5:1. O you who believe, fulfil your covenants. Lawful to you [for food] are all livestock animals, with the exception of that which is hereby announced to you. But you are forbidden to kill game while you are in the state of ihram [for Hajj or ‘umrah]. Verily Allah ordains what He wills.

This is a command from Allah (سبحانه وتعالى) to His believing slaves, telling them what faith requires of fulfilling covenants, which is that one should adhere to them properly and completely, and not break them or fall short in fulfilling them.

That includes all covenants between the individual and his Lord, which require one to be a true slave to Him and to do one’s dutyproperly, without falling short therein. It also includes the covenant between the individual and the Messenger (ﷺ), and the duty to obey him and follow him; the covenant between the individual and his parents and relatives, which requires him to honour them and uphold ties with them, and not to sever those ties; the covenant between the individual and his companions, which requires him to uphold the ties of companionship in times of wealth and of poverty, in times of ease and of hardship; the covenant between the individual and other people, in transactions such as buying and selling, renting, and so on, and covenants that involve giving something for free, such as gifts and the like. It also requires the individual to fulfil the rights of the Muslims which Allah has established among them when He said:

﴾The believers are but brothers...﴿ (al-Hujurat 49: 10)

So they should support one another in adhering to the truth, co-operate in doing so, establish loving ties of friendship among the Muslims, and not sever ties with one another.

This issue includes both the fundamentals of Islam and the minor issues; all of them are part of the covenants which Allah enjoins us to fulfil.

Then Allah reminds His slaves of His blessings to them: ﴾Lawful to you [for food]﴿ as a mercy to you ﴾are all livestock animals﴿ - the word an ‘am (translated here as ﴾livestock animals﴿ includes camels, cattle and sheep. It may also include wild animals such as gazelles, onagers (wild asses) and other animals that are hunted.

Some of the Sahabah quoted this verse as evidence for it being permissible to eat the foetus that dies in the womb after its mother is slaughtered in the prescribed manner.

﴾with the exception of that which is hereby announced to you﴿ that is, the prohibition thereof is announced to you in the subsequent verse: ﴾Forbidden to you [for food] are: the meat of animals founddead, blood, the flesh of swine... )? (5:3) the things mentioned in that verse, even if they are livestock animals, are prohibited.

Because the permissibility of livestock animals is general and is applicable in all circumstances and at all times, an exception is made in the case of hunting whilst in ihram, as Allah says:

﴾But you are forbidden to kill game while you are in the state of ihram [for Hajj or ‘umrah]'p that is, livestock animals are permissible to you in all circumstances, except when you are in a state in which hunting is not permissible, which is when you are in ihram. At that time you should not transgress the limit by killing such animals when you are in the state of ihram and within the limits of the Haram (sanctuary) zone. Doing so is not permissible for you if the animal is game, such as gazelles and the like. “Game” refers to wild animals that may be eaten.

﴾Verily Allah ordains what He wills﴿ that is, whatever Allah (سبحانه وتعالى) wills. He ordains it in accordance with His wisdom, just as He instructed you to fulfil your covenants in order to attain your best interests and to ward oflfharm from you.

He has permitted livestock animals to you out of mercy and compassion towards you, and He has prohibited to you exceptions from that, such as meat found dead and the like, so as to protect you from harm, and He has prohibited hunting whilst in ihram, out of respect for the state of ihram.

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5:2. O you who believe, do not violate the sanctity of the rites of Allah, or of the sacred month, or of the animals brought for sacrifice, or the garlands that mark out such animals, or those who are travelling to the Sacred House, seeking bounty from their Lord and to please Him. But when you come out of ihram [following Hajj or 'umrah], then you may hunt. Do not let your hatred of those who prevented you from reaching the Sacred Mosque lead you to transgress. Help one another in righteousness and piety, but do not help one another in sin and transgression. Fear Allah, for Allah is severe in punishment.

Here Allah (سبحانه وتعالى) says: ﴾0 you who believe, do not violate the sanctity of the rites of Allah﴿ that is, do not transgress the sacred limits that He has instructed you to respect or do that which He has told you not to do. This prohibition includes both doing it and believing that it is permissible to do it. That includes the prohibition on doing an evil action and believing it is permissible.

It also includes the prohibition on doing the things that are forbidden when in the state of ihram and when in the Haram (sanctuary) zone.

﴾or of the sacred month﴿ that is, do not violate the sanctity thereof by fighting during those months, or committing other kinds of wrongdoing, as Allah (سبحانه وتعالى) says:

﴾Verily, the number of months with Allah is twelve, as ordained by Allah on the day He created the heavens and the earth, of which four are sacred. This is the correct calculation. So do not wrong yourselves during them... ii (at-Tawbah 9: 36)

The majority of scholars are of the view that the prohibition on fighting during the sacred months was abrogated by the verse in which Allah (سبحانه وتعالى) says:

﴾Then when the sacred months are over, slay the polytheists^{1This refers only to the polytheists who had broken their treaty with the Muslims and supported their enemies against them.} wherever you find them...53 (at-Tawbah 9. 5)

And there are other texts which speak of slaying the disbelievers in general terms, and which warn against refraining from fighting them in general terms. The Prophet (ﷺ) fought the people of Taif during Dhul-Qa‘dah, which was one of the sacred months.

Others said: The prohibition on fighting during the sacred months was not abrogated by this verse or others, because the prohibition was mentioned in specific terms, and the permissibility was mentioned in general terms, and what is mentioned in general terms is to be understood in light of what is mentioned in specific terms.

Some of them explained the matter by saying that it is not permissible to initiate fighting during the sacred months, but in the case of continuing and completing the fight, if it began during other months, that is permissible.

They interpreted the Prophet’s fighting the people of Taif on that basis, because that fight started at Hunayn during Shawwal.

In all cases, this has to do with fighting that is not for the purpose of defence. In the case of defensive fighting, if the disbelievers initiated the fight with the Muslims, then it is permissible for the Muslims to fight in order to defend themselves during the sacred months or otherwise, according to scholarly consensus.

c-for of the animals brought for sacrifice, or the garlands that mark out such animals﴿ that is, do not violate the sanctity of the sacrificial animals that have been brought to the House of Allah during Hajj or ‘umrah or otherwise. Do not prevent them from reaching their place of sacrifice, do not seize them by theft or otherwise, and do not mistreat them or make them carry burdens greater than they can bear, lest they die before reaching their place of sacrifice. Rather you should respect them and respect the people who brought them.

﴾or the garlands that mark out such animals﴿. This refers to a special type of sacrificial animal, which is the one for which strings have been twisted or tied into knots, then placed on its neck as amanifestation of the rituals of Allah, and to encourage people to follow this example and to teach them the Sunnah; this is also done so that it will be known that this is a sacrificial animal and should be respected as such. Hence putting a garland on the sacrificial animal is Sunnah.

﴾or those who are travelling to the Sacred House﴿ that is, heading towards it

﴾seeking bounty from their Lord and to please Him﴿. This refers to those who are heading towards the Sacred House, seeking Allah’s bounty by means of trade and permissible earnings, or to attain the pleasure of Allah by means of performing Hajj or ‘umrah, circumambulating the House, praying and doing other acts of worship. Do not mistreat them or humiliate them; rather you should honour them and respect those who are coming to visit the House of their Lord.

This carries an implicit instruction to make safe the roads that lead to the House of Allah, and to make those who are coming to it feel safe and at ease, not fearing for their lives or other kinds of harm, or fearing that their wealth may be subjected to unjust taxes, plunder and the like.

This verse excludes those who are mentioned in another verse, namely:

t﴾0 you who believe, truly the polytheists are impure, so do not let them come near the Sacred Mosque after this [final] year of theirs...﴿

- the polytheists should no longer be allowed to enter the Haram zone.

The restriction in this verse, which prohibits disturbing those who are headed to the Kaaba, seeking bounty from their Lord and to please Him, indicates that if someone is travelling there for the purpose of committing sin in that place, then part of respecting the sanctuary is to prevent anyone with such intentions from transgressing the sanctity of the House of Allah, as Allah (سبحانه وتعالى) says:﴾.. .and any who intend to profane it by deliberate evildoing, We will cause them to taste a painful penalty.﴿ (al-Hajj 22:25)

Because He had forbidden them to hunt whilst in the state of ihram, Allah then says: ﴾But when you come out of ihram [following Hajj or ‘umrah], then you may hunt﴿ that is, when you exit ihram after completing Hajj or ‘umrah, and you go out of the Haram zone, it becomes permissible for you to hunt, and the prohibition no longer applies. This command after the prohibition serves to restore things to the way they were before.

﴾Do not let your hatred of those who prevented you from reaching the Sacred Mosque lead you to transgress﴿ that is, do not let your hatred and enmity towards some people, and their previous aggression against you when they prevented you from reaching the mosque, cause you to transgress against them, seeking revenge. One must adhere to the command of Allah and follow the path of justice, even when one has been wronged or mistreated or subjected to aggression. It is not permissible to tell lies about the one who lied about him, or to betray the one who betrayed him.

﴾Help one another in righteousness and piety﴿ that is, help one another to be righteous. The word birr (translated here as ﴾righteousness﴿) includes everything that Allah loves and that pleases Him of actions both outward and inward, having to do with the rights of Allah and the rights of other people.

In this context, the word taqwa (translated here as ﴾piety﴿) includes refraining from everything that Allah and His Messenger (ﷺ) hate, of actions both outward and inward.

Thus it is commanded to do every deed that is regarded as good, and it is commanded to refrain from every deed that is regarded as evil. The individual is enjoined to do that himself and to cooperate with his fellow believers in saying and doing everything that will motivate and encourage people to do that.

﴾but do not help one another in sin﴿ that is, overstepping the mark by doing acts of disobedience that incur a burden of sin and may be a cause of unease and embarrassment

﴾and transgression﴿ that is, transgressing against people with regard to their blood, wealth and honour. One must refrain from acts of sin and wrongdoing, and help others to refrain also.

Fear Allah, for Allah is severe in punishment﴿ towards those who disobey Him and transgress His sacred limits. So respect the limits, lest punishment befall you in this world and the hereafter.

5:3. Forbidden to you [for food] are: the meat of animals found dead, blood, the flesh of swine, and that on which [a name] other than that of Allah has been invoked [at the time of slaughter]; that which has been killed by strangling, or by a violent blow, or by a headlong fall, or by being gored to death; that which has been [partly] eaten by a wild animal - unless you are able to slaughter it [in the prescribed manner, before it dies]; and that which is sacrificed on stone [altars]. [Also forbidden] is making decisions by means of divining arrows. All of that is an abomination. ...

This is what was referred to in the first verse, in which Allah said: ﴾with the exception of that which is hereby announced to you﴿. It should be understood that Allah only prohibited what He prohibited in order to protect His slaves from the harm that is present in that which is prohibited, and which He may or may not explain to His slaves.

Here Allah tells us that He has prohibited ﴾the meat of animals found dead﴿. What is meant by the meat of animals found dead is meat from an animal that lost its life without being slaughtered in the prescribed manner. It is prohibited because it is harmful, as its blood is still retained inside its body and its flesh is harmful to the one who eats it. In such cases the animal often dies because of some disease that killed it, so it would be harmful to the one who eats it. An exception to this prohibition is made in the case of locusts and fish found dead, which are permissible.

﴾blood﴿ that is, blood that has been shed or poured forth, as is stated in another verse.

﴾the flesh of swine﴿ that includes all parts of the pig. Allah mentioned swine out of all other impure wild animals, because some of the People of the Book, namely the Christians, claim that Allah permitted it to them. So what is meant here is: do not be deceived by them, because it is prohibited and is included among those things which are impure.

﴾fand that on which [a name] other than that of Allah has been invoked [at the time of slaughter]﴿ that is, the name of something other than Allah was mentioned over it, such as the names of idols, the awliya’ (“saints”), stars and other created things. Just as invoking the name of Allah over it at the time of slaughter makes it good and permissible, invoking the name of anything other than Him over it makes it impure, because it is associating something else with Allah (سبحانه وتعالى).

﴾that which has been killed by strangling﴿, whether that was done by hand or with a rope, or putting its head into something tight from which it could not escape until it died.

﴾or by a violent blow﴿ that is, it died because of being hit with a stick or a rock or a piece of wood, or something fell on it, whether that was done intentionally or otherwise.

﴾or by a headlong fall﴿ that is, it fell from a height such as a mountain, wall or roof and the like, and died as a result.

﴾for by being gored to death﴿ - this refers to an animal that was gored by another and died.

﴾that which has been [partly] eaten by a wild animal﴿ such as a wolf, lion, tiger or birds of prey. If it dies as a result of being eaten by a wild animal, it is not permissible.

The phrase ﴾unless you are able to slaughter it [in the prescribed manner, before it dies]﴿ refers to all of these cases, namely strangling, a violent blow, a headlong fall, being gored and being eaten by a wild animal; if it is slaughtered in the prescribed manner while it is still alive and its survival is feasible, so that it is possible to slaughter it in the prescribed manner. Hence the fuqaha’ said: If the wild animal or whatever took out its stomach or cut its throat, even if it is still alive, it is regarded as having been found dead, because there is no benefit in slaughtering it in the prescribed manner. (Others only pay attention to the issue of whether it is still alive; if it is slaughtered in the prescribed manner when it is still alive then it becomes permissible, even if its stomach has been taken out, and this is the apparent meaning of the verse.)

﴾[Also forbidden] is making decisions by means of divining arrows﴿ This refers to three arrows that were used during the jahilyah. Written on one of them was the word “Do [it]”; on the second was written “Do not do [it]”, and nothing was written on the third.

If one of them was thinking of travelling or getting married and so on, he would mix those three arrows that were equal in size, then he would take out one of them. If he took out the one on which was written “Do [it]”, he would go ahead with his plans. If he took out the one on which was written “Do not do [it]”, he would not go ahead with his plans. If he took out the one on which nothing was written, he would repeat the procedure until he took out one of the other twoarrows, then he would act upon it. Allah forbade them to do this and similar things, and he gave them an alternative in the form of istikharah by means of which they could ask their Lord for guidance in all decisions.

f﴾All of that is an abomination﴿ this refers to all the prohibited things mentioned above, which Allah has prohibited in order to protect His slaves. They are ﴾fan abomination﴿ that is, disobedience to Him and obedience to the Shaytan.

Then He reminds His slaves of His favours: 5:3. ... This day have those who disbelieve given up all hope of you deviating from your religion. So do not fear them, but fear Me. This day have I perfected your religion for you, completed My blessing upon you, and have chosen for you Islam as your religion. But if any is forced by [severe] hunger [to eat that which is forbidden], with no intention of sinning, Allah is indeed Oft-Forgiving, Most Merciful.

The day referred to here is the Day of 'Arafah, when Allah perfected His religion, and granted victory to His slave and Messenger (ﷺ), and the polytheists were defeated completely after having been very keen to turn the believers away from their religion and had been hoping to achieve that.

When they saw the victory and triumph of Islam, they despaired utterly of the believers ever returning to their (the polytheists’)religion, and they began to fear them. Hence in the year in which the Prophet (ﷺ) performed Hajj (10 AH), which was his Farewell Pilgrimage, no polytheist performed Hajj and no one circumambulated the Kaaba naked.

Hence Allah said: ﴾So do not fear them, but fear Me﴿ that is, do not be afraid of the polytheists; rather fear Allah, Who has granted you victory over them and defeated them, and caused their plot to backfire.

﴾This day have I perfected your religion for you﴿ by completing the victory and perfecting all laws and teachings that have to do with both outward and inward matters, fundamentals and minor issues. Hence the Qur’an and Sunnah are completely sufficient with regard to the rulings of Islam, both fundamental and minor issues.

Anyone who tries to be smart by claiming that the people have no choice, in learning their beliefs and rulings, but to refer to other branches of knowledge apart from knowledge of the Qur’an and Sunnah, such as “Islamic philosophy” (‘ilm al-kalam), is ignorant and his call is false, because it is an implicit claim that Islam cannot be complete without that which he is promoting. This is one of the worst kinds of wrongdoing and is an accusation of ignorance against Allah and His Messenger

﴾completed My blessing upon you﴿, both visible and invisible ﴾and have chosen for you Islam as your religion﴿ that is, I have chosen it and selected it for you as your religion, and am pleased with it for you. Therefore you should adhere to it out of gratitude to your Lord, and praise the One Who has blessed you with the best, noblest and most perfect of religions.

﴾But if any is forced﴿ that is, if he resorts out of necessity to eating any of the prohibited things mentioned above, at the beginning of the verse, ﴾by [severe] hunger!) that is, starvation﴾with no intention of sinning﴿ that is, without any inclination towards sin, because he would not eat it unless he had no other option, and he does not eat more than is sufficient

﴾Allah is indeed Oft-Forgiving, Most Merciful﴿ as He has made it permissible for him to eat in this situation, and He has shown mercy by allowing him to eat enough to keep him going, without that affecting his religious commitment.

5:4. They ask you [O Muhammad] what is lawful to them [as food]. Say: Lawful to you are [all] good things, as well as that which you have taught your hunting animals to catch, training them as Allah has taught you. Eat what they catch for you, but pronounce the name of Allah over it [when releasing the hunting animal]. And fear Allah; for Allah is swift in reckoning.

Here Allah (سبحانه وتعالى) says to His Prophet Muhammad (ﷺ): ﴾They ask you [O Muhammad] what is lawful to them﴿ of food.

﴾Say: Lawful to you are [all] good things﴿ - this refers to everything that is beneficial or tastes good, without causing physical or mental harm. That includes all kinds of grains and fruits that grow in towns and in the wilderness, as well as all sea animals and all land animals, apart from the exceptions made by the Lawgiver, such as carnivorous animals and impure things.

Hence the verse indicates that impure things are prohibited, as is stated clearly elsewhere:﴾... he makes good things lawful to them and bad things unlawful... )﴿

﴾fas well as that which you have taught your hunting animals to catch﴿ that is, He has permitted to you that which you have trained your hunting animals to catch.

This verse indicates several things:

1- Allah’s kindness and mercy to His slaves, as He has given them many ways of obtaining permissible food, and He has permitted to them what they do not slaughter in the prescribed manner of that which is caught by their hunting animals. What is meant by hunting animals is dogs, falcons and the like, which hunt with fangs or talons.

2- Allah stipulated that these hunting animals should be taught or trained, in the manner that is customarily regarded as training, so that the animal will run when released and stop when told to stop, and when it catches the prey it will not eat it. Hence He says: ﴾training them as Allah has taught you. Eat what they catch foryou﴿ that is, what they catch of prey for you. Whatever the hunting animal eats, it is not known whether he caught it for his master for himself; he may have caught it for himself.

3- It is stipulated that the dog or bird should cause a wound to the prey, because the word used here is jawarih (translated as ﴾hunting animals﴿; the root meaning of this word means to wound). Moreover, the previous verse mentions the prohibition on eating animals that have been strangled. Therefore if the dog or other hunting animal were to strangle the prey or kill it by its weight, it would not be permissible. (This is on the basis that the word jawarih refers to hunting animals that wound the prey with fangs or talons. However the well-known view is that the word jawarih has the meaning of “collectors” and refers to those who collect the prey or catch up with it, in which case this condition is not applicable. And Allah knows best.)

4- It is permissible to keep a hunting dog, as is mentioned in the Ṣaheeh hadith, even though keeping dogs is prohibited, because what is implied by the permissibility of hunting with the dog and training it is that it is permissible to keep it.

5- The prey that is caught by the dog’s mouth is pure (tahir), because Allah permitted it and did not state that it must be washed, which indicates that it is pure.

6- This points to the virtue of teaching and training, because prey caught by the hunting animal that has knowledge by virtue of being trained is permissible, whereas that caught by one which is ignorant and untrained is not permissible.

7- Spending time in training the dog or bird, or other hunting animal, is not blameworthy and does not come under the heading of idle pursuits; rather it is something that serves the purpose, because it is a means of making the animal’s prey permissible and benefiting from it.

8- This verse offers evidence for those who regard it as permissible to sell hunting dogs, because they cannot be acquired otherwise.

9- It is stipulated to invoke the name of Allah when releasing the hunting animal; if the hunter deliberately omits to invoke the name of Allah, whatever is killed by the hunting animal is not permissible.

10- It is permissible to eat what the hunting animal catches, whether the hunting animal kills it or not. If the owner catches up with it and the prey is still alive, it is not permissible to eat it unless it is slaughtered in the prescribed manner.

Then Allah (سبحانه وتعالى) urges us to fear Him, and He warns us about the coming of the reckoning on the Day of Resurrection, and that this is close at hand, as He says: l(And fear Allah; for Allah is swift in

5:5. This day all good things are made lawful to you. The food of the People of the Book is lawful to you and your food is lawful to them. [Lawful to you in marriage] are chaste women who are believers and chaste women among those who were given the scripture before you, provided that you give them their dowries, taking them in honest wedlock, not in fornication or illicit relationships. Whoever denies the faith, his deeds will come to nothing and in the hereafter he will be among the losers.

Here Allah repeats the permissibility of good things in order to highlight His favour and call His slaves to give thanks to Him and remember Him a great deal, for He has permitted to them all good things that will meet their needs and will be beneficial to them.

﴾The food of the People of the Book is lawful to you﴿ that is, meat slaughtered by the Jews and Christians is permissible for you - O Muslims - but not that slaughtered by other disbelievers; their meat is not permissible for the Muslims. That is because the People of the Book claim to follow the Prophets and scriptures, and all the Messengers were agreed that the meat of animals slaughtered for anyone other than Allah is prohibited, because that is associating others with Him (shirk). It is part of the teachings of the Jews and the Christians that the meat of animals slaughtered for anyone other than Allah is prohibited, hence their meat is lawful whilst that slaughtered by others is not.

The evidence that what is meant by the food here is the meat is the fact that with regard to food other than meat, such as grains and fruits, there is nothing special about the People of the Book in this regard; rather these things are permissible even if it is the food of people who follow other religions. Moreover, the food is described as being theirs (﴾the food of the People of the Book﴿), which refers to meat slaughtered by them, not food they own, because the issue of legitimate ownership applies equally to both People of the Book and Muslims.^{1That is because food acquired by unlawful means is haram regardless of the religious affiliation of the person in whose possession it is.}

﴾and your food﴿ O Muslims ﴾is lawful to them﴿ that is, it is permissible for you to give it to them.

﴾[Lawful to you in marriage] are chaste women﴿ that is, women who are free (not slaves) and chaste ﴾who are believers﴿

﴾and chaste women﴿ who are free (not slaves) ﴾among those who were given the scripture before you﴿ that is, Jews and Christians.

