This Sarah takes its' name from verse 112 in which the word "mai'dah" occurs. Like the names of many other surahs, this name has no special relation to the subject of the Surah but has been used merely as a symbol to distinguish it from other surahs.
Surah Al Māʼidah is one of the longest surahs of the Holy Qur'an with many a important subject discussed in this surah. Owing to its length, the exegesis / tafseer of the surah has been broken down in the following parts for better understanding:
- The Overview of the surah (already published) gave an overall perspective of the surah, its back ground and the diverse and important subjects discussed therein. The central theme of the surah is the regulation of lawful and unlawful food, obedience to which is considered as part of the pledge between God and the believers. It also talks about hunting for food during the pilgrimage. God had also taken pledges from the Jews and Christians and the chapter deals with what they did to their pledges. Some passages deal with the afterlife and the verdict of the messengers on the behavior of their communities. Jesus is mentioned when his disciples asked him to pray to God and of his renouncing any claim to divinity.
Now we commence with the exegesis / tafseer of the surah divided into following four parts:
We have already presented the Parts I - III of the surah. Let us now read the translation and exegesis / tafseer of the last part, Part III, of the surah in English. For Arabic Text, please refer to the references given at the end and may also listen to its recitation in Arabic with English subtitles:
بِسْمِ اللهِ الرَّحْمٰنِ الرَّحِيْمِ
"In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful"
Rukhu / Section 12 [87-98]
Most of the verses in this Fourth Part [Ruku 12-14] of exegesis of Surah are about laws governing many facets of life of a true believer / Muslim.
Those who forbid upon them things that Allah has made allowable / Halal to show their piety is forbidden in Islam. In fact in Islam secluding one from the society and getting busy in remembering Allah is least liked by Allah. Those who live among a society and then save them from ills of unlawful / Haram things and cling to the truth are much preferred over those shying away from society and living a secluded life.
Here subjects life exaggeration, laws about alcoholic beverages, gambling, and divination to believers and calls them Satan’s doing, hunting while performing pilgrimage to Mecca have been explicitly mentioned.
It has also been said that Allah's messenger must be obeyed for whatever they say is from Allah and no one else. And in turn it is the duty of Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) to deliver the message, yet not to force people to accept it. It is also stressed that too much questioning of matters might make things difficult; Allah’s silence sometimes is because He is forgiving and forbearing.
Verses 87-89 Do not make Halal things Haram on your own and Kaffarah (penalty) for breaking the oath
( 87 ) O you who have believed, do not prohibit the good things which Allah has made lawful to you and do not transgress. Indeed, Allah does not like transgressors.This verse embodies two directives:
- The first is that man should not attribute to himself the authority to proclaim things either lawful or unlawful according to his own wishes. Only that which God has held to be lawful is lawful, and only that which God has declared unlawful is unlawful. If men were to declare certain things either lawful or unlawful on their own authority, they would not be following the law of God but their own laws.
- The second directive is that they should not adopt the course of world-renunciation and abstention from worldly pleasures as the Christian monks, Hindu mendicants, Buddhist bhikshus and illuminist mystics did. Religious-minded and virtuous people have always tended to consider their physical and carnal desires an impediment to spiritual growth. They have considered suffering, deprivation from worldly pleasures and abstention from the means of worldly sustenance to be acts of goodness and indispensable for achieving proximity to God. Even some of the Companions leaned in this direction. The Prophet (peace be on him) once came to know that some Companions had resolved that they would fast without interruption, that instead of spending the night on their beds they would remain awake praying, that they would consume neither meat nor fat, and would have no (sexual) relations with women. The Prophet (peace be on him) addressed the people on this subject and said: 'I have not been commanded to do so. Even your own self has rights against you. So, fast on certain days and refrain from fasting on others. Stay awake praying at night and also sleep. Look at me; 1 sleep as well as stay awake (praying); sometimes I fast and sometimes I don't. I consume meat as well as fat. Whosoever dislikes my way does not belong to me.' He then added: 'What has happened to people that they have prohibited for themselves women, good food, perfumes, sleep and the pleasures of the world, whereas I have not taught you to become monks and priests. In my religion there is neither abstention from women nor from meat, neither seclusion nor withdrawal.
- For the purposes of self-control is fasting. As for monasticism, all its benefits can be derived from jihad (struggle in the way of God). Serve God and associate none with Him. Perform Hajj and 'Umrah, establish Prayers, dispense Zakah and observe the fasts of Ramadan. Those who were destroyed before you were destroyed because they were severe with themselves, and when they became severe with themselves God became severe with them as well. It is the remnants of such people who you see in the oratories and hermitages of monks.' (Ibn Kathir, vol. 2, pp. 626 and 628-9 - Ed.)
يٰۤـاَيُّهَا الَّذِيۡنَ اٰمَنُوۡا لَا تُحَرِّمُوۡا طَيِّبٰتِ مَاۤ اَحَلَّ اللّٰهُ لَـكُمۡ وَلَا تَعۡتَدُوۡا ؕ اِنَّ اللّٰهَ لَا يُحِبُّ الۡمُعۡتَدِيۡنَ
- One is khabar. Khabar means information. For example a person who doesn’t know much about Islam and he is informed that eating camel meat is haram. The informer may not have forced the person to stop eating camel meat but by giving the information that it is haram, he has made that person give up eating camel meat. Similarly, if someone asks us about an ingredient whether it is haram or halal and we tell them it’s haram without proper research or basis then we are making lawful haram.
- The second type of tahreem is insha i.e. a person declares and makes something haram. He is giving a hukam or passing a law. In the first one, you’re informing someone. In the second type you’re passing a law or forcing someone. For example, in Makkah the pagans had made a she-camel which gave lot of offsprings sacred. They had gifted that camel to the gods. In a Muslim community, someone can pass the law that seafood is haram while Allah made it halal.
- The third type of tahreem is making an oath of abstinence. For example, a person declares never having a certain type of food again while that food item may be halal.
Allah commands in Surah al-A’raf ayat 31,
وكُلُواْ وَاشْرَبُواْ وَلاَ تُسْرِفُواْ
“And eat and drink but waste not by extravagance.”
There are traditions to the effect that the Prophet (peace be on him) once came to know that one of his Companions was always so preoccupied with worship and devotion that he did not approach his wife for long periods. The Prophet (peace be on him) called for him and directed him to go to his wife. On being told that he was fasting, the Prophet (peace be on him) asked him to break the fast and proceed to his wife. During the reign of 'Umar a lady once lodged the complaint that her husband fasted all day and prayed all night and had no relations with her. 'Umar appointed the famous Successor (Tabi'i), Ka'b b. Thawr al-Azdi to look into the matter. He issued the judgement that the husband had the right to spend three nights in Prayer if he so wished, but every fourth night was the right of his wife. (Fiqh al-Sunnah, vol. 2, p. 164 - Ed.)
'Do not exceed the bounds of right' has a broad signification. To hold the things which are lawful to be unlawful, and to shun the things declared by God to be clean as if they were unclean, is in itself an act of wrongful excess. It should be remembered, at the same time, that extravagant indulgence even in clean things is an act of wrongful excess. Likewise, to overstep the limits of the permissible is also an act of wrongful excess. God disapproves of all three kinds of excess.
While Allah command to eat from what is Halal in the previous vers, He also commands to eat everything but then puts a condition in verse 88 below:
وَكُلُواْ مِمَّا رَزَقَكُمُ اللَّهُ حَلَـلاً طَيِّباً وَاتَّقُواْ اللَّهَ الَّذِى أَنتُم بِهِ مُؤْمِنُونَ
( 88 ) And eat of what Allah has provided for you [which is] lawful and good. And fear Allah, in whom you are believers.The condition is eat everything that is halal and tayab. It means food that it shouldn’t be pork or alcohol. Halal also means food earned through lawful earning. It should be clean, healthy and beneficial food.
And fear Allah in all your affairs, obey Him and seek His pleasure, all the while staying away from defiance and disobedience of Allah.
Here in this verse we learn about the prohibition of making halal haram. Allah alone has the authority to make something halal or haram even the Prophet sallAllahu aalyhi wa sallam was not allowed to do that. Some people out of piety make things haram upon themselves. For example, some people say I’ll not look after myself. I will shun the pleasures of dunya. I will stay away from adorning myself. This comes under self-annihilation and Allah prohibits this.
Allah says in Surah al-A’raf ayah 32, “Say: Who has forbidden the adornment of Allah which He has produced for His servants and the good [lawful] things of provision? Say: They are for those who believe during the worldly life [but] exclusively for them on the Day of Resurrection.”The scholars interpret this verse as under:
Similarly, Allah says in Surah an-Nahl ayah 116, “And do not say about what your tongues assert of untruth, ‘This is lawful and this is unlawful,’ to invent falsehood about Allah. Indeed, those who invent falsehood about Allah will not succeed.”
- If a person has some allergies or has been advised by the doctor to stay away from a certain food then that’s permissible but again there should be a genuine reason.
- In our deen there is no concept of monasticism. Monasticism is leaving something out of extreme piety. Not socializing at all. Not eating food or drink. Monasticism is an innovation.
- Moderation should be observed in consuming and enjoying the halal things as well. Extravagance is disliked. We have a tendency of going to extremes. Moderation is that body likes good things but our hearts are not attached to it. For example, someone who likes eating is thinking about food and grocery shopping the entire day.
- Allah doesn’t like people who transgress whether it is against Allah or the people. Allah ta’ala has given us certain limits and we are not following them, we are becoming the law maker. When we tell others such and such thing is haram without any basis then we are making their lives difficult. We should care about ingredients but also “learn” about them before we pass judgments. Research and educate yourself.
- We learn about the favor of Allah that He has made the good things lawful for us, He could have made the clean and pure unlawful for us like He did for Bani Israel as a punishment.
- There is no piety in being a vegetarian, dairy-free food unless someone is really advised by doctor. This is israaf, wasting food. Some people only like meat and they don’t like vegetable. Some people only eat rice and not wheat bread. Is that going to make you pious? No it is not. Moderation is the key. Eat whatever Allah has made halal and tayab. The Prophet sallAllahu aalyhi wa sallam observed moderation. He was not picky when it came to food. He never passed judgment. He chose halal and tayyab for himself whether it was meat, vegetable or milk.
- The mother spends so much time preparing food and the children say “yuck” that’s ingratitude. Therefore, we should teach our children the wisdom of halal and tayyab and gratitude as well. If we remember all the people in the world who are hungry today, then whatever is before us we will eat it happily.
After differentiating between halal and haram, verse 89 explains about the expiation for breaking oaths.
( 89 ) Allah will not impose blame upon you for what is meaningless in your oaths, but He will impose blame upon you for [breaking] what you intended of oaths. So its expiation is the feeding of ten needy people from the average of that which you feed your [own] families or clothing them or the freeing of a slave. But whoever cannot find [or afford it] - then a fast of three days [is required]. That is the expiation for oaths when you have sworn. But guard your oaths. Thus does Allah make clear to you His verses that you may be grateful.
لاَ يُؤَاخِذُكُمُ اللَّهُ بِاللَّغْوِ فِى أَيْمَـنِكُمْ وَلَـكِن يُؤَاخِذُكُم بِمَا عَقَّدتُّمُ الاٌّيْمَـنَ
“Allah will not punish you for what is unintentional in your oaths, but He will punish you for your deliberate oaths…”
Sometimes we are very careful about the food that we eat. We make sure it’s halal but when it comes to our speech we are not that careful. Sometimes we utter words that are not pleasing to Allah subhanahu wa ta’ala and we may be liable to pay kaffarah upon them.
The word laghw is used in several ways. It means ineffectual, uncounted, meaningless or idle talk. People can spend hours and hours talking but at the end of the day what was it that they were talking about? There are certain words that people speak without any intention or out of habit. If a person utters something spontaneously while he didn’t mean it then he will not be held accountable.
But if a person says something while being sure what he is saying then he will be accountable for it. He consciously swore that oath. Yameen is to swear oath.
