In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful.
Summary from Tafsir al-Tabari.
Abridged by Dr. 'Aqil ibn Salim al-Shammari.
Surah al-Ma'idah.
In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful.
“O ye who believe! Fulfil your indentures. The beast of cattle is made lawful unto you (for food) except that which is announced unto you (herein), game being unlawful when ye are on the pilgrimage. Lo! Allah ordaineth that which pleaseth Him.” (5:1)
“O ye who believe! Fulfil your indentures. The beast of cattle is made lawful unto you (for food) except that which is announced unto you (herein), game being unlawful when ye are on the pilgrimage. Lo! Allah ordaineth that which pleaseth Him.” (5:1)
“O ye who believe! Fulfil your indentures. The beast of cattle is made lawful unto you (for food) except that which is announced unto you (herein), game being unlawful when ye are on the pilgrimage. Lo! Allah ordaineth that which pleaseth Him.” (5:1)
Concerning Allah's prohibition of what He has rendered unlawful to you in His saying:
﴿Prohibited to you are dead animals...﴾
The verse.
﴿...not treating hunting as lawful while you are in the state of ihram...﴾
Thus, in the grazing livestock that He has made lawful for you, there is ample sufficiency for you, sparing you the need to hunt while in the state of ihram.
Indeed, Allah decrees whatever He wills for His creation,
including making lawful whatever He wishes to make lawful,
making unlawful whatever He wishes to make unlawful,
as well as other rulings.
“O ye who believe! Profane not Allah's monuments nor the Sacred Month nor the offerings nor the garlands, nor those repairing to the Sacred House, seeking the grace and pleasure of their Lord. But when ye have left the sacred territory, then go hunting (if ye will). And let not your hatred of a folk who (once) stopped your going to the inviolable place of worship seduce you to transgress; but help ye one another unto righteousness and pious duty. Help not one another unto sin and transgression, but keep your duty to Allah. Lo! Allah is severe in punishment.” (5:2)
﴿...nor [violate the sanctity of] the sacred month...﴾
﴿...nor [violate the sanctity of] the sacred month...﴾
﴿...nor the sacrificial animals...﴾
﴿...nor the garlanded ones...﴾
﴿...nor the garlanded ones...﴾
﴿...nor those making for...﴾
﴿...the Sacred House...﴾
﴿...seeking...﴾
﴿...seeking...﴾
﴿...bounty from their Lord...﴾
﴿...and approval...﴾
“O ye who believe! Profane not Allah's monuments nor the Sacred Month nor the offerings nor the garlands, nor those repairing to the Sacred House, seeking the grace and pleasure of their Lord. But when ye have left the sacred territory, then go hunting (if ye will). And let not your hatred of a folk who (once) stopped your going to the inviolable place of worship seduce you to transgress; but help ye one another unto righteousness and pious duty. Help not one another unto sin and transgression, but keep your duty to Allah. Lo! Allah is severe in punishment.” (5:2)
﴿And when you come out of ihram, then hunt.﴾
﴿And do not let the hatred of a people...﴾
﴿...because they obstructed you...﴾
﴿...from al-Masjid al-Haram...﴾
﴿...lead you to transgress.﴾
﴿And cooperate...﴾
﴿...in righteousness and piety...﴾
﴿...and do not cooperate...﴾
﴿...in sin and aggression.﴾
﴿And fear...﴾
﴿...Allah;...﴾
﴿...indeed, Allah is severe in penalty.﴾
O you who have believed!
Do not treat as permissible the sacred symbols and limits of Allah,
nor His commands and prohibitions,
which He has established as signposts
distinguishing between truth and falsehood.
Do not treat as permissible the sacred month
by fighting your enemies during it.
Do not treat as permissible
the sacrificial animal brought by a person—
whether a camel, a cow,
a sheep, or otherwise—
to the House of Allah as a means of drawing close to Allah.
Do not treat as permissible the animal designated for sacrifice with a collar,
nor treat as permissible those who head toward
the Sacred House,
seeking profits
in their trade through Allah's bounty,
and seeking that Allah be pleased with them
through their acts of worship.
And when you exit the state of ihram, you may hunt the game
that I had forbidden you to treat as lawful
while you were in the state of ihram.
And let not hatred of a people—
O people—
because they barred you on the Day of al-Hudaybiyyah
from al-Masjid al-Haram,
lead you to transgress against them,
overstepping Allah's judgment regarding them
into that which He has forbidden you from doing.