This is an exception from what is mentioned elsewhere:

﴾Do not marry the polytheist women until they believe.. .﴿ (al-Baqarah 2: 221)

What this verse means is that it is not permissible for free men to marry believing female slaves, and that is the case.

With regard to unchaste women who do not refrain from illicit sex, it is not permissible to marry them, whether they are Muslims or from the People of the Book, until they repent, because Allah (سبحانه وتعالى) says:

﴾A man who fornicates may only marry a woman who fornicates or who is a polytheist...﴿ (an-Noor24: 3)

﴾provided that you give them their dowries﴿ this indicates that it is made permissible to marry them, provided that you give them their dowries. If anyone intends not to give the woman her dowry, then she is not permissible for him. Allah has enjoined giving her the dowryif she is mature and fit to receive it, otherwise the husband should give it to her guardian.

Attributing the dowry to them (﴾their dowries﴿) indicates that the woman owns all of her dowry; it is hers and no one is entitled to anything of it, unless she willingly gives it to her husband, guardian or anyone else.

﴾taking them in honest wedlock﴿ that is, your intention - O husbands - is to keep your wives chaste by keeping yourselves chaste, by refraining from illicit relationships with any other women.

﴾not in fornication﴿ that is, committing zina with anyone (numerous partners)

f(or illicit relationships﴿ that is, zina with a lover (one partner). During the jahiliyah, some people would commit zina with anyone, whereas others would do so with a particular lover. Allah (سبحانه وتعالى) tells us that this is contrary to chastity and that one of the conditions of marriage is that the man should be chaste and refrain from zina.

﴾Whoever denies the faith﴿ that is, whoever disbelieves in Allah {%) and what faith requires of also believing in His Books and His Messengers, or any of the teachings of Islam, his deeds will come to nothing, if he dies in a state of disbelief, as Allah (سبحانه وتعالى) says elsewhere:

f(... And if any of you turn back from their faith and die as disbelievers, their deeds will come to nothing in this world and in the hereafter... )•)

﴾and in the hereafter he will be among the losers﴿ that is, he will be among those who lose their souls, their wealth and their families on the Day of Resurrection and incur eternal misery.

5:6. O you who believe, when you prepare for prayer, wash your faces, and your hands [and arms] to the elbows; wipe over your heads [with wet hands]; and [wash] your feet to the ankles. If you are in a state of major impurity [janabah], then purify yourselves [ghusl]. If you are ill, or on a journey, or have relieved yourselves, or you have touched women, and cannot find water, then find some clean earth, and wipe your faces and hands with it [tayammum], Allah does not wish to impose any hardship on you, but to purify you, and complete His favour to you, so that you may give thanks.

This verse includes many rulings, of which we will mention those that Allah enables us to:

1 - What is mentioned here, and complying with it and acting upon it, is among the requirements of faith without which faith is not complete, because the verse begins with the words you who believe...﴿. What is meant is: O you who believe, do what your faith requires, and what has been prescribed for you.

2- The command to establish prayer, because Allah says: ﴾when you prepare for prayer﴿.

3- The command to form the intention to pray, because Allah says: ﴾when you prepare for prayer﴿, that is, with the aim and intention of praying.

4- Being in a state of purification is stipulated in order for the prayer to be valid, because Allah enjoins it when preparing to pray, and the basic meaning of enjoining is that something is obligatory.5- Purification does not become obligatory when the time for prayer begins; rather it becomes obligatory when one wants to pray.

6- In the case of everything that may be called prayer - whether it is obligatory or supererogatory, a communal obligation, or the funeral prayer - it is stipulated that one should be in a state of purity. This even applies to prostration on its own, according to many scholars, such as the prostration when reading Qur’an and the prostration of gratitude.

7- The command to wash the face, from the regular hairline to the jawline and chin lengthwise, and from ear to ear.

That includes rinsing the mouth and nose, as stated in the Sunnah, as well as hair on the face; if the facial hair is light, the water must reach the skin, but if it is thick, it is sufficient to wet the surface of the hair.

8- The command to wash the hands (and arms), up to the elbow. According to the majority of commentators, ila (the word translated here as ﴾up to﴿) means “with”, because what is required cannot be completed except by washing the entire elbow.

9- The command to wipe the head.

10- It is obligatory to wipe the entire head (as is indicated by the grammatical structure of the original Arabic text).

11 - It is sufficient to wipe the head in any manner, with one or both hands, or with a cloth or a piece of wood and the like, because Allah mentioned wiping in general terms and did not specify what is to be used to do it, which indicates that any manner of doing it is acceptable.

12- What is required is to wipe the head. If someone were to wash his head, without wiping the hand over the head, that would not be acceptable, because it would not be doing what Allah had enjoined.13- The command to wash the feet up to the ankles; something similar may be said concerning this as was said concerning the arms.

14- This is a refutation of the Rafidis, because the majority of scholars read the word arjulakum (dyour teeth) in the accusative (that is, the object of the verb fjwash)-)); it is not permissible to wipe them so long as they are uncovered.

15- This verse may be taken as an indication that it is permissible to wipe over the khuffayn (leather slippers), according to a variant recitation (arjulikum), which would connect it to the act of wiping over the head. In that case the feet may be wiped over if they are covered with the khuffayn. Each recitation may have its own meaning: according to the first recitation (arjulakum), the feet are to be washed if they are uncovered; according to the second recitation (arjulikum), the feet are to be wiped over if they are covered with the khuffayn.

16- It is enjoined to follow a particular order when doing wudoo’, because Allah mentions the actions of wudoo' in a particular order, and because He mentioned something that is to be wiped - namely the head - in between two things that are to be washed, and there would be no point in doing so except to emphasise a particular order.

17- That particular order has to do with the four main parts of the body mentioned in this verse. With regard to the order of rinsing the mouth and nose and washing the face, or washing the right and left in the case of the arms and feet, doing these things in a particular order is not obligatory. Rather it is mustahabb to rinse the mouth and nose before washing the face, to start with the right before the left when washing the arms and feet, and to wipe the head before the ears.

18- The command to renew wudoo’ for each prayer, so as to do it exactly as enjoined.19- The command to wash oneself in the case ofjanabah (impurity following sexual activity).

20- It is obligatory to ensure that water reaches all parts of the body when doing ghusl, because Allah mentions purifying of the body, without specifying some particular parts to the exclusion of others.

21- The command to wash the hair thoroughly when purifying oneself from janabah.

22- Purification from minor impurity may be included in purification from major impurity; if both are applicable, it is sufficient to intend to form the intention of purification, then wash the entire body, because Allah only said to purify oneself, and He did not say that one should repeat wu^oof

23- The word junub (one who is in a state of janabah) is applicable to anyone who has emitted maniy, whether awake or asleep, or who has had intercourse, whether he ejaculated or not.

24- The one who remembers having a wet dream but does not find any wetness does not have to do ghusl, because in that case he is not junub.

25- A reminder of Allah’s blessing to His slaves, as He prescribed tayammum for them.

26- One of the reasons for tayammum being permissible is sickness which will be worsened by washing with water; in that case it is permissible to do tayammum.

27- One of the reasons for tayammum being permissible is travelling and having relieved oneself by urinating or defecating, if no water is available. Thus sickness makes tayammum permissible even if water is available, because of the harm that would result from using it. The other reasons make tayammum permissible when there is no water available, even if one is not travelling.

28- Emissions from the front and back passages, of urine and stools respectively, invalidate wudoo’29- This verse is quoted as evidence by those who say that wudoo’ is only invalidated by these two things (relieving oneself or touching women), not by touching the private part and so on.

30- It is mustahabb to use euphemisms in order to avoid using foul language, because Allah (سبحانه وتعالى) says: ﴾for have relieved yourselves﴿.

31- Touching a woman with desire and pleasure invalidates wudoo’.

32- It is stipulated that no water be available in order for tayammum to be valid.

33- When water becomes available, even if that is whilst praying, tayammum becomes invalid, because Allah only permitted it when water is not available.

34- If the time for prayer begins and a person does not have water with him, he must look for it where he is staying, and nearby, because it cannot be said that he could not find water if he did not look for it.

35- If a person finds water but it is not sufficient for him to purify himself completely, then he must use it up, then do tayammum after that.

36- If water is altered by halal, pure substances, using it takes precedence over tayammum, because water that has been changed is still water, so it is included in the words ﴾and cannot find water﴿.

37- It is essential to form the intention of tayammum, as may be understood from the original Arabic text, because the Arabic word tayammum means to aim and intend to do something.

38- Anything that accumulates on the face of the earth is valid for tayammum, such as dust and the like. Based on that, the words ﴾fand wipe your faces and hands with it﴿ either refer to what is usually the case, as one will usually have dust available with which one may wipe, and it will stick to the face and hands, orthis is indicating the better way, and that if it is possible to use earth in which there is dust, this is preferable.

39- It is not valid to do tayammum with impure earth, because it is not pure and clean; rather it is impure.

40- What is to be wiped in the case of tayammum is the face and hands only, and not other parts of the body.

41- The words ﴾your faces﴿, include the entire face, and indicate that all of it is to be wiped, but one is excused from having to insert dust into the mouth and nose, or make it reach the skin that is beneath facial hair, even if said hair is thin.

42- The hands are to be wiped up to the wrists only, because when the word yadayn (hands) is used in a general sense, what is meant is the hands.

If it were required that the wiping reach up to the forearms, Allah would have specified that as He did in the case of wudoof

43- The verse is general in meaning and indicates that tayammum is permissible for all types of impurity, both major and minor; in fact it is also permissible in the case of impurities on the body, because Allah has made it an alternative to purification with water and has mentioned it in general terms in this verse, and has not restricted it. (It may be said that impurities on the body are not included in the ruling on tayammum, because the context speaks of impurity [in the sense of minor or major impurity]. This is the view of the majority of scholars.)

44- The places of tayammum are the same in the case of both minor and major impurity, namely the face and hands.

45- If a person intends to do tayammum to purify himself from both types of impurity, this is acceptable, based on the general meaning of the verse.

46- It is sufficient to wipe with anything, with the hand or otherwise, because Allah said ﴾and wipe﴿, but He did not say what is tobe used for wiping. This indicates that it may be done with anything.

47- It is stipulated that things be done in a certain order when purifying oneself with tayammum, as is also stipulated in the case of wudoo’; moreover, Allah started with mention of wiping the face, before wiping the hands.

48- In the rulings that He has prescribed for us, Allah (سبحانه وتعالى) has not caused us any hardship or difficulty. Rather it is mercy from Him towards His slaves, to purify them and complete His favour upon them.

49- Outward purification with water or dust is meant to be complementary to inward purification which is attained by affirming the oneness of Allah (tawheed) and repenting sincerely.

50- Even though there is no visible sign of purification in the case of tayammum, it is still an intangible, spiritual purification that comes about as a result of complying with the command of Allah (سبحانه وتعالى).

51- One should reflect upon the wisdom behind the laws that Allah has ordained with regard to purification and other matters, so as to increase in knowledge and in gratitude and love for Allah, for what He has prescribed of rulings that enable one to reach a high status.

5:7. And remember the favour that Allah bestowed upon you, and His covenant that He made with you, when you said: We hear and we obey. And fear Allah, for Allah knows well what is in [your] hearts.

Here Allah (سبحانه وتعالى) instructs His slaves to remember His spiritual and worldly blessings, in their hearts and verbally, because always remembering will motivate one to give thanks to Allah (سبحانه وتعالى) and to love Him, and one’s heart will be filled with gratitude to Him.

This dispels self-admiration with regard to acquiring spiritual blessings, and leads one to attribute everything to the bounty and generosity of Allah.

﴾and His covenant﴿ that is, and remember His covenant ﴾-(that He made with you﴿.

This does not mean that they spoke words and uttered the covenant verbally; rather what is meant is that by believing in Allah and His Messenger (ﷺ), they committed themselves to obeying both of them. Hence Allah says ﴾when you said: We hear and we obey﴿ that is, we hear what You have called us to of Your Qur’anic revelations and universal signs, hearing in the sense of understanding, complying and following, and we obey by complying with what You have enjoined us to do and by avoiding what You have forbidden us to do. This includes all the laws of Islam, both outwardly and inwardly.

The believers remember thereby the covenant of Allah that He made with them, and they bear it in mind and are eager to carry out what they have been instructed to do in full, not falling short.

﴾And fear Allah﴿ in all circumstances ﴾for Allah knows well what is in [your] hearts﴿ that is, what the hearts contain of ideas, secrets and passing thoughts; so beware lest He see in your heart that which is not pleasing to Him, or there come out of you that which He dislikes. Build your hearts with knowledge of Him, love for Him and sincerity towards His slaves, for - if you do that He will forgive your bad deeds and multiply the reward for your good deeds, because He knows the sound condition of your hearts.

5:8. O you who believe! Be steadfast in your devotion to Allah, bearing true witness impartially. Do not let your hatred of some people lead you away from justice. Be just; that is nearer to true piety. And fear Allah, for Allah is well aware of what you do.

﴾0 you who believe﴿ in what you are enjoined to believe in, carry out the requirements of your faith, by ﴾bearing true witness impartially﴿, and strive to be impartial and fair, both inwardly and outwardly. This effort should be for the sake of Allah alone, and not for any worldly purpose. You should aim for justice, which is equity, neither going to extremes nor falling short in your words or deeds; and you should do that with regard to relatives and strangers, friends and enemies.

﴾Do not let your hatred of some people lead you away from justice﴿ That is, do not let your hatred make you fail to be just, as is done by those who are not just and fair. Rather, just as you would testify in your friend’s favour, you should also testify against him, and just as you would testify against your enemy, you should also testify in his favour, even if he is a disbeliever or an innovator. You must treat him fairly and accept what he has of truth, because it is true, not because he says it. And you should not reject the truth because of what he said, because this is unfair towards the truth.

﴾Be just; that is nearer to true piety﴿ that is, the more keen you are to be just and the more you strive to act accordingly, the closer that will be to true piety in your hearts, because perfect justice leads to perfect piety.

﴾for Allah is well aware of what you do﴿ and He will requite you for your deeds, both good and bad, small and great, in this world and in the hereafter.

5:9. Allah has promised those who believe and do righteous deeds forgiveness and an immense reward.

5:10. As for those who disbelieve and deny Our revelations, they will be inhabitants of the blazing fire.

That is, Allah, Who does not break His promise and is the most truthful in word, has promised to those who believe in Him and in His Books, His Messengers and the Last Day, (fand do righteous deeds﴿, both obligatory and encouraged, forgiveness of their sins, by pardoning them and protecting them from the consequences thereof, and He has promised a great reward, the greatness of which no one knows but Allah.

﴾No soul knows what is kept hidden in store for them of delight as a reward for what they used to do.'p (as-Sajdah 32 17)

﴾As for those who disbelieve and deny Our revelations﴿ which point to the clear truth, and they disbelieve in them after the facts has become clear tfthey will be inhabitants of the blazing fire﴿ to abide therein forever.

5:11. O you who believe, remember the favour that Allah bestowed upon you when certain people decided to raise their hands against you and He held back their hands from you. So fear Allah, and in Allah let the believers put their trust.

Here Allah reminds His believing slaves of His great favour, and urges them to remember those blessings in their hearts and verbally. Just as they regard their killing of their enemies and seizing their wealth, land and captives as a blessing, they should also remember His other blessings, whereby He restrained the disbelievers and prevented them from harming them, and caused their plot to fail - this was also a blessing, because the enemy planned something and thought that they would be able to do it, but when they were not able to do what they wanted to the believers, that was by the help of Allah to His believing slaves. So they should give thanks to Allah for that, and worship Him and remember Him. This includes everyone who intended harm to the believers, whether he was a disbeliever, a hypocrite or a transgressor whose evil Allah warded off from the Muslims. All of that is included in this verse.

Then Allah instructs them to do that which will help them to prevail over their enemies and help them in all their affairs, as He says: ﴾and in Allah let the believers put their trust﴿ that is, let them depend on Him to achieve their interests, both spiritual and worldly; let them declare that they have no power or strength in themselves; and let them trust Allah to help them achieve what they want, according toeach person’s level of faith and degree of reliance. This is one of the obligations of the heart on which there is consensus.

5:12. Allah took a covenant from the Children of Israel, and We appointed twelve leaders from among them. And Allah said: I am with you; if you establish prayer, give zakah, believe in My Messengers and support them, and lend to Allah a goodly loan, I will surely expiate your bad deeds for you, and admit you to gardens through which rivers flow. But if any of you, after this, disbelieves, he will indeed have strayed from the right path.

5:13. But because of their breaking of their covenant, We cursed them, and made their hearts grow hard. They distort the meaning of [revealed] words and have forgotten a portion of what was enjoined upon them. You will not cease to discover treachery from all save a few of them. So pardon them, and overlook [their misdeeds], for Allah loves those who do good.

Here Allah Bs) tells us that He took a solemn and binding oath from the Children of Israel, and He mentions the nature of that oath.their reward if they fulfil it, and their punishment if they fail to do so. Then He tells us that they did not fulfil it, and He describes how He punished them for that.

﴾Allah took a covenant from the Children of Israel﴿ that is, a solemn and binding pledge from them

﴾and We appointed twelve leaders from among them﴿ that is, chiefs who were leaders of those under them, whose role was to be in charge of them and urge them to do what they were instructed to do.

﴾And Allah said﴿ to the twelve leaders who took on the burdens of leadership

﴾I am with you﴿ that is, by My help and support, for help is commensurate with the size of the burden.

Then Allah tells us the terms of their covenant with them:

^if you establish prayer﴿ both outwardly and inwardly, by performing the prayer correctly with proper focus of mind, doing what is required in the manner in which it should be done, and persisting in that ﴾give zakah﴿ to those who are entitled to it

﴾believe in My Messengers﴿ - all of them, the best and most perfect of whom is Muhammad (ﷺ)

﴾fand support them'p and respect them, and do your duty towards them by honouring and obeying them

﴾and lend to Allah a goodly loan﴿ which is charity and kindness that stem from sincerity, given from permissible earnings.

If you do that, f﴾l will surely expiate your bad deeds for you, and admit you to gardens through which rivers flow﴿. Thus He will combine for them attaining that which they want of paradise with all the delights it contains and warding off that which they dislike by expiating bad deeds and warding off what results from them of punishments.

﴾But if any of you, after this﴿ covenant that is confirmed by oaths and pledges, accompanied by encouragement by way of mentioning the reward﴾disbelieves, he will indeed have strayed from the right path﴿ that is, deliberately and knowingly, so he will deserve what those who go astray deserve of being deprived of the reward and being punished. It is as if one may ask, at the end of the verse: I wonder what they did (after all these warnings); did they fulfil the covenant that they made with Allah, or did they break it?

Thus in the following verse, Allah explains that they broke the covenant, as He says:

﴾But because of their breaking of their covenant﴿ that is, because of that, they received a number of punishments:

1- ﴾We cursed them﴿ that is, We expelled them and cast them far away from Our mercy, as they closed the gates of mercy to themselves, and did not fulfil the covenant that was taken from them, which is the main reason for the curse.

2- ﴾and made their hearts grow hard﴿ that is, harsh and tough, so that no exhortation had any impact on them, and they did not benefit from the signs and warnings; they were not encouraged by mention of rewards and they were not deterred by warnings of the consequences. This is one of the greatest punishments a person may receive, for his heart to become like this, with the result that reminders of guidance and goodness only make him persist in evil.

3- ﴾They distort the meaning of [revealed] words﴿ that is, they indulged in the sin of changing and altering the scriptures, so they changed the meanings of words to something other than what was intended by Allah and His Messenger

4- dand have forgotten a portion of what was enjoined upon them﴿. They were enjoined to follow the Torah and what Allah revealed to Moosa, but they forgot a portion of it. This includes forgetting the knowledge, for they forgot it and it was lost to them, and much of what Allah caused them to forget no longer exists, as a punishment to them. It also includes forgetting to act upon it,which means failing to do it. They were not enabled to do that which they had been instructed to do. This is an argument that may be used against the People of the Book, when they deny some of that which was mentioned in their Books or that took place during their time; it is part of what they have forgotten (as indicated in the verse).

5- Ongoing treachery: ﴾You will not cease to discover treachery from all save a few of them﴿ that is, treachery towards Allah and towards His believing slaves.

One of the greatest betrayals on their part is their concealing the truth from those to whom they give religious teaching and those who think positively of them, thus causing them to remain disbelievers. This is a serious betrayal and blameworthy characteristic which is applicable to everyone who is like them. Anyone who does not do what Allah has enjoined and taken a pledge from him to do has a share in the curse and hardness of heart, and is indulging in the sin of distorting (revealed) words. He is not going to be guided to the correct path, he will forget a portion of that which was enjoined upon him, and it is inevitable that he will commit acts of betrayal. We ask Allah to keep us safe and sound.

﴾all save a few of them﴿ that is, who did fulfd what they pledged to do in their covenant with Allah, so He helped them and guided them to the straight path.

﴾So pardon them﴿ that is, do not take them to task for what they have done of harm, which implies that they should be pardoned and forgiven, for that is part of doing good, and Allah loves those who do good﴿. Ihsan (translated here as doing good) means that you worship Allah as if you can see Him, for even though you cannot see Him, He sees you. Ihsan with regard to people means trying to benefit them in spiritual and worldly terms.

5:14. From those who call themselves Christians, We also took a covenant, but they too forgot a portion of what was enjoined upon them. So We have stirred up enmity and hatred among them until the Day of Resurrection. And soon Allah will inform them of what they used to do.

That is, just as We took a covenant from the Jews, We also took a covenant from ﴾those who call themselves Christians﴿ that is, followers of ‘Eesa ibn Maryam, and they purified themselves by believing in Allah and His Messengers and what they brought. But then they broke the covenant and l( forgot a portion of what was enjoined upon them﴿; they forgot knowledge of it and they forgot how to act upon it.

﴾So We have stirred up enmity and hatred among them until the Day of Resurrectionthat is. We turned them against one another, and troubles and conflicts arose among them which generated hatred and enmity towards one another, which will last until the Day of Resurrection. This is something that we see, for the Christians are still, and will continue to be, in a state of mutual hatred, enmity and division.

﴾And soon Allah will inform them of what they used to doj﴿ and punish them for it.0

=J'

5:15. O People of the Book, there has come to you our Messenger, disclosing to you much of what you have been concealing of the scripture, and overlooking much. There has come to you from Allah a light and a clear Book,

5:16. with which Allah guides all who seek His good pleasure to ways of peace and safety, and leads them out of the depths of darkness to the light, by His leave, and guides them to a straight path.