For oaths that were intended by the heart, Allah narrates the following expiation,
فَكَفَّارَتُهُ إِطْعَامُ عَشَرَةِ مَسَـكِينَ مِنْ أَوْسَطِ مَا تُطْعِمُونَ أَهْلِيكُمْ أَوْ كِسْوَتُهُمْ أَوْ تَحْرِيرُ رَقَبَةٍ فَمَن لَّمْ يَجِدْ فَصِيَامُ ثَلَـثَةِ أَيَّامٍ ذلِكَ كَفَّارَةُ أَيْمَـنِكُمْ إِذَا حَلَفْتُمْ
“…for its expiation feed ten poor, on a scale of the Awsat of that with which you feed your own families; or clothe them; or free a slave. But whosoever cannot afford, then he should fast for three days. That is the expiation for the oaths when you have sworn…”Three options have been given (a) feed ten poor people, (b) clothe ten poor people, and (c) free a slave. And if someone doesn’t have the means to do any of these then he should fast for three consecutive days. This is his expiation for what he deliberately said.
Feed ten poor people means providing them two meals similar to what we serve our family. This means that just because they are poor it doesn’t mean they can be served spoiled or rotten food. Food quality should be of the same standard or whatever is called a decent meal. Same rule applies to clothing. Don’t get them shabby or tattered clothes. Clothe them with what you will buy for a family member. Ten clothes means ten complete outfits. They should be such that they cover a person’s aura whether man or woman, and a person can offer prayers in it.
If someone has a slave in their custody or know someone who has one then he should free that slave or pay money free him. the condition here is that the slave should be a Muslim. While this is not stated in the ayah, we learn about this condition through a hadeeth.
In the Muwatta of Malik, the Musnad of Ash-Shafi`i and Saheeh Muslim, a lengthy hadeeth was recorded that Umar bin Al-Hakam As-Sulami said that he once had to free a slave (as atonement) and he brought a black slave girl before the Messenger of Allah, sallAllahu aalyhi wa sallam, who asked her;
أَيْنَ اللهُ؟
“Where is Allah?” She said, “Above the heavens.” He said,
مَنْ أَنَا؟
“Who am I?” She said, “The Messenger of Allah.” He said,
أَعْتِقْهَا فَإِنَّهَا مُؤْمِنَة
“Free her, for she is a believer.” There are three types of expiation for breaking deliberate oaths, and whichever one chooses, it will suffice, according to the consensus (of the scholars).Allah mentioned the easiest, then the more difficult options, since feeding is easier than giving away clothes, and giving away clothes is easier than freeing a slave. If one is unable to fulfill any of these options, then he fasts for three days for expiation.
This is the legal way to atone for deliberate oaths.
وَاحْفَظُواْ أَيْمَـنَكُمْ كَذلِكَ يُبَيِّنُ اللَّهُ لَكُمْ ءَايَـتِهِ لَعَلَّكُمْ تَشْكُرُونَ
“…And protect your oaths. Thus Allah makes clear to you His Ayat that you may be grateful.”Protect your oath means that if you have sworn something then do not break it without a legal or physical necessity. One should also not hasten to give a sworn statement. And give an oath has been broken then one should not leave his broken oaths without paying the expiation for them. This is how Allah subhanahu wa ta’ala makes His commands clear for us so that we may be grateful to Him. if there was no expiation we would have been punished for our sins in the hereafter. But by stating kaffara Allah has shown us a way to free ourselves from the punishment of fire.
So if one commits a mistake or breaks an oath, be assured of the vastness of Allah's graciousness and forgiveness. He doesn’t hold people about what slips from their mouth unconsciously. It is the mercy of Allah that He tells us ways to free ourselves from fire.
Verses 90-93 Prohibition of intoxicants (liquor and drugs) and gambling and Rasool's duty is only to pass on the Message of Allah
يٰۤاَيُّهَا الَّذِيۡنَ اٰمَنُوۡۤا اِنَّمَا الۡخَمۡرُ وَالۡمَيۡسِرُ وَالۡاَنۡصَابُ وَالۡاَزۡلَامُ رِجۡسٌ مِّنۡ عَمَلِ الشَّيۡطٰنِ فَاجۡتَنِبُوۡهُ لَعَلَّكُمۡ تُفۡلِحُوۡنَ
( 90 ) O you who have believed, indeed, intoxicants, gambling, [sacrificing on] stone alters [to other than Allah], and divining arrows are but defilement from the work of Satan, so avoid it that you may be successful.The prohibition of alcohol came in different stages. Ahmad ibn Hanbal recorded in his Musnad from Abu Huraira radhiAllahu anhu that he said, “There were three stages to prohibit intoxicants.”
- When the Messenger of Allah migrated to Madina the people were consuming alcohol and gambling including the Muslims. A person who is a believer knows that these things are morally wrong. So although there was no prohibition regarding their consumption yet they asked the Messenger. It is then when ayah 219 of Surah al-Baqarah was revealed stating, “In them is great sin and [yet, some] benefit for people. But their sin is greater than their benefit.”
- People said there is no sin it for us. They are not haram. They went on drinking alcohol until one day the person who was leading the Salah mixed the ayaat in his recitation because at that time he was intoxicated. It was then that Allah sent down a tougher command than the previous one in Surah an-Nisa ayah 43. He said, “O you who have believed, do not approach prayer while you are intoxicated until you know what you are saying.”
- People continued to drink alcohol but would avoid it when the Salah time was near. It was then when this ayah of Surah al-Ma’idah was revealed. They replied, “We abstain O Lord.”
In this verse four things are categorically prohibited: (1) intoxicants; (2) games of chance; (3) places consecrated for the worship of anyone else besides God, and altars for either sacrifices or offerings in the name of others than God; and (4) polytheistic divination by arrow-shooting.
Literally, khamr خَمْرُ is that which covers the intellect. It includes every kind of intoxicant whether it is a drink, something a person smokes, smells or put in his mouth; anything that overcomes the mind of a person is an intoxicant. When a person is intoxicated he cannot distinguish between right and wrong. He’s harming himself and other people. Therefore, there’s a law against drunk driving. A true believer will not fall for intoxicants. He cannot appreciate the fact that a part of his life has gone. That’s a wasted time.
As for drinking intoxicants, following need to be considered for these have attributed to the Prophet Muhammad, peace be upon him):
- It is reported by 'Abd Allah Ibn 'Umar that the Prophet (peace be on him) said: 'God has cursed khamr (wine) and him who drinks it, him who provides it to others and him who buys or sells it, him who squeezes (the grapes) into wine and him who causes others to squeeze grapes (in order to make wine), him who carries it and him to whom it is carried.' (See Ahmad b. Hanbal, Musnad, vol. 2, p. 97; vol. 1, p. 316; Abu Da'ud, 'Ashribah', 2 - Ed.)
- According to another tradition the Prophet (peace be on him) instructed not to eat at the table where intoxicating drinks were being taken. In the beginning the Prophet (peace be on him) even forbade the use of vessels in which intoxicating drinks had either been made or served. Later on, when the prohibition of drinks was completely observed the Prophet (peace be on him) withdrew the interdiction regarding the use of these vessels. (See Abu Da'ud, 'At'imah', 18; Tirmidhi, 'Adab', 43; Darimi, 'Ashribah', 15; Ahmad b. Hanbal, Musnad, vol. 1, p. 20; vol. 3, p. 339 - Ed.) Though the word khamr in Arabic means literally 'the drink made from grapes', it was also used figuratively for intoxicating liquors made from wheat, barley, raisins, dates and honey. The Prophet (peace be on him) applied the prohibition of wine to all intoxicants. In this regard we find categorical statements from the Prophet (peace be on him) embodied in traditions: 'Every intoxicant is khamr, and every intoxicant is prohibited.'
- 'Every drink which causes intoxication is prohibited.' 'I forbid everything which intoxicates.' In a Friday sermon 'Umar defined khamr in the following manner: 'Whatever takes hold of the mind is khamr.' (See Bukhari, 'Wudu", 71; 'Maghazi', 60, 'Ashribah', 4,10, 'Adab', 8, 'Ahkam', 22; Muslim, 'Ashribah', 67-9; Abu Da'ud, 'Ashribah', 5, 71; Ibn Majah, 'Ashribah', 9, 13, 14; Darimi, 'Ashribah', 8, 9; Muwatta', 'Dahaya', 8; Ahmad b. Hanbal, Musnad, vol. 1, pp. 274, 289, 350; vol. 2, pp. 16, 158, 171, 185, 429, 501; vol. 3, pp. 63, 66, 112, 119, 361; vol. 4, pp. 41, 416; vol. 6, pp. 36, 71, 72, 97, 131, 190 and 226 - Ed.)
- The Prophet (peace be on him) also enunciated the following principle: 'If anything causes intoxication when used in large quantity, even a small quantity of it is prohibited.' 'If a large quantity of something causes intoxication, to drink even a palmful of it is prohibited.' (See Abu Da'ud, 'Ashribah', 5; Ibn Majah, 'Ashribah', 10; Ahmad b. Hanbal, Musnad, vol. 2, pp. 167, 179 and vol. 3, p. 343 - Ed.)
The word maysir مَيْسِر in the ayah has been used for gambling but literally it means any game of chance or betting through which people acquire some wealth. It includes lottery as well. A person who is involved in maysir cannot be generous or sualeh. We have been taught to do ehsaan with others, be considerate and be extra nice; display excellence of conduct. In maysir, we are looking for ways to acquire someone else’s money. We win by hurting someone else.
The word ansab اٌّنصَاب means a stone altar. This is where the mushrikeen used to offer their sacrifices to their idols.
The word azlam اٌّزْلاَمُ is the plural of zulm. It means using arrow to find out your fortune. When people were not sure about a matter, they will take three arrows. One said, “Do it”. The other said, “Don’t do it”. And the third didn’t say anything, it means, “Try again”. These arrows were used to take decisions. This is similar to using dice or cards, today.
All of these things are filth رِجْسٌ .It is applied to both physical and intangible filth. Allah says in Surah al-An’am ayah 145, “Say: I do not find within that which was revealed to me [anything] forbidden to one who would eat it unless it be a dead animal or blood spilled out or the flesh of swine – for indeed, it is impure.”
What is the reason for avoiding a certain type of food? It’s rijs meaning unclean or impure. This is the physical filth.
Intangible filth, on the other hand, means spiritual filth. Allah says in Surah al-Hajj ayah 30, “So avoid the uncleanliness of idols.” The idols may be fragrant and clean apparently, but there’s spiritual uncleanliness in them.
Here in Surah al-Ma’idah ayah 90, Allah is talking about the spiritual impurity. Khamr, maysir, ansab and azlam are the works of Shaytan. He has beautified them for the people. He incites them to do. Therefore, we have been instructed to stay away from them and be successful. Falah means that a person attains his goals and he is saved from that which is makrooh or disliked. He is successful in this world and the hereafter.
( 91 ) Satan only wants to cause between you animosity and hatred through intoxicants and gambling and to avert you from the remembrance of Allah and from prayer. So will you not desist?In the verse, the Arabic word yuqi’a يُوقِعَ is from the root letters wau-qaf-ayn and it means “to occur or happen”. Shaytan wants that enmity and hatred should grow between people. This is why he tempts us to fall for these things.
When someone is drunk he misbehaves and abuses others. He doesn’t know what words he is uttering. He hurts others by his tongue and actions. Similarly, it is possible that seeing a person in drunken state others around him play a prank to have fun. They misbehave with him. What do such actions result in? Hatred for the other. In the West, often girls are given to drink more and more of intoxication when in parties, and then when they are drunk, bodily excesses are committed by their male friends. It is only after when the effect of intoxicants is over, one realises the ill effects that intoxicants can accrue.
When a person puts his money in a lottery or gamble anticipating doubling or tripling of wealth, and then he loses them all, what happens? He begins hating the person who won the money. Similarly, the person who wins the money, what happens to him? It is quite possible that some people conspire to have him killed to get their hands on his wealth or steal his money. It again strengthens enmity instead of love between people.
The other reason why Shaytan lures people to fall for the forbidden things is to stop them from the remembrance of Allah. Remembrance of Allah can be done through the heart, tongue and limbs.
When a person is intoxicated can he remember Allah? When a person is worrying about doubling and tripling his wealth or acquiring another’s wealth unlawfully will he be remembering Allah? When a person is immersed in spiritual filth can he remember Allah? No.
These actions stop the believer from remembering Allah. This is what Shaytan wants. That we spend a lot of our time without doing the dhikr of Allah. When we leave the washroom after relieving ourselves, what do we say after coming out? Ghufranaka. Forgive me. Why do we say this? It is because we spent a “few minutes” without remembering Allah. When someone is in a drunken state or occupied with gambling can he remember Allah for several “hours”, forget about a few minutes. On the Day of Judgment, this will be a great disappointment for us because we didn’t utilize our time properly.
