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Many scholars opine that to kill a person there are very limited reasons in Islam. That's why they claim it to be the religion of peace. But some people point out that it is mentioned in Islam to kill Kafirs too. The word "Kafir" I am referring to means someone who does not believe in one God.

I am new to this topic. I have heard this from many people and think this is right place to ask.

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One should distinguish between two kinds of directives given in the Quran: 1) that are part of Sharia to be followed by Muslims and 2) that relate to the Ministry of a Messenger.

  1. Al-Ma'ida (5:32) is a representative verse of the first kind. This verse states that a human life can only be taken in two cases. (very limited reasons as you said)
  2. At-Tawba (9:5) is a representative verse of the second kind. The core idea is that a person who "denies the truth in spite of being convinced that it is the truth" [2] becomes a Kafir who can be punished by death. This is a Divine injunction to be carried out once the truth has been clearly communicated by a Messenger to the people he was sent to.

The proponents of killing Kafirs actually generalize the second kind which they should not.

Please visit the following links if you want to read more:

  1. Jihad against the Disbelievers
  2. Who is a Kafir?
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  • 9:5 is not about killing anyone who "denies the truth in spite of being convinced that it is the truth". it is about those polytheist who broke the peace treaty with prophet(s.a) .it is well explained by 'seeker' for this question islam.stackexchange.com/questions/14595/…
    – Shafeek
    Dec 17, 2015 at 2:14
  • How does one decide that a person is Kafir or not i.e. he is denying in spite of knowing truth?
    – Abhijeet Kumar Srivastava
    Dec 19, 2015 at 9:08
  • @AbhijeetKumarSrivastava Please refer to the links above.
    – a_fan
    Dec 19, 2015 at 9:37

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