(… مِنْ أَجْلِ ذَٰلِكَ كَتَبْنَا عَلَىٰ بَنِي إِسْرَائِيلَ ) (Because of that, We decreed upon the Children of Israel …): There are ages between Cain and Abel and the Children of Israel, during which there are a lot of Prophets, It is as if Allah (swt) says that the children of Israel are the killers of the Prophets, and they are the most people who kill humans, so He specifies them, and this does not mean that killing is found only among the people of the Children of Israel, but the case is for all human beings, the Prophet (saws) stood in the Farewell Pilgrimage and said to the people all:

‘No doubt! Your blood, your properties, and your honor are sacred to one another like the sanctity of this day of yours, in this (sacred) town (Mecca) of yours, in this month of yours.’ The Prophet (saws) repeated his statement again and again. After that he raised his head and said, ‘O Allah! Haven’t conveyed (Your Message) to them’.[1]

Definitely, all heavenly Messages do not accept attacks on the human soul; because it is an attack on the creation of Allah (swt), Who gives life and death, so when you kill, you are transgressing the sanctity of one of the sanctities which is blood.

(… أَنَّهُ مَن قَتَلَ نَفْسًا بِغَيْرِ نَفْسٍ …) (…that whoever kills a soul unless for a soul …): This is explained by Allah’s saying:

 وَلَكُمْ فِي الْقِصَاصِ حَيَاةٌ يَا أُولِي الْأَلْبَابِ لَعَلَّكُمْ تَتَّقُونَ

(And there is for you in legal retribution [saving of] life, O you [people] of understanding, that you may become righteous.) (Al-Baqara: 179)

The killer has to be killed, if this punishment is not applied, crimes will spread in societies.

(… أَوْ فَسَادٍ فِي الْأَرْضِ …) (…or for corruption [done] in the land …): Because corruption is also the killing of innocent souls.

(… فَكَأَنَّمَا قَتَلَ النَّاسَ جَمِيعًا …) (…it is as if he had slain mankind entirely.…): Because when he kills, he encourages people to transgress blood and attack humanity, for that Allah (swt) decreed retribution by killing.

(… وَمَنْ أَحْيَاهَا فَكَأَنَّمَا أَحْيَا النَّاسَ جَمِيعًا …) (…And whoever saves one – it is as if he had saved mankind entirely…): If you help a sick person or save a person just because he is a human being, it is as if you saved all people, not just this person.

This is our great religion Islam, that gives good to others, spreads tranquility, security and peace in societies, forbids aggression against the human soul and urges us to revive it, and motivates us to do good and support the desperate and the needy.

(… وَلَقَدْ جَاءَتْهُمْ رُسُلُنَا بِالْبَيِّنَاتِ …) (…And our messengers had certainly come to them with clear proofs.…): Proofs are the signs that support the argument of a Messenger against those to whom he was sent. The messengers came to all of humanity and to the people of the Children of Israel as well, as they are the most people that received Messengers and Prophets, and that is because of the many diseases they have.

(  ثُمَّ إِنَّ كَثِيرًا مِّنْهُم بَعْدَ ذَٰلِكَ فِي الْأَرْضِ لَمُسْرِفُونَ … ) (…Then indeed many of them, [even] after that, throughout the land, were transgressors.): (many of them) not (few of them). The transgressor is the one who exceeds his limit.

 

[1] Sahih al-Bukhari: Book of: Hajj (Pilgrimage), Chapter: Al-Khutba during the Days of Mina, Hadith No. 1654.