Therefore, after explaining the dangers of intoxicants and gambling, Allah asks us if we will still continue consuming them. It is a warning as well as an encouragement to abstain. When Umar ibn al-Khattab radhiAllahu anhu heard these ayaat, he said, “We abstain.”
To sum up the verses 90 and 91, we learn:
- About the importance of staying away from these prohibited things. Secondly, it is the condition of emaan because ayah 90 begins with “O you who believe.” If someone doesn’t abstain from these things then there is a problem with his emaan.
- Alcohol and all the other types of intoxicants are unlawful regardless of their quantity or kind.
- Any type of gambling, including lottery, offering sacrifices to idols and finding out fortune is haram. Any method used to determine fate is haram whether that’s astrology, palmistry, tarot reading or going to a so-called pious person. People who claim they can tell what’s going to happen in the future are either lying or using a jinn to find out. Shaytan is a jinn. We cannot please Shaytan without displeasing Allah.
Those who say since the word “haram” has not been used in the Qur’an therefore we can still consume them. But when we study the tafseer nothing could be more clear.
Verses 90 and 91 were about the unlawfulness of drinking and gambling, to make the word of law easy to act upon, Now in following verses Allah commands the believers to obey Allah and His messenger:
( 92 ) And obey Allah and obey the Messenger and beware. And if you turn away - then know that upon Our Messenger is only [the responsibility for] clear notification.When one is in doubt whether a thing is haram or otherwise, one should consult the Qur’an and try to find the relevant verses. However, in some cases, only brief mentions are made about certain things. In that case one should look at the life of Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him). If we never saw him practicing something then it’s unlawful for us too whether the word haram has been explicitly used or not.
The commands of Allah and His Messenger are in one’s own interest. If one does not follow the commands of Allah, it does not harm Allah or His Messenger. Allah is far above any gain or loss while Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) was only assigned the task to convey the message. It was not upon him to convert people or force them to agree with him.
Let’s look at some of the Prophet’s statements that Declare Khamr to be Haram.
Imam Ahmad recorded that Ibn Umar radhiAllahu anhu said that the Messenger of Allah, sallAllahu aalyhi wa sallam said (as recorded by Abu Dawud and Ibn Majah),
لُعِنَتِ الْخَمْرُ عَلى عَشْرَةِ أَوْجُهٍ: لُعِنَتِ الْخَمْرُ بِعَيْنِهَا، وَشَارِبُهَا، وَسَاقِيهَا، وَبَائِعُهَا، وَمُبْتَاعُهَا، وَعَاصِرُهَا، وَمُعْتَصِرُهَا، وَحَامِلُها، وَالْمَحْمُولَةُ إِلَيْهِ، وَآكِلُ ثَمَنِهَا
“Ten matters related to Khamr were cursed. Khamr itself was cursed, whoever drinks it, its server, seller, buyer, brewer, who asks for it to be brewed, whoever carries it, whomever it is carried to and whoever consumes its price.”Muslim recorded that Ibn Umar radhiAllahu anhu said that the Messenger of Allah, sallAllahu aalyhi wa sallam said,
كُلُّ مُسْكِرٍ خَمْرٌ، وَكُلُّ مُسْكِرٍ حَرَامٌ، وَمَنْ شَرِبَ الْخَمْرَ فَمَاتَ وَهُوَ يُدْمِنُهَا وَلَمْ يَتُبْ مِنْهَا، لَمْ يَشْرَبْهَا فِي الْآخِرَةIt must be understood that the obligation of all prophets and messengers were to convey the commands of Allah and try to show the path of truth to the disbelievers. Therefore as Muslims we must refer to the life of Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) for every matter to augment the teachings of the Qur'an.
“Every intoxicant is Khamr, and every intoxicant is unlawful. Whoever drinks Khamr and dies while addicted to it, without repenting from drinking it, will not drink it in the Hereafter.”
Verse 93 below blows a fresh breeze into the hearts of those who have erred in the past and were indulged in ills mentioned in verse 90 above:
( 93 ) There is not upon those who believe and do righteousness [any] blame concerning what they have eaten [in the past] if they [now] fear Allah and believe and do righteous deeds, and then fear Allah and believe, and then fear Allah and do good; and Allah loves the doers of good.Allah is All Forgiving and Merciful, the Ar Rahim (الرحيم) - The Most Merciful , Al Ghaffar (الغفار) - The All-Forgiving, The Absolver, Al-'Afuw (العفو) - The Pardoner. He asks his servants to ask for forgiveness so that He should forgive them, as long as they were righteous people and had taqwa in their heart and pledge not to repeat the sin again. One may continue to seek forgiveness time and again and He in all His kindness will keep on forgiving, till of course one reaches his time of death.
Let’s understand this by the help of an example. Non-Muslims are not aware of the prohibitions in Islam. They are involved in consuming intoxicants and gambling. But when they enter the fold of Islam, they learn about the prohibitions. Now, what will happen to them? Or people who died while consuming alcohol, what will happen to them? Allah says their sins will be forgiven before they consumed out of ignorance. If they believe in Allah and His Last Messenger, do righteous deeds and have the taqwa of Allah then there is no sin upon them.
It is emaan that keeps a person away from consuming haram and, makes it easy for the person to conform to the laws of Allah. This the more one progresses in his emaan through the remembrance of Allah, concern for the Hereafter, and by performing righteous deeds, the more his heart will be filled with the taqwa of Allah,
Allah ends this ayah by saying that He loves those who do ehsaan i.e. excellence of conduct.
Verses 94-96 Prohibition of hunting during Hajj Ihram (wearing pilgrim garb) and Kaffarah (penalty) for hunting during Hajj Ihram.
Verse 94 was revealed in regards to the journey of Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) along with his revered companions from Madina to Makkah in order to perform Umrah. This is when the Treaty of Hudaybiyyah was made.
( 94 ) O you who have believed, Allah will surely test you through something of the game that your hands and spears [can] reach, that Allah may make evident those who fear Him unseen. And whoever transgresses after that - for him is a painful punishment.The journey of Umrah is a journey of Ibaadah, therefore, things which are permissible otherwise are not permissible in a state of ihram, such as cutting of nails and hair, any kind of relationship with the husband and his wife. Now, the focus is on the purpose of undertaking this journey.
In a state of Umrah, a person is not allowed to hunt. The place where the companions were camping there were wild animals and birds which could be caught by hand. They could shoot the spear and easily catch the animal. But they were not allowed to catch, for it was so willed by Allah. In fact such restrictions are a form of test to gauge the strength of faith of the believers. We are tested to see how do we fare in a situation where committing a crime is possible? What will we do in a situation where committing a sin is easy? Every situation is a test to determine who does good and who falls for his desires; who obeys Allah and who disobeys Him.
Sometimes these tests are obvious and sometimes they aren’t. Sometimes they are external and sometimes they are internal; we have to fight with our nafs. Sometimes these tests are huge we find it impossible to pass them and sometimes they are small.
In our Deen, hunting is not permissible as a sport. One can only hunt for the purpose of eating it. So the companions of Prophet of Allah were restrained to hunt for they feared Allah in the unseen.
Fearing Allah in the unseen means fearing Allah obeying commands of Allah when one is alone and other people cannot watch him. Exactly so, a person cannot see Allah yet he fears Him. It is an irony that we fear people more than Allah. When we are in a crowd we cannot dare to commit a crime or a sin. But when we are alone we don’t mind our conduct. We should fear Allah and not the people.
This is how the obedience of those who obey Allah in public and secret becomes apparent and tested. In Surah Yaseen, Allah said;
إِنَّ الَّذِينَ يَخْشَوْنَ رَبَّهُم بِالْغَيْبِ لَهُم مَّغْفِرَةٌ وَأَجْرٌ كَبِيرٌ
“Verily! Those who fear their Lord in the unseen, theirs will be forgiveness and a great reward (i.e. Paradise).”
فَمَنِ اعْتَدَى بَعْدَ ذَلِكَ فَلَهُ عَذَابٌ أَلِيمٌ
“Then whoever transgresses thereafter, for him there is a painful torment.”This is a warning for the defiance of Allah’s command, for a person who doesn’t take care about permissible and impermissible after knowing and learning a command.
The solitude makes it easy for a person to commit a sin. He has the opportunity, yet he is in a test by the Unseen. Just like the Bani Israel were tested with the test of Sabbath Day. They were not allowed to catch fish on Saturday but they ignored the warning and went fishing and drew severe wrath of Allah.
During Ramadan we can be tempted to eat but it’s a test for us. We can’t eat it even if no one is watching us. Whenever an opportunity comes we need to evaluate whether we are falling for a sin. On the one hand, the nafs is pulling us and on the other there is the command of Allah and a true believer always submits to the command of Allah.
Therefore, a true believer should be careful when a sin or an act of disobedience is made easy for him. He should hold himself back and not fall for Shaytan’s trap. At such a time, we should remember the story of Prophet Yusuf (Joseph peace be upon him). When the woman was calling him, he said, “I seek refuge from Allah.” When a person holds himself back despite the temptation due to the fear of Allah, he will be rewarded with something better. It is attributed to the Prophet of Allah saying" A Muslim that among the seven who will be under the shade of Allah is a man who is called by a woman of beauty and position [for illegal intercourse], but he says: “I fear Allah.”[Bukhari Vol.1, p.356, # 629, Muslim Vol.2, p.493, #2248]
Likewise people don’t watch certain channels when they are sitting with family. They will watch the sports’ channel or the news, but when they are alone in their room they will visit websites that they should not be browsing. We have the fear of people and not of Allah. It is the fear of Allah that holds us back from sin or a bad deed.
Therefore a person who commits a bad act after learning about its impermissibility for him there will be painful punishment. He should abandon all such acts which can take him to the hellfire. This is why Prophet Yusuf said, “O my Lord! The prison is more preferred to me.” Those who cooperate with another in an act of sin are in the act of same sin too, and will be punished too for helping someone to sin. But those who help others in a good deed, will be rewarded too. For the one who sticks to the commands of Allah is the one who is going to be successful.
In the verse 94, Allah warned us that we will be tested. Now inn verse 95 below, He mentions the rulings of hunting and expiation if a person hunts while being in a state of ihram.
( 95 ) O you who have believed, do not kill game while you are in the state of ihram. And whoever of you kills it intentionally - the penalty is an equivalent from sacrificial animals to what he killed, as judged by two just men among you as an offering [to Allah] delivered to the Ka'bah, or an expiation: the feeding of needy people or the equivalent of that in fasting, that he may taste the consequence of his deed. Allah has pardoned what is past; but whoever returns [to violation], then Allah will take retribution from him. And Allah is Exalted in Might and Owner of Retribution.When a person is in the state of pilgrim sanctity (ihram) it is prohibited for him both to hunt and to assist in hunting animals. Indeed, even if an animal has been hunted for him by someone else he may not eat it. However, if someone hunts an animal for himself and makes a gift of it to such a person, there is no harm in his eating it. There is an exception to this injunction and that is with regard to harmful animals. Snakes, scorpions, mad dogs and other such animals which cause injury to man may be killed even by one in the state of ihram. (See Bukhari, 'Talaq', 24; 'Sayd', 2; Abu Da'ud, 'Manasik', 40, 41; Tirmidhi, 'Hajj', 27; 'Sayd', 26 - Ed.)
It would also be 'two men of equity' (Surah al-Ma'idah 5: 95) to judge as to the number of persons one should feed or the number of days one should fast by way of expiation for killing a certain animal. Now the question arises who will judge how much amount is to be given? It should be the men who are steadfastness in deen, known to uphold the justice, having good relations with people. Men who perform the faraid and abstain from sins. Two just Muslim men should determine an animal equivalent to the game killed, or the amount of its price.
- Ibn Jareer recorded that Abu Jarir Al-Bajali said, “I killed a deer when I was in the state of ihram and mentioned this fact to Umar, who said, `Bring two of your brethren and let them judge you.’ So I went to Abdur-Rahman and Sa`d and they said that I should offer a male sheep.”
- Ibn Jareer recorded that Tariq said, “Arbad killed a deer while in the state of ihram and he went to Umar to judge him. Umar said to him, `Let us both judge,’ and they judged that Arbad should offer a goat that was fed on abundant water and grass.”
The sacrificial animal will be slaughtered in the area of haram, and its meat will be divided between the poor of the area. It cannot be slaughtered before it has reached its destination.
