“…if anyone slays ahuman being, for anything other than inpunishment of murder or for spreading
corruption on earth, it shall be as though hehad slain all mankind; and that if anyonesaves a human life, it shall be as though hehad saved all mankind.”
(The Quran, 5:32)
The ayah serves the purpose of weakening the motive to commit a murder andestablishing the just punishment for such a crime whenever it takes place.
Some personscommit the aggression against peaceful and good-natured people who harbour neither grudges nor ill-feelings towards others. However, adopting a peaceful attitude may not be sufficient to prevent aggression. Because the ghastly crime of killing one person is considered so grave and so sordid that it isequated with the crime of killing all mankind. On the other hand, efforts to preventkilling and to spare the life of one person are considered a great action, equal tosaving all mankind.
The law given to the Children of Israel included this principlewhich equates the life of any human being with every life. The right to live isapplicable to all. Hence, killing one person is an aggression against the right to live inwhich all people stand equal. Similarly, preventing murder and sparing the life ofone person, either through defending the would-be victim or inflicting the deathpenalty on the killer in order to prevent the murder of another, is to save the basicright of life applicable to all.
This legislative rule should be well remembered.