Having mentioned the covenant that He took from the People of the Book, namely the Jews and Christians, and having stated that they broke that covenant, all save a few of them, Allah commands them all to believe in Muhammad (jig), and presents them with definitive proof of the truthfulness of his prophethood, which is: He discloses to them much of that which they were concealing from the people, even from the common folk among their co-religionists, as they were the ones who were known to have knowledge, and no one had knowledge at that time except what they had. Therefore the one who was eager to acquire knowledge had no means ot doing so except from them. The fact that the Messenger (ﷺ) brought this great Qur'an which disclosed that which they had been concealing amongst themselves - when he was unlettered and could neither read nor write - is one of the clearest proofs of the truthfulness of his message. (The matters that they were concealing include) the description of Muhammad(ﷺ) in their Books, the foretelling of his coming in their Books, the verse on stoning, and so on.

﴾and overlooking much﴿ that is. He did not disclose that which there was no reason to disclose.

﴾There has come to you from Allah a light﴿ which is the Qur’an, which illuminates the darkness of ignorance and the blindness of misguidance.

﴾and a clear Book﴿ which explains everything that people need to know of religious and worldly matters, such as knowledge of Allah, His names. His attributes and His actions, as well as knowledge of the rulings of Sharia.

Then Allah mentions the one who is guided by this Qur’an, and the reason why he attains that, as He says: ﴾with which Allah guides all who seek His good pleasure to ways of peace and safety﴿ that is, He guides thereby the one who strives and is keen to attain the pleasure of Allah, and whose intention is good, to ways of peace and safety that will save him from punishment and enable him to reach paradise. This refers to knowledge of the truth and acting upon it, in general and in detail.

﴾and leads them out of the depths of darkness﴿ that is, the darkness of disbelief, innovation, sin, ignorance and heedlessness, to the light of faith, the Sunnah, obedience, knowledge and remembrance of Allah.

All of this guidance is by Allah’s leave; whatever He wills happens and whatever He does not will does not happen. ﴾fand guides them to a straight path﴿ c>~-» J*

5:17. They indeed have disbelieved who say that Allah is the Messiah, the son of Maryam. Say: Who could prevent Allah, if He so willed, from destroying the Messiah, the son of Maryam, his mother, and all the people of the earth? To Allah belongs the dominion of the heavens and the earth, and all that is between them. He creates whatever He wills, and Allah has power over all things.

5:18. The Jews and the Christians say: We are children of Allah, and His beloved ones. Say: Why then does He punish you for your sins? Nay, you are but human beings among those He has created. He forgives whomever He wills, and He punishes whomever He wills. To Allah belongs the dominion of the heavens and the earth, and all that is between them, and unto Him is the return [of all].

Having mentioned His covenant with the people of the two Books, and that they did not adhere to it - rather they broke it - Allah Gg) then tells us of their abhorrent beliefs.

He tells us of the Christian belief, which no one but they believed in, namely the belief that God is the Messiah, the son of Maryam. The basis for their specious argument is the fact that he was born without a father, so they devised this false belief concerning him, despite the fact that he had a counterpart in Hawwa', who was created without a mother; and Adam is an even stronger example, as he was created without a father or a mother. So why did they not claim thatthey (Adam and Hawwa’) were divine, as they claimed with regard to the Messiah?

This indicates that their belief was the result of following whims and desires, without any proof and without any reason to do so. But Allah refuted them with clear, rational evidence, as He said: ﴾Say: Who could prevent Allah, if He so willed, from destroying the Messiah, the son of Maryam, his mother, and all the people of the earth?﴿ If those mentioned above have no power to save themselves, if it were Allah’s will to destroy them, and they have no ability to prevent that, this is indicative of the falseness of the claim of divinity for one who cannot protect himself from being destroyed and has no power to escape from divine control. Furthermore, ﴾To Allah﴿ alone ﴾belongs the dominion of the heavens and the earth﴿; He controls them and everything is subject to His control in every way. So is it appropriate to suggest that a poor, dependent slave could be a deity who is independent of means in all ways? This is utterly impossible.

There is no reason for their finding it amazing that the Messiah ‘Eesa ibn Maryam was created without a father, for Allah ﴾creates whatever He wills﴿ - if He wills, (He creates a human) from a mother and father, like all the sons of Adam; or if He wills. He creates a human from a father, without a mother, like Hawwa’, or from a mother without a father, like ‘Eesa, or without a father or a mother, like Adam. Allah (سبحانه وتعالى) varies His creation according to His will, which is always done, and nothing is too difficult for Him. Hence He says: ﴾and Allah has power over all things﴿.

Another thing that the Jews and Christians say is that both of them make false claims and praise themselves, as each group says: ﴾We are children of Allah, and His beloved ones﴿.

In their language, the word “son” means “beloved”; they do not mean sons in a literal sense, because this is not their belief; rather that is what the Christians believe about the Messiah.

Allah says, refuting them and the claim they made without proof: ﴾Say: Why then does He punish you for your sins?﴿ If you were His beloved ones. He would not have punished you, because Allah does not love anyone except the one who does deeds that are pleasing to Him.

﴾Nay, you are but human beings among those He has created﴿, and you are subject to the rulings of justice and grace. ﴾He forgives whomever He wills, and He punishes whomever He wills﴿ if they take the steps that lead to forgiveness or to punishment.

﴾To Allah belongs the dominion of the heavens and the earth, and all that is between them, and unto Him is the return [of all]﴿ that is, how is it that you acquired this virtue (of being the “children of God”) when you are among that dominion and are among those who will be returned to Allah in the hereafter, and He will requite you for your deeds?

5:19. O People of the Book, there has come to you our Messenger, making things clear to you, after an interval in which there were no Messengers, lest you should say: No bearer of glad tidings and no warner ever came to us. But now there has come to you a bearer of glad tidings and a warner. And Allah has power over all things.

Here Allah (سبحانه وتعالى) calls the People of the Book - because of what He blessed them with of His scripture - to believe in His MessengerMuhammad (ﷺ) and to give thanks to Allah (سبحانه وتعالى) Who sent him to them Rafter an interval in which there were no Messengers﴿, at a time when there was a great need for him.

This (their need for him and the long interval since the coming of any Messenger) is what should prompt them to believe in him, for he explains to them everything that Allah requires of them and the rulings of Sharia. By doing this, Allah left them with no excuses, so they cannot say: ﴾No bearer of glad tidings and no warner ever came to us. But now there has come to you a bearer of glad tidings and a warner﴿ giving glad tidings of reward in this world and in the hereafter, describing the deeds that will lead to that and the characteristics of the people who do those deeds, and warning of punishment in this world and in the hereafter, describing the deeds that will lead to that and the characteristics of the people who do those deeds.

﴾And Allah has power over all things﴿ - all things submit willingly to His power, so nothing can go beyond His power and control. Among the signs of His power is the fact that He sends the Messengers and reveals the Books, and He rewards those who obey Him and punishes those who disobey Him.

(TT-T. :SJCU.I Sjj—) 4^

5:20. And [remember] when Moosa said to his people: O my people, remember the favour that Allah bestowed upon you, when Heappointed Prophets among you, made you kings, and granted you what He had not granted to any other nation in the world.

5:21. O my people, enter the holy land which Allah has assigned to you, and do not turn back, lest you return as losers.

5:22. They said: O Moosa, in this land are a ferocious people; we will never enter it until they leave it, then if they leave, we will enter it.

When Allah blessed Moosa and his people by saving them from Pharaoh and his people, and from captivity and enslavement to them, they left and headed towards their homeland, which was Jerusalem and its environs. Allah had enjoined them to strive in jihad against the enemy in order to expel them from their lands. So when they approached Jerusalem, Moosa (عليه السلام) exhorted them and reminded them to go forward for jihad, and said to them: ﴾remember the favour that Allah bestowed upon you﴿ that is, remember it in your hearts and verbally, for remembering it will increase you in love for Allah (سبحانه وتعالى) and motivate you to worship Him ﴾when He appointed Prophets among you﴿ who called you to true guidance, warned you against following the path of doom, urged you to strive for your eternal happiness and taught you that which you do not know

﴾made you kings﴿, in charge of your own affairs, as He liberated you from enslavement to your enemies, so that you became in charge of your own affairs and were able to practise your religion.

﴾and granted you﴿ spiritual and worldly blessings that ﴾He had not granted to any other nation in the world﴿ - for at that time they were the best of humanity and the dearest of them to Allah, and He had bestowed upon them blessings that had not been given to anyone else.

Moosa reminded them of spiritual and worldly blessings that should have increased them in steadfastness of faith and steadfastness in jihad and willingness to engage therein. Hence he said: t﴾0 my people, enterthe holy﴿ that is, purified ﴾land which Allah has assigned to you﴿. Thus he told them something that would put their minds at rest, if they truly believed, by telling them that Allah had decreed that they would enter this land and would prevail over their enemies.

e﴾and do not turn back﴿ that is, retreat ﴾lest you return as losers﴿, as you would have lost out in this world by missing out on victory over your enemies and regaining your land; you would also lose out in the hereafter because of what you would miss out on of reward and because of what you would bring upon yourselves of punishment because of your sin.

But they said something that was indicative of their lack of resolve and their lack of due respect towards Allah and His Messenger. ﴾(They said: O Moosa, in this land are a ferocious people﴿ that is, powerful and courageous, and this is an impediment which prevents us from entering the land.

s﴾we will never enter it until they leave it, then if they leave, we will enter it﴿ this stems from cowardice and lack of certain faith; otherwise, if they were mature, they would have realised that they were all descendants of Adam and that the strong one is the one whom Allah helps with strength from Him, for there is no power and no strength except with Allah. They would also have realised that they would be granted victory over them, because Allah had given them a special promise to that effect.

5:23. Two men among those who feared Allah, and whom Allah had blessed, said: Enter upon them through the gate! Once you enter it, you will surely be victorious. And in Allah put your trust, if you are [truly] believers.

5:24. They said: O Moosa, we will never enter it so long as they are there. Go, you and your Lord, and tight, and we will stay here.

5:25. He said: O my Lord, I have control only over myself and my brother, so distinguish us from these rebellious people!

5:26. [Allah said:] Then, verily, this [land] will be forbidden to them for forty years, while they wander on earth, bewildered, to and fro. So do not grieve over these rebellious people.

﴾Two men among those who feared Allah﴿ spoke up to encourage their people and motivate them to find their enemy and occupy their land ﴾and whom Allah had blessed﴿ with divine help and the ability to speak the truth in this situation which required such words, and He blessed them with patience and certain faith. ﴾said: Enter upon them through the gate! Once you enter it, you will surely be victorious﴿ that is, there is nothing standing between you and victory over them except your moving to attack them and enter upon them through the gate; when you do so, they will be defeated.

Then they instructed them to equip themselves with the strongest of weapons, as they said: f(And in Allah put your trust, if you are [truly] believers﴿, for by putting one’s trust in Allah, especially in this situation, things will be made easier and you will be helped to prevail over your enemies. This indicates that putting one’s trust in Allah is obligatory, and a person’s level of trust will be commensurate with his level of faith.

But these words did not meet with success and blaming them was of no benefit, for they said, like people who have no pride or dignity: tjO Moosa, we will never enter it so long as they are there. Go, you and your Lord, and fight, and we will stay here.﴿ How abhorrent are the words they spoke and their attitude towards their Prophet in this difficult and critical situation, which required them to support their Prophet and maintain their dignity.

This and similar stories highlight the difference between all other nations and the Ummah of Muhammad (ﷺ), as the Sahabah said to the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) - when he consulted them about fighting on the day of Badr, even though he did not make it a must that they should fight: O Messenger of Allah, if you were to go through this sea, we would go through it with you, and if you were to lead us to Bark al-Ghamad, no one would stay behind. We will not say as the people of Moosa said to him, f﴾Go, you and your Lord, and fight, and we will stay here﴿. Rather go, you and your Lord, and fight, and we will fight with you, in front of you and behind you, on your right and on your left.

When Moosa saw how stubborn they were towards him, ﴾[He said: O my Lord, I have control only over myself and my brother﴿ that is, we have no power to fight them, and I do not have any control over these people.

﴾so distinguish us from these rebellious people﴿ that is, judge between us and them, by sending upon them punishment as Your wisdom dictates. This indicates that what they said and did constituted major sins that were tantamount to evildoing.

Allah said in response to Moosa’s prayer: ﴾Then, verily, this [land] will be forbidden to them for forty years, while they wander on earth, bewildered, to and frob that is, as part of their punishment. We will forbid them to enter this town which Allah had decreed should be theirs, for a period of forty years. During that period, they would also wander to and fro on earth, and would not find their way or besettled and at peace. This was a worldly punishment, by means of which Allah (سبحانه وتعالى) may have expiated their sin and warded off a greater punishment. This indicates that punishment for sin may take the form of the removal of a blessing. Perhaps the wisdom behind making the punishment last for this length of time was that most of those would die who had said these things and had not been patient and steadfast; rather they had become accustomed to enslavement to their enemies, and had no aspirations that would motivate them to do that which would lead to acquiring a high status. Thus a new generation would appear that would develop aspirations of defeating their enemy and not being enslaved, and would be far removed from accepting humiliation that poses an impediment to happiness.

When Allah (سبحانه وتعالى) saw that His slave Moosa was very compassionate towards people, especially his own people, and that he might feel sorry for them, and his compassion would cause him to feel sorry for them because of this punishment or pray for it to be removed, even though Allah had decreed that it should happen, He said: c-jSo do not grieve over these rebellious people﴿ that is, do not feel sorry for them or feel sad, because they have rebelled and their rebellion dictates that what befell them should befall them; it does not stem from injustice on Our part.

5:27. Recount to them the story of the two sons of Adam in truth, when each offered a sacrifice [to Allah]. It was accepted from one, but not from the other. [The latter] said: I will surely kill you. [The former] said: Verily, Allah only accepts from those who fear Him.

5:28. Even if you raise your hand against me to kill me, I will not raise my hand against you to kill you, for I fear Allah, the Lord of the worlds,

5:29. and I would rather you were burdened with your sin against me as well as your own sins and thus became one of the inhabitants of the fire; such is the recompense of the wrongdoers.

5:30. But he was prompted by his evil inclinations to kill his brother. So he killed him, and thus became one of the losers.

5:31. Then Allah sent a crow which scratched at the earth to show him how to conceal his brother’s corpse. He said: Woe is me! Could I not have been like this crow, and covered up my brother’s corpse? And he became one of the remorseful.

That is: tell the people about what happened between the two sons of Adam in truth, so that people will reflect and learn from it, because it is true and is not a lie; it is serious and is not a joke. What appears to be the case is that the two sons of Adam were his own sons, as is indicated by the apparent meaning and context of the verse. This is the view of the majority of commentators. In other words: tell them the story of what happened when they offered a sacrifice, which led to the situation described here.

﴾when each offered a sacrifice [to Allah]﴿ that is, each of them set aside some part of his wealth in order to draw closer to Allah﴾flt was accepted from one, but not from the other﴿ - this was known either through revelation from heaven or through the custom that prevailed among earlier nations: the sign of Allah’s acceptance of a sacrifice was that fire would come down from heaven and consume it.

﴾f[The latter] said﴿ that is, the son whose sacrifice was not accepted said to the other, out of envy and resentment:

﴾I will surely kill you﴿. His brother said to him, trying to speak gently to him: ﴾Verily, Allah only accepts from those who fear Him﴿; what sin or offence have I committed that would dictate that you should kill me, apart from the fact that I feared Allah Bs), and fearing Him is obligatory for both you and me, and for everyone? The more correct view concerning the meaning of fearing Allah here is that what is referred to is those who show the quality of fearing Allah in doing that action (of sacrifice), in the sense that their action is done sincerely for the sake of Allah, following the Sunnah of the Messenger of Allah

Then he told him that he did not want to kill him, either on his own initiative or in self-defence, as he said: ﴾Even if you raise your hand against me to kill me, I will not raise my hand against you to kill you﴿ and this is not cowardice or incapability on my part; rather it is because ﴾fl fear Allah, the Lord of the worlds﴿, and the one who fears Allah does not commit sins, especially major sins.

This is aimed at warding off one who wants to kill, telling him: You should fear Allah.

﴾and I would rather you were burdened with﴿ that is, that you should end up carrying ﴾your sin against me as well as your own sins﴿ that is, if there is a choice between being killing you or being killed by you, then I would prefer that you should kill me and thus be burdened with the sins of us both

﴾fand thus became one of the inhabitants of the fire; such is the recompense of the wrongdoers﴿. This indicates that murder is a major sin and that the one who commits it deserves to enter hell.

But the offender was not deterred by that, and he was still determined to go ahead with his action. So he responded to his evil inclinations and killed his brother, whom he should have respected according to the laws of Allah and of nature.

﴾So he killed him, and thus became one of the losers﴿ who lose out in this world and in the hereafter, and thus he set a precedent for every killer.

«Whoever sets a bad precedent will have the burden of that sin and a burden like that of everyone who does likewise until the Day of Resurrection.» (Recorded by at-Jabarani)

Hence it is stated in the saheeh hadith that:

«No one kills another person but the first son of Adam will have a share of the guilt, because he was the first one to set the precedent of killing.)) (Bukhari and Muslim)

When he killed his brother, he did not know what to do with him, because he was the first of the sons of Adam to die.

﴾Then Allah sent a crow which scratched at the earthy that is, it dug a hole to bury another crow that had died

﴾to show him﴿ thereby ﴾how to conceal his brother’s corpse﴿ that is, his body, because the body of the deceased is something that is to be covered (‘awrah).

﴾And he became one of the remorseful﴿. Such is the consequence of sin: regret and loss.

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5:32. Because of that We ordained for the Children of Israel that if anyone killed a person - unless it be [in punishment] for murder or for spreading mischief in the land - it would be as if he killed all humankind, and if anyone saved a life, it would be as if he saved the life of all humankind. Our Messengers came to them with clear signs, yet even after that, many of them continued to exceed the limits in the land.

﴾Because of that﴿ that is, what is mentioned above of the story of the two sons of Adam and how one of them killed the other, thus setting a precedent of murder for those who came after him, and in order to show that the punishment for murder is serious and leads to loss in this world and the hereafter

﴾We ordained for the Children of Israel﴿ that is, the people of the divinely revealed Books

﴾that if anyone killed a person - unless it be [in punishment] for murder or for spreading mischief in the land﴿ that is, if anyone killed a person unlawfully

﴾fit would be as if he killed all humankind)﴿, because he had no legitimate reason to do so, and no one should kill another person unless he has a legitimate reason to do so. If a person has the audacity to kill someone who did not deserve to be killed, it means that he does not differentiate between the one whom he killed and anyone else; rather he would do that every time his soul that is inclined towards evil prompts him to do so. Therefore his audacity in killing is as if he killed all of humankind.

By the same token if a person saves a life - that is, he lets him live and does not kill him even though his evil inclinations prompt him to do so, because his fear of Allah (سبحانه وتعالى) prevents him from doing that, this is as if he saved the life of all of humankind, because the fear of Allah that he has prevents him from killing anyone who does not deserve to be killed. This verse indicates that execution is permissible in twocases: when someone has killed a person unlawfully and deliberately, in which case it is permissible to execute him, if the murderer is accountable; or if he is spreading mischief in the land, trying to make the people doubt their religion or causing them physical harm or posing a danger to their property, such as apostate disbelievers, enemy combatants and promoters of innovation whose evil cannot be warded off except by executing them. The same applies to bandits and the like who attack people, killing them or taking their wealth.

﴾Our Messengers came to them with clear signs﴿ after which no one can have any argument

﴾yet even after that﴿ that is, even after that clear, definitive proof that would show the way in which people should conduct themselves on earth ﴾many of them continued to exceed the limits﴿ by committing sins and opposing the Messengers who brought clear signs and proof.

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5:33. The recompense of those who wage war against Allah and His Messenger, and strive to spread mischief in the land, is that they should be executed, or crucified, or their hands and feet cut off from opposite sides, or banished from the land. That is their disgrace in this world, and in the hereafter, theirs will be a grievous punishment.

5:34. Except for those who repent before you overpower them; in that case, know that Allah is Oft-Forgiving, Most Merciful.

Those who wage war against Allah and His Messenger (ﷺ) are those who have declared their enmity and spread mischief in the land, by disbelieving, murdering, taking people’s wealth and terrorising people on the road (banditry).

It is well known that this verse speaks of the rulings on bandits, those who attack people in the cities and the desert, seizing their wealth, killing them and scaring them, so that people refrain from taking the route where they are.

Allah tells us that the recompense and punishment - when the hadd punishment is carried out on them - is for one of these things to be done to them.

The commentators differed as to whether that is the matter of choice, and whether the ruler or his deputy may do to each bandit whatever he sees fit of the things mentioned, which is the apparent meaning of the wording, or whether the punishment should be according to the level of the crime, so that for each crime there is a fitting punishment, as is indicated by the meaning of the verse, which is in accordance with the wisdom of Allah (سبحانه وتعالى). (According to this view), if the bandits kill people and take their wealth, then they must be killed and crucified, so that everyone will know about that and will be deterred. If they kill but do not take wealth, then they must be executed only. If they take wealth but do not kill, then their hands and feet on opposite sides - the right hand and the left foot - are to be cut off. If they terrorise people but do not kill or take wealth, then they are to be banished from the land, and they should not be left to find refuge in any city, unless they repent openly. This is the view of Ibn ‘Abbas and many leading scholars, with some differences concerning some of the details.

﴾That﴿ namely this punishment

﴾is their disgrace﴿ that is, scandal and shame ﴾fin this world, and in the hereafter, theirs will be a grievous punishment﴿. This indicates that banditry is one of the major sins that incur disgrace in this world and punishment in the hereafter, and that the one who engages in it is waging war against Allah and His Messenger (ﷺ). As this is the extent of the seriousness of this crime, it is known that purifying the land of evildoers and making the roads safe from killing, seizing wealth and scaring people, is one of the greatest of good deeds, and that it comes under the heading of spreading peace in the land, the opposite of which is spreading mischief in the land.

Except for those who repent before you overpower them﴿ that is, they repent from committing these crimes against the public.

﴾in that case, know that Allah is Oft-Forgiving, Most Merciful﴿ that is, the punishment for the sin that he committed against Allah will be waived, with regard to having to be killed or crucified, or to have his hand and foot cut off, or be banished from the land; the sin he committed against other people will also be waived, if the aggressor (bandit) was a disbeliever then became Muslim. But if the aggressor (bandit) is a Muslim, then the rights that he owes to other people are not waived, if he murdered and took wealth. The verse indicates that the repentance of an aggressor (bandit) - after he has been overpowered - does not waive any of the obligations he has. The wisdom behind that is quite clear.