At the end of the verse, it is said that sins committed during the time of ignorance are forgiven. When one enters the fold of Islam and gains knowledge then he must follow Allah’s commands all the while avoiding the sin. However, he who repeats the same sins after gaining knowledge Allah will take retribution. He is Invincible and Controller of everything. None can resist Him, or stop Him from punishing anyone. All creation is His creation and the decision is His, His is the might, and His is the control. He punishes those who disobey Him.
This means that a believer should be in a continuous state of asking forgiveness of Allah for known and unknown sins committed by him. And he should be rest assured that he will be forgiven for as long as he has a sincere longing not to repeat the sin.
اُحِلَّ لَـكُمۡ صَيۡدُ الۡبَحۡرِ وَطَعَامُهٗ مَتَاعًا لَّـكُمۡ وَلِلسَّيَّارَةِۚ وَحُرِّمَ عَلَيۡكُمۡ صَيۡدُ الۡبَـرِّ مَا دُمۡتُمۡ حُرُمًا ؕ وَاتَّقُوا اللّٰهَ الَّذِىۡۤ اِلَيۡهِ تُحۡشَرُوۡنَ
( 96 ) Lawful to you is game from the sea and its food as provision for you and the travelers, but forbidden to you is game from the land as long as you are in the state of ihram. And fear Allah to whom you will be gathered.Since one often runs out of provisions during a voyage and is left with no alternative but to catch sea creatures, fishing in the sea has been made lawful.
Why are the Muhrim allowed to do fishing? It is because the sea journey is longer than land. One can only take a limited provision especially when the boat is not too big or there is no storage facility. This shows us the ease in our Deen.
The word Sayd صَيْدُ has been used for those animals which are alive when you catch them. The word Ta’aam وَطَعَامُهُ on the other hand means those animals which are caught dead. Ibn Abbas radhiAllahu anhu said, “It refers to what the water throws ashore dead.” Therefore sea animals, alive or dead both are permissible.
Imam Malik bin Anas recorded that Abu Hurayrah radhiAllahu anhu said, “A man asked Allah’s Messenger, ‘O Allah’s Messenger! We go to sea and carry little water with us. If we use it for Wudu, we get thirsty, so should we use seawater for Wudu?” The Messenger of Allah said,
هُوَ الطَّهُورُ مَاؤُهُ الْحِلُّ مَيْتَتُه
The word Siyara is used for the people who are traveling. So sea animals are permissible for those who are traveling through the sea and those who are traveling along it.
At the end of the verse, Allah says, "fear Allah to whom you will be gathered." This means to be beware of His might, by obeying what He commands you and avoiding what He prohibits for you in these Ayat revealed to your Prophet. These Ayat forbid Khamr, gambling, Al-Ansab and Al-Azlam, along with hunting land game and killing it while in the state of ihram. To Allah will be your return and destination, and He will punish you for disobeying Him and will reward you for obeying Him.
Verses 97-100 Sacred elements of Hajj
( 97 ) Allah has made the Ka'bah, the Sacred House, standing for the people and [has sanctified] the sacred months and the sacrificial animals and the garlands [by which they are identified]. That is so you may know that Allah knows what is in the heavens and what is in the earth and that Allah is Knowing of all things.The first source of tranquility for mankind is the House of Allah, Ka’bah. The word Ka’abah is from the root letters kaf-ayn-ba which mean “prominent, eminent, glorified, square or cubic.”
The word Qiyam people قِيَام is from the root letters qaf-wau-meem which mean “to stand still or firm.” The word qiyam means something that is used a support on it or against it, such as a wall or a pillar. Thus Allah has made the Ka`bah, the Sacred House, a place of support or an asylum of safety for the people who have no chief to prevent the strong from transgressing against the weak, the evil from the good-doers, and the oppressors from the oppressed.
In Arabia, the Ka'bah was not merely a sacred place of worship. Thanks to its central position and its sanctity, it nurtured the economic and cultural life of the whole peninsula. Since the entire populace was drawn towards the Ka'bah for the performance of Hajj and 'Umrah, their coming together brought about a measure of unity in the life of the Arabs which was otherwise rent with disunity. This enabled the people of various regions and tribes to establish social and cultural ties among themselves. Moreover, the security which reigned in the vicinity of the Ka'bah provided an impetus to creative literary activity, with the result that in the fairs held in the sacred territory, poets placed their poetic compositions before the audience, trying to excel one another. This led to the growth and flowering of their language and literature. Due to the peace and security which reigned in the sacred territory, it became a major centre of trade and commerce.
The second source of tranquility for the people is the sacred month. In the sacred month there is peace, and no fighting takes place. People can travel with security. Most commentators say since the word used is singular therefore this refers to the month of Dhul-Hijjah because soon after there is a mention of sacrificial and garlanded animals. Moreover, since certain months of the year were regarded as sacred months in which there could be no bloodshed, the Arabs enjoyed peace and security for about a quarter of the year. It was during this period that caravans moved in freedom and with ease from one end of the peninsula to the other.
The third source of tranquility is the sacrificial animal, al-hadya الْهَدْىَ. The custom of consecrating animals for sacrifice.
The fourth source is al-qalaid الْقَلَـئِد. The word is the plural form of “qalaida” which is a type of distinctive necklace that is put on the sacrificial animals, as well as to specify that the people traveling with them are pilgrims so don’t harm them for whenever the Arabs saw those animals with their collars signifying consecration for sacrifice, they-bent their heads in reverence and no predatory tribe had the courage to molest them.
All of these sources of qiyam, the Ka’abah, the sacred month, al-hadya and al-qalaid have been made so that we know that He Who made these symbols that benefit our life and provide us with security, also knows everything in the heavens and earth that brings about our immediate or eventual benefit. He has perfect knowledge of everything. None of our deeds or affairs ever escapes His observation; and He will count them for us so that He rewards those who do good with the same and those who do evil in kind.
Were they to consider even the social and economic aspects of the life of their people, the existing arrangements would provide them with clear testimony to the fact that Allah has deep and thorough knowledge of the interests and requirements of His creatures, and that He can ensure immensely beneficial effects on many sectors of human life by just one single commandment. During the several centuries of anarchy and disorder which preceded the advent of the Prophet (peace be on him), the Arabs were themselves unaware of their own interests and seemed bent upon self-destruction. God, however, was aware of their needs and requirements and by merely investing the Ka'bah with a central position in Arabia He ensured their national survival. Even if they disregarded innumerable other facts and reflected on this alone they would become convinced that the injunctions revealed by God were conducive to their well-being, and that underlying them were a great many benefits and advantages for them which they themselves could neither have grasped nor achieved by their own contriving.
Allah has appointed a particular place and time when everyone is safe. No matter how much you hate your enemy when you are in the sacred area or sacred month you can’t harm him. This way people are allowed to live at peace for at least some time, and work without any fear or threat. It was observed that during the sacred months business thrived in Arabia.
In Surah al-Quraysh ayah 3 and 4, it is said, “Let them worship the Lord of this House, Who has fed them, [saving them] from hunger and made them safe, [saving them] from fear.”
This all points to the fact that Islam is a religion that promotes peace and security. There is a certain time, no matter how much you hate your enemy, you can’t harm him.
اعْلَمُواْ أَنَّ اللَّهَ شَدِيدُ الْعِقَابِ وَأَنَّ اللَّهَ غَفُورٌ رَّحِيمٌ
( 98 ) Know that Allah is severe in penalty and that Allah is Forgiving and Merciful.This verse has two extremes: The severity of Allah's penalty, and His attribute of All Forgiving and All Merciful.
The word iqab is from the root letters ayn-qaf-ba and it means retribution that comes as a result of consequences of sins. Allah subhanahu says, know that your Lord, Who has perfect knowledge of whatever is in the heavens and earth, and Who is never unaware of your deeds – public or secret – is severe in punishment for those who disobey and defy Him. He also pardons the sins of those who obey and repent to Him, more Merciful than to punish them for the sins that they repented from.
We mus therefore know our obligation of gaining knowledge of Deen so that we know what we are supposed to do and what we cannot do. For if we do not know our obligations and go astray, Allah is severe in retribution for the one who abandons His commands or goes against them.
But at the same time, Allah subhanahu is forgiving towards those who seek repentance and forgiveness. Thus a person should remain in between fear and hope. Knowing that Allah is severe in punishment develops fear in him. Knowing that Allah is Oft-Forgiving and Most Merciful we should have hope in Him. Often we forget the first part and only remember that Allah is Oft-Forgiving.
In Surah Hijr ayah 49 and 50, Allah says, “[O Muhammad], inform My servants that it is I Who is the Forgiving, the Merciful. And that it is My punishment which is the painful punishment.”
If we know something then we cannot go against the command of Allah, and if we unintentionally or by mistake do something wrong then we should immediately repent and hope that He will forgive us.
Rukhu / Section 13 [99-100]
( 99 ) Not upon the Messenger is [responsibility] except [for] notification. And Allah knows whatever you reveal and whatever you conceal.The duty of the Messenger is only to convey the Message whoever obeys him gets the reward from Allah, and whoever denies him will receive punishment for his decision. The obedience of those who accept Allah’s Message never escapes His knowledge, just as in the case of those who disobey and defy His Message. He knows what we do, what we demonstrate physically, announce and utter with our tongue, and what we hide in our heart, be it of faith, disbelief, certainty, doubt or hypocrisy.
In fact this verse is a warning for those who do not know that Allah Who is so capable, then nothing that the hearts conceal, nor any of the apparent acts of the souls in the heavens and earth could escape His knowledge. In His Hand, alone, is the reward and punishment, and He is worthy to be feared, obeyed and never disobeyed.
So beware! After the message has been received then what you do and don’t do, only Allah is going to hold you for that. Sometimes when there is a message that needs to be conveyed we become harsh towards people, and take an offense when they are not listening to us. Yes, our message should be effective enough for people to open up their hearts towards it but we cannot force them to follow what we tell them to do. The conveyor’s responsibility is to convey and the recipient’s responsibility is to accept it. The Messengers don’t know what people hold in their hearts. They don’t know about the unseen. Only Allah knows what is in the hearts of people. And Only Allah has the authority to hold people accountable.
In the following verse, Allah subhanahu commands Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) to convey us that there is no comparison between the pure and the impure. We may be surrounded by the impure but this abundance doesn’t make it lawful for consumption.
قُل لاَّ يَسْتَوِى الْخَبِيثُ وَالطَّيِّبُ وَلَوْ أَعْجَبَكَ كَثْرَةُ الْخَبِيثِ فَاتَّقُواْ اللَّهَ يأُوْلِى الاٌّلْبَـبِ لَعَلَّكُمْ تُفْلِحُونَ
( 100 ) Say, "Not equal are the evil and the good, although the abundance of evil might impress you." So fear Allah, O you of understanding, that you may be successful.The word yastawa يَسْتَوِى is from the root letters seen-wau-ya which means equivalent. The word tayyab طَّيِّب refers to that which is pure while khabeeth خَبِيثُ is impure or bad. It is the Law of Allah that decides what is impure and what is pure. For example, apparently a thing may seem clean but it will spiritually impure. Similarly, we may see a dirty object but spiritually it may be clean. So, this includes both spiritual purity and spiritual impurity as well as physically purity and physical impurity.
A spiritually impure person will be one who has hypocrisy in his heart. He does shirk or his akhlaq / character is awful. He may be physically clean though. On the other hand, there is a person who doesn’t appear physically clean but he is a sincere believer with good akhlaq.
Physical impurity can include an action that’s bad such as yelling at someone, giving someone a dirty look, not doing something in time, disobeying and hurting others. Tayyab food is that which is halal while khabeeth is that which is haram and unclean. Remembering Allah, doing dhikr can never be equal to backbiting. Reciting Qur’an and reading that which arouses sexual desire cannot be same.
Therefore, tayyab and khabeeth can never be same even if there is abundance of evil and impurity. For example, everyone is uttering a bad word, we tell our nafs, “It’s okay to say it because everyone else is doing so.” We are surrounded by alcohol. We see a lot of variety. Yet we cannot opt for it. It is khabeeth for us. If we have Taqwa of Allah, His fear and consciousness we will stay away from the khabeeth even if everyone is running after it. People of Taqwa have sound minds. They avoid and abandon the impermissible, and let the permissible be sufficient for them.