Let each of you assist one another
in acting upon what Allah has commanded,
and cooperate in guarding against
that which Allah has commanded you to guard against
and to avoid regarding disobedience to Him.
And let none of you assist
another in abandoning
that which Allah has commanded you to perform,
nor in transgressing
what Allah has set as bounds for you in your religion.
And beware of Allah,
believing that you shall meet Him on your Day of Return,
lest you have transgressed His limit
and opposed His command
or His prohibition.
Indeed, Allah is severe in His punishment
toward those of His creation whom He punishes,
for it is a Fire whose intensity is never extinguished,
nor is its heat reduced.
﴿Prohibited to you are dead animals,﴾
﴿and blood, and the flesh of﴾
﴿swine, and that which has been dedicated﴾
﴿to other than Allah,﴾
﴿and that which has been dedicated﴾
﴿to other than Allah,﴾
﴿and the strangled animal, and the beaten animal,﴾
﴿and the fallen animal,﴾
﴿and the gored animal,﴾
﴿and that which a wild beast has eaten,﴾
﴿except what you slaughter [before it dies],﴾
“Forbidden unto you (for food) are carrion and blood and swineflesh, and that which hath been dedicated unto any other than Allah, and the strangled, and the dead through beating, and the dead through falling from a height, and that which hath been killed by (the goring of) horns, and the devoured of wild beasts, saving that which ye make lawful (by the death-stroke), and that which hath been immolated unto idols. And (forbidden is it) that ye swear by the divining arrows. This is an abomination. This day are those who disbelieve in despair of (ever harming) your religion; so fear them not, fear Me! This day have I perfected your religion for you and completed My favour unto you, and have chosen for you as religion al-Islam. Whoso is forced by hunger, not by will, to sin: (for him) lo! Allah is Forgiving, Merciful.” (5:3)
﴿and to seek decision through divining arrows.﴾
﴿That is grave disobedience.﴾
﴿This day have despaired﴾
﴿those who disbelieve of your religion; so do not fear them, but fear Me.﴾
“Forbidden unto you (for food) are carrion and blood and swineflesh, and that which hath been dedicated unto any other than Allah, and the strangled, and the dead through beating, and the dead through falling from a height, and that which hath been killed by (the goring of) horns, and the devoured of wild beasts, saving that which ye make lawful (by the death-stroke), and that which hath been immolated unto idols. And (forbidden is it) that ye swear by the divining arrows. This is an abomination. This day are those who disbelieve in despair of (ever harming) your religion; so fear them not, fear Me! This day have I perfected your religion for you and completed My favour unto you, and have chosen for you as religion al-Islam. Whoso is forced by hunger, not by will, to sin: (for him) lo! Allah is Forgiving, Merciful.” (5:3)
“Forbidden unto you (for food) are carrion and blood and swineflesh, and that which hath been dedicated unto any other than Allah, and the strangled, and the dead through beating, and the dead through falling from a height, and that which hath been killed by (the goring of) horns, and the devoured of wild beasts, saving that which ye make lawful (by the death-stroke), and that which hath been immolated unto idols. And (forbidden is it) that ye swear by the divining arrows. This is an abomination. This day are those who disbelieve in despair of (ever harming) your religion; so fear them not, fear Me! This day have I perfected your religion for you and completed My favour unto you, and have chosen for you as religion al-Islam. Whoso is forced by hunger, not by will, to sin: (for him) lo! Allah is Forgiving, Merciful.” (5:3)
Allah has forbidden to you, O believers, dead animals whose soul has departed without ritual slaughter;
spilled blood; and the flesh of swine, whether domestic or wild;
that over which a name other than Allah's was invoked; the strangled animal that chokes until it dies;
the animal killed by a blow, which is struck until it is incapacitated and dies;
and animals that die from falling from a mountain, into a well, or otherwise;
the sheep gored by another that dies from the goring without ritual slaughter;
and what wild beasts have eaten, except for game caught by trained hunting animals,
unless you purify it by ritual slaughter before it dies.
Also forbidden to you is that which was slaughtered upon idol altars,
and seeking knowledge of what has been allotted to you or not allotted by using divining arrows.
That was because during the Pre-Islamic Period of Ignorance, whenever one of them intended to travel, go on a raid, or the like,
he would shuffle the divining arrows.