But if his repentance comes before he is overpowered, then the hadd punishment for waging war against Allah and His Messenger (ﷺ), or other hadd punishment, is waived - if he repents from his deed before being overpowered.

5:35. O you who believe, fear Allah, seek the means of drawing closer to Him, and strive hard in His cause, so that you may prosper.

This is a command from Allah to His believing slaves to do what faith requires of fearing Allah and being cautious to avoid incurring His wrath and anger, by striving hard in doing one’s utmost to avoid sins of the heart, tongue and physical faculties, both outward and inward, and seeking Allah’s help to avoid these things, in order to save oneself from the wrath and punishment of Allah.

﴾seek the means of drawing closer to Him﴿ that is, the means of nearness to Him and endearing yourselves to him, by doing obligatory spiritual deeds, such as loving Him and loving for His sake, fear and hope, turning to Him and putting one’s trust in Him, as well as physical deeds such as zakah and Hajj. That also includes actions that are both spiritual and physical, such as prayer, reading Qur’an and remembering Allah (dhikr), as well as showing kindness to people by financial means, sharing knowledge, using one’s position or status to help, and being sincere towards the slaves of Allah.

All of these deeds bring one closer to Allah, and a person will continue drawing closer to Allah by means of them, until Allah loves him, and when He loves him. He will be his hearing with which he hears, his vision with which he sees, his hand with which he strikes and his foot with which he walks, and Allah will answer his supplications.

Then Allah (سبحانه وتعالى) singles out from among acts of worship that bring one closer to Him: jihad in His cause, which means striving to fight the disbelievers with one’s wealth and life, by planning, speakingand striving to support the religion of Allah with all means at one’s disposal, because this is one of the best acts of worship that bring one closer to Allah. That is because the one who does that is more likely to do other things too.

﴾so that you may prosper﴿ - if you fear Allah by avoiding sin, seek means of nearness to Allah by doing acts of worship, and strive in His cause, seeking His pleasure.

Prosperity means triumph, attaining all that one seeks and hopes for, and being saved from all that one fears. What it really means is eternal happiness and everlasting joy.

5:36. As for those who disbelieve, even if they had everything on earth, and as much again with it, to offer as their ransom from the punishment of the Day of Resurrection, it would not be accepted from them, and theirs will be a painful punishment.

5:37. They will wish to get out of the fire, but never will they get out of it. Theirs will be an everlasting punishment.

Here Allah (سبحانه وتعالى) tells us of the terrible condition of the disbelievers before Allah on the Day of Resurrection, and their awful fate, and that even if they were to offer an earthful of gold and as much again as ransom from the punishment of Allah, it will not be accepted from them and it will not benefit them, because the time for ransom will be over and there will be nothing left but the painful punishment andeternal suffering from which they will never escape; rather they will abide therein for ever.

5:38. As for the thief, male or female, cut off their hands as a recompense for what they have done, and as an exemplary punishment ordained by Allah. Allah is Almighty, Most Wise.

5:39. But whoever repents after having thus done wrong and mends his ways, Allah will accept his repentance, for Allah is Oft- Forgiving, Most Merciful.

5:40. Do you not know that to Allah belongs the dominion of the heavens and the earth? He punishes whomever He will, and He forgives whomever He will, and Allah has power over all things.

The thief is the one who takes another person’s property that is protected by Sharia, in a surreptitious manner, without the owner’s consent. It is one of the major sins that dictate a severe punishment, which is amputation of the right hand, as is specified in the recitation of some of the Sahabah.

The hadd punishment entails cutting off their hands from the wrist. If a person steals, his hand is to be cut off from the wrist, then the bleeding is to be stopped by cauterising it with hot oil. This is the punishment mentioned in general terms in the Qur’an, but the Sunnah restricts the general meaning of this verse in a number of ways:

• That the stolen item should have been taken from the place where such items are usually kept safe; if it is stolen from some place other than that, then the thief’s hand is not to be cut off.

• That there should be a minimum value for the stolen property, which is one quarter of a dinar or three dirhams, or whatever is equivalent to either of them. If the stolen property is of less value than that, then the thief’s hand is not to be cut off.

This may be understood from the word as-sariqah (theft) and its meanings. This word refers to taking an item in such a way that it is not possible to protect against. This applies if it is stored properly; if it is not stored properly and is taken, this is not theft per se according to Sharia.

Wisdom also dictates that the hand should not be cut off for theft of a trivial item. As there must be a set definition of what is valuable, the shar‘i texts make clear the minimum value.

The wisdom behind cutting off the hand as a punishment for theft is so that this will protect people’s property, as people will be cautious lest the limb that committed the crime be cut off. If the thief steals again, his left foot is to be cut off. If he does it again, it was suggested that his left hand be cut off, then his right foot, or that he be detained until he dies.

﴾as a recompense for what they have done﴿ that is, this cutting off of their hands is the recompense to the thief for what he stole of people’s property

﴾fand as an exemplary punishment ordained by Allah﴿ that is, to make an example of him and to deter the thief and others, if they know that their hands will be cut off if they steal.

﴾Allah is Almighty, Most Wise﴿ - because He is Almighty, Most Wise, He ordained that the hand of the thief is to be cut off.

﴾But whoever repents after having thus done wrong and mends his ways, Allah will accept his repentance, for Allah is Oft-Forgiving,Most Merciful﴿ so He will forgive the one who repents and gives up sin, and mends his ways and reforms himself. That is because Allah is the Sovereign of the heavens and the earth, and He decrees concerning them however He wills; He decrees what will happen and He ordains laws, and He decrees forgiveness or punishment according to His wisdom and vast mercy.

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5:41, O Messenger, do not be saddened by those who rush into disbelief, those who say with their mouths: We believe, but have no faith in their hearts, or those among the Jews who eagerlylisten to lies and to those who have not even come to you. They distort the meaning of [revealed] words and say: If you are given this [ruling], accept it, but if you are not, then beware! Whoever Allah wills should be misguided, you cannot help him against Allah in any way. Those are the ones for whom it is not Allah’s will to purify their hearts. For them there is disgrace in this world, and in the hereafter theirs will be a grievous punishment.

5:42. They eagerly listen to lies and devour what is unlawful. If they do come to you [O Muhammad], either judge between them or turn away from them. If you turn away from them, not the least harm will they do to you, and if you judge, then judge with justice between them, for Allah loves those who are just.

5:43. But how is it that they ask you for judgement when they have the Torah which contains Allah’s judgement, and they still turn away? Such people are not [truly] believers.

5:44. Verily We revealed the Torah, in which was guidance and light. By it the Prophets who submitted [to Allah] judged the Jews, as did the rabbis and scholars, for to them was entrusted the protection of the scripture of Allah, and they were witnesses thereto. So do not fear people, but fear Me, and do not sell My revelations for a small price. And whoever does not judge according to what Allah has revealed, such are disbelievers.

Because the Messenger was so concerned for people, he would feel very sad when someone made an outward display of faith, then returned to disbelief. Therefore Allah Bg) instructed him not to feel sad or grieved for such people, because such people were not worth it; if they are present they contribute nothing and if they are absent, no one misses them.

Therefore Allah said, explaining the reason why he should not grieve for them: ﴾those who say with their mouths: We believe, but have no faith in their hearts﴿. Rather those for whom one should feel concerned are those who were counted as believers and wereindeed believers both outwardly and inwardly. It is very unlikely that these people would recant their religion and apostatise, for when faith becomes entrenched in the heart, the individual would not regard anything else as equal to it, nor would he want to replace it with anything else.

﴾for those among the Jews who eagerly listen to lies and to those who have not even come to you﴿ that is, they follow in the footsteps of their leaders whose affair is based on lies, misguidance and wrongdoing. Those leaders ﴾have not even come to you﴿; rather they turned away from you and rejoiced in what they had of falsehood, which is based on distorting the meaning of (revealed) words, that is, explaining the meanings in a way that Allah did not intend in order to misguide people and ward off the truth. These are the ones who are following the callers of misguidance, who fabricate all kinds of lies, and are lacking in reason and aspirations. So do not worry about them if they do not follow you, because they are seriously flawed, and no attention should be paid to one who is flawed.

﴾and say: If you are given this [ruling], accept it, but if you are not, then beware!﴿ That is, this is what they say when they refer to you for judgement, and their only aim is to follow their whims and desires. They say to one another: If Muhammad (ﷺ) rules in your favour and it is in accordance with your whims and desires, then accept his ruling, but if he does not rule in your favour, then beware of following him in that. This is giving into temptation and following the whims and desires of the nafs.

﴾Whoever Allah wills should be misguided, you cannot help him against Allah in any way﴿. This is akin to the verse in which Allah

﴾Verily, you [O Muhammad] cannot guide whomever you like, but Allah guides whomever He wills... ﴿ (al-Qasas 28: 56)

﴾Those are the ones for whom it is not Allah’s will to purify their hearts﴿ that is, therefore they did what they did. This indicates that in the case of one whose intention in referring for judgement to Sharia is to follow his whims and desires, and if the verdict is in his favour he will accept it, but if it is not then he will resent it, that is because his heart is not purified. By the same token, if a person refers his opponent to Sharia, and he accepts the verdict whether it suits him or not, then this is a sign of purity of the heart. This indicates that purity of heart is a means of attaining all that is good, and it is the main reason for all good words and righteous deeds.

﴾For them there is disgrace in this world﴿ that is, shame and scandal

﴾fand in the hereafter theirs will be a grievous punishment﴿ namely hell and divine wrath.

﴾They eagerly listen to lies﴿ - listening here means accepting and taking to heart, which is due to their lack of religious commitment and reason; hence they respond to the one who calls them to falsehood.

﴾and devour what is unlawful﴿ that is, haram wealth, because of what they take unlawfully from their common folk of set fees and charges. Thus they combine following falsehood and consuming that which is prohibited.

﴾flf they do come to you [O Muhammad], either judge between them or turn away from them﴿ - it is your choice. This was not abrogated; rather if this type of people referred to him for judgement, he had the choice between judging between them or refraining from doing so, because they had no intention of adhering to the rule of Sharia, unless it was in accordance with their whims and desires.

Based on that, if it is known that the one who is asking a scholar for an Islamic verdict or for a judgement between him and his opponent will not accept it if the verdict is against him, then the scholar is not obliged to give a ruling or verdict, but if he does judge between them,then he is obliged to judge fairly. Hence Allah says: ﴾If you turn away from them, not the least harm will they do to you, and if you judge, then judge with justice between them, for Allah loves those who are just﴿. Even if they are wrongdoers or enemies, that should not prevent you from being fair when judging between them.

This highlights the virtue of justice and fairness when judging between people, which Allah (سبحانه وتعالى) loves. Then Allah says, expressing astonishment at their attitude: ﴾But how is it that they ask you for judgement when they have the Torah which contains Allah’s judgement, and they still turn away? Such people are not [truly] believers﴿ - the reason being that if they were truly believers acting upon what faith requires, they would not have turned away from the judgement of Allah which is mentioned in the Torah that they have before them, in hope of finding a ruling that was in accordance with their whims and desires.

When you (O Prophet [#?]) judged between them according to the ruling of Allah, which is also in accordance with what they have in their scriptures, they did not like it; rather they turned away from it and did not accept it.

﴾Such people﴿ that is, the ones who did this ﴾are not [truly] believers﴿ that is, this is not the way of the believers, and they do not deserve to be called believers, because they take as their gods their own desires (cf. 25: 43), and they regard the rulings of faith as being subject to their whims and desires.

﴾Verily We revealed the Torah﴿ to Moosa ibn 'Imran (عليه السلام)

﴾in which was guidance﴿ as it guided people to faith and truth, and protected against misguidance

﴾and light﴿ to illuminate the darkness of ignorance, confusion, doubt, specious arguments, and whims and desires, as Allah (سبحانه وتعالى) says elsewhere:﴾Verily, We gave to Moosa and Haroon the criterion [between right and wrong - the Torah], and a light, and admonition for the pious.

﴾By it the Prophets who submitted [to Allah]﴿ and complied with His commands, whose submission to Him was greater than that of others, and they were the elite chosen by Allah from among His slaves ^judged the Jews﴿ concerning cases of dispute and questions about religious rulings. If this is the case with regard to these noble Prophets and leaders of humankind, that they followed the teachings and guidance of the Torah, then what is preventing these ignoble people among the Jews from following it? What made them cast aside the noblest idea in it, namely believing in Muhammad (jig), without belief in whom no deed, visible or hidden, is accepted? Did they have a leader in that (path of misguidance)? Yes, they had leaders whose main focus was to distort the text of the Torah and establish themselves as leaders among people, and to earn a living by concealing the truth and making falsehood manifest. These are the leaders of misguidance who called people to the fire.

﴾as did the rabbis and scholars﴿ that is, the religious leaders of the Jews ruled on the basis of the Torah. The word translated here as f(rabbis﴿ refers to knowledgeable people who act upon their knowledge and teach others in the best way, and they follow the path of the compassionate Prophets in their dealings with the people.

The word translated here as ^(scholars﴿ refers to the senior scholars whose teachings people emulate and follow, and among their people they are known for devotion and sincerity.

This ruling on their part, which is in accordance with the truth, is because ﴾fto them was entrusted the protection of the scripture of Allah, and they were witnesses thereto﴿ that is, because Allah entrusted the protection of His Book to them, and made them trustees in whose keeping it was placed, and He enjoined them to protect itfrom additions, subtractions and concealment, and to teach it to those who do not know it.

Therefore they are witnesses over it, as they became the reference point regarding it and matters that were not clear in people’s minds. Allah (سبحانه وتعالى) gives responsibility to the people of knowledge that He does not give to those who are ignorant. Therefore they were required to shoulder that burden of responsibility and not to follow the example of the ignorant by resorting to idleness and laziness. Therefore they should not limit themselves to individual acts of worship, such as various kinds of dhikr, prayer, zakah, Hajj, fasting and other matters by which, if those who have no knowledge do them, they will be fine and will be saved.

But in the case of those who have knowledge, just as they are required to fulfil their individual duties, they are also required to teach the people and point out to them that which they need to know of religious matters, especially the fundamental matters and issues that often arise. They should not fear people; rather they should fear their Lord. Hence He says: ﴾So do not fear people, but fear Me, and do not sell My revelations for a small price﴿, for then you would be concealing the truth and making falsehood manifest for the sake of insignificant worldly gain. If the scholar is free of these faults, then that is by the help and guidance of Allah and His blessing, because He has caused his focus to be on acquiring knowledge and teaching people, and he knows that Allah has entrusted to his keeping what he has of knowledge and is a witness thereto. So he should fear his Lord, and not let fear of people prevent him from doing what is required of him or give precedence to worldly matters over religious matters.

By the same token, the sign of a scholar being doomed is that he is content to be idle and not do anything, and he does not care about what he has been entrusted with. He neglects it for he has sold his religious commitment for worldly gain and taken bribes for his verdicts; thus he took money for his fatwas and did not teach the slaves of Allah anything unless it was in return for a fee.

Allah has blessed such a person immensely, but he was ungrateful for it and he rejected that great good fortune of which others are deprived. We ask Allah for beneficial knowledge and accepted deeds; may He bless us with pardon and protection from all calamities.

﴾And whoever does not judge according to what Allah has revealed﴿ of clear truth, and he knowingly rules according to falsehood for some invalid purpose,

﴾such are disbelievers﴿. Judging or ruling according to something other than that which Allah has revealed is the action of the disbel ievers, and it may put one beyond the pale of Islam, if he believes that doing so is permissible, or it may be a major sin and an act of disbelief, for which the one who does it deserves a severe punishment.

5:45. We ordained therein for them: A life for a life, an eye for an eye, a nose for a nose, an ear for an ear, a tooth for a tooth, and wounds equal for equal. But if anyone remits the retaliation by way of charity, it will be an expiation for him. And whoever does not judge according to what Allah has revealed, such are wrongdoers.

These rulings are among the rulings mentioned in the Torah, the rulings by which the Prophets who submitted (to Allah) judged the Jews, as did the rabbis and scholars. Allah enjoined upon them that a person - if he killed someone - was to be executed for that act ofmurder - on condition that the act was deliberate. An eye was to be put out in retaliation for an eye, an ear was to be removed in retaliation for an ear, and a tooth for a tooth, and so on with regard to physical faculties for which retribution is possible without going to extremes.

﴾fand wounds equal for equal﴿ - retribution means that the same is done to the perpetrator as he did to the victim. If a person wounds another deliberately, then retribution is exacted by inflicting a similar wound upon him, in the same location and of similar dimensions, as a hadd punishment. It should be noted that laws prescribed for the nations that came before us are also prescribed for us, unless Islamic Sharia ordains otherwise.

But if anyone remits the retaliation﴿ in cases of murder or lesser offences causing loss of physical faculties or wounds, by forgiving the one who committed the offence ﴾it will be an expiation for him﴿ that is, expiation for the offender, because the human has waived his rights, and it is more befitting that Allah should waive what is due to Him. It is also expiation for the one who remits it; just as he pardoned a transgression against him or against his next of kin, Allah will pardon his mistakes and offences.

f(And whoever does not judge according to what Allah has revealed, such are wrongdoers﴿, lbn ‘Abbas said:

[That is,] a lesser form of disbelief, a lesser form of wrongdoing and a lesser form of evildoing. The wrongdoing is greater if the perpetrator regards it as permissible, and it is a major sin if he does it without thinking that it is permissible.

5:46. And in their footsteps We sent ‘Eesa son of Maryam, confirming what came before him of the Torah, and We gave him the Gospel, in which was guidance and light, and confirmation of what came before it of the Torah; a guidance and admonition for those who fear Allah.

5:47. Let the people of the Gospel judge according to what Allah revealed therein. And whoever does not judge according to what Allah has revealed, such are evildoers.

That is, We followed the sending of these Prophets and Messengers, who judged in accordance with the Torah, by sending Our slave and Messenger ‘Eesa ibn Maryam, a soul created by Allah and His word that He bestowed upon Maryam. Allah sent him to confirm what came before him of the Torah. So he was a witness who testified in favour of Moosa and what he brought of the Torah, in truth. He supported his call and judged in accordance with his laws, agreeing and concurring with him in most legal matters.

‘Eesa (iiSSt) may have been more lenient with regard to some rulings, as Allah (سبحانه وتعالى) tells us that he said to the Children of Israel:

tf [I have come] to confirm that which came before me of the Torah, and to make lawful to you some of the things which had been forbidden to you... j﴿ (Al Imran 3: 50)

﴾and We gave him the Gospel﴿, the great Book which complemented the Torah

﴾in which was guidance and light﴿, to guide people to the straight path and distinguish truth from falsehood

﴾and confirmation of what came before it of the Torah﴿ by confirming it, testifying for it and agreeing with it﴾fa guidance and admonition for those who fear Allah﴿ for they are the ones who benefit from guidance, pay heed to admonition and are deterred from that which is not appropriate.

﴾Let the people of the Gospel judge according to what Allah revealed therein﴿ that is, it is obligatory for them to adhere to their scripture, and it is not permissible for them to turn away from it ffAnd whoever does not judge according to what Allah has revealed, such are evildoers﴿.

5:48. And We have sent down to you [O Muhammad] the Book in truth, confirming the scripture that came before it and superseding it. So judge between them according to what Allah has revealed, and do not follow their desires by turning away from the truth that has come to you. To each [community] among you. We have prescribed a law and a clear way. If Allah had so willed. He would have made you a single community, but [He willed it otherwise] in order to test you in what He has given you. So hasten to do good deeds. To Allah you will all return, then

He will inform you about the matters concerning which you differed.

5:49. So judge [O Muhammad] between them according to what Allah has revealed, and do not follow their desires; but beware lest they lure you away from any part of that which Allah has sent down to you. And if they turn away, then know that it is Allah’s will to punish them for some of their sins. And verily many people are indeed rebellious.

5:50. Is it then the judgement of [the times of] ignorance^{1Jahiliyah (the times of ignorance): this refers to the period before Islam.} that they seek? But who could be better in judgement than Allah, for a people who are certain in faith?

﴾And We have sent down to you [O Muhammad] the Book﴿ namely the Holy Qur'an, the best and greatest of scriptures ﴾in truths that is, revealed in truth and containing truth in its stories, commands and prohibitions

﴾confirming the scripture that came before it﴿ because it testifies for it and is in harmony with it; its stories match and its major laws are the same. The previous scriptures foretold it, so the existence of the Qur’an is a confirmation of the previous scriptures

﴾and superseding it﴿ that is, it includes what the previous scriptures contained, and with regard to additional divine instructions and promotion of good morals and attitudes, it is the Book which contains everything true that was mentioned and enjoined in previous scriptures; it approached the same issues from different angles.

It is the Book which contains news of the earlier and later generations. It is the Book which contains judgement, wisdom and rulings; the Book by which all previous scriptures are judged. Whatever it testifies is true is to be accepted, and whatever it testifies is false is to be rejected, as it has been affected by distortion and alteration.otherwise if it were really from Allah, it would not contradict what is in the Qur’an.

﴾So judge between them according to what Allah has revealed﴿ that is, the rules of Sharia that Allah has revealed to you.

﴾fand do not follow their desires by turning away from the truth that has come to you﴿ that is, do not follow their corrupt whims and desires that are contrary to the truth, instead of the truth that has come to you, thus exchanging what is better for what is inferior ﴾To each [community] among you﴿, O nations, ﴾We have prescribed a law and a clear way﴿ or path. This refers to sets of laws that differ from one nation to another, according to changes in times and circumstances, but all of them were based on fairness at the time when they were ordained. As for the basic principles which are in people’s best interests and based on wisdom at all times, they do not change; thus you find them prescribed in all sets of laws.

﴾If Allah had so willed. He would have made you a single community﴿, following one set of laws, and the laws that came later would not differ from those that came earlier.

)[but [He willed it otherwise] in order to test you in what He has given you﴿. So He tests you to see what you will do, and He tests each nation according to what His wisdom dictates, giving each one whatever is appropriate for it. He also tests them so as to bring about competition between the nations, for each nation will be keen to compete with others and surpass them. Hence Allah says: ﴾So hasten to do good deeds﴿ that is, hasten to do them properly. )(good deeds﴿ include every deed that is obligatory or recommended, whether it pertains to the rights of Allah or those of His slaves. The one who does them is not regarded as being ahead of others unless he does two things: hastening to do the good deed, making the most of the opportunity when the time for it comes and it is due, and striving hard to do it properly as enjoined. This verse indicates that the individual should hasten to offer the prayer and do other deeds when the time forthem begins, and that he should not limit himself only to that which makes the deed acceptable in the case of prayer and other obligatory acts of worship; rather he should strive to do whatever he is able to of all actions that are recommended, so as to complete and perfect his deeds and attain the position of being ahead of others.