Therefore, we should always focus on "Quality" and not "Quantity." We learn from a hadith when a person gives something as small as a date earned from halal income it has more value than a mountain of wealth earned from haram means. Abdullah ibn Mubarak said, “Keeping myself clean from consuming a doubtful dirham is more charitable to me than giving 100,000 dirhams in charity.”
Allah says in Surah Sa’d ayah 28, “Or should we treat those who believe and do righteous deeds like corrupters in the land? Or should We treat those who fear Allah like the wicked?”
People of intellect do not follow the crowd. They study the Shariah and follow it. The abundance and variety of the Khabeeth is also a test. We see haram everywhere and we become desensitize. People are not particular about what they are watching on TV or the Internet, what kind of books or literature they are reading, what kind of food they are consuming. This is a test from Allah to determine who fears Him without seeing Him.
Fear of Allah should always be in our hearts. A person cannot stay away from the evil unless he has dislike for it in his heart. If he likes something he will accept it even if it means going against the commands of Allah. Are we that impressed with the Khabeeth?
This verse enunciates a standard of evaluation and judgement quite distinct from the standards employed by superficial people. For the latter, for instance, a hundred dollars are worth more than five dollars, since a hundred is more than five. But, according to this verse, if those hundred dollars have been earned in a manner entailing the disobedience of God the entire amount becomes unclean. If, on the contrary, a man earns five dollars while obeying God then this amount is clean; and anything which is unclean, whatever its quantity, cannot be worth that which is clean. A drop of perfume is more valuable than a heap of filth; a palmful of clean water is much more valuable than a huge cauldron brimming with urine. A truly wise person should therefore necessarily be content with whatever he acquires by clean, permissible means, however small and humble its quantity may be. He should not reach out for what is prohibited, however large in quantity and glittering in appearance.
Only people who have intellect they will differentiate between the Tayyab and Khabeeth that is the key to their success.
Rukhu / Section 14 [101-108]
Verses 101-104 Do not ask questions like the nation of Prophet Musa (Moses, peace be upon him) and Superstitions are prohibited in Islam
( 101 ) O you who have believed, do not ask about things which, if they are shown to you, will distress you. But if you ask about them while the Qur'an is being revealed, they will be shown to you. Allah has pardoned that which is past; and Allah is Forgiving and Forbearing.People used to ask the Prophet (peace be on him) many questions which were of no practical relevance to either religious or day-to-day affairs. Once, for instance, a person asked the Prophet (peace be on him) in the presence of a crowd: 'Who is my real father?' Likewise, many people used to ask unnecessary questions about legal matters. By these uncalled for inquiries they sought knowledge of matters which had for good reasons, been deliberately left undetermined by the Law-giver.
For example when the Prophet (peace be upon him) narrated ayah 97 of Surah Aal-Imran,
وَللَّهِ عَلَى النَّاسِ حِجُّ الْبَيْتِ مَنِ اسْتَطَـعَ إِلَيْهِ سَبِيلاً
The people asked, “O Allah’s Messenger! Is it required every year?” He did not answer them, and they asked again, “Is it every year?” He still did not answer them, so they asked, “Is it every year?” He said,
لَا، وَلَوْ قُلْتُ: نَعَمْ لَوَجَبَتْ وَلَوْ وَجَبَتْ لَمَا اسْتَطَعْتُم
(See Bukhari, 'Riqaq', 22; 'Zakah', 53; I'tisam', 3; 'Adab', 6; Muslim, 'Aqdiyah', 10, 11, 13, 14; Darimi, 'Riqaq', 38; Muwatta', 'Kalam', 20; Ahmad b. Hanbal, Musnad, vol. 2, pp. 327, 360, 367; vol. 4, pp. 246, 249, 250, 251, 255 - Ed.)
Anas bin Malik has been quoted as saying, “The Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) once gave a speech unlike anything I heard before. In this speech, he said [recorded in Al-Bukhari]
لَو تَعْلَمُونَ مَا أَعْلَمُ، لَضَحِكْتُمْ قَلِيلًا، وَلَبَكَيْتُمْ كَثِيرًا
The apparent wording of this Ayah indicates that we are forbidden to ask about things that if one has knowledge of, he would be sorry he had asked. Consequently, it is better to avoid such questions.
The Prophet (peace be on him) discouraged people from being over-inquisitive and unnecessarily curious about every question. We find in the Hadith the following saying from the Prophet (peace be on him): 'The worst criminal among the Muslims is the one who inquired about something which had not been made unlawful, and then it was declared so, because of his inquiry.' (Bukhari, I'tisam', 3; Muslim, Fada'il', 132, 133; Abu Da'ud, 'Sunnah', 6 - Ed.) According to another tradition the Prophet (peace be on him) said: 'God has imposed upon you certain obligations, do not neglect them; He has imposed certain prohibitions, do not violate them; He has imposed certain limits, do not even approach them; and He has remained silent about certain matters - and has not done so out of forgetfulness - do not pursue them.' (See Towards Understanding the Qur'an, vol. I, (Surah 2, n. 110 - Ed.)
In both these traditions an important fact has been called to our attention. In matters where the Law-giver has chosen to lay down certain injunctions only broadly, without any elaborate details, or quantitative specifications, He has done so not because of neglect or forgetfulness. Such seeming omissions are deliberate, and the reason thereof is that He does not desire to place limitations upon people, but prefers to allow them latitude and ease in following His commandments. Now there are some people who make unnecessary inquiries, cause elaborately prescribed, inflexibly determined and restrictive regulations to be added to the Law. Some others, in cases where such details are in no way deducible from the text, resort to analogical reasoning, thereby turning a broad general rule into an elaborate law full of restrictive details, and an unspecified into a specified rule. Both sorts of people put Muslims in great danger. For, in the area of belief, the more detailed the doctrines to which people are required to subscribe, the more problematic it becomes to do so. Likewise, in legal matters, the greater the restriction, the greater the likelihood of violation.
Allah completes ayah 101 by reminding us of His Mercy and Compassion,
عَفَا اللَّهُ عَنْهَا وَاللَّهُ غَفُورٌ حَلِيمٌ
“Allah has forgiven that and Allah is Oft-Forgiving, Most Forbearing.”
Allah has forgiven those questions that were asked in ignorance prior to the revelation of this ayah. There are certain matters which have been explicitly declared halal or haram. Then there are those which are in between and Allah has adopted silence about them. If Allah has adopted silence about these matters then we should not argue about them or dedicate our lives in finding answers to those doubtful matters. We should rather stick to that which has been made clear for us.
In following verse, Allah is reminding us about what happened to those who used to ask a lot of question.
For example, the incident of slaughtering of the cow. When Prophet Musa (Moses, peace be upon him) went away for 40 nights his people started worshipping a calf. Upon his return he was disappointed to see this. We have learned that the punishment is similar to the sin that has been committed. Therefore, these people were told to slaughter a cow as an expiation for what they had done. Instead of submitting to the command, they started asking too many questions; question regarding its age, color, profession, etc. By their asking too many questions they brought the difficulty upon themselves. Earlier they could have slaughtered any cow but now they were told the exact description of the cow. Read the story in detail here.
( 102 ) A people asked such [questions] before you; then they became thereby disbelievers.Some people first indulged in hair-splitting arguments about their laws and dogma, and thereby wove a great web of credal elaborations and legal minutiae. Then they became enmeshed in this same web and thus became guilty of dogmatic errors and the violation of their own religious laws.
The Jews didn’t accept commands of Allah conveyed to them by Prophet Musa (peace be upon him) readily. They kept asking questions. The purpose behind their questioning was not to gain guidance rather to mock and defy the instructions of their prophets. In Surah al-Baqarah ayah 67 Allah says, “And [recall] when Musa said to his people, ‘Indeed, Allah commands you to slaughter a cow.’ They said, ‘Do you take us in ridicule?’ He said, ‘I seek refuge in Allah from being among the ignorant.’”
They were asking questions in mockery or defiance therefore when the answers were given for them acting upon the command became too complicated for them. As a result, they abandoned the command and became disbelievers.
مَا جَعَلَ اللّٰهُ مِنۡۢ بَحِيۡرَةٍ وَّلَا سَآئِبَةٍ وَّلَا وَصِيۡلَةٍ وَّلَا حَامٍ ۙ وَّلٰـكِنَّ الَّذِيۡنَ كَفَرُوۡا يَفۡتَرُوۡنَ عَلَى اللّٰهِ الۡـكَذِبَؕ وَاَكۡثَرُهُمۡ لَا يَعۡقِلُوۡنَ
( 103 ) Allah has not appointed [such innovations as] bahirah or sa'ibah or wasilah or ham. But those who disbelieve invent falsehood about Allah, and most of them do not reason.Just as, in India, cows, oxen and goats are set free after being consecrated either to their gods or revered as cow-mother or to some idol or shrine or to some saintly person, and just as people consider it prohibited either to put them to work, to slaughter them or to derive any other kind of benefit from them, so the Arabs of the Jahiliyah period also let loose certain animals after consecrating them. Such animals were variously named.
Bahirah "بَحِيۡرَةٍ" was the name of a female camel which had already borne five young, the last of which was a male. The practice was to slit the ear of such a camel and then let her loose. Thereafter no one could ride her, use her milk, slaughter her or shear her hair. She was entitled to graze and drink water wherever she liked.
Sa'ibah "سَآئِبَةٍ" was the name of either a male or female camel which had been let loose after consecration as a mark of gratitude in fulfilment of a vow taken for either the recovery from some ailment or delivery from some danger. In the same way the female camel which had borne ten times, and each time a female, was also let loose.
Wasilah "وَصِيۡلَةٍ". If the first kid born to a goat was a male, it was slaughtered in the name of the deities; but if it was a female, it was kept by the owners for themselves. If twins were born and one of them was a male and the other a female goat, the male was not slaughtered but rather let loose in the name of the deities. This male goat was called wasilah.
Ham "حَامٍ". If the young of camels in the second degree of descent had become worthy of riding they were let loose. Likewise, if ten offspring had been borne by a female camel she was also let loose, and called ham.
The truth is that Allah never appointed these customs. If their elders did it, they fabricated lies against Him, and the ignorant masses accepted them.
In the verses above a two-pronged warning has been given by saying that the way it is a crime to invite hardships in Divine injunctions by asking purposeless questions, similarly, it is much more serious a crime that one goes about proposing things as Halal or Haram based on one’s personal opinions and desires without the will and command of the Law-Giver. Allah did not legislate these invented rituals and He does not consider them acts of obedience. Rather, it is the idolaters who made them into rituals and acts of worship that they used to draw near to Allah. But they did not and will not help them to draw near to Him, rather, these innovations will only harm them.
Following the forefathers was one of the many customs of Jahiliyyah which had involved them in all sorts of evils, and equally deprived them of all kinds of virtues too. If a person embraced Islam, he was put to shame on the plea that he had proved his forefathers to be no good since he took to another way at the cost of the way of his forefathers. It was then that verse 1014 was revealed.
( 104 ) And when it is said to them, "Come to what Allah has revealed and to the Messenger," they say, "Sufficient for us is that upon which we found our fathers." Even though their fathers knew nothing, nor were they guided?When those who had innovated strange customs in religion were called to come to Islam they said, “Sufficient is for us that on which we saw our forefathers.” Meaning they rejected the truth that the Messenger sallAllahu had brought, even without using their knowledge and skills to explore the truth. They prefer the practices of their forefathers over reason and guidance. They do not realize where such practices are taking them and what would be their end.
When we apply this to today’s world, we see a lot of people taking some people as the yardstick of right and wrong. We have learned that majority is not always right. In fact majority of the people are not the wisest or the smartest or the most virtuous in their deeds. Therefore, a majority can never become our criterion of distinction between truth and falsehood. However, one should weigh the truth, for sometimes a few miscreants can also mislead a majority by their tricks and jugglery of twisted words.
Then there are such people who say, “Okay, we are going to follow Qur’an but not the Sunnah”, or they say, “Oh, it’s only a Sunnah” and through it behind their backs. In this ayah, Allah first mentions the Qur’an and then He talks about the Sunnah of His Prophet (peace be upon him). This indicates that we can neither let go of Qur’an nor Sunnah. They are not mutually exclusive rather they co-exist and we must follow both of them.
Every person is responsible for himself. A person should first determine the aim of his life and the direction of his journey. Then in order to achieve that purpose he has to look for a person who has the knowledge of that direction and is himself proceeding to it. Tagging along such a person will result in success. For example, the taqleed of the Mujtahid Imams. These four Imams knew the deen therefore we follow them.
