'In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful' His saying - glorified and exalted is He -: ﴿For that reason, We have decreed upon the Children of Israel that whoever kills a soul without [another] soul or [in the case of] corruption [done] 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 certainly, there came to them Our messengers with clear proofs. Then indeed, many of them, even after that, throughout the land were transgressors.﴾ The majority of people hold that His saying: ﴿For that reason﴾ is related to His saying:

(p-152) It was narrated from Ibn Abbas that he said: The meaning is: Whoever kills a single soul and violates its sanctity, he is like one who has killed all of mankind. And whoever refrains from killing a single soul, preserves its sanctity, and is shy to kill it, he is like one who has given life to all of mankind.

And Abdullah Ibn Abbas also said: The meaning is: It is as if he has killed all of mankind in the sight of the one who was killed. And whoever gives it life and saves it from destruction, it is as if he has given life to all of mankind in the sight of the one who was saved.

And Ibn Abbas also said, as well as others: The meaning is: Whoever kills a soul and thus destroys himself, it is as if he has killed all of mankind, as he will enter the fire because of that. And whoever is saved from killing it, it is as if he has been saved from killing all of mankind.

And Mujahid said: Whoever intentionally kills a believing soul, Allah has made his recompense Hell; and He is angry with him; and He has cursed him; and He has prepared for him a great punishment. He says: If he had killed all of mankind, it would not have increased beyond that. And whoever does not kill anyone, indeed the people have been safe from him.

And Ibn Zayd said: The meaning is that whoever kills a soul, he is subject to the retribution and retaliation that is required of one who has killed all of mankind. He said: And whoever gives it life; meaning: whoever pardons one whose killing was obligatory for him; and Al-Hasan also said: It is the pardon after having the ability; and Mujahid said: And whoever gives it life: he saves it from burning or drowning.

And some said: Since all the believers are seeking the killer, he is like one who has killed all of mankind.

The judge Abu Muhammad - may Allah have mercy on him - said: This is a statement that is implausible; and the analogy does not hold in any of these sayings. What I say is that the similarity between the killer of a soul and the killer of all does not apply from all angles; but the similarity has been established from three angles: One of them is retribution; for it is one. The second is the threat; for Allah has threatened the killer of a soul with eternity in the fire; and that is the ultimate punishment. If we assume he exits from the fire later due to monotheism, then likewise the killer of all if that were to happen. The third is the violation of sanctity; for a single soul in that regard and all souls are equal; and the violator of one is noted as if he has violated all. An example of this is: Two men swore on two trees that they would not eat anything from their fruits; one of them ate one from the fruit of his tree; and the other ate all the fruit of his tree; they have both equaled in their breach.

(p-153) And His saying, the Exalted: "And whoever gives it life"; there is a figurative expression in it; for it is a phrase about leaving and saving; otherwise, true giving life, which is creation, is only for Allah, the Exalted; and this giving life is like the saying of Nimrod: "I give life"; [Al-Baqarah: 258] he named the leaving as giving life; and the giver of life to a soul is like the giver of life to all in preserving sanctity and deserving of praise.

Then Allah, the Most High, informed about the Children of Israel that messengers from Allah came to them with clear signs in this and in other matters. Then many of them continued to transgress in every era. They exceed the limits. And in this verse, there is a reference to the actions of the Jews in their intention to kill the Prophet - blessings and peace be upon him - and others, as well as to other such deeds of theirs.