Surah 5:32
"From that time We prescribed for the Sons of Israel that whoever kills a person, except (in retaliation) for another, or (for) fomenting corruption on the earth, (it is) as if he had killed all the people. And whoever gives (a person) life, (it is) as if he had given all the people life. Certainly Our messengers have brought them the clear signs, yet even after that many of them act wantonly on the earth."
5.32 – whoever kills a person, . . . (it is) as if he had killed all the people
The phrase that begins “whoever kills a person” is one of the most frequently quoted Quran passages in the twenty-first century. The Quran describes this expression as decreed for the “Sons of Israel.” Though not found in the Torah, the expression appears in the so-called “oral Torah” of Judaism (Mishnah Sanhedrin 4.5).
It is interesting that though the Quran says Allah prescribed (lit. “wrote”) this expression, it is in fact not from the Bible.
The following verse is a good illustration of the diversity among the Quran’s teachings on violence and killing.
- from The Quran with Christian Commentary: A Guide to Understanding the Scripture of Islam