These were arrows upon some of which was written: "My Lord has forbidden me,"
and upon others: "My Lord has commanded me."
If the arrow drawn was the one inscribed with "My Lord has commanded me,"
he proceeded with whatever he intended;
but if the arrow drawn was the one inscribed with "My Lord has forbidden me,"
he desisted from proceeding with it and refrained.
These practices mentioned
constitute a departure from Allah's command and obedience to Him, entering into what He forbade and warned against.
Now, the hopes of the hostile factions, the disbelievers, and the deniers have been severed—
O believers—regarding turning you away from your religion.
So do not fear them,
nor dread that they will prevail over you;
rather, fear Me if you disobey My command,
dare to commit acts of disobedience against Me, or transgress My limits,
lest I send down My punishment upon you and inflict My torment upon you.
Today I have perfected for you, O believers, My obligatory duties, My limits,
My commands, and My prohibitions.
And I have completed My favor upon you, O believers, by granting you victory over your enemy
and severing their hope that you would ever return to polytheism.
And I am pleased with your submission to My command in obedience to Me.
But whoever is compelled by necessity during a famine, without inclining toward sin—
without deviating toward it intentionally—
then Allah conceals it for him regarding what he ate,
pardoning him and withholding His punishment from him.
For He is most gentle with him,
and out of His mercy and gentleness toward him,
He permitted him to eat of the dead animal when he feared for his life.
“They ask thee (O Muhammad) what is made lawful for them. Say: (all) good things are made lawful for you. And those beasts and birds of prey which ye have trained as hounds are trained, ye teach them that which Allah taught you; so eat of that which they catch for you and mention Allah's name upon it, and observe your duty to Allah. Lo! Allah is swift to take account.” (5:4)
“They ask thee (O Muhammad) what is made lawful for them. Say: (all) good things are made lawful for you. And those beasts and birds of prey which ye have trained as hounds are trained, ye teach them that which Allah taught you; so eat of that which they catch for you and mention Allah's name upon it, and observe your duty to Allah. Lo! Allah is swift to take account.” (5:4)
﴿...you train from what Allah has taught you.﴾
﴿So eat of what they catch for you,﴾
﴿and mention the name of Allah upon it, and fear Allah.﴾
﴿Indeed, Allah is swift in account.﴾
Your Companions ask you, O Muhammad,
what has been made lawful for them to eat among foods and provisions.
Say to them: Wholesome food which your Lord has permitted you to eat is made lawful for you,
as is the game caught by trained hunting animals you have taught—
whether predatory beasts or birds of prey.
You train these hunting animals, teaching them to hunt for you according to the discipline Allah has taught you
and the knowledge He has imparted to you.
So eat, O people, of the lawful game your hunting animals hold for you, which I have made lawful to you,
and mention the name of Allah over the game your hunting animals hold for you.
And fear Allah, O people, regarding what He has commanded you and what He has forbidden you,
taking heed of Him in that regard.
Know that Allah is swift in reckoning for whoever He calls to account for His blessings upon them; nothing is hidden from Him.
“This day are (all) good things made lawful for you. The food of those who have received the Scripture is lawful for you, and your food is lawful for them. And so are the virtuous women of the believers and the virtuous women of those who received the Scripture before you (lawful for you) when ye give them their marriage portions and live with them in honour, not in fornication, nor taking them as secret concubines. Whoso denieth the faith, his work is vain and he will be among the losers in the Hereafter.” (5:5)
“This day are (all) good things made lawful for you. The food of those who have received the Scripture is lawful for you, and your food is lawful for them. And so are the virtuous women of the believers and the virtuous women of those who received the Scripture before you (lawful for you) when ye give them their marriage portions and live with them in honour, not in fornication, nor taking them as secret concubines. Whoso denieth the faith, his work is vain and he will be among the losers in the Hereafter.” (5:5)
“This day are (all) good things made lawful for you. The food of those who have received the Scripture is lawful for you, and your food is lawful for them. And so are the virtuous women of the believers and the virtuous women of those who received the Scripture before you (lawful for you) when ye give them their marriage portions and live with them in honour, not in fornication, nor taking them as secret concubines. Whoso denieth the faith, his work is vain and he will be among the losers in the Hereafter.” (5:5)
“This day are (all) good things made lawful for you. The food of those who have received the Scripture is lawful for you, and your food is lawful for them. And so are the virtuous women of the believers and the virtuous women of those who received the Scripture before you (lawful for you) when ye give them their marriage portions and live with them in honour, not in fornication, nor taking them as secret concubines. Whoso denieth the faith, his work is vain and he will be among the losers in the Hereafter.” (5:5)
﴿...nor taking secret lovers...﴾
“This day are (all) good things made lawful for you. The food of those who have received the Scripture is lawful for you, and your food is lawful for them. And so are the virtuous women of the believers and the virtuous women of those who received the Scripture before you (lawful for you) when ye give them their marriage portions and live with them in honour, not in fornication, nor taking them as secret concubines. Whoso denieth the faith, his work is vain and he will be among the losers in the Hereafter.” (5:5)
“This day are (all) good things made lawful for you. The food of those who have received the Scripture is lawful for you, and your food is lawful for them. And so are the virtuous women of the believers and the virtuous women of those who received the Scripture before you (lawful for you) when ye give them their marriage portions and live with them in honour, not in fornication, nor taking them as secret concubines. Whoso denieth the faith, his work is vain and he will be among the losers in the Hereafter.” (5:5)
Today, O believers, wholesome animal sacrifices and foods have been made lawful for you.
