Reader Aliyah needs some explanation (about 5:32 and 5:33)

Submitted by Prashant (United States), Jul 9, 2016 at 19:41

Dear Dr Pipes, Your reader Aliyah made a small typo in her message on your blog. She stated Quran 5:33 tells that killing one human is like killing the entire mankind. In reality, it is 5:32 that make the above statement. 5:33 is just the opposite. 5:33 takes away everything that 5:32 gives and then some. Quran 5:33 very categorically tells that the penalty for those who fight against Allah and his messenger is death, chopping of their hands, and banishment. I hate to quote this and and I am not making it up. It can be found in every translation of Quran.

Religious inscriptions need not be taken literally. But, unfortunately, Muslims are often told to take Quranic inscriptions literally. We know that most Muslims will not follow 5:33 thoughtlessly. But what about the terrorists, criminals and tyrants? Most Islamic societies eventually become 98% Muslim. It is not unheard of that many non-Muslims leave the lands controlled by Muslim rulers (Most recent example is that of the Yezidis under ISIS). Can ISIS be taking its inspiration from 5:33?

I wish this were not all true. But it is. Muslims should try hard to convince themselves and everyone else that there is a kind and benign interpretation of 5:33. And then that interpretations must be repeated as often as 5:32 is repeated. If some one opposes Allah or his messenger, they should be left alone not killed, bodily harmed or banished.

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