Whoever Saved a Soul As Though Saved All Mankind (5:32)

 بِسۡمِ اللّٰہِ الرَّحۡمٰنِ الرَّحِیۡمِ 

In the Name of Allah, the Rahman, the Merciful

الصلاة والسلام عليك يا سيدي يا رسول الله

In a previous article, I argued that Muslims should not dismiss the Talmud. Indeed, it preserves many original divine revelations and inspirations that may not otherwise appear in the ancient, written Scriptures.

Islam totally rejects the Sola Scriptura doctrine, associated with Protestantism and heresies like the “Quran-only” movement. Some Muslims object to the Talmud and characterize it as a fabricated and even satanic text. While there are some objectionable passages in the Talmud, and some of it is merely the baseless opinions of various Rabbis, there are certainly parts of the Talmud which refer to an original revelation or teaching from God.

Allah says in the Holy Quran:

کَتَبۡنَا عَلٰی بَنِیۡۤ اِسۡرَآءِیۡلَ اَنَّہٗ مَنۡ قَتَلَ نَفۡسًۢا بِغَیۡرِ نَفۡسٍ اَوۡ فَسَادٍ فِی الۡاَرۡضِ فَکَاَنَّمَا قَتَلَ النَّاسَ جَمِیۡعًا ؕ وَمَنۡ اَحۡیَاہَا فَکَاَنَّمَاۤ اَحۡیَا النَّاسَ جَمِیۡعًا

We wrote upon the Children of Israel that one who killed a soul, except for (killing) a soul, or made corruption in the land, it is as though he killed all mankind. And whoever saved the life (of a soul) it is as though he saved the life of all mankind

(Surah 5, Ayah 32)

Yet this principle is not found anywhere explicitly in the written Scriptures of the Jews—the Hebrew Bible. However, it is in the Talmud:

המאבד נפש אחד מישראל מעלה עליו הכתוב כאילו איבד עולם מלא וכל המקיים נפש אחת מישראל מעלה עליו הכתוב כאילו קיים עולם

“Whoever destroyed a single soul of Israel it as though he destroyed an entire world, and whoever saved a single soul of Israel it is as though he saved an entire world.”

(Mishnah Sanhedrin 4:5)

Incidentally, some manuscripts and variant readings of the Talmud do not even include the words “of Israel” making it a universal principle. 

From this we may conclude that the Rabbinic Jewish doctrine that Moses received at Mount Sinai an oral law in addition to the written Torah is true. Much of the teachings and ordinances of that oral Torah have been preserved in the Talmud.

And Allah and His Apostle know best!