violence and, in particular, to the ruthless killing of human beings. |
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The story of Cain is referred to in a few graphic details in order to tell the story of Israel. Israel rebelled against Allah, slew and insulted righteous men who did them no harm but on the contrary came in all humility. When Allah withdrew His favour from Israel because of its sins and bestowed it on brother nation, the jealousy of Israel plunged it deeper into sin. To kill or seek to kill an individual because he represents an ideal is to kill all who upold the ideal. On the other hand, to save an individual life in the same circumstances is to save a whole community. What could be stronger condemnation of individual assassination and revenge? |