﴾To Allah you will all return﴿ - the earlier and later nations; Allah will gather them together on a day concerning which there is no doubt ﴾then He will inform you about the matters concerning which you differed﴿ of laws and deeds. Then He will reward those who followed the truth and did righteous deeds, and He will punish those who followed falsehood and did evil deeds.

﴾f So judge [O Muhammad] between them according to what Allah has revealed﴿. It was said that this verse abrogates the verse in which Allah says: ﴾either judge between them or turn away from them﴿ (5: 42).

However the correct view is that it does not abrogate it, and that this verse indicates that the Prophet (jjljp did have the choice between judging between them and not doing so; that was because their intention was not to seek a fair and truth-based judgement.

This verse indicates that if he did judge between them, then he was to judge between them in accordance with what Allah had sent down of the Book and the Sunnah. This is the justice that Allah previously referred to: ﴾and if you judge, then judge with justice between them﴿ (5: 42). This indicates that what is meant by justice, and the basis thereof, is that which Allah has ordained of rulings. This includes the utmost justice and fairness, and anything contrary to that is unjust and unfair.

﴾and do not follow their desires﴿. This prohibition on following their whims and desires is repeated so as to emphasise the warning against doing so. The first time this phrase appears is in the context of giving a ruling and verdict, which is broader in scope; here it appearsin the context of giving rulings only. In either case it is essential to avoid following their whims and desires that are contrary to the truth. Hence Allah says: ﴾but beware lest they lure you away from any part of that which Allah has sent down to you﴿ that is, beware of being deceived by them, lest they confuse you and make you turn away from some of that which Allah has sent down to you, in which case following their whims and desires would be a cause that led to your abandoning the truth that must be followed.

﴾And if they turn away﴿ from following you and following the truth ﴾then know﴿ that this is a punishment to them, and that it is Allah’s will ﴾to punish them for some of their sins﴿. There are punishments for sin in this world and in the hereafter; one of the harshest of punishments is when it becomes fair-seeming to stop following the Messenger (ﷺ). This is because of the individual’s sin, ﴾And verily many people are indeed rebellious﴿ that is, their nature is to rebel and to refuse to obey Allah or follow His Messenger (ﷺ).

﴾ls it then the judgement of [the times of] ignorance^{2Jahiliyah (the times of ignorance) this refers to the period before Islam.} that they seek?﴿ That is, by turning away and objecting to you, are they seeking the judgement of the times of ignorance, which refers to any ruling that is contrary to that which Allah sent down to His Messenger (ﷺ). There is nothing but either the ruling of Allah and His Messenger (ﷺ) or the ruling of the times of ignorance. Whoever turns away from the former will fall into the latter, which is based on ignorance, injustice and transgression. Hence Allah described it as ignorance. As for the ruling of Allah Be), it is based on knowledge, justice, fairness, light and guidance.

﴾But who could be better in judgement than Allah, for a people who are certain in faith?﴿ The one who is certain in faith is the one who knows the difference between the two types of judgement andrecognises - on the basis of his certain faith - the beauty and brilliance of Allah’s judgement, and he knows that it is obligatory - on the basis of reason and Islamic teachings - to follow it. Certainty of faith is based on perfect knowledge that prompts one to act upon it.

5:51. O you who believe, do not take the Jews and Christians as allies;^{1The word awliya’, translated here as “allies”, may also mean protectors, supporters, close friends, and so on.} for they are allies of one another. Whoever among you takes them as allies is indeed one of them. Verily Allah does not guide the wrongdoing people.

5:52. You see those in whose hearts is a disease hastening towards them, saying: We are afraid lest fortune turn against us. It may be that Allah will bring about victory or some other event by His decree. Then they will regret what they had kept hidden in their hearts.

5:53. And those who believe say: Are these the men who swore their most solemn oaths by Allah, that they were with you? Their deeds have come to nothing and they find themselves losers.

Here Allah (سبحانه وتعالى) instructs His believing slaves, when He describes to them the situation of the Jews and the Christians, and their displeasing attributes, that they should not take them as allies, for they are allies of one another, who support one another and are united against others. You should not take them as allies, for in fact they are enemies who do not care what befalls you. Rather they would not spare any effort to mislead you. Hence no one takes them as allies except one who is like them. For this reason, Allah says: ﴾Whoever among you takes them as allies is indeed one of them﴿, because taking them as allies, in a complete sense, dictates joining them in their religion, and taking them as allies on a small scale could lead to taking them as allies on a large scale, then the individual would get closer to them, step-by-step, until he becomes one of them.

﴾Verily Allah does not guide the wrongdoing people﴿ that is, those who have the quality of wrongdoing, for whom it is second nature. Even if you brought all signs to them, they would not follow you.

When Allah instructed the believers not to take them as allies, He stated that among some of those who claim to be believers there is a group that takes the enemy as allies. Allah says:

﴾You see those in whose hearts is a disease﴿ such as doubt, hypocrisy and weakness of faith. They say: We take them as allies now because we may have need of them

﴾We are afraid lest fortune turn against us﴿ that is, in case things go in favour of the Jews and Christians, for if they have the upper hand, and we are already on good terms with them, they will reward us for that. This is negative thinking of Islam on their part. Allah says in response to their negative thinking:

﴾It may be that Allah will bring about victory﴿ that is, Allah may cause Islam to prevail over the Jews and Christians, so that the Muslims will defeat them

﴾or some other event by His decree﴿ that would lead to the hypocrites despairing of the disbelievers - be they Jews or others - ever prevailing﴾Then they will regret what they had kept hidden﴿ that is, concealed ﴾in their hearts﴿; they will regret what they did and the harm they caused, but it will be to no benefit. The victory that Allah granted to Islam and the Muslims came to pass and disbelief and the disbelievers were brought low; as a result they were filled with regret and sorrow to an extent that only Allah knows.

﴾And those who believe say﴿ in astonishment at the state of these people in whose hearts there is sickness: ﴾Are these the men who swore their most solemn oaths by Allah, that they were with you?﴿ That is: they swore solemnly and went to extremes in trying to give assurances that they were your fellow believers with all that that implies of support, love and friendship.

But what they were concealing was made manifest and their plot and what they intended to do to Islam and its followers came to nothing; thus their plot was foiled and ﴾their deeds﴿ were rendered invalid in this world and ﴾they find themselves losers﴿ as they failed to attain their goal and will have no escape from misery and punishment.

( 0 t liOJlil ijyd) ﴾ Attt

5:54. O you who believe, whoever among you renounces his faith, Allah will bring forth [in their stead] people whom He loves and who love Him, humble towards the believers and stem towards the disbelievers, striving in the cause of Allah, and not fearing the reproach of any reproacher. That is the grace of Allah, which He bestows upon whomever He will. And Allah is All-Encompassing, All-Knowing.

Here Allah (سبحانه وتعالى) tells us that He has no need of His creation, and that whoever apostatises from His religion will never harm Him at all; rather he only harms himself. Allah has sincere slaves whom the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful has guaranteed to guide and has promised that He will bring forth, and that they will be the most perfect of humanity in characteristics, the strongest at heart and the best in attitude. The greatest of their characteristics is that Allah loves them and they love Him. Allah’s love for a person is the greatest blessing that He may bestow upon him, and the greatest virtue with which Allah may favour him. If Allah loves a person. He makes things easy for him and enables him to do good deeds and refrain from evil deeds; He also causes His slaves to love that person.

One of the requirements of a person’s love for his Lord is that he has no choice but to follow the Messenger (ﷺ) both outwardly and inwardly, in word and deed, in all circumstances, as Allah (سبحانه وتعالى) says:

c-jSay: If you love Allah then follow me; Allah will love you...p (At

One of the prerequisites of Allah loving a person is that he does a lot of deeds to draw near to Allah, both obligatory and supererogatory actions, as the Prophet said in the saheeh hadith which tells us that Allah says:

«My slave does not draw near to Me with anything more beloved to Me than what which I have enjoined upon him (of obligatory duties), and My slave continues to draw near to Me with supererogatory deeds so that I will love him. When I love him I am his hearing with which he hears, his seeing with which he sees, his hand with which he strikes and his foot w ith which he walks. Were he to ask (something) of Me, I would surely give it to him, and were he to ask Me for refuge, I would surely grant him it.» (Bukhari)

Another of the prerequisites of Allah loving a person is knowing Him and remembering Him a great deal, for love without knowingAllah is sorely lacking; indeed it is non-existent, even if one claims that it is there. The one who loves Allah remembers Him a great deal, and when Allah loves a person. He will accept a little of good deeds from him and will forgive a great deal of mistakes on his part.

Another of their characteristics is that they are ﴾humble towards the believers and stem towards the disbelievers﴿. With the believers, they are humble out of love, sincerity, gentleness, kindness, compassion and mercy towards them, and they are easy going with them. But with those who disbelieve in Allah, stubbornly reject His revelations and disbelieve in His Messengers, they are stem and resolved to oppose them and to do their utmost by all available means to prevail over them. Allah (سبحانه وتعالى) says:

﴾Make ready against them all that you can of [military] power and steeds of war, to strike fear into the hearts of the enemies of Allah and your enemies...)i (al-Anfal8. 60)

- and:

﴾...firm and unyielding towards the disbelievers, compassionate towards one another...p (al-Fath 48: 29)

Being forceful and stem against the enemies of Allah is something that brings one nearer to Allah and is a means by which the person is in harmony with his Lord in His wrath towards them. The idea of being stem towards them does not mean that we cannot call them to Islam in the manner that is best, thus combining sternness towards them with gentleness in calling them to Islam. Both are in their best interests and will benefit them.

﴾striving in the cause of Allah﴿, offering their wealth and their lives, striving in word and deed

﴾fand not fearing the reproach of any reproacherj﴿; rather they give precedence to pleasing their Lord and fearing His disapproval over fearing the reproach of other people. This is indicative of the strength of their aspirations and resolve, for weakness of heart and lack of resolve when faced with reproach weaken one’s resolve furtherand lead to him losing strength when he is told off; that is a kind of servitude to something other than Allah, the degree of which is commensurate with the extent to which they pay attention to other people and give precedence to pleasing them and avoiding their reproach over complying with the command of Allah. A person’s heart is not free of servitude to anyone other than Allah until he reaches a point where he does not fear the reproach of any reproacher for the sake of Allah.

Having praised them for that which He blessed them with of noble and sublime characteristics, which are indicative of righteous deeds not mentioned, Allah then tells us that this is by His grace and kindness towards them, lest they be filled with self-admiration and so that they will give thanks to the One Who blessed them with that. Furthermore, He will bestow more of His grace upon them and others will understand that there is no barrier to the grace of Allah (سبحانه وتعالى): ﴾That is the grace of Allah, which He bestows upon whomever He will. And Allah is All-Encompassing, All-Knowing﴿ that is. He is abundant in grace and kindness, and bestows immense blessings. His mercy encompasses all things and He gives abundantly to His close friends in a way that He does not give to others. He knows best who is deserving of grace, and He gives it to him.

﴾1 Allah knows best where to place His message﴿ (al-Anam 6:124)

- in terms of the Messengers and those who convey the message from them.

5:55. Your only allies are Allah, His Messenger, and the believers, those who establish prayer and give zakah, with humble submission.

5:56. Whoever takes Allah, His Messenger, and the believers as allies, it is the party of Allah that will certainly be triumphant.

Having forbidden us to take the disbelievers - Jews, Christians and others - as allies and stated that the ultimate fate of those who take them as allies is clear loss, Allah (سبحانه وتعالى) then tells us who the believers should take as allies, and He mentions the benefits and interests served by doing so:

﴾Your only allies are Allah, His Messenger)?-taking Allah as an ally means believing in Him and fearing Him. Everyone who believes and fears Allah is an ally of His, and whoever is an ally of Allah is also an ally of His Messenger (ﷺ). A result of that is taking as an ally everyone who takes Allah and His Messenger (ﷺ) as allies, namely the believers who establish faith both outwardly and inwardly, and show sincere devotion to Allah by establishing prayer, fulfilling all its conditions and doing all obligatory and optional parts thereof, treating people kindly and giving zakah from their wealth to those among them who are entitled to it.

﴾with humble submission﴿ that is, they are humble towards Allah

The word ﴾only﴿ in the phrase ﴾Your only allies are Allah, His Messenger, and the believers﴿ indicates that being an ally only to those mentioned, and disavowing any alliance to anyone else, is obligatory.

Then Allah mentions the benefit of this alliance: ﴾Whoever takes Allah, His Messenger, and the believers as allies, it is the party of Allah that will certainly be triumphant﴿ that is, he belongs to the party that is described as belonging to Allah by way of servitude and alliance, and His party is the one which will prevail, and for whomthere will be a good end in this world and in the hereafter, as Allah (سبحانه وتعالى) says elsewhere:

﴾And it is surely Our troops who will be the victors.﴿ (as-Sdjfat 37: 173) These are glad tidings for anyone who follows the command of Allah and becomes one of His party and those who support His cause: that he will prevail, even if he is defeated sometimes for a reason that Allah (سبحانه وتعالى) wills. Ultimately he will prevail and be victorious, for who could be truer in his promise than Allah?

5:57. O you who believe, do not take as allies^{1The word awliya’, translated here as “allies”, may also mean protectors, supporters, close friends, and so on.} those who ridicule your religion and make fun of it, whether they are among those who were given the scripture before you or the disbelievers. Fear Allah, if you are [truly] believers.

5:58. When you give the call to prayer, they ridicule it and make fun of it; that is because they are a people who do not understand.

Here Allah forbids His believing slaves to take as allies the People of the Book, namely the Jews and Christians, and all other disbelievers, loving them, regarding them as friends, disclosing the secrets of the believers to them and helping them in some of their affairs that will adversely affect Islam and the Muslims. The faith that the believershave dictates that they should not take them as allies and it encourages them to regard them as enemies.

Similarly, their duty to fear Allah, which means complying with His commands and avoiding that which He prohibits, requires them to regard them as enemies.

There were also other polytheists and disbelievers who opposed the Muslims, attacking their religion, making fun of it, belittling it and looking down on it, especially the prayer which is the most prominent characteristic of the Muslims and the noblest of their acts of worship. When the Muslims gave the call to prayer, they mocked it because of their immaturity and great ignorance. Otherwise, if they were possessed of any reason, they would have submitted to it and would have realised that it is better than all righteous deeds that a person could do.

If you - O believers - realise how the disbelievers really are and the extent of their hostility towards you and your religion, then anyone who does not resent and oppose them does not truly appreciate Islam.

How can you claim that you have a good religion, and that it is the religion of truth and all others are false, yet you accept to take as allies those foolish and ignorant people who make fun of Islam and mock it and its people? This comes under the heading of inciting enmity towards their enemies, which is very clear to anyone who has the slightest understanding.

5:59. Say: O People of the Book, do you resent us for any reason other than that we believe in Allah, and in [the revelation] that has been sent down to us, and in that which was sent down before, and that most of you are evildoers?

5:60. Say: Shall I tell you who deserves a worse recompense from Allah [than that which you think we will receive]? Those whom Allah cursed and was angry with, some of whom He turned into apes and swine, and worshippers of false gods. They are in a worse position and are further astray from the right path.

5:61. And when they come to you, they say: We believe, but in fact they come with disbelief [in their hearts] and they depart with disbelief, and Allah knows all that they conceal [in their hearts].

5:62. You see many of them rushing into sin and transgression, and devouring unlawful earnings. Wretched indeed is what they have been doing.

5:63. Why do the rabbis and scholars not forbid them to utter sinful words and devour unlawful earnings? Wretched indeed is what they have been failing to do.^{1That is, by not forbidding them to do those things.}

That is: ﴾Say'p O Messenger (ﷺ): ﴾fO People of the Book﴿ affirming to them that Islam is the true religion and that their criticism of it is criticising something that should be praised, ﴾do you resent us for any reason other than that we believe in Allah, and in [the revelation] that has been sent down to us, and in that which was sent down before, and that most of you are evildoers?﴿ That is, do you have anything against us except the fact that we believe inAllah and in His earlier and later Books, and His earlier and later Prophets, and that we are certain that whoever does not believe in this manner is a disbeliever and an evildoer? Do you resent us for any reason other than that we believe in this which is the most obligatory duty of all who are accountable?

Most of them are evildoers; that is, they fail to obey Allah and they blatantly disobey Him.

Because their criticism of the believers implies that they think that they are following an evil path, Allah (ﷺ) says: ﴾[Say﴿﴿ to them, informing them of the abhorrent nature of what they follow:

﴾Shall I tell you who deserves a worse recompense from Allah [than that which you think we will receive]?﴿ that is, worse than that for which you resent us - this is said for argument’s sake.

﴾Those whom Allah cursed﴿ that is, cast far away from His mercy ﴾and was angry with﴿ and punished them in this world and the hereafter

﴾some of whom He turned into apes and swine, and worshippers of false gods﴿ - the word taghoot, translated here as ﴾false gods﴿, refers to the Shaytan. Everything that is worshipped instead of Allah is taghoot.

﴾They﴿ that is, those who are mentioned as having these reprehensible characteristics

﴾are in a worse position﴿ than the believers to whom the mercy of Allah is near, and Allah is pleased with them and rewards them in this world and in the hereafter, because they are sincere in their devotion to Him. This is a kind of comparison, without inferring that both are bad. ﴾and are further astray from the right path﴿ that is, they are far away from the straight path.

﴾And when they come to you, they say: We believe﴿ by way of hypocrisy and trickery

﴾but in fact they come with disbelief [in their hearts] and they depart with disbelief!) that is, they come and go with disbelief in their heartseven though they claim to be believers; can there be anyone worse than these people or in a more appalling state?

﴾and Allah knows all that they conceal [in their hearts]﴿ and He will requite them for their deeds, both good and evil.

Then Allah (سبحانه وتعالى) carries on listing their faults, in retaliation for their criticism of His believing slaves: ﴾You see many of them﴿ that is, the Jews ﴾rushing into sin and transgression﴿ that is, they are eager and hasten to commit sins that have to do with the rights of the Creator and transgression against other people.

﴾fand devouring unlawful earnings﴿ that is, what is haram. Allah did not stop at telling us that they do this; rather He tells us that they rush into it, which is indicative of their evil, and shows us that it is second nature to them to love sin and wrongdoing, yet they claim for themselves a high status.

﴾ Wretched indeed is what they have been doing﴿ - this is the utmost criticism and condemnation of them.

﴾Why do the rabbis and scholars not forbid them to utter sinful words and devour unlawful earnings?﴿ That is, why do the scholars - who take it upon themselves to benefit the people and whom Allah has blessed with knowledge and wisdom - not forbid them to do those sins that come from them, so that the people will rid themselves of ignorance and proof will be established against them?

The scholars are obliged to enjoin upon people what is right and to forbid what is wrong, to show the people the right path, encourage them to do all that is good and warn them against all that is evil. ﴾Wretched indeed is what they have been failing to do﴿.

5:64. The Jews say: Allah’s Hand is tied up. May their hands be tied up and may they be cursed for what they say. Rather His two Hands are outstretched; He bestows [His bounty] as He wills. The [revelation] that has come down to you from your Lord will surely increase many of them in obstinate rebellion and disbelief, and We have cast among them enmity and hatred until the Day of Resurrection. Every time they kindle the fire of war, Allah extinguishes it. They strive to spread mischief in the land, and Allah does not love those who spread mischief.

5:65. If the People of the Book had believed and feared Allah, We would surely have expiated their sins from them, and admitted them to gardens of delight.

5:66. If they had been steadfast [in adhering to] the Torah and the Gospel, and that which was revealed to them from their Lord, they would surely have been given provision from above them and from beneath their feet. Among them are some who are fair-minded, but many of them do evil deeds.

Here Allah (سبحانه وتعالى) tells us of the abhorrent words of the Jews and their dreadful belief:

﴾The Jews say: Allah’s Hand is tied up﴿ that is, unable to do good and bestow kindness.

﴾May their hands be tied up and may they be cursed for what they say﴿. This is a supplication against them of similar nature to what they said, because their words implicitly describe Allah, the MostGenerous, as being miserly and not kind. Hence He requited them by making this description suit them.

They were the most miserly of people and the least generous and kind, and they thought of Allah in the most negative terms. Therefore He cast them far away from His mercy which encompasses all things and reaches all regions of the upper and lower realms. Hence He said: ﴾Rather His two Hands are outstretched; He bestows [His bounty] as He wills﴿, with no restrictions on Him and no impediment to prevent Him doing what He wills. His generosity is far reaching and His kindness encompasses the spiritual and the physical. He enjoins His slaves to make the most of the seasons when He bestows His grace abundantly and not to close to themselves the gates of His kindness by committing sin.

His Hands are giving by night and by day, and His bounty pours forth abundantly at all times, relieving distress, removing hardship, enriching the poor, ransoming the captive, consoling the afflicted, giving to those who are in need, answering the cry of the desperate, responding to those who ask, bestowing blessings even upon those who do not ask, granting well-being to those who seek it and never depriving any sinner of His bounty. Indeed His bounty is enjoyed by righteous and evildoers alike, but He shows further kindness to His close friends by helping them to do righteous deeds. Then He praises them and attributes their righteous deeds to them, by His grace, and He rewards them for those deeds in this world and in the hereafter, a reward that cannot be described and has not crossed the mind of man. He takes care of them in all their affairs, bestows His blessings upon them and wards off harm from them, much of which they are unaware of. Glory be to the One from Whom all blessings come and to Whom they turn to ward off harm. Blessed be the One Whom no one can praise as He deserves; rather He is as He has praised Himself. Exalted be the One of Whose generosity people are never deprived.not even for the blink of an eye; rather they cannot exist or survive except by His grace.

May Allah doom the one who in his ignorance thinks that he can do without his Lord and who ascribes to Him that which is not befitting to His Majesty. Rather if Allah were to take to task the Jews who said that or others of their ilk, for some of what they say, they would have been destroyed and doomed in this world. But they say these things, and Allah (سبحانه وتعالى) shows forbearance, overlooks and gives respite, but He never forgets about them.