The slaughtered animals of the People of the Book—the Jews and the Christians who adhere to these two religions—are lawful for you,
to the exclusion of the slaughtered animals of all other polytheists who have no scripture.
Made lawful for you, O believers, are chaste women from among the believing women and chaste women from among those given the Scripture before you—the Jews and Christians
who adhere to what is in the Torah and the Gospel before you—when you give those chaste women whom you marry their bridal due.
Made lawful for you are chaste women while you remain chaste, neither openly committing fornication with every immoral woman,
nor taking a single secret mistress for oneself to commit immorality with.
And whoever denies what Allah has commanded to be believed—such as Allah's Oneness and the prophethood of Muhammad (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him)—
the reward for his deeds that he performed in the worldly life has become void,
and in the Hereafter he will be among the losers who deprived themselves of their share of Allah's reward.
“O ye who believe! When ye rise up for prayer, wash you faces, and your hands up to the elbows, and lightly rub your heads and (wash) your feet up to the ankles. And if ye are unclean, purify yourselves. And if ye are sick or on a journey, or one of you cometh from the closet, or ye have had contact with women, and ye find not water, then go to clean, high ground and rub your faces and your hands with some of it. Allah would not place a burden on you, but He would purify you and would perfect His grace upon you, that ye may give thanks.” (5:6)
﴿...and wipe over your heads and wash your feet to the ankles.﴾
“O ye who believe! When ye rise up for prayer, wash you faces, and your hands up to the elbows, and lightly rub your heads and (wash) your feet up to the ankles. And if ye are unclean, purify yourselves. And if ye are sick or on a journey, or one of you cometh from the closet, or ye have had contact with women, and ye find not water, then go to clean, high ground and rub your faces and your hands with some of it. Allah would not place a burden on you, but He would purify you and would perfect His grace upon you, that ye may give thanks.” (5:6)
﴿And if you are ill or on a journey or one of you comes from the place of relieving himself﴾
﴿or you have contacted women and do not find water, then seek clean earth﴾
﴿and wipe over your faces and hands with it.﴾
“O ye who believe! When ye rise up for prayer, wash you faces, and your hands up to the elbows, and lightly rub your heads and (wash) your feet up to the ankles. And if ye are unclean, purify yourselves. And if ye are sick or on a journey, or one of you cometh from the closet, or ye have had contact with women, and ye find not water, then go to clean, high ground and rub your faces and your hands with some of it. Allah would not place a burden on you, but He would purify you and would perfect His grace upon you, that ye may give thanks.” (5:6)
O you who have believed! When you stand up for prayer while you are not in a state of ritual purity, wash your faces with water and your hands up to the elbows.
Wipe over whatever part of your heads seems fit to you to wipe with water, and wash your feet up to the ankles.
If you are in a state of major ritual impurity before standing up for prayer, purify yourselves by taking a full bath.
If you are wounded or afflicted with smallpox while in major ritual impurity,
or if you are traveling while in major ritual impurity,
or if one of you comes having relieved himself while on a journey,
or if you have had sexual intercourse with women while traveling,
and you do not find water, then head for clean, pure, and lawful earth on the surface of the ground.
