Home > Surah 5 - The Table Spread
This verse is frequently cited in interfaith dialogue as a pinnacle of Quranic compassion.
However, it is a primary "smoking gun" that suggests the Quranic author mistook human rabbinic commentary (The Talmud - Mishnah Sanhedrin 4:5) for divine revelation.
Surah 5:32:
Because of that, We decreed upon the Children of Israel that whoever kills a soul unless for a soul or for corruption in the land - it is as if he had slain mankind entirely. And whoever saves one - it is as if he had saved mankind entirely. And our messengers had certainly come to them with clear proofs. Then indeed many of them, after that, throughout the land, were transgressors.
The Mishnah (compiled around 200 AD) is a record of human rabbinic debates, NOT considered a book of divine revelation.
Mishnah Sanhedrin 4:5:
Therefore, but a single man was created... to teach you that whoever destroys a single soul, Scripture imputes it to him as though he had destroyed a whole world... And conversely, anyone who sustains one soul ... the verse ascribes him credit as if he sustained an entire world.
If the Quran is the eternal Word of God, why is it quoting parts of a 2nd-century human commentary as if it were a divine decree given to Moses? This suggests the author of the Quran could not distinguish between the Bible and the Jewish "Table Talk" (Talmud) of the time.
Note the specific phrasing: "We decreed upon the Children of Israel.This is taken out of context to show Islam is peaceful. However, the verse itself admits this was a specific law for the Jews. Makes sense as taken from Talmud.
When you read the very next verse (5:33), the command for Muslims regarding those who oppose Allah and his Messenger is execution, crucifixion, or the cutting off of hands and feet.
This "peaceful" sentiment is a historical look-back at a Jewish tradition, while the "violent" application is for the Muslim contemporary context. This happens mnot only with the repurpose of Talmud verses but also biblical stories used in thr Quran.
The rabbi in the Mishnah was meditating on the blood of Abel. He noticed that in Genesis 4:10, God says "The voice of your brother's bloods (plural) cries out." The rabbi reasoned this meant Abel's potential descendants were also killed.
The Quran quotes the rabbi’s conclusion but removes the "bloods" reasoning. This indicates a "copy-paste" error where the author heard a beautiful Jewish sermon and mistook it for a command from the Torah.
Surah 5:32 is a double-edged sword. While it sounds noble, its origin in human rabbinic literature rather than divine scripture undermines the Quran's claim to be a "Detailed Explanation" of the previous books.
It proves that the "Scripture" the Quran was "confirming" often included the secondary, human traditions of the Jews rather than the actual Word of God.
How can this reliance on the Mishnah in verse 32 be harmonised with the harsh penalties for "corruption" established in the immediately following Surah 5:33?