Following someone who is already astray or does not know his destination will make us get lost too. We will be wasting our efforts and time, if we tag along such a person. We will be signing our own warrant of destruction. It is a pity that today, despite immense knowledge and enlightenment majority of the people are astray. They are adamant about following their forefathers and do not want to search for the truth. What’s more depressing is that most of these people are highly educated and have foresight yet they are unable to see the problem with blindly following a person or a certain group of people.
This ayah also teaches us an effective method of criticism. Instead of directly saying your forefathers were ignorant or astray it makes a subtle interrogation asking if blindly following one’s forefathers is reasonable.
When it comes to religion we take matters quite lightly. For example, we have been told in our childhood not to drink milk with fish. But as we grew up, researched on our own or interacted with a few doctors we learned it’s nothing more than a myth. There’s only one kind of fish which shouldn’t be taken with milk otherwise there are no harmful effects. Similarly, when our parents tell us about other worldly matters, we spend hours and hours on the Internet researching the matter or finding someone knowledgeable who will guide us in this regard. After gathering our information we prove it to our parents that what they told was false. However, when it comes to religion we are not bothered to research and find out the truth, and speak up (respectfully, of course). Why are we so determined about the worldly matters and negligent when it comes to religion?
Verses 105-108 Last will and testament, and testimony of witnesses
Earlier we read about the ignorant people who were very rigid in their customs. They would not leave their ancestral customs even if they contradicted Islamic teachings. These grieved the Muslims. Therefore, Allah revealed the following ayah and encouraged them to focus on themselves.
( 105 ) O you who have believed, upon you is [responsibility for] yourselves. Those who have gone astray will not harm you when you have been guided. To Allah is your return all together; then He will inform you of what you used to do.What is stressed here is that rather than occupying himself unduly with examining faults in the belief and conduct of others, a man should pay greater attention to a critical examination of his own conduct. His primary concern should be with his own faith and conduct. If a man is himself obedient to Allah, observes his duties to Him and to His creatures including his duty to promote what is good and forbid what is evil, and lives according to the dictates of righteousness and honesty, he has fulfilled his obligation and if others persist either in false beliefs or in moral corruption their errors cannot harm him.
This verse in no way means that a man should care only for his own salvation and should remain unconcerned with the reform of others. Abu Bakr removed this misconception in one of his sermons when he remarked: 'You recite this verse but interpret it erroneously. I have heard the Messenger of Allah (peace be on him) say that when people see corruption but do not try to change it; and when they see a wrong-doer commit wrong but do not prevent him from doing so, it is not unlikely that God's chastisement will seize them all. By God, it is incumbent upon you that you bid what is good and forbid what is evil or else God will grant domination upon you to those who are the worst among you. They will greatly chastise you and then when your righteous ones pray to God, their prayers will not be answered.'
A person should be concerned about his reformation. He should take good care of himself by following the commands of Allah and staying away from prohibitions whether other people follow it or not. At the end of the day one is responsible for his own self.
From verse 106 on, a new subject takes its course. Allah subhanahu now guides us as to what should be done by a person who is near his death. Although laws of inheritance have been given in detail in Surah Al Nisa, here it is about the last words of a dying man which if he wants be recorded in order not to complicate things after his death.
( 106 ) O you who have believed, testimony [should be taken] among you when death approaches one of you at the time of bequest - [that of] two just men from among you or two others from outside if you are traveling through the land and the disaster of death should strike you. Detain them after the prayer and let them both swear by Allah if you doubt [their testimony, saying], "We will not exchange our oath for a price, even if he should be a near relative, and we will not withhold the testimony of Allah. Indeed, we would then be of the sinful."Since everyone has to taste death, the disposal of possessions should be clearly spelt out. It is the responsibility of every person to leave his property in such a way that his heirs are not left confused. Thus in this ayah, Allah subhanahu explains what to do if death approaches a person and he has not prepared a will. Such a person will take two just people from the Muslims. These people should be just and righteous so that they don’t cheat the dying person with regards to his bequest.
Two people are being made witness so that the bequest is carried out according to the dying person’s instructions.However, If death approaches at a place where there are no Muslims or while one is traveling then two non-Muslims can be taken. These people should be just and righteous.
Now a situation can arise that the deceased’s family upon receiving the belongings claim that a few of the items are missing. The witnesses assure this was all that they were given. What happens in this case?
If the family has a doubt that these two people may have committed treachery or theft then they will be detained in the mosque after the end of the prayer and asked to swear. Since the Prophet (peace be upon him) once detained two men after Asr Salah, some prefer to do this after Asr prayers.
They will swear in the Name of Allah that we will not barter or purchase in exchange for the testimony of Allah a price of this dunya which is temporary. The testimony of Allah is truth and we will not prefer anything of the world over truth even if the person who is taking benefit of our false testimony is our near relative. The testimony of Allah means the testimony that Allah has made the two responsible for. This means not doing any acts of treachery or theft. If we distort our testimony, change, alter or hide it then we will be of the sinful. When the witnesses have taken their testimony now the family cannot accuse them any further.
( 107 ) But if it is found that those two were guilty of perjury, let two others stand in their place [who are] foremost [in claim] from those who have a lawful right. And let them swear by Allah, "Our testimony is truer than their testimony, and we have not transgressed. Indeed, we would then be of the wrongdoers."Here in this verse, Arabic word "Istahaqqa" means Deserved having something (good or evil) attributed to one; hence the alternative meanings: (1) committed or was guilty (of a sin): (2) had or claimed a lawful right (to property). The procedure was followed in an actual case in the Prophet's life-time. A man from Madinah died abroad, having made over his goods, to two friends, to be delivered to his designated heirs in Madinah. They, however, kept back a valuable silver cup. When this was found out, oaths were taken from those who knew, and justice was done.
If the two witnesses are found guilty of treachery and theft i.e. they cheated in the will or stole some money then two of the nearest rightful inheritors should stand for witness in their place. In their place means in the same place and at the same time where the two witnesses stood i.e. in the masjid.
Now these two inheritors will swear by Allah saying our Sahadah against these two people is truer than the testimony of these two (i.e. the two witnesses). Why is their Sahadah truer? It is because they will bring some solid evidence. They will say they are not standing here just to negate the two witnesses because if they do so then they’d be among the wrongdoers.
This is the oath of the heirs, and preference is to be given to their saying. Just as in the case with the oath of relative of a murdered person if he attempts to tarnish the case of the murdered person. So his family takes an oath in defense of his honor. This is discussed in the studies of the oaths in the books of Ahkam.
( 108 ) That is more likely that they will give testimony according to its [true] objective, or [at least] they would fear that [other] oaths might be taken after their oaths. And fear Allah and listen; and Allah does not guide the defiantly disobedient people.The Arabic word "wajhiha" used in this verse is from the root letters wau-jeem-ha. Wajh means “face”. Face denotes something that’s obvious.
When the two witnesses know that two heirs from the deceased’s side can come and give a testimony against them, they will be conscious of what they are saying. This fear will compel them to say the truth and handover whatever belongings of the deceased they have in their possession.
Allah ends this ayah by saying fear Allah in all of your affairs and listen attentively or obey. Allah does not guide those who are rebellious i.e. those who do not obey and follow His law.
Rukhu / Section 15 [109-115]
The last two rukus are in fact a summary of the whole surah. These two rukus aim to establish the truth about Allah and servitude to Him as conceived by Islam. This truth is presented through a great scene portrayed here in which Jesus speaks in front of all of God’s messengers and rest of humanity, in the same way as the Quran presents various scenes of that great Day. In all such presentations, the picture is portrayed in such an inspiring, vivid and effective way that we almost see it before our very eyes. We hear what is being said and feel every reaction and response.
God will ask the prophets he sent to people as to what response they got. Jesus will be reminded of God’s favors and miracles he performed with God’s permission: speaking to people from the cradle, knowledge of the Scripture, the Torah, and the Gospel, and wisdom, making birds out of clay that would turn alive when Jesus breathed into them, healing the blind and the leper, bringing the dead back to life, protection when people tried to harm him when he showed them signs, and the disciplines believing in him and devoting themselves to God.
The disciples requested Jesus to ask God to send down a feast for them from heaven. Jesus warned them, to which they responded that they simply wish to eat and to have their hearts reassured and that he has told them the truth and be witnesses to it. Jesus then prayed to the Lord to send down a feast from the heaven. God accepted the prayer of Jesus, but cautioned that anyone who disbelieves after seeing the sign will be given an exemplary punishment.
On the Final Day, God will ask Jesus if he demanded people to worship him and his mother, Mary, in his earthly ministry. God knows very well what Jesus said to people. But this worrying interrogation on that fearful Day is intended for people other than the one to whom it is addressed.
Jesus will plead innocence and will state that he never did and had no business asking people to worship him. Had he done so, God would have known as He knows everything unseen. Jesus’ answer is tinged with awe and fear. He starts by glorifying God and follows this immediately with an absolute denial of any such thoughts or of any such claims. Jesus will declare that he said nothing to his community other than calling on them to worship God alone, and stating that, like them, he is no more than God’s servant. He will then disclaim any responsibility for what they did after the end of his time on earth. Jesus will conclude with leaving the fate of his people absolutely to God, stating at the same time that they are His servants and at His disposal. God can forgive them or punish them. Whether He decides on one course or the other, that decision is based on His wisdom.
Verses 109-115 Favors of Allah upon Jesus and the miracles he was given and Disciples of Jesus asked for a Table Spread of food as a miracle:
( 109 ) [Be warned of] the Day when Allah will assemble the messengers and say, "What was the response you received?" They will say, "We have no knowledge. Indeed, it is You who is Knower of the unseen"Though on the Day of Judgment, Allah will gather every human being born from the beginning to the end of time to give an account of their deeds, the questioning will first begin from the Prophets.
The question asked will be, “How were you responded to?” meaning when you invited your communities towards Allah and His true religion, how did the people react to your call. Did they act as they were commanded to? Or did they say no to the call and opposed it?
We find similar statements elsewhere in the Qur’an. In Surah al-A’raf ayah 6 Allah says,
فَلَنَسْـَلَنَّ الَّذِينَ أُرْسِلَ إِلَيْهِمْ وَلَنَسْـَلَنَّ الْمُرْسَلِينَ
“Then surely, We shall question those [people] to whom it [the Book] was sent and verily, We shall question the Messengers.”
Similarly, in Surah al-Hijr ayat 92 and 93 Allah says,
فَوَرَبِّكَ لَنَسْـَلَنَّهُمْ أَجْمَعِينَ – عَمَّا كَانُواْ يَعْمَلُونَ
“So by your Lord, We shall certainly call all of them to account. For all that they used to do.”
One may wonder what’s the purpose of asking this question when Allah very well knows the answer? The objective is to rebuke those who rejected the messengers and prophets.
The Messengers will reply by saying, "لاَ عِلْمَ لَنَآ" - “We have no knowledge.”
Why would the Prophets give this reply while they have full account of how their people responded to their call? This response is out of respect before the Lord, Most Honored, and it means, we have no knowledge compared to Your encompassing knowledge. Therefore, our knowledge only grasped the visible behavior of these people, not the secrets of their hearts. You are the Knower of everything, our knowledge compared to Your knowledge is similar to not having any knowledge at all.
This is similar to the reply of the angels when Allah informed them about His intention to create human beings, the angels asked, “Will You place upon it [earth] one who causes corruption therein and sheds blood, while we declare Your praise and sanctify You?” Allah replied, “I know that which you do not know.” Later the angels replied, “Exalted are You; we have no knowledge except what You have taught us. Indeed, it is You Who is the Knowing, the Wise.” [Surah al-Baqarah ayah 230 – 232]
This vers leaves a very clear message for many of us who go after worldly saints and asking them of one's future. In this vers it has been made very clear that even the the Messengers do not know about ghayb [unseen]. They don’t know about the future. Thus beware of those who claim they know the future. Any person who claims to know the unseen is committing kufr because he is denying the statement of Allah. And anyone who believes in one part of the Qur’an and denies another is committing kufr too. So guard your faith firmly and follow only what has been told to us through the Holy Qur'an. Whenever the companions were asked a question, they would respond by saying, “Allah and His Messenger know best.”
Towards the end of this Surah, Allah reminds the People of the Book of the dialogue that He will have with Prophet Eesa [Jesus, peace be upon him] on the Day of Resurrection. This dialogue affirms ProphetEesa’s being a servant of Allah and negates the erroneous belief of ascribing him of godhood.