Strike your hands upon the soil with which you intend to perform dry ablution (tayammum),
and wipe over your faces and hands with whatever dust clings to your hands from it.
Allah does not intend through what He has ordained for you of minor ablution, major ablution, and dry ablution
to place any hardship upon you or impose restriction upon you in your religion;
rather, Allah intends to purify you through what He has ordained for you.
So cleanse and purify your bodies from sins through these means.
He also intends to complete His favor upon you by permitting dry ablution for you,
so that you may express gratitude to Allah for the blessings He has bestowed upon you
by obeying Him in what He has commanded you and forbidden you,
granting you success therein when you said: "We hear and we obey."
“Remember Allah's grace upon you and His covenant by which He bound you when ye said: We hear and we obey; And keep your duty to Allah. Lo! He knoweth what is in the breasts (of men).” (5:7)
And remember, O believers, the covenants you bound yourselves to for Allah's sake;
remember His favor upon you in guiding you through these covenants to that which pleases Him,
and His granting you success in that which contains your salvation from misguidance.
Remember also, O believers, His covenant with which He bound you,
when you said: "We hear and we obey what You have spoken to us and the pledges You have taken from us."
Fulfill, O believers, Allah's covenant with which He bound you,
and fear Allah, for He is fully aware of the innermost secrets of the hearts,
and Knower of what your souls conceal.
“O ye who believe! Be steadfast witnesses for Allah in equity, and let not hatred of any people seduce you that ye deal not justly. Deal justly, that is nearer to your duty. Observe your duty to Allah. Lo! Allah is Informed of what ye do.” (5:8)
﴿...and do not let the hatred of a people prevent you from being just.﴾
﴿Be just; that is nearer to righteousness.﴾
And fear Allah; indeed, Allah is All-Aware of what you do.
O you who have believed in Allah and His Messenger, Muhammad:
Let it be among your moral traits and characteristics
to stand firmly for Allah as witnesses in justice.
Do not be tyrannical in your judgments and actions,
and never let the hatred of a people prevent you from acting justly in your judgment concerning them.
Be just, O believers, toward every single person among humanity,
whether they be an ally to you or an enemy.
For maintaining justice toward them is closer for you, O believers, to being reckoned by Allah among the people of righteousness.
And beware, O believers, of acting unjustly toward His servants;
indeed, Allah is All-Aware and fully knowing of what you do, O believers, regarding what He has commanded you and what He has forbidden you.
He records and enumerates all of that against you,
so that He may fully requite you for it with your due recompense.
Allah has promised those who believe and do righteous deeds that for them there is forgiveness and a great reward.
Allah has promised those who were true to Allah and His Messenger
and acted in accordance with that covenant by which Allah bound them:
For them is the covering of their past sins,
and for them is a great reward—an immense, boundless good
whose ultimate extent no one knows except Him, Exalted be His remembrance.
But those who disbelieved and denied Our signs—they are the companions of the Hellfire.
And those who rejected the oneness of Allah
and denied Allah's clear proofs and evidences—
these are the people of the Fire, who will abide therein eternally,
never to be brought out from it.
O you who have believed, remember the favor of Allah upon you.
“O ye who believe! Remember Allah's favour unto you, how a people were minded to stretch out their hands against you but He withheld their hands from you; and keep your duty to Allah. In Allah let believers put their trust.” (5:11)
So He restrained their hands from you.
“O ye who believe! Remember Allah's favour unto you, how a people were minded to stretch out their hands against you but He withheld their hands from you; and keep your duty to Allah. In Allah let believers put their trust.” (5:11)
And upon Allah let the believers rely.
O you who have affirmed the oneness of Allah and the message of His Messenger, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him,
remember the favor that Allah bestowed upon you,
and give thanks to Him for it by remaining faithful to His covenant.
By this favor, He refers to His grace in delivering His Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him)
from what the Jews of Banu al-Nadir had plotted against him,
aiming to kill him and those with him—
when a people intended to stretch out their hands against you,
but He turned them away from you
and intervened between them and what they desired.
And fear Allah, O believers, lest you disobey Him in what He has commanded you and forbidden you.
And unto Allah alone let those who act in accordance with His commands and prohibitions entrust the reins of their affairs,
surrendering completely to His decree and trusting firmly in His succor—
those who act according to His command and prohibition.