"17 “Anyone who takes another person’s life must be put to death."
~ Leviticus 24:17
When I look at this one sentence Law in the Torah, it is very interesting and very short. But, it seems very powerful while being so compact.
The use of the phrase "takes another person's life" is what is very interesting. NLT and NIV use this phrase instead of "kill" or "murder" and I think it is very intelligent in that it creates a spectrum.
That spectrum could range from 0.1% to 100% of the person's life. This becomes very useful and powerful if, for example, when we look at what took place in India when the man was going around stealing organs from poor Muslims. He wasn't taking 100% of the poor persons lives, but a smaller percentage in taking the kidneys from their bodies, and many times it was without their permission. I will leave the video below. But, that verse is just one example. But, belief in that would merit the invocation to Allah (swt) for that ruling against organ trafficking, and Allah (swt) hears and if He Willeth He Answers. It has recently been identified that organ trafficking is a significant issue in Egypt, as well, for poor immigrants who are even Muslims.
In these types of cases concerning the penalties of death, the person that commits the offense places themselves in that category for penalty from God. Each person has to do their best not to fall into these types of categories for penalties from Him (God). Similar to the Law of Gravity if a person throws something up, it falls back to the Earth, God will inevitably carry out the penalty, it is not a matter of if, but when. Unless the person ceases the activity, and if it is forgivable, offers the necessary repentance, fasting, compensations to the families of the deceased, etc.
Al Jazeera News - February 12, 2008 - Inside Story - Organ Trafficking in India