( 110 ) [The Day] when Allah will say, "O Jesus, Son of Mary, remember My favor upon you and upon your mother when I supported you with the Pure Spirit and you spoke to the people in the cradle and in maturity; and [remember] when I taught you writing and wisdom and the Torah and the Gospel; and when you designed from clay [what was] like the form of a bird with My permission, then you breathed into it, and it became a bird with My permission; and you healed the blind and the leper with My permission; and when you brought forth the dead with My permission; and when I restrained the Children of Israel from [killing] you when you came to them with clear proofs and those who disbelieved among them said, "This is not but obvious magic."The initial question would be addressed to all Prophets as such. Then each of them would be called upon to bear witness separately, as stated in several places in the Qur'an. In this connection the question that will be addressed to Jesus is specifically mentioned here.
Imagine, then, when Allah will say: 'Eesa, son of Maryam [Mary], recall My favour upon you and your mother, and when I strengthened you with the spirit of holiness so that you talked to men in the cradle and also when you became of age; and when I taught you the Book and Wisdom, and the Torah and the Gospel; and when, by My leave, you fashioned from clay the likeness of a bird and you breathed into it, and by My leave it became a bird; you healed, by My leave, the blind from birth and the leprous; and when, by My leave, you caused the dead to come to life. And recall when I restrained the Israelites from you when you came to them with clear proofs whereupon those of them who disbelieved said: "This is nothing but clear magic."
That is, with God's command Jesus brought people to life from the state of death.
The verse ends with the mention of Prophet Eesa's death plot.
وَإِذْ تُخْرِجُ الْمَوتَى بِإِذْنِى وَإِذْ كَفَفْتُ بَنِى إِسْرَءِيلَ عَنكَ إِذْ جِئْتَهُمْ بِالْبَيِّنَـتِ فَقَالَ الَّذِينَ كَفَرُواْ مِنْهُمْ إِنْ هَـذَا إِلاَّ سِحْرٌ مُّبِينٌ
“…and when I restrained the Children of Israel from you since you came unto them with clear proofs, and the disbelievers among them said: `This is nothing but evident magic.”The Children of Israel rejected Prophet Eesa and his message. They called his miracles nothing but magic. It was derogatory. They did so in order to reduce his status. Allah says in Surah Adh-Dhariyat ayat 52,
كَذَلِكَ مَآ أَتَى الَّذِينَ مِن قَبْلِهِمْ مِّن رَّسُولٍ إِلاَّ قَالُواْ سَـحِرٌ أَوْ مَجْنُونٌ
“Similarly, there came not to those before them any messenger except that they said, ‘A magician or a madman.’”
Meaning every messenger was either called a magician or a madman. When they plotted a plan to kill Prophet Eesa, Allah saved his messenger by making the situation doubtful for them. A man having semblance to Prophet Eesa was crucified while Eesa aalyhi salaam was lifted up alive.
The verse centers on the idea that every blessing that a person possesses; his being born in a rich family or a family of high status, his going to a private school, his being employed at a prestigious organization, a righteous spouse or healthy children, are nothing but favors of Allah that one should always remember and be grateful for. The same was the messengers too were obligated and were always thankful to Allah for the many favours and choosing them as revered messenger, we should too be obliged and ever thankful to Allah for many favours bestowed upon us.
Here is a heartwarming prayer by Prophet Sulaiman (Solomon, peace be upon him) as mentioned in Surah Naml ayat 19,
رَبِّ أَوْزِعْنِى أَنْ أَشْكُرَ نِعْمَتَكَ الَّتِى أَنْعَمْتَ عَلَىَّ وَعَلَى وَالِدَىَّ وَأَنْ أَعْمَلَ صَـلِحاً تَرْضَـهُ وَأَدْخِلْنِى بِرَحْمَتِكَ فِى عِبَادِكَ الصَّـلِحِينَ
“My Lord, enable me to be grateful for Your favor which You have bestowed upon me and upon my parents and to do righteousness of which You approve. And admit me by Your mercy into [the ranks of] Your righteous servants.”
So while thanking Allah, we must never forget our parents who left no stone unturned for our bringing up and must remember them in our prayers. Likewise blessings given to one’s child are automatically blessings upon the parents because they benefit as well.
Remember Ilm and hikmah are the blessings of Allah. Wealth and status has not been mentioned but the power of writing and understanding has been mentioned. These are the real assets.
( 111 ) And [remember] when I inspired to the disciples, "Believe in Me and in My messenger Jesus." They said, "We have believed, so bear witness that indeed we are Muslims [in submission to Allah]."In verse 111, Prophet Eesa is being told that the faith of the disciples in him was also the result of God's grace and succour, for he, himself, did not have the power to produce even one man of faith in that land of disbelief. It is also made clear that the true religion of the disciples of Jesus was Islam.
There are two types of wahi / revelation from Allah. One wahi is wahi shar’ee that is only given to the prophets of Allah. The other type of wahi is inspiration or ilham where Allah inspires the creation. For example, the incident of Prophet Musa (Moses, peace be upon him). His mother was inspired by Allah to put him in a box and let it float.
Hawariyun or the disciples were the sincere companions of Prophet Eesa (Jesus, peace be upon him). They were pious worshippers. They were inspired by Allah to submit to the message of Eesa aalyhi salaam and help him in his task.
That is no matter how impossible it may seem or how difficult the situation is never give up because Allah is All-Able to put a good thought in one person’s heart. For example, the Bani Israel upon hearing the message of Prophet Eesa called it Sehr-un-Mobeen i.e. clear magic. But then Allah sent disciples his way who believed in the message that he brought. Similarly, we may find da’wah work difficult so instead of getting overwhelmed we should make du’a to Allah to help us. We cannot fathom how He will create the asbaab / means to aid us. We have to keep on relying on Allah. We must keep our hope alive.
In ayahs 112 – 115, mention is made of the story of the Ma’idah, the name of which this Surah bears, Surat Al-Ma’idah. This is also among the favors that Allah granted His servant and Messenger, Eesa, accepting his request to send the Ma’idah down, and doing so as clear proof and unequivocal evidence.
اِذۡ قَالَ الۡحَـوَارِيُّوۡنَ يٰعِيۡسَى ابۡنَ مَرۡيَمَ هَلۡ يَسۡتَطِيۡعُ رَبُّكَ اَنۡ يُّنَزِّلَ عَلَيۡنَا مَآئِدَةً مِّنَ السَّمَآءِ ؕ قَالَ اتَّقُوا اللّٰهَ اِنۡ كُنۡتُمۡ مُّؤۡمِنِيۡنَ
( 112 ) [And remember] when the disciples said, "O Eesa, Son of Mary, can your Lord send down to us a table [spread with food] from the heaven? [Eesa] said," Fear Allah, if you should be believers."Since the disciples have been mentioned here, the continuity of the subject is interrupted momentarily in order to introduce another incident connected with the disciples. This clearly shows that those who had been directly instructed by Prophet Eesa considered him merely a human being and a slave of God; they had no conception of their master either being God or a partner of God or the son of God. Prophet Eesa (Jesus, peace be upon him) had, rather, presented himself to them as a slave of God with no claims to divine authority.
One might feel inclined here to raise the question: What is the occasion for this parenthetical interjection in a conversation that is to take place on the Day of Judgement? This parenthesis is not in fact part of such a conversation, but rather forms part of a discussion in this world regarding a conversation that will take place on the Day of Judgement. The conversation that will take place on the Day of Judgement is mentioned here precisely in order that the Christians may derive a lesson from it and direct themselves to the right way. Hence, the mention of this incident regarding the disciples - even though it seems to interrupt the continuity of narration - is in no sense out of place.That is, are Muslims - Ed.
The word yastati-u is from the root letters tay-wau-ayn and it has several meanings. One meaning is to have the capability to do something. One meaning is to obey. And another meaning is to do an act with effort. For example, can he do this [capability], would he do this [obedience], and does he plan to do this [effort]?
The word ma’idah is from the root letters meem-ya-dal. It is a table, tray or plate on which multiple food items are served. The disciples requested Prophet Eesa (Jesus, peace be upon him) if His Lord could send a table spread from the heavens.
Some scholars say the reason they made this request was because they were poor and deprived. They wanted to eat from ma’idah every day and thus be able to perform the acts of worship.
Another view is that this request was made because they wanted to witness a miracle. Therefore, Prophet Eesa (Jesus, peace be upon him) rebuked them. He asked them if the miracles that they had already witnessed insufficient for them to believe in Allah? Why were they demanding miracles? Only such a person demands miracles who has weak emaan / faith / belief.
The Bani Israel had a demanding attitude. When they were given man-o-salwa they said we want crops that grow from the earth. Now they were demanding a table spread from the heavens. On the contrary, the companions of Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) never made such demands. They would go hungry for several days. They would survive only on dates and water and never complain or put special requests to the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him).
( 113 ) They said, "We wish to eat from it and let our hearts be reassured and know that you have been truthful to us and be among its witnesses."The reason that they gave for making such a demand was that when they witness the table spread descending from heaven as sustenance they will be assured that Prophet Eesa (Jesus, peace be upon him) has told them the truth. This miracle will testify that it is a sign from Allah as a proof and evidence that he is a Prophet. And they will attest to the truth of what he has brought to them. Some scholars have explained “…we wish to eat thereof so that our hearts become content…” as that the disciples had a desire to eat something special that will satisfy their hearts. There was no reason behind making such a demand other than eating some tasty food.
( 114 ) Said Eesa [Jesus], the son of Mary, "O Allah, our Lord, send down to us a table [spread with food] from the heaven to be for us a festival for the first of us and the last of us and a sign from You. And provide for us, and You are the best of providers."Since it was a legitimate demand, Prophet Eesa (Jesus, peace be upon him) made du’a / prayer on their behalf, and said, “It will be a day of Eid for us.” i.e. a day of celebration. We will rejoice in it. People of that era and those after them will celebrate on this day every year. It will also be a sign for them to strengthen their faith.
This prayer means that the Messengers of Allah were not able to produce miracles by themselves. Whenever their nations demanded a miracle they made du’a to Allah. And if Allah willed He would show that miracle and if He doesn’t will nothing will happen. Messengers don’t have this ability on their own. The prayer made by Prophet Eesa (Jesus, peace be upon him) also show the the etiquette of making du’a. Prophet Eesa (Jesus, peace be upon him) mentioned Allah’s Attributes before making du’a: "You are our Creator. You are our Rabb." When making du’a we should remember how is it going to benefit us in the hereafter. Don’t just think about the life of this world.
( 115 ) Allah said, "Indeed, I will send it down to you, but whoever disbelieves afterwards from among you - then indeed will I punish him with a punishment by which I have not punished anyone among the worlds."The Qur'an is silent on the question of whether this meal was sent down in response to this prayer. There is also no other authoritative basis to help us arrive at a clear conclusion. It is possible that the repast [meal] was actually sent down. It is also possible that the disciples withdrew their prayer after hearing the stern warning in response to it.
It has been reported that Ibn Jareer said that Abdullah bin Amr radhiAllahu anhu said, “Those who will receive the severest torment on the Day of Resurrection are three: The hypocrites, those from the people of Al-Ma’idah who disbelieved in it, and the people of Fir`awn.”
The above said verse amply conveys the Divine warning: The one who denies a sign after seeing it, his kufr is greater than the one’s who has never witnessed a sign. Similarly, the sin of a person with knowledge is greater than the one who has no knowledge.
There are levels of punishment depending on one’s knowledge. The more a person knows the more his punishment will be. If a person despite gaining knowledge doesn’t change his ways, his punishment will be intense.
May Allah enable us to understand Qur’an, act on it and save us from His punishment, Aameen.
Rukhu / Section 16 [116-120] - Testimony of Jesus on the Day of Judgement about the Christians
( 116 ) And [beware the Day] when Allah will say, "O Eesa [Jesus], Son of Mary, did you say to the people, 'Take me and my mother as deities besides Allah?'" He will say, "Exalted are You! It was not for me to say that to which I have no right. If I had said it, You would have known it. You know what is within myself, and I do not know what is within Yourself. Indeed, it is You who is Knower of the unseen.Allah will ask Prophet Eesa (Jesus, peace be upon him) if he commanded his people to worship him and his mother. The verbal past tense “remember this day” has been used to show the certainty of this event. It is as though it has already happened. It is that certain. Also notice that in the ayah, Allah doesn’t put the question to the followers of Prophet Eesa (Jesus, peace be upon him). He didn’t ask, “Did Eesa ask you to worship him and his mother?” This indicates reproach. He is so angry or upset with them that He doesn’t even want to talk to them.