﴾The [revelation] that has come down to you from your Lord will surely increase many of them in obstinate rebellion and disbelief﴿. This is the worst punishment that may befall a person, whereby the message that Allah has sent down to His Messenger (ﷺ), which brings life to the heart and soul, and brings happiness in this world and the hereafter, and success in both realms, which is the greatest blessing that Allah has bestowed upon His slaves, that they should hasten to accept and submit to Allah by doing so, and give thanks to Allah for it - that such a thing could increase them in transgression, obstinate rebellion and disbelief. That is because of their turning away from it, rejecting it, stubbornly opposing it and producing false arguments to undermine it.

﴾and We have cast among them enmity and hatred until the Day of Resurrection﴿ so there will be no harmony among them, they will not support one another, and they will not agree on any issue that serves any of their interests; rather they will bear mutual grudges in their hearts and oppose one another until the Day of Resurrection.

﴾Every time they kindle the fire of war﴿ to attack Islam and its people, or they start something or try to repeat it, and they amass their military power, ﴾Allah extinguishes it﴿ by causing them to fail, causing their troops to scatter and granting the Muslims victory over them.

﴾They strive to spread mischief in the land﴿ that is, they try hard and do their utmost, but by spreading mischief in the land they are committing sin and promoting their false religion, and preventing people from entering Islam.

tfand Allah does not love those who spread mischief﴿; rather He hates them intensely and will requite them for that.

﴾If the People of the Book had believed and feared Allah, We would surely have expiated their sins from them, and admitted them to gardens of delight﴿. This is by His grace and bounty; having mentioned the evil deeds, faults and false arguments of the People of the Book, He calls them to repent, and tells them that if they believe in Allah, His angels, all of His Books and all of His Messengers, and avoid sin, their bad deeds will be expiated, no matter what they are, and He would admit them to gardens of delight, where there will be all that their souls could desire, all that their eyes could delight in

﴾If they had been steadfast [in adhering to] the Torah and the Gospel, and that which was revealed to them from their Lord﴿ that is, if they had adhered to the commands and prohibitions contained therein, as Allah instructed them and urged them to do, part of which is believing in Muhammad (ﷺ) and the Qur’an - if they had been steadfast in adhering to this great blessing which their Lord had revealed to them for their sakes and for their own benefit,

﴾they would surely have been given provision from above them and from beneath their feet﴿ that is, Allah would have sent abundant provision to them; He would have sent down rain upon them and brought forth vegetation for them from the earth, as He says elsewhere:

﴾If only the people of the cities had believed and feared Allah, We would indeed have opened up for them blessings from heaven and t﴾ Among them﴿ that is, among the People of the Book﴾are some who are fair-minded ﴿ that is, they act in accordance with the Torah and Gospel ﴾but many of them do evil deeds﴿ that is, the evildoers among them are many; as for those who strive to adhere to the teachings, how few they are.

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5:67. O Messenger, convey all that has been sent down to you from your Lord. If you do not do that, you will not have conveyed it [at all], Allah will protect you from humankind. Verily Allah does not guide the disbelieving people.

This is a command from Allah to His Messenger Muhammad (ﷺ), the greatest and most significant of His commands, which is to convey that which Allah sent down to him. That includes everything that the Ummah learned from him of beliefs, deeds, words, shar‘i rulings and other divine injunctions. He conveyed it in the most perfect manner; he called people, warned them, give them glad tidings, made things easy and taught the ignorant and unlettered, until they became learned scholars. He conveyed the message through his words, deeds, letters and envoys. He did not omit anything good but he told his Ummah about it, and he did not leave anything evil but he warned them against it. The most prominent figures among his Ummah testified to his having conveyed the message, among his Companions and, after them, from among the leading scholars of the faith, and the Muslims in general.

﴾If you do not do that﴿ that is, if you do not convey what has been sent down to you from your Lord,﴾you will not have conveyed it [at all]﴿ that is, you will not have complied with His command.

﴾Allah will protect you from humankind﴿ - this is protection against people granted by Allah to His Messenger (ﷺ), so you should be keen to teach and convey the message, and you should not be deterred by fear of some people, for their forelocks are in the Hand of Allah (that is, He has full control over them) and He has guaranteed to protect you. So all you have to do is convey the message clearly, then whoever is guided, it is for his own benefit. As for the disbelievers whose only aim is to follow their whims and desires, Allah will not guide them or help them to do good, because of their disbelief.

5:68. Say: O People of the Book, you have naught [of guidance] unless you are steadfast [in adhering to] the Torah and the Gospel and that which was revealed to you from your Lord. The [revelation] that has come down to you [O Muhammad] from your Lord will surely increase many of them in obstinate rebellion and disbelief. So do not grieve over these disbelieving people.

That is, say to the People of the Book, declaring their misguidance and highlighting their falsehood: ﴾you have naught [of guidance]﴿ that is, you have nothing of religious teachings, for you do not believe in the Qur'an or Muhammad (ﷺ), and you do not adhere to any truth, and you have no foundation on which to base your arguments﴾unless you are steadfast [in adhering to] the Torah and the Gospel﴿ that is, unless you adhere to them by believing in them and following them, and following everything to which they call you ﴾and﴿ in adhering to ﴾that which was revealed to you from your Lord)9 Who is taking care of you and has blessed you, and has made the greatest blessing the sending down of scriptures to you. So what you should do is give thanks to Allah, adhere to the rulings of Allah and fulfil the trust and covenant that Allah has given you.

﴾The [revelation] that has come down to you [O Muhammad] from your Lord will surely increase many of them in obstinate rebellion and disbelief. So do not grieve over these disbelieving people, p

5:69. Those who believe [in the Prophet (ﷺ)], and those who are Jews, and the Sabians and the Christians, whoever [among them] believed in Allah and the Last Day, and did righteous deeds, will have no fear, nor will they grieve.

Here Allah (سبحانه وتعالى) tells us about the People of the Book, the followers of the Qur’an, Torah and Gospel, that their happiness and salvation is by following one path and one principle, which is to believe in Allah and the Last Day, and to do righteous deeds. Whoever among them believes in Allah and the Last Day, and does righteous deeds, will be saved and will have no fear of what they will face in the future of frightening matters, nor will they grieve for what they have left behind. This ruling is applicable to all times.^»i

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5:70. We took the covenant of the Children of Israel, and sent Messengers to them. But whenever there came to them a Messenger with something that was not in accordance with their desires, some they disbelieved, and others they killed.

5:71. They thought there would be no punishment, so they became blind and deaf [to the truth]. Then Allah turned to them in mercy, but then again many of them became blind and deaf. And Allah sees well all that they do.

﴾We took the covenant of the Children of Israel﴿ that is, their solemn pledge to believe in Allah and carry out their duties to Him, as mentioned above (in 5: 12 onwards): ﴾Allah took a covenant from the Children of Israel, and We appointed twelve leaders from among

﴾fand sent Messengers to them﴿ coming one after another with the call of truth, to lead them in the way of guidance. But that was to no avail and was of no benefit, because ﴾whenever there came to them a Messenger with something﴿ of the truth ﴾that was not in accordance with their desires﴿, they disbelieved him and stubbornly rejected it, and they treated the Messenger (ﷺ) in the worst manner.

﴾some they disbelieved, and others they killed. They thought there would be no punishment﴿ that is, they thought that their sin and rejection would not incur any punishment or consequences, and they persisted in their falsehoodthem grace and iftumed to them in mercy﴿ when they repented to Him ﴾but then﴿ they did not continue in that path; rather most of them turned back to their reprehensible ways, when ﴾again many of them became blind and deaf﴿, and few of them persisted in their repentance and faith.

﴾And Allah sees well all that they do﴿ and He will requite each person for his deeds; if they were good then he will be rewarded and if they were evil then he will be punished.

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5:72. They indeed have disbelieved who say that Allah is the Messiah, the son of Maryam. But the Messiah said: O Children of Israel, worship Allah, my Lord and your Lord. Whoever ascribes partners to Allah, then Allah has forbidden paradise for him, and the fire will be his abode. For the wrongdoers there will be no helpers.

5:73. They indeed have disbelieved who say that Allah is one of three, for there is no god except One God. If they do not desist from what they say, a painful punishment will certainly befall those of them who disbelieve.

5:74. Will they not then turn to Allah in repentance and seek His forgiveness? For Allah is Oft-Forgiving, Most Merciful.

5:75. The Messiah son of Maryam was no more than a Messenger, and [other] Messengers passed away before him. His mother was a woman strong and true in faith, and they both ate food. See how We make Our signs clear to them, then see how they are turned away [from the truth]!

Here Allah (is) tells us of the disbelief of the Christians when they said (-[that Allah is the Messiah, the son of Maryam﴿ on the basis of the specious argument that he came from a mother without a father, and thus was born in a manner different from the regular ordained manner decreed by Allah.

In fact ‘Eesa (عليه السلام) rejected this claim when he said to them: ﴾0 Children of Israel, worship Allah, my Lord and your Lord﴿. Thus he affirmed his own total servitude and confirmed that his Lord is the Lord of all created beings.

﴾Whoever ascribes partners to Allah﴿ that is, associated any created being, 'Eesa or anyone else, with Allah, ﴾then Allah has forbidden paradise for him, and the fire will be his abode﴿. That is because he has regarded the creation as being equal with the Creator and he has diverted the purpose for which Allah created him - which is worship of Allah alone - to one who is not deserving of it, and thus he deserves to abide in hell for eternity.

﴾For the wrongdoers there will be no helpers﴿ to save them from the punishment of Allah or to ward off from them some of that which will befall them.

﴾They indeed have disbelieved who say that Allah is one of three﴿ this is the view of the Mansoor Christian group, who said that God was one of three: God, Jesus and Mary. Exalted be Allah far above what they say.

This is the greatest evidence of the Christians’ lack of reason. How could they accept this abhorrent belief? How could they confuse the Creator with His creation? How could it not be clear to them who is the Lord of the worlds?

Allah (سبحانه وتعالى) says, refuting them and their ilk: ﴾for there is no god except One God﴿ Who possesses all the attributes of perfection and is far above any shortcomings; He alone possesses the power of creation and control, for people have no blessing except from Him. So how can it be believed that there is another god besides Him? Exalted be Allah far above what the wrongdoers say.

Then He warns them: ﴾If they do not desist from what they say, a painful punishment will certainly befall those of them who disbelieve﴿; then He calls them to repent from what they have said, and He states clearly that He accepts repentance from His slaves: ﴾Will they not then turn to Allah﴿ that is, will they not turn back to that which He loves and is pleased with, namely affirming the oneness of Allah and affirming that ‘Eesa is the slave and Messenger of Allah, and turn away from what they say?

﴾and seek His forgiveness﴿ from what they have done ﴾For Allah is Oft-Forgiving, Most Merciful﴿ that is, He forgives the sins of the penitent, even if they were to reach the clouds of the sky, and He bestows mercy upon them by accepting their repentance and replacing their bad deeds with good deeds.

The call to repentance begins with a very gentle approach, as Allah says: ﴾Will they not then turn to Allah in repentance...?﴿J

Then He mentions the reality of the Messiah and his mother, which is the truth, as He says: ﴾The Messiah son of Maryam was no morethan a Messenger, and [other] Messengers passed away before him﴿ that is, this is the most that may be said concerning him, that He was one of the slaves of Allah, one of those who were sent as Messengers, who had no power to introduce commands or laws, except those with which Allah sent them. He is just like the Messengers who came before him, with no advantage over them that would put him beyond the human level and make him divine.

﴾His mother﴿ Maryam ﴾was a woman strong and true in faith﴿ that is, this too is the most that may be said concerning her, that she was one of those who are strong and true in faith (Ṣiddeeq), those who are the highest of humanity in status after the Prophets. The status of siddeeq is one of beneficial knowledge that leads to certainty of faith and righteous deeds. This is proof that Maryam was not a prophetess; rather the most that may be said of her is that she attained the level of being a siddeeqah, and that is sufficient virtue and honour.

Similarly, there was no prophetess among women, because Allah (سبحانه وتعالى) has ordained that prophethood should be bestowed only upon the more perfect of the two genders, namely men, as He says:

﴾(We did not send before you any but men to whom We gave revelation...﴿ (Yoosuf 12: 109)

As ‘Eesa (Sf50 was like the Prophets and Messengers who came before him, and his mother was a siddeeqah, why did the Christians take them as two gods besides Allah?

﴾and they both ate food﴿ - this clearly indicates that they were weak slaves who needed the same as all other children of Adam, namely food and drink. If they had been gods, they would have had no need of food and drink, or anything else, because the true God is the One Who is independent of means, praiseworthy.

Having established this proof, Allah (سبحانه وتعالى) says: ﴾See how We make Our signs clear to them﴿, signs which highlight the truth and establish certainty. Yet despite that it is of no use to them; rather they persistin their sin, lies and fabrications. This is stubborn wrongdoing on their part.

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5:76. Say: Do you worship, besides Allah, that which has no power either to harm or benefit you, when it is Allah [alone] Who is the All-Hearing, All-Knowing?

﴾Say﴿ to them, O Messenger

﴾Do you worship, besides Allah﴿, among created beings who are dependent and needy

﴾that which has no power either to harm or benefit you﴿, and you ignore the only One Who has the power to harm or benefit, to give or withhold?

﴾when it is Allah [alone] Who is the All-Hearing﴿, who hears all voices

﴾AII-Knowing﴿ who knows all things, outward and inward, unseen and seen, past and future. The Perfect One (سبحانه وتعالى) Who possesses these attributes is the only One Who is deserving of all kinds of worship and devotion.

5:77. Say: O People of the Book, do not exceed the bounds of truth in your religion, nor follow the desires of people who went astray before, led many others astray and [themselves] strayed from the straight path.

5:78. Those who disbelieved among the Children of Israel were cursed on the lips of Dawood and ‘Eesa ibn Maryam; that was because of their disobedience and persistence in transgression.

5:79. They would not forbid one another to do any of the evil deeds they did. Wretched indeed were their deeds.

5:80. You see many of them taking those who disbelieve as allies.^{1The word awliya’, translated here as “allies”, may also mean protectors, supporters, close friends, and so on.} Wretched indeed is that which they themselves have sent on before them, for they have incurred the wrath of Allah and in torment they will abide forever.

5:81. If they had believed in Allah, in the Prophet and in what has been sent down to him, they would never have taken them as allies, but most of them are rebellious evildoers.

Here Allah (سبحانه وتعالى) says to His Prophet (ﷺ): ﴾Say: O People of the Book, do not exceed the bounds of truth in your religion﴿ that is, do not overstep the mark and go beyond the bounds of truth to falsehood, such as their views concerning the Messiah that are mentioned above.or their exaggeration about some of their religious leaders, following ﴾the desires of people who went astray before﴿ and ﴾led many others astray﴿ by calling them to the religion that they were following

﴾and [themselves] strayed from the straight path﴿ that is, the path of truth. Thus they combined going astray themselves with leading other people astray. This refers to the leaders of misguidance; Allah warns against them and against following their whims and desires that lead to doom, or their misleading views.

Then Allah says: ﴾Those who disbelieved among the Children of Israel were cursed﴿ that is, they were expelled and cast far away from the mercy of Allah

﴾on the lips of Dawood and ‘Eesa ibn Maryam p that is, by means of their testimony and affirmation that proof was established but they (the disbelievers) stubbornly rejected it ﴾that﴿ namely that disbelief and curse

﴾was because of their disobedience and persistence in transgression﴿ that is, they disobeyed Allah and they transgressed against the slaves of Allah, and that became the cause of their disbelief and being far from the mercy of Allah, because sins and wrongdoing have consequences.

Among the sins that brought upon them exemplary punishments was the fact that ﴾They would not forbid one another to do any of the evil deeds they did﴿. In other words, they used to do evil deeds, and they did not tell one another not to do that. Thus those who directly committed the evil actions and others, who kept quiet and did not speak out against evil when they were able to do so, became partners in sin.

That was indicative of their carelessness with regard to the command of Allah, and that the matter of disobedience to Allah was something insignificant to them. If they had had any respect for their Lord, they would have been careful lest His sacred limits be transgressed and they would have become angry at that which incursHis anger. Keeping quiet when one is able to speak out against evil results in punishment, because it has grave consequences, such as the following:

• Merely keeping quiet is an act of sin in itself, even if one is not directly involved in the sin. Just as it is essential to avoid sin, it is also essential to denounce the one who does sinful acts.

• As mentioned above, it is indicative of carelessness with regard to sin and of a lack of concern about committing sin.

• It makes sinners audacious and leads to an increase in sinful actions, if people are not deterred from sin. Thus evil increases, leading to greater trouble in both religious and worldly affairs, as the evildoers gain the upper hand, after which good people become too weak to resist evil people, to the extent that they become unable to do what they used to do before.

• When evil is not denounced, knowledge diminishes and ignorance prevails, because when sin is committed repeatedly by many people, and is not denounced by people of religious commitment and knowledge, some people may no longer see it as sin and it may be regarded by the ignorant as a good act of worship. What evil can be greater than regarding as permissible that which Allah has forbidden, turning facts upside-down in people’s minds and seeing falsehood as truth?

• Keeping quiet about sin may lead to sin becoming fair-seeming in people’s minds, thus they will follow one another’s examples, because man is prone to following the example of his peers.

Because keeping quiet about evil is such a serious matter, Allah (سبحانه وتعالى) tells us that He cursed the disbelievers among the Israelites for their sin and transgression, among which He singled out a particularly grave offence: ﴾Wretched indeed were their deeds. You see many of them taking those who disbelieve as alliesloving them, taking them as friends and giving them help and support.

﴾Wretched indeed is that which they themselves have sent on before them﴿. This is a losing deal, because of which they incur the wrath of Allah, and thus the wrath of all things, and eternal punishment. They have wronged themselves, for they have brought this bad fate upon themselves, which causes them to miss out on eternal bliss.

﴾If they had believed in Allah, in the Prophet and in what has been sent down to him, they would never have taken them as allies﴿. Faith in Allah and belief in the Prophet (jig) and that which has been sent down to him requires the individual to take as allies his Lord and His allies, and to oppose those who disbelieve in Him, oppose Him and disobey Him. Taking Allah as one’s ally and believing in Him dictates that one must not take the enemies of Allah as one’s allies. These people failed to meet this condition.

﴾but most of them are rebellious evildoers﴿ that is, they do not obey Allah or believe in Him or His Prophet (ﷺ). Part of their rebellious evildoing is that they take as allies the enemies of Allah.

5:82. You will surely find that the bitterest among people in enmity towards the believers are the Jews and those who ascribe partners to Allah; and you will surely find that the closest among them to the believers in affection are those who say: We are Christians. That is because among them are scholars and ascetics, and they are not arrogant.^{1The meanings of the verses of the Qur’an in this book (with some minor changes to the punctuation) have been translated by the translator. (Editor)}-^{2v. 82 is the last verse in juz’ 6 but as the author included it in the passage quoted below, we have included it in juz’ 7. (Translator)}

5:83. When they hear what has been sent down to the Messenger, you see their eyes overflowing with tears, because of what they recognise as truth therein. They say: Our Lord, we believe; so record us among those who bear witness [to the truth],

5:84. Why would we not believe in Allah and in the truth that has come to us, when we hope that our Lord will include us among the righteous people?

5:85. Allah will reward them for their words with gardens through which rivers flow, to abide therein forever. Such is the reward of those who do good.

5:86. But as for those who disbelieve and deny Our revelations, they will be inhabitants of the blazing fire.

Here Allah (Subhanahu wa Ta 'ala - Glorified and Exalted is He) tells us of the closer of the two groups to the Muslims and the most likely to be friendly towards them and like them, and those who are least likely to be like that.

﴾You will surely find that the bitterest among people in enmity towards the believers are the Jews and those who ascribe partners to Allah﴿. These two groups in general are the most hostile towards Islam and the Muslims, and are the ones who try the hardest to cause harm to them, because of their enmity towards them, which is based on spite, envy, stubbornness and disbelief.

﴾and you will surely find that the closest among them to the believers in affection are those who say: We are Christians﴿. Allah mentions a number of reasons for that:

• ﴾among them are scholars and ascetics﴿ that is, ascetic scholars and devoted worshippers in hermitages. Knowledge, asceticism and worship are things that soften the heart and remove hardness and harshness. Hence the harshness of the Jews and the polytheists is not found among the Christians.

• tfand they are not arrogant﴿ that is, there is no arrogance and conceit, or stubborn refusal to accept the truth, among them. That is what makes them closer to the Muslims and to loving them, because the one who is humble is closer to goodness than the one who is arrogant.

• ﴾When they hear what has been sent down to the Messenger﴿ Muhammad (salla Allahu ‘alayhi wa sallam - blessings and peace be upon him), that had an impact on their hearts, and they felt awed and their eyes overflowed with tears because of what they heard of the truth of which they were certain. Hence they believed and confirmed that it was true, and they said: ﴾Our Lord, we believe; so record us among those who bear witness [to the truth]﴿ - namely the Ummah of Muhammad (ﷺ). They testify to the oneness of Allah and to the truth of the message that the Messengers brought, and they testify for or against previous nations who either believed or disbelieved.

They are honest and their testimony is to be accepted, as Allah (سبحانه وتعالى) says elsewhere:

﴾Thus We have made of you an Ummah [nation, community] justly balanced, that you might be witnesses over humankind, and the Messenger might be a witness over you...)﴿ (al-Baqarah 2:143)

It is as if they were blamed for hastening to believe, so they said: if Why would we not believe in Allah and in the truth that has come to us, when we hope that our Lord will include us among the righteous people?﴿ In other words: what is to prevent us from believing in Allah, when the truth has come to us from our Lord, concerning which there is no doubt, and if we believe and follow the truth, we hope that Allah will admit us to paradise with the righteous people, so what is there to prevent us? Is this not a reason to hasten to believe and not hold back?

﴾Allah will reward them for their words﴿ that is, for the words of faith that they spoke and for their verbal affirmation of the truth ﴾with gardens through which rivers flow, to abide therein forever. Such is the reward of those who do good﴿.

These verses were revealed concerning the Christians who believed in Muhammad (ﷺ). such as the Negus and others.

There are still among them those who choose the religion of Islam when it becomes clear to them that what they are following is false. They are closer to Islam than the Jews and the polytheists.

Having mentioned the doers of good, Allah then mentions the punishment of the evildoers: ﴾But as for those who disbelieve and deny Our revelations, they will be inhabitants of the blazing fire﴿, because they disbelieved in Allah and they rejected His revelations which clearly highlight the truth.