In this verse Prophet Eesa is said to be answering (on the Day of Judgement):
قَالَ سُبْحَـنَكَ مَا يَكُونُ لِى أَنْ أَقُولَ مَا لَيْسَ لِى بِحَقٍّ إِن كُنتُ قُلْتُهُ فَقَدْ عَلِمْتَهُ تَعْلَمُ مَا فِى نَفْسِى وَلاَ أَعْلَمُ مَا فِى نَفْسِكَ
“…He will say: ‘Glory be to You! It was not for me to say what I had no right (to say). If I ever said it then You would know it. You know what is in my inner self though I do not know what is in Yours,…”That is Prophet Eesa (Jesus, peace be upon him) would say, “Subhanaka”. How can I ever say such a thing?
The word Subhan is a noun which is from the root letters seen-ba-ha and it means to swim, to fly or float quickly. It gives the sense of removing something far away from someone. When we use the word Subhan’Allah for Allah, we declare that He is above, free and far away from any fault, deficiency, naqs or aaib; from anything that doesn’t befit Him. He has no resemblance to His creation.
When Prophet Eesa (Jesus, peace be upon him) says, “Subhanaka”, it means Glorified are You. You don’t deserve a partner. How could I ever command people to worship me? It’s not permissible for me to exceed my limits. It would be completely unjustified if I said such a thing. If I had ever said such a thing You would have known. Nothing escapes Your knowledge. I have not said these words nor did the thought even cross my mind. You know that I’m a slave to You. You know me inside out.
The above said verse ends with Prophet Eesa testifying:
"إِنَّكَ أَنتَ عَلَّـمُ الْغُيُوبِ" “…indeed You, You alone are the Knower of the unseen.’”
There are two types of unseen, one is hidden from some people for example angels have the knowledge that we don’t have. Similarly, the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) was shown some things when he ascended to the heavens [mairaj journey] that we don’t know. There is another type of unseen that’s absolute meaning only Allah knows about them. So it is Allah Who is Knower of all the unseen. Anyone who claims he knows the unseen then such a person is committing shirk [associating partners with One True God].
The verse thus amply makes it clear that Prophet Eesa (Jesus, peace be upon him) was the believer in the Oneness of Allah. And that his followers too should follow One True Allah. But as would be explained herein under, many innovations were made later which totally negated the prophetic mission of Prophet Eesa (Jesus, peace be upon him). In fact Prophet Eesa felt no humiliation in acknowledging the fact that he is only a servant of Allah.
Thus those who believe in the divinity of Prophet Eesa that he was god or son of god, they will be reproached on the Day of Judgment. For Allah is above having any partner. He doesn’t need any partner. He is Unique. He is Al-Ahad.
The Christians were not content merely with deifying Prophet Eesa (Jesus, peace be upon him) and the Holy Spirit. They even turned Mary, the mother of Prophet Eesa, into a full-fledged object of worship. The Bible does not contain even the remotest suggestion that Mary was in any way either divine or superhuman.
During the first three centuries after the Prophet Eesa (Jesus, peace be upon him), such a concept was totally alien to Christian thinking. Towards the end of the third century of the Christian era, however, some theologians of Alexandria employed, for the first time, the expression 'Mother of God' in connection with Mary. Subsequently, belief in Mary's divinity and the practice of Mariolatry began to spread among Christians. Even then, however, the Church was not prepared to accord official approval to this belief and denounced the Mariolaters as heretics.
It was not until the Council of Ephesus in 431 that the Church officially used the expression 'Mother of God' for Mary. The result was that Mariolatry began to spread fast within the Church itself, so much so that, by the time of the revelation of the Qur'an, Mary had become so important a deity that she obscured even the Father, the Son and the Holy Ghost. Statues of Mary adorned the cathedrals. She became the object of rites and worship. People addressed their prayers to her. She was regarded as the one who responded to people's supplications, who heeded people's grievances and complaints, who relieved them in distress, who provided support and succour to the helpless. For a devout Christian there could be no greater source of comfort and inner strength than the belief that he enjoyed the support and patronage of the 'Mother of God'.
Jesus disclaims here any knowledge of the sort of things that are attributed to him by those who take his name. The worship of Mary, though repudiated by the Protestants, was widely spread in the earlier churches, both in the East and the West.
In the preamble of his code, Justinian had declared Mary to be the defender and supporter of his empire, and his general, Marses, sought Mary's guidance on the battlefield. Heraclius, a contemporary of the Prophet Muhammad (peace be on him), had a picture of Mary on his standard and he was confident that by her grace the standard would never be lowered. Several centuries later the Protestants argued strongly against Mariolatry during the movement which led to the Reformation. The Roman Catholic Church has, nevertheless, managed so far to cling to Mariolatry in one form or another.
( 117 ) I said not to them except what You commanded me - to worship Allah, my Lord and your Lord. And I was a witness over them as long as I was among them; but when You took me up, You were the Observer [ الرَّقِيۡبَ ] over them , and You are, over all things, Witness.Continuing his would-be conversation with Allah on the Day of Judgement, Prophet Eesa (Jesus, peace be upon him) would say: "I did exactly what You told me to do. I didn’t add anything to it or left out something from it. I witnessed their actions, their behavior, their response as long as I was with them. I saw what they were doing when they did something wrong I stopped them. I heard what they were saying when they said something wrong I stopped them. I have no idea what they said when I was not between them. "وَاَنۡتَ عَلٰى كُلِّ شَىۡءٍ شَهِيۡدٌ" Surely You are The Omniscient Witness."
"اَنۡتَ الرَّقِيۡبَ عَلَيۡهِمۡ" - Ar Raqeeb: The Watchful, The All-Observing - one of the powerful attributes of Allah. Being the sole Creator and Handler of the affairs of the universe, Ar-Raqīb is always All Observing the affairs and is never absent from any event that is taking place anywhere in the entire universe.
"Aash-Shahīd" The Omniscient Witness - The One who witnesses both that which is seen and that which is unseen. The One who has knowledge of all that happens everywhere at all times.
Every messenger is charged with the responsibility of conveying the truth. They are instructed or obligated to convey the message of Allah. No one can say they didn’t convey the message. It would be incorrect to say so. The messengers only know about their people while they are between them. Once a messenger has been called back by his Rabb, he has no knowledge regarding what his people are saying or doing, or what innovations have they introduced in Deen.
( 118 ) If You should punish them - indeed they are Your servants; but if You forgive them - indeed it is You who is the Exalted in Might, the Wise.Summary of above said conversation between Allah and Prophet Eesa on Day of Judgement:
Jesus will plead innocence and will state that he never did and had no business asking people to worship him. Had he done so, God would have known as He knows everything unseen. Jesus’ answer is tinged with awe and fear. He starts by glorifying God and follows this immediately with an absolute denial of any such thoughts or of any such claims. Jesus will declare that he said nothing to his community other than calling on them to worship God alone, and stating that, like them, he is no more than God’s servant. He will then disclaim any responsibility for what they did after the end of his time on earth. Jesus will conclude with leaving the fate of his people absolutely to God, stating at the same time that they are His servants and at His disposal. God can forgive them or punish them. Whether He decides on one course or the other, that decision is based on His wisdom.A Master can justly punish His servants for disobedience: no one can say Him nay, for He is high above all. But if He chooses to forgive. He in His wisdom sees things that we mortals cannot see. This is the limit of intercession that men of God can make on behalf of sinners.
"اَنۡتَ الۡعَزِيۡزُ الۡحَكِيۡمُ" You who is the Exalted in Might, the Wise.
قَالَ اللّٰهُ هٰذَا يَوۡمُ يَـنۡفَعُ الصّٰدِقِيۡنَ صِدۡقُهُمۡؕ لَهُمۡ جَنّٰتٌ تَجۡرِىۡ مِنۡ تَحۡتِهَا الۡاَنۡهٰرُ خٰلِدِيۡنَ فِيۡهَاۤ اَبَدًا ؕ رَضِىَ اللّٰهُ عَنۡهُمۡ وَرَضُوۡا عَنۡهُ ؕ ذٰ لِكَ الۡـفَوۡزُ الۡعَظِيۡمُ
( 119 ) Allah will say, "This is the Day when the truthful will benefit from their truthfulness." For them are gardens [in Paradise] beneath which rivers flow, wherein they will abide forever, Allah being pleased with them, and they with Him. That is the great attainment.The Arabic word Siddiqeen "الصّٰدِقِيۡنَ" used in the opening of this verse means those who have sidq in their words, actions and beliefs i.e. their belief is in accordance to reality; they are true and not false. And there is no contradiction between their words and actions.
The Arabic word Fauz "الۡـفَوۡزُ" used in this verse means felicity, happiness, achievement, salvation, the attainment or fulfilment of desires. What a beautiful definition of salvation or the end of life!-that we should win Allah's good pleasure and that we should reach the stage at which His good pleasure is all-in-all to us.
Thus these people will forever live in Jannah and they will never be removed from it. Allah will be pleased with them, and they will be pleased with Him. This is the greatest blessing that anybody can have. When is a person pleased with a slave? When a servant is truthful. When he is a believer.
Conclusion:
( 120 ) To Allah belongs the dominion of the heavens and the earth and whatever is within them. And He is over all things competent.
"This is the Day when the truthful will benefit from their truthfulness." This is God’s word at the end of that interrogation beheld by all creatures. It is the final and decisive word. It is coupled with the reward that befits truthfulness and those who are truthful.
Here we come to the end of the last part of exegesis of Surah Al Māʼidah. The exegesis has been broken down in part for many verses of this surah require comprehensive and elaborate explanation as these contain laws, prohibitions and many aspects that have been followed in tangent to the teachings of Allah. The real success is being pleased with Allah and not wealth or status. It doesn’t matter how much wealth a person accumulates if Allah is not pleased with him. The Companions of Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) won this status in this world therefore we write/say “radhiAllahu anhu” [may Allah be pleased with them] each time their name is mentioned.
May we all benefit from this effort and live a life exactly as spelt out for us in the Holy Qur'an. Aameen.
You may now like to listen to Arabic recitation of Surah Al Māʼidah with English subtitles:
Here we come to the end of the last part of exegesis of Surah Al Māʼidah. The exegesis has been broken down in part for many verses of this surah require comprehensive and elaborate explanation as these contain laws, prohibitions and many aspects that have been followed in tangent to the teachings of Allah. The real success is being pleased with Allah and not wealth or status. It doesn’t matter how much wealth a person accumulates if Allah is not pleased with him. The Companions of Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) won this status in this world therefore we write/say “radhiAllahu anhu” [may Allah be pleased with them] each time their name is mentioned.
May we all benefit from this effort and live a life exactly as spelt out for us in the Holy Qur'an. Aameen.
You may now like to listen to Arabic recitation of Surah Al Māʼidah with English subtitles:
You may refer to our post "114 Chapters (Sūrahs) of the Holy Qur'an" for translation, meaning and summary / exegesis of other chapters (Though not complete but building up from 30th Juzʼ / Part backwards for chapters in 30th Juzʼ / Part are shorter and easier to understand).
Reading the Holy Quran should be a daily obligation of a Muslim - Reading it with translation will make it meaningful. But reading its Exegesis / Tafsir will make you understand it fully.
An effort has been made to gather explanation / exegesis of the surahs of the Holy Qur'an from authentic sources and then present a least possible condensed explanation of the surah. In that:
- The plain translation has been taken from the Holy Quran officially published by the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. [1]
- The exegesis of the chapters of the Holy Quran is mainly based on the "Tafhim al-Qur'an - The Meaning of the Qur'an" by one of the most enlightened scholars of the Muslim World Sayyid Abul Ala Maududi. [2]
In order to augment and add more explanation as already provided by [2], additional input has been interjected from following sources:
- Exegesis by Maulana Mufti Muhammad Sharif, revised by Justice Mufti Muhammad Taqi Usmani
- Verse by Verse Qur'an Study Circle
- Tafsir Ibn Khatir
- Al-Quran, Yusuf Ali Translation
In addition the references of other sources which have been explored have also been given above. Those desirous of detailed explanations and tafsir (exegesis), may refer to these sites.
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