5:87. O you who believe, do not forbid [to yourselves] the good things that Allah has made lawful for you, and do not overstep the limits; for Allah does not love those who overstep the limits.

5:88. Eat of that which Allah has provided for you, lawful and good; and fear Allah, in Whom you believe.

﴾0 you who believe, do not forbid [to yourselves] the good things that Allah has made lawful for you﴿ of food and drink, for they are blessings that Allah has bestowed upon you. So you should praise Himbecause He has permitted them to you; you should give thanks to Him and not respond to His blessing with ingratitude, failure to accept it or belief that it is prohibited, because by doing so you combine lying about Allah with ingratitude for His blessings and believing that that which is permissible and good is prohibited and impure, and this is overstepping the mark.

Allah has prohibited overstepping the mark, as He says: ﴾fand do not overstep the limits; for Allah does not love those who overstep the limits﴿; rather He hates that and punishes for it.

Then He enjoins the opposite of what the polytheists do, who prohibited that which Allah has made permissible:

﴾Eat of that which Allah has provided for you, lawful and good﴿ that is, eat of the provision that Allah has bestowed upon you and made available by whatever means He has ordained, if it is permissible and has not been stolen, usurped or otherwise unlawfully appropriated.

What is permitted is also good, which means that it contains nothing impure.

﴾fand fear Allah﴿ by obeying His commands and heeding His prohibitions.

﴾in Whom you believe﴿, for your belief in Allah requires you to fear Him and pay attention to His rights over you, for your faith is not complete otherwise. This verse indicates that if a person forbids to himself anything that is permissible for him, be it food, drink, or anything else, that thing does not become haram as a result of him forbidding it to himself, but if he does that, then he must offer an expiation for breaking an oath, as Allah (سبحانه وتعالى) says elsewhere:

﴾fO Prophet, why do you prohibit [for yourself] that which Allah has made lawful for you...?﴿ (at-Tahreem 66 I)

But if a man prohibits his wife to himself, he must offer a specific expiation (that of dhihar)*.^{1Wherever possible, Arabic terms have been translated into English. In cases where we have chosen to retain the Arabic, the transliterated word or phrase is shown in italics the first time it appears in the text. The term is also defined in the glossary found at the end of this book. (Editor)}

This verse also indicates that it is not permissible to avoid good things or prohibit them to oneself; rather one should consume them, thus helping oneself to obey and worship Allah.

5:89. Allah will not call you to account for that which is unintentional in your oaths, but He will call you to account for the oaths which you swear in earnest. The expiation thereof is to feed ten poor persons with the average type of food that you give to your own families, or to clothe them, or to free a slave. If that is beyond your means, then fast for three days. That is the expiation for the oaths you have sworn. But fulfil your oaths. Thus Allah makes clear to you His revelations, so that you may give thanks.

﴾Allah will not call you to account for that which is unintentional in your oaths﴿ that is, what you say without really meaning it in your idle talk. This refer to oaths that a person may utter without intending to, or he did that thinking that what he said was the truth, then he realised that it was not.

﴾but He will call you to account for the oaths which you swear in earnest﴿ that is, what you really intended to swear to, meaning it in your hearts. This is like the verse in which Allah says:

﴾. .but He will call you to account for that which is intended in your

﴾The expiation thereof﴿ that is, the expiation for breaking the oath that you swore deliberately ﴾is to feed ten poor persons with the average type of food that you give to your own families, or to clothe them﴿ that is, to clothe ten poor persons, giving them clothing that is acceptable for praying in.

﴾or to free a slave﴿ that is, freeing believing slaves, as is specified elsewhere. If the individual does one of these three things, then he has expiated his oath.

﴾If that is beyond your means﴿ that is, if you are unable to do any of these three things

﴾then fast for three days. That﴿ namely what has been mentioned here ﴾is the expiation for the oaths you have swom﴿; it expiates them and erases them, and cancels out the sin.

﴾But fulfil your oaths﴿ and avoid swearing falsely by Allah, or making too many oaths; but fulfil them if you swear them, and do not break them, unless breaking the oath is better. What matters is doing what is good, and an oath should not be an obstacle to doing what is good.

﴾Thus Allah makes clear to you His revelations﴿ which explain and distinguish what is lawful from what is prohibited, and clarify the rulings﴾so that you may give thanks﴿ to Allah, for having taught you that which you did not know.

Thus people are obliged to give thanks to Allah (سبحانه وتعالى) for the blessings that He has bestowed upon them, namely knowledge and explanation of the shar'i rulings.

5:90. 0 you believe, intoxicants, gambling, idols and divining arrows are an abomination, of Shaytan’s handiwork; therefore avoid such [abomination], so that you might prosper.

5:91. Shaytan seeks only to stir up enmity and hatred among you, by means of intoxicants and gambling, and to keep you back from the remembrance of Allah and from prayer. Will you not then abstain?

Here Allah (سبحانه وتعالى) condemns these reprehensible things and tells us that they are of Shaytan’s handiwork and that they are an abomination, ﴾therefore avoid such [abomination]﴿ that is, shun it, ﴾fso that you might prosper﴿. For prosperity cannot be attained except by avoiding that which Allah has prohibited, especially the evils mentioned here, which are:

• intoxicants (khamr) - this refers to anything that befogs the mind

• gambling - this refers to all contests in which both sides offer to give up something if they lose

• idols - this refers to statues and the like which are set up and worshipped instead of Allah

• divining arrows - which were used for decision-making.

Allah has prohibited these four things; He warns us against them and tells us that they have negative consequences which dictate that they should be shunned and avoided. Those negative consequences include the following:

• They are an abomination; that is, they are evil and metaphorically impure, even if they are not physically impure. We should not contaminate ourselves with the sin and filth of evil things.

• They are of Shaytan’s handiwork, and he is the most hostile of enemies to humanity. It is well known that one should take precautions against one’s enemy and his traps and actions, especially the things he does to ensnare his foe, for that leads to doom. The best thing the individual can do is keep away from the activities of his avowed enemy, and be careful to avoid falling into his traps.

• No individual can prosper except by avoiding these things. Prosperity means attaining what one seeks and wants, and being saved from what one fears, and these things form an impediment to prosperity.

• These things lead to enmity and resentment among people, and the Shaytan is eager to provoke such feelings, especially by means of intoxicants and gambling, in order to stir up enmity and resentment among the believers. Intoxicants befog the mind and lead to loss of reason, which in turn leads to resentment between a person and his fellow believers, especially if that is accompanied by trading insults. This is an inevitable result of drinking, and it may go as far as murder. In the case of gambling, when one defeats the other and takes a lot of his wealth for nothing in return, this is one of the greatest causes of enmity and resentment.

• These things prevent the heart and tongue from remembering Allah and praying, for which man was created and in which is his happiness. Alcohol and gambling form the greatest impediment to that, as they distract the heart and mind until a long time passes without the individual even realising where he is.

What calamity can be greater and worse than a sin that tarnishes the individual and makes him one of the people of impurity and causes him to follow in the footsteps of the Shaytan and fall into his traps, then he finds himself being led by him like an insignificant animal being led by its shepherd? Thus it is a hindrance to his prosperity and it creates enmity and resentment among the believers; it prevents one from remembering Allah and praying. Can there be any greater negative consequences than this?

Hence Allah instructed people of sound reasoning to abstain from these things, as He says: ﴾Will you not then abstain?﴿ If the wise person looks at some of these negative consequences, that will be sufficient to deter him from these things, and there will be no need for further admonition or harsh rebukes.

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5:92. Obey Allah, and obey the Messenger, and be on your guard. But if you turn away, then know that the duty of Our Messenger is only to convey the message in the clearest way.

Obedience to Allah and obedience to His Messenger (ﷺ) is the same. Whoever obeys Allah has obeyed the Messenger (ﷺ) and whoever obeys the Messenger (ﷺ) has obeyed Allah. That includesdoing what Allah and His Messenger (ﷺ) have enjoined of deed and words, both outward and inward, obligatory and recommended, having to do with the rights of Allah and the rights of His creation, as well as refraining from that which Allah and His Messenger (ﷺ) have prohibited. This is comprehensive in application and, as you can see, it includes every command and prohibition, both outward and inward.

﴾and be on your guard﴿ that is, against disobeying Allah and disobeying His Messenger (ﷺ), for that leads to evil and obvious loss. ﴾But if you turn away﴿ that is, from the commands and prohibitions that are addressed to you ﴾then know that the duty of Our Messenger is only to convey the message in the clearest way﴿ and he has fulfilled that duty. If you are guided, then it is to your own benefit, but if you do wrong, then it is to your detriment. Allah is the One Who will bring you to account, and the Messenger (ﷺ) has done what was required of him and has fulfilled his duty.

5:93. For those who believe and do righteous deeds, there is no blame on them for what they ate [and drank, in the past], so long as they fear Allah, believe and do righteous deeds, then fear Allah and believe, then fear Allah and do good, for Allah loves those who do good.

When the prohibition on alcohol was revealed, and after it was highlighted that it was emphatically forbidden and how serious the matter was, some of the believers wanted to know about their brethrenwho had died as Muslims before alcohol was prohibited, and they used to drink it. So Allah (سبحانه وتعالى) revealed this verse and told them that tfFor those who believe and do righteous deeds, there is no blame on them﴿ that is, no sin, ﴾for what they ate [and drank, in the past]﴿ that is, what they had consumed of alcohol and the proceeds of gambling before these things were prohibited.

Because this may include what is listed above as well as other things, Allah restricted that by saying: ﴾fso long as they fear Allah, believe and do righteous deeds﴿ that is, on condition that they keep away from sin and have a correct belief in Allah, which motivates them to do righteous deeds, then they continue in that path. Otherwise, a person may follow that sometimes but not at other times, and that is not sufficient unless he is as the verse says and continues like that until the end of his life, persisting in doing good. For Allah loves those who do good by worshipping the Creator and helping other people.

This verse includes anyone who eats or drinks or does anything haram after it has been prohibited, then he acknowledges his sin, repents to Allah, fears Him, believes and does righteous deeds; Allah will forgive him and will absolve his sin.

5:94. O you who believe, Allah will certainly test you with game that comes within reach of your hands and spears [when you are in ihram], so that He may know who will fear Him unseen. Whoever transgresses after this will have a painful punishment.

5:95. O you who believe, do not kill game whilst you are in ihram. Whoever among you kills it intentionally, the compensation is an offering, brought to the Kaaba, of a livestock animal equivalent to the one he killed, as determined by two just men among you; or, by way of expiation, he may feed poor people or its equivalent in fasting, so that he might taste the evil consequences of his deed. Allah has forgiven what is past, but whoever does it again, Allah will wreak vengeance on him, for Allah is Almighty, an Avenger.

5:96. Lawful for you is what you catch from the sea and what the sea brings forth, as provision for you and for travellers. But forbidden to you is the pursuit of land-game whilst you are in ihram. And fear Allah, to Whom you will be gathered.

This is one of the blessings that Allah has bestowed upon His slaves: He tells them what He will do to them by way of His will and decree, so that they will obey Him and will proceed on a basis of clarity; so that those who choose to perish might do so after seeing clear evidence, and those who choose to live might do so after seeing clear evidence (cf. 8:42). Hence He says here: you who believe﴿,

Allah will inevitably test your faith.

﴾Allah will certainly test you with game﴿ that is, with a little, not much. Hence it will be a mild test, in an easy-going and gentle manner. The game with which He will test you will be ﴾game that comes within reach of your hands and spears﴿ that is, you would be able to catch it easily. That is so that the test will be meaningful, which would not be the case if it was out of reach of your hands and spears; in that case the test would have no meaning.

Then Allah mentions the wisdom behind that test: ﴾so that He may know﴿ in the sense of knowledge that will be visible to all people, on the basis of which reward and punishment will be allocated.

﴾who will fear Him unseen﴿ and therefore refrain from what Allah has prohibited even though he is able to catch it, and thus he will attain a great reward, unlike the one who does not fear Him unseen, so he does not refrain from sin when he finds an opportunity and will catch whatever he is able to.

﴾Whoever﴿ among you ﴾transgresses after this﴿ clarification which leaves no excuse ﴾will have a painful punishment﴿ such as none can describe except Allah. That is because there is no excuse for this transgression. What matters is the one who fears Him unseen, when no one else is present with him. As for displaying piety and fear of Allah in front of other people, that may be because he fears the people, so he will not be rewarded for that.

Then Allah states that it is not permissible to kill game when in the state of ihram: ﴾0 you who believe, do not kill game whilst you are in ibram﴿ that is, whilst you are in ihram for Hajj or ‘umrah. The prohibition on killing game includes the prohibition on that which leads to killing, taking part in killing, showing people where the game is, and helping them to kill it. It even goes so far as to prohibit the pilgrim in ihram to eat anything that was killed or hunted for his sake. All of that is based on respect for this important ritual, as it is forbidden for the pilgrim in ihram to hunt or kill that which is ordinarily permissible for him outside of the state of ibram.

﴾Whoever among you kills it intentionally﴿ that is, he kills game deliberately

﴾the compensation﴿ that is required of him *fis an offering, brought to the Kaaba, of a livestock animal equivalent to the one he killed﴿ that is, a camel, cow or sheep. It should be determined what is equivalent to it, and he has to find one that is like it, and slaughter it and give the meat in charity.

What is equivalent to it is to be ﴾determined by two just men among you﴿ that is, two men of good character who know the rulings and regulations and can find the best match. This is what the Ṣahabah did when they determined that the equivalent to a dove was a sheep, the equivalent to an ostrich was a camel and the equivalent to a wild ox (of various types) was a cow. This applies to everything that has an equivalent among livestock animals; an equivalent animal must be offered as a sacrifice. If no equivalent can be found, then the equivalent value should be given in charity, as is the basic principle with regard to property that is damaged or destroyed. This sacrifice must be brought to the Kaaba; in other words it must be slaughtered in the Haram zone.

﴾or, by way of expiation, he may feed poor people﴿ that is, expiation may take the form of feeding poor people. In other words, instead of sacrificing an equivalent livestock animal, the individual may give food to poor people.

Many of the scholars said that the value of the penalty should be worked out, then food is to be purchased with that money, and each poor person is to be given a mudd of wheat or half a sa‘ of other foodstuffs.

﴾or its equivalent in fasting﴿ that is, one may fast one day for each poor person who would have been fed.

﴾so that he might taste the evil consequences of his deed﴿ by incurring this punishment

﴾but whoever does it again﴿ after that ﴾Allah will wreak vengeance on him, for Allah is Almighty, an Avenger﴿.

Allah specifically mentioned the one who deliberately kills game, even though compensation is required both in cases, where it is done deliberately and when it is done by mistake, in accordance with the basic principle of Sharia which states that the one who causes physical damage to persons or property that are protected by Sharia is liable regardless of whether he did it deliberately or otherwise, ifthe damage he caused was done in an unlawful manner, because Allah has ordained this compensation, punishment and vengeance. This applies to the one who does it deliberately. In the case of one who does it by mistake, he is not to be punished but he is obliged to offer compensation. (This is the response of the majority of scholars, that the vengeance mentioned in this verse applies only to the one who does that deliberately. This is the apparent meaning. The difference between this and liability in cases of accidental damage to persons and property in this situation [ihram], where the transgression has to do with the rights of Allah, is that if there is no sin, no compensation is required, because there is no damage to persons or property.)

Because the word sayd (translated here as ﴾hunting)») is applicable to hunting on both land and sea, Allah then makes an exception in the case of hunting by sea (fishing), as He says: ﴾Lawful for you is what you catch from the sea and what the sea brings forth that is, the game of the sea is permissible for you when you are in the state of ihram. This refers to living sea creatures and also to those found dead. This indicates that the maylah (“dead animals”) of the sea are permissible ﴾as provision for you and for travellers﴿ that is, the reason behind it being made permissible for you is for your benefit and for the benefit of your travelling-companions.

﴾But forbidden to you is the pursuit of land-game whilst you are in ihram﴿ from the word sayd (translated here as ﴾game﴿) it may be understood that this must refer to wild animals, because tame or domesticated animals cannot be described as sayd. They must also be animals that may be eaten, because animals that cannot be eaten may not be hunted and cannot be described as sayd.

﴾And fear Allah, to Whom you will be gathered﴿ that is, fear Him by doing that which He enjoins and refraining from that which He forbids, and seek His help to adhere to His limits, for you know that you will be gathered to Him and He will requite you accordingto whether you truly feared Him, in which case He will reward you immensely, or you did not fear Him, in which case He will punish you.

5:97. Allah has made the Kaaba, the Sacred House, a source of stability [and well-being] for humankind, as well as the sacred month, the sacrificial animals and the garlands. That is so that you might know that Allah knows all that is in the heavens and on earth, and that Allah has knowledge of all things.

5:98. Know that Allah is severe in punishment and that Allah is Oft- Forgiving, Most Merciful.

5:99. The Messenger’s duty is only to convey [the message]; Allah knows what you disclose and what you conceal.

Here Allah (سبحانه وتعالى) tells us that He ﴾has made the Kaaba, the Sacred House, a source of stability [and well-being] for humankind﴿ because by venerating it, people’s spiritual and worldly well-being will be in good shape, and their Islam will be complete. By venerating it, their sins are expiated and by visiting it, they attain a great deal of reward and virtue; because of it a great deal of money is spent and great risks are taken to reach it. All kinds of Muslims from all over the world gather in that place, where they get to know one another, seek help from one another and discuss public affairs. Bonds are strengthened among them in a manner that serves both their spiritual and worldly interests. Allah (سبحانه وتعالى) says:﴾fSo that they may avail themselves of benefits and mention the name of Allah [at the time of sacrifice], during the appointed days, over the livestock that He has provided for them...﴿ (al-Hajj22: 28)

Because the Kaaba is a source of stability and well-being for humankind, some of the scholars said that performing pilgrimage to the House of Allah is a communal obligation every year; if all people failed to perform Hajj, then everyone who was able to do so would be sinning. In fact, if all people failed to perform Hajj, they would lose their source of stability and the Day of Resurrection would begin.

﴾the sacrificial animals and the garlands﴿ that is, He has also made the sacrificial animals and the garlands a source of stability for humankind, from which they benefit and for which they will be rewarded.

﴾That is so that you might know that Allah knows all that is in the heavens and on earth, and that Allah has knowledge of all things﴿.

On the basis of His knowledge, He has appointed this sacred House for you, because He knows the interests, both spiritual and worldly, that may be served thereby.

﴾Know that Allah is severe in punishment and that Allah is Oft- Forgiving, Most Merciful﴿ that is, by remembering these contrasting attributes, so that you will continually bear them in mind and be certain and sure of them. Then you will know that He is severe in punishment, both in this world and in the hereafter, towards those who disobey Him, and that He is Oft-Forgiving and Merciful towards those who repent to Him and obey Him. This knowledge will instil in your heart fear of His punishment and hope of His forgiveness and reward, thus you will conduct yourself in the light of these two principles, fear and hope.

﴾The Messenger’s duty is only to convey [the message]﴿ and he has indeed conveyed it as instructed and done what was required of him. Anything beyond that has nothing to do with him.﴾Allah knows what you disclose and what you conceal﴿ and He will requite you on the basis of His knowledge.

5:100. Say: The bad and the good are not equal, even though the abundance of the bad may appear pleasing to you. So fear Allah, O men of understanding, so that you may prosper.

﴾Say﴿ to the people, warning them against evil and encouraging them to do good

﴾The bad and the good are not equal﴿ in any way. Faith and disbelief, obedience and disobedience, the people of paradise and the people of hell, good deeds and evil deeds, lawful wealth and unlawful wealth, are not equal.

﴾even though the abundance of the bad may appear pleasing to you﴿, for it is of no benefit to the one who possesses it; rather it is harmful in both spiritual and worldly terms.

﴾fSo fear Allah, O men of understanding, so that you may prosper﴿. Here Allah issues a command to men of understanding - that is, people of mature thinking and wisdom. They are addressed here because they are the ones to whom attention is paid, and it is hoped that there is good in them.

Then Allah tells us that prosperity depends on fearing Allah, which means complying with His commands and prohibitions. Whoever fears Him will prosper, but whoever does not fear Him will incur loss and miss out on gains.

5:101. O you who believe, do not ask questions about matters which, if they were made known to you, would only cause you hardship. If you ask about them while the Qur’an is being revealed, they will be made known to you. Allah has kept silent about them. Allah is Oft-Forgiving, Most Forbearing.

5:102. Some people before you asked such questions, then became disbelievers as a result of that.

Flere Allah forbids His believing slaves to ask about things that, if they became known, would upset them and make them sad, such as when some of the Muslims asked the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) about their fathers and whether they were in paradise or hell, which is a matter that, if it were to become clear to the questioner, would be of no benefit to him. Other examples include asking hypothetical questions or questions that would result in some restrictions in rulings that would possibly cause hardship to the Ummah, as well as asking about things that do not concern one. Asking these and similar questions is not allowed.

With regard to asking questions that do not result in any of these things, that is enjoined, as Allah (سبحانه وتعالى) says:

fj...So [O people] ask those who have knowledge,^{1This may refer to: Jewish and Christian scholars who have knowledge of the previous scriptures; Muslim scholars who have knowledge of the Qur’an; or those who have knowledge of the history of earlier nations.} if you do not know.b (an-Nahl 16: 43)

﴾If you ask about them while the Qur’an is being revealed, they will be made known to you﴿ that is, if you ask at the right time, and you ask about them while the Qur’an is coming down to you, so you ask about the meaning of a verse that is not clear to you, or about a ruling of which the application is not clear to you, at a time when it is possible that revelation concerning it may come down from heaven, it will be explained to you and will become clear. Otherwise, keep silent about that concerning which Allah has kept silent.

﴾Allah has kept silent about them﴿ that is, He has kept silent as a way of not burdening His slaves so whatever Allah has kept silent about is permitted and overlooked

﴾Allah is Oft-Forgiving, Most Forbearing﴿ that is, forgiveness is His ongoing attribute and He is known for forbearance and kindness. So seek His forgiveness and kindness, and ask for His mercy and good pleasure.

With regard to these things that you are forbidden to do, ﴾Some people before you asked such questions﴿ that is, they asked similar questions out of stubbornness, not out of a desire to seek guidance. Then when these matters were explained to them and the answer came to them, they ﴾then became disbelievers as a result of that﴿ as the Prophet ()|§) said in the saheeh hadith:

«Whatever I forbid you to do, then avoid it, and whatever I instruct you to do, then do as much of it as you can, for those who came before you were doomed because of their asking too many questions and their differences with their Prophets.» (Bukhari and Muslim)^{2AH hadiths in this text have been checked and verified by llPH’s researchers. It is rare, but it does happen that a hadith is not verifiable within the timeframe of researching and editing the book. In that case, a decision is made by the editorial board as to whether or not to include the hadith. It is IIPH’s policy not to include weak hadiths or fabricated (fake) hadiths in our publications. If a weak hadith is included in any text, it is only because the author of the book discusses it as a weak hadith. (Editor)}

5:103. Allah did not ordain any such thing as the baheerah, sd 'ibah, waṣeelah or ham. Rather those who disbelieve fabricate lies against Allah, and most of them do not understand.

5:104. And when it is said to them: Come to the Revelation that Allah has sent down, and to the Messenger, they say: Sufficient for us is what we found our forefathers following. [Would they do that] even though their forefathers did not know anything and were not guided?

Here Allah criticises the polytheists who introduced rulings into their religion for which Allah did not give permission: they prohibited that which Allah had permitted, regarding some of their livestock animals as unlawful on the basis of their own corrupt ideas.

﴾Allah did not ordain any such thing as the baheerah﴿ this was a she-camel whose ears they slit; it was forbidden to ride it, and they regarded it as something to be venerated

These words refer to certain categories of camels to which certain taboos were applied during the jahiliyah.

Baheerah: a she-camel whose milk was dedicated to the idols.

Sa’ibah: a she-camel that was let loose for the sake of their false gods and no load was to be carried on it.

Waseelah: a she-camel that produced female offspring the first and second times she gave birth, with no male offspring in between; she was also let loose for the sake of the idols.

Ham: a stallion camel that was let loose for the sake of the idols after siring a particular number of offspring, and was not required to carry any load.﴾sa’ibah﴿) this refers to a she-camel, cow or ewe; when it reached a certain age, they let it loose, so it would not be ridden or made to carry loads, and it would not be eaten. One of them would make a vow whereby some of his property would be made a sa’ibah.

﴾or ham﴿ this was a he-camel that was not to be ridden or made to carry loads after it reached a certain stage, which was known to them. All of these are taboos which the polytheists introduced with no proof or evidence; rather they were fabrications against Allah that stemmed from their ignorance and lack of reasoning. Hence Allah said: ﴾Rather those who disbelieve fabricate lies against Allah, and most of them do not understand﴿, because there is no text or rational reason to justify it. Yet despite that they admired their opinions that were based on ignorance and wrongdoing.

And when they are called ﴾to the Revelation that Allah has sent down, and to the Messenger﴿, they turn away and do not accept it and ﴾they say: Sufficient for us is what we found our forefathers following﴿ of religion, even if it is not right and is not a religion that will save us from the punishment of Allah.

If there had been any people of maturity, knowledge and understanding among their forefathers, the matter would be less serious; but their forefathers did not understand anything. In other words, they had no rational thought at all, and had no knowledge or guidance whatsoever. May he perish, the one who imitates someone who has no sound knowledge or mature thinking, and fails to follow that which Allah has sent down or to follow His Messengers, which fills people’s hearts with knowledge, faith, guidance and certainty.

5:105. O you who believe, take care of your own selves. If anyone else goes astray it will not harm you so long as you follow true guidance. To Allah you will all return, then He will inform you about what you used to do.

﴾0 you who believe, take care of your own selves﴿ that is, strive to improve yourselves and perfect yourselves, and to make yourselves adhere to the straight path, for if you follow the straight path, you will not be harmed by those who go astray therefrom and are not guided to the true religion, for they only harm themselves.

This does not mean that if a person fails or neglects to enjoin what is right and forbid what is wrong, it does not matter, because his guidance cannot be complete unless he does what he is obliged to do of enjoining what is right and forbidding what is wrong. But if he is not able to denounce evil by taking action, speaking out, or at least hating it in his heart, then the going astray of others will not harm him.

﴾To Allah you will all return﴿ - this refers to your final destination on the Day of Resurrection, when you will all be gathered together ﴾then He will inform you about what you used to do﴿ of good and evil.

5:106. O you who believe, when death approaches any of you, let two just men from among you act as witnesses when you make your bequest, or two men from other people if you are travelling in the land and the calamity of death overtakes you. If you have any doubts, detain them after the prayer and let them both swear by Allah: We will not trade our testimony for any price, even if [the beneficiary] is a near relative; we will not conceal the testimony enjoined by Allah, for then we would surely be among the sinners.

5:107. Then if it is discovered that these two committed the sin [of dishonesty], let two others take their place, nearest in kin from among those who claim a lawful right. Let them swear by Allah: Our testimony is truer than their testimony; we have not transgressed, for then we would surely be among the wrongdoers.

5:108. That will make it more likely that they will give their testimony properly, or else they will fear that their oaths may be refuted by the oaths of others. Fear Allah and listen, for Allah does not guide the transgressing people.

It is enjoined that two people should witness bequests. If a person realises that his death is imminent, he should write his will and it should be witnessed by two people of good character whose testimony is valid.

﴾for two men from other people﴿ that is, people who do not share your religion, Jews or Christians or others. This applies in cases of need when there are no Muslims present.

﴾if you are travelling in the land and the calamity of death overtakes you﴿ that is, you should ask them to witness; it is only enjoined toask them to witness because their testimony will be accepted in that situation, and it is reiterated that they should be detained (to give testimony) Rafter the prayer﴿ that they venerate.

﴾and let them both swear by Allah﴿ that they are telling the truth and have not changed anything. This applies ﴾flf you have any doubts﴿ about the testimony. However, if you believe them, then there is no need for this oath.

Let them say ﴾We will not trade our testimony﴿ that is, our oath tffor any price﴿ that is, we will not lie about it for the purpose of worldly gain

﴾even if [the beneficiary] is a near relative﴿ that is, we are not paying attention to him because he is a relative (and we will not alter the testimony for his sake)

﴾we will not conceal the testimony enjoined by Allah﴿; rather we give testimony on the basis of what we heard

﴾for then﴿ if we concealed it ﴾we would surely be among the sinners﴿.

﴾Then if it is discovered that these two﴿ namely the two witnesses ﴾committed the sin [of dishonesty]﴿ that is, if any indication is found that they lied or gave false testimony

﴾let two others take their place, nearest in kin from among those who claim a lawful right﴿ that is, let two men among the next of kin of the deceased come forward; they should be among those who are most closely related to him

﴾Let them swear by Allah: Our testimony is truer than their testimony﴿ that is, they lied and changed their testimony

﴾we have not transgressed, for then we would surely be among the wrongdoers﴿ that is, if we did wrong and transgressed and gave false testimony.

Allah (سبحانه وتعالى) says, explaining the wisdom behind this testimony, confirming it and referring it to the next of kin of the deceased if it becomes clear that the witnesses are lying: ﴾That will make it morelikely that they will give their testimony properly﴿, when all of this confirmation is required

﴾or else they will fear that their oaths may be refuted by the oaths of others﴿ that is, they will fear that their oaths will not be accepted, then the matter will be referred to the next of kin of the deceased.

﴾for Allah does not guide the transgressing people﴿ that is, those whose characteristic is transgression, for they do not want to be guided and they are not seeking the straight path.

To sum up, if a person realises that he is dying when travelling or otherwise, in situations where it is likely that there will be few reliable witnesses, he should make his bequest in front of two Muslim witnesses of good character. If there is no one present but two witnesses who are disbelievers, it is permissible for him to make his bequest in front of them, but if the next of kin have doubts because of their not being Muslim, then he should ask them to swear an oath after the prayer that they are not lying and have not changed anything. Thus they will prove that they are telling the truth. But if they still do not believe them and they find any indication that the witnesses are lying, then if desired, two of the next of kin of the deceased may take their place and swear by Allah that their testimony is more true than the testimony of the first two witnesses, and that the latter have been dishonest and told lies. Thus they will be qualified to take from them what they are claiming.

These verses were revealed concerning the well-known story of Tameem ad-Dari and ‘Adiy ibn Bada’, when al-‘Adawi gave his bequest to them. And Allah knows best.

These verses are quoted as evidence for a number of rulings, including the following:

• That it is prescribed to make a bequest or will, and that the one who is dying should make a bequest.• The will is to be accepted as valid, even if the individual reached the point where he was about to die, so long as he was still thinking clearly.

• The will should be witnessed by two men of good character.

• The testimony of disbelievers may be accepted concerning wills and the like in cases of necessity. This is the view of Imam Ahmad. Many of the scholars stated that this ruling is abrogated, but there is no basis for this claim. It may be understood from this that the testimony of disbelievers - when no one else is available, even in other issues - is acceptable, as was the view of Shaykh al-Islam Ibn Taymiyah.

• It is permissible for a Muslim to travel with a disbeliever, if there are no reservations or risks. It is permissible to travel for the purpose of trade or business.

• If there is any doubt about the two witnesses, but there is nothing to indicate dishonesty on their part, and the next of kin want them to swear an oath, they may detain them after the prayer, and they should swear an oath in the manner described here.

• If there are no doubts or suspicion, there is no need to detain them or force them to give an oath.

• Giving testimony is a serious matter, as Allah (سبحانه وتعالى) has enjoined it; it is essential to pay attention to this matter and give testimony on the basis of fairness.

• It is permissible to test witnesses if there is any doubt concerning them, and to separate them in order to examine their testimony.

• If there is anything to suggest that the witnesses are lying concerning this matter, two of the deceased’s next of kin should come forward and swear by Allah, saying: Our oath is more true than theirs, and they have broken the trust and lied. Then what they claim should be given to them, and that indication, plus their oath, takes the place of proof.

5:109. On the day when Allah gathers the Messengers together and says: What response did you receive? they will say: We have no knowledge; verily You alone are the Knower of the unseen.

5:110. Then Allah will say: O ‘Eesa son of Maryam, remember the blessings which I bestowed upon you and your mother. For I supported you with the Pure Spirit, so that you spoke to the people in the cradle and in maturity. I taught you the scripture and wisdom, the Torah and the Gospel. You made out of clay, as it were, the figure of a bird, and breathed into it, and it became a bird by My leave. You healed those bom blind, and the lepers, by My leave, and you brought the dead back to life, by My leave. I restrained the Children of Israel from [harming] you when you brought them the clear signs and the disbelievers among them said: This is obviously nothing but magic!

Here Allah tells us about the Day of Resurrection and what will happen on it of great, terrifying events. Allah will gather together the Messengers and ask them: ﴾What response did you receive?﴿ That is, how did your nations respond to you?

﴾f﴾they will say: We have no knowledge﴿; rather all knowledge is Yours, O our Lord, for You are more knowledgeable than us﴾verily You alone are the Knower of the unseen﴿ that is, You know all things, unseen and seen.

﴾Then Allah will say: O ‘Eesa son of Maryam, remember the blessings which I bestowed upon you and your mother﴿ that is, remember it in your heart and verbally, and fulfil the obligation of giving thanks to your Lord, because He blessed you in ways in which He did not bless others.

﴾For I supported you with the Pure Spirit﴿ that is, I strengthened you with the Spirit and with revelation, which purified you and gave you strength to fulfil the command of Allah and call people to His way. It was also suggested that what is meant by the Pure Spirit is Jibreel ('alayhi as-salam - peace be upon him), and that Allah helped him by causing him to stay by his side and give him support in difficult situations.

﴾so that you spoke to the people in the cradle and in maturity﴿. What is meant by speaking here is something other than ordinary speech which is merely speaking words. Rather what is meant here is that speaking which benefits both the speaker and the listener, namely calling to Allah.

In this regard ‘Eesa like his fellow Messengers of strong resolve, spoke in maturity, conveying the message, calling people to good and speaking out against evil. But he differed from them in that he also spoke to the people in the cradle, and said: tf... Verily, I am a slave of Allah; He has given me the Book and made me a Prophet. He has made me blessed wherever I may be, and has enjoined on me prayer and zakah as long as I live.﴿ (Maryam 19:30-31)

?﴾I taught you the scripture and wisdom﴿. The scripture includes the previous Books, especially the Torah. He was the most knowledgeable of the Israelite Prophets - after Moosa - of the Torah. It also includes the Gospel which Allah sent down to him.

Wisdom refers to knowledge of the subtle wisdom and benefits of laws, calling people and teaching them in a good manner, as well as paying attention to that to which attention must be paid, to the extent that is appropriate.

﴾You made out of clay, as it were, the figure of a bird﴿ that is, the shape of a bird with no soul in it, then you breathed into it, and it became a bird by Allah’s leave. And you healed those bom blind, who cannot see and have no eyes.

﴾and the lepers, by My leave, and you brought the dead back to life, by My leave﴿. These were clear signs and dazzling miracles that cannot be achieved by doctors and the like. Allah supported ‘Eesa with these signs and strengthened his call thereby.

﴾fl restrained the Children of Israel from [harming] you when you brought them the clear signs and the disbelievers among them said﴿ when the truth came to them, supported by clear signs that would compel one to believe in it ﴾This is obviously nothing but magic!﴿.

They wanted to kill ‘Eesa, and they tried hard to do that, but Allah restrained them from harming him and protected him from them.

These are blessings that Allah bestowed upon His slave and Messenger ‘Eesa ibn Maryam, and He called upon him to give thanks for them and fulfil his duties, which he did in the best possible manner, and he was patient and steadfast just as his fellow Messengers of strong resolve were.

5:111. And [remember] when I inspired the disciples to believe in Me and in My Messenger; they said: We believe. Bear witness that we submit to Allah [as Muslims],

5:112. And [remember] when the disciples said: O ‘Eesa son of Maryam, can your Lord send down to us a table [spread with food] from heaven? ‘Eesa said: Fear Allah, if you are [truly] believers.

5:113. They said: We want to eat from it and let our hearts be reassured, and to know that you have indeed told us the truth, and to be witnesses thereof [of this miracle].

5:114. ‘Eesa son of Maryam said: O Allah our Lord, send down to us from heaven a table [spread with food], so that it might be a festival for us, for all our generations present and future, and a sign from You; and grant us provision, for You are the best of providers.

5:115. Allah said: I will send it down to you, but ifanyone among you disbelieves after that, I will punish him with a punishment the like of which I will never inflict upon anyone else in the world.

That is, remember the blessing that I bestowed upon you, when I caused people to follow you and help you, and I inspired the disciples and instilled in their hearts faith in Me and belief in My Messenger, or I sent inspiration to them on your lips - that is, I commanded them by means of the revelation that came to you from Allah, and they responded to that and submitted, and they said: We believe in Allah; bear witness that we are Muslims.

Thus they combined outward Islam, submission and righteous deeds with inward faith that brings one forth from hypocrisy and weakness of faith.

The disciples were helpers, as Allah (سبحانه وتعالى) tells us: you who believe, be [steadfast] supporters of Allah’s cause, as ‘Eesa son of Maryam said to the disciples: Who will be my supporters in Allah’s cause? The disciples said: We are the supporters of Allah’s

﴾And [remember] when the disciples said: O ‘Eesa son of Maryam, can your Lord send down to us a table [spread with food] from heaven?﴿ That is, a table on which there was food. This did not stem from any doubt on their part in the power of Allah or His ability to do that. Rather it was by way of a polite request.

Because asking for signs and miracles by way of a challenge is contrary to true faith, these words of the disciples may give the impression that it was a challenge. Hence ‘Eesa rebuked them and said: ﴾Fear Allah, if you are [truly] believers﴿. For the faith of the believer makes him constantly fear Allah and comply with Allah’s commands, so he does not demand signs of which he does not know what the consequences will be.

But the disciples stated that their intention was not like that; rather their intention was good, because there was a need for that. Hence ﴾They said: We want to eat from it﴿ - this indicates that they needed it ﴾and let our hearts be reassured﴿ with faith, when we see the sign with our own eyes. Thus faith will be based on certainty of sight, just as before that it was based on certainty of knowledge. That is similar to the case when Ibraheem al-Khaleel asked his Lord to show him how He will raise the dead:

﴾. -He replied: Do you not believe then? He said: Yes of course, but just to reassure my heart... j﴿ (al-Baqarah 2: 260)

People need to increase their knowledge, certainty and faith all the time; hence they said: ﴾and [we want] to know that you have indeed told us the truth﴿ (5: 113). That is, we want to know that what you have brought is indeed true.

﴾and to be witnesses thereof﴿, so that it will serve some interest for those who come after us; we will testify to it for you and thus more proof will be established.

When ‘Eesa (عليه السلام) heard that and understood their intention, he responded to their request by saying: i[0 Allah our Lord, send down to us from heaven a table [spread with food], so that it might be a festival for us, for all our generations present and future, and a sign from You﴿ that is, so that the time of its descent may be a festival and special occasion, commemorating this great sign, so that it will be remembered and not forgotten with the passage of time.

By the same token, Allah (سبحانه وتعالى) has made the festivals and special occasions of the Muslims a commemoration of His signs and a reminder of the way of the Messengers, their straight path and His bounty and grace towards them.

﴾and grant us provision, for You are the best of providers﴿ that is, make it provision for us.

‘Eesa (عليه السلام) asked for it to be sent down so that it would serve these two purposes: the religious purpose of being an abiding sign and the worldly purpose of bringing provision.

﴾Allah said: I will send it down to you, but if anyone among you disbelieves after that, I will punish him with a punishment the like of which I will never inflict upon anyone else in the world﴿ because he is witnessing this marvellous sign, yet he disbelieves out of stubbornness and wrongdoing; thus he deserves the painful punishment and severe consequences.

It should be understood that although Allah promised to send it down, and He issued this warning to them if they did not believe.He did not say that He sent it down. It may be that He did not send it down because they decided not to choose that. This is indicated by the fact that there is no mention of it in the Gospel that the Christians have. Or it may be that it was sent down as Allah promised, for Allah does not break His promises, and the fact that it is not mentioned in the Gospel that they have is because it was part of the portion that they forgot. Or it may be that it was not mentioned in the Gospel at all; rather that was something that was passed down verbally from one generation to another, therefore there was no need for Allah to mention it in the Gospel. This interpretation is supported by the words ﴾and to be witnesses thereof﴿ (5:113). And Allah knows best exactly what happened.

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5:116. When Allah says: O ‘Eesa son of Maryam, did you say to people: Take me and my mother as two gods besides Allah? He [‘Eesa] will say: Glory be to You! It is not proper for me to say that which I have no right [to say]. If I had said it, You would surelyhave known it. You know all that I know, whereas I do not know what You know. Verily You alone are the Knower of the unseen.

5:117. I said nothing to them except that which You commanded me [to say]: Worship Allah, my Lord and your Lord. I watched over them whilst I was amongst them, then when You took me up to You, You [alone] were the Watcher over them, and You are Witness over all things.

5:118. if You punish them, they are indeed Your slaves; if you forgive them, verily You are the Almighty, the Most Wise.

5:119. Allah will say: This is the day when the truthful will benefit from their truthfulness: theirs will be gardens through which rivers flow, to abide therein forever. Allah is pleased with them and they are pleased with Him. And that will be the supreme triumph.

5:120. To Allah belongs the dominion of the heavens and the earth and all that is in them, and He has power over all things.

This is a rebuke to the Christians who said that Allah was the third of three (trinity). Allah mentioned this to ‘Eesa, who disavowed their view and said: ﴾Glory be to You!﴿; may You be exalted far above this reprehensible notion and above that which is not befitting to You. ﴾It is not proper for me to say that which I have no right [to say]p that is, I should not, and it is not befitting for me, to say something that I am not qualified to say. No created being, neither the angels who are close to Allah nor the Prophets who were sent nor anyone else, has the right or is qualified to be regarded as divine. Rather they are all slaves under control, and poor creatures who are subjugated, dependent and helpless.

﴾If I had said it, You would surely have known it. You know all that I know, whereas I do not know what You know﴿ for You know best what I did﴾Verily You alone are the Knower of the unseen )﴿. This is an example of the Messiah’s perfect etiquette in addressing his Lord. He will not say “I said no such thing”; rather he states that he never said anything contrary to his role as a Messenger, and that this is something impossible, and he declares his Lord to be completely above that and refers knowledge to the Knower of the unseen and the seen.

Then he states clearly what he told the Children of Israel:

﴾I said nothing to them except that which You commanded me [to say]﴿; I was merely a slave following Your instructions, and not challenging Your divinity.

﴾Worship Allah, my Lord and your Lord﴿ that is, I instructed them only to worship Allah alone and be sincerely devoted to Him alone, which implies a prohibition on taking me and my mother as two gods besides Allah. It is also a statement that I am a slave under control; just as He is your Lord, He is also my Lord.

﴾I watched over them whilst I was amongst them﴿ that is, witnessing those who followed this command and those who did not ﴾then when You took me up to You, You [alone] were the Watcher over them﴿ that is. You were aware of what was in their hearts and minds ﴾and You are Witness over all things﴿, for You know, hear and see all things; Your knowledge, hearing and vision encompass all that exists, and You will requite Your slaves on the basis of what you know of them, both good and bad.

﴾If You punish them, they are indeed Your slaves﴿ and You are more merciful towards them than they are to themselves, and You know best about their circumstances. If they were not rebellious. You would not punish them.

﴾fif you forgive them, verily You are the Almighty, the Most Wise﴿ that is, Your forgiveness stems from Your complete might and power; this is not like one who forgives and overlooks because he is incapable and has no power, because it is by Your wisdom that You forgive the one who takes measures that make him qualified for forgiveness.

﴾Allah will say﴿ explaining the situation of His slaves on the Day of Resurrection, and who among them will triumph and who will be doomed, who will be wretched and who will be blessed: ﴾This is the day when the truthful will benefit from their truthfulness﴿. The truthful are the ones who were righteous in word and deed, whose intentions were in accordance with the straight path and true guidance. On the Day of Resurrection they will reap the fruits of that truthfulness, when Allah causes them to be honourably seated in the presence of a Mighty Sovereign (cf. 54: 55). Hence Allah says ﴾theirs will be gardens through which rivers flow, to abide therein forever. Allah is pleased with them and they are pleased with Him. And that will be the supreme triumph﴿. And the liars will have the opposite outcome: they will suffer the harmful consequences of their lies and fabrications, and they will reap the evil fruits of their actions.

﴾To Allah belongs the dominion of the heavens and the earthy because He is their Creator and He controls them by His will and decree. Hence He says: ﴾fand He has power over all things﴿. Nothing is beyond Him; rather all things are subject to His will and command.

This is the end of the commentary on Soorat al-Ma’idah.

All praise and thanks are for Allah, and may the blessings and peace of Allah be upon Prophet Muhammad (ﷺ). his family, and his Companions abundantly until the Day of Judgement.