Surah 5. Al-Ma'ida

Answered He: "Then, verily, this [land] shall be forbidden to them for forty years, while they wander on earth, bewildered, to and fro; and sorrow thou not over these iniquitous folk."

  - Mohammad Asad

Allah responded, "Very well, they are forbidden this land for forty years, during this time they will wander homeless on the earth, so do not grieve for these disobedient people."

  - Muhammad Farooq-i-Azam Malik

(Their Lord) said: For this the land will surely be forbidden them for forty years that they will. wander in the earth, bewildered. So grieve not over the wrongdoing folk.

  - Marmaduke Pickthall

AND CONVEY unto them, setting forth the truth, the story of the two sons of Adam³⁵ - how each offered a sacrifice, and it was accepted from one of them whereas it was not accepted from the other. [And Cain] said: "I will surely slay thee!" [Abel] replied: "Behold, God accepts only from those who are conscious of Him.

  - Mohammad Asad

I.e., the story of Cain and Abel, mentioned in Genesis iv, 1-16. The pronoun in "tell them" refers to the followers of the Bible, and obviously connects with verse {15} of this surah, "Now there has come unto you Our Apostle, to make clear unto you much of what you have been concealing [from yourselves] of the Bible", the meaning of which has been explained in note [28] above. The moral of this particular Biblical story - a moral which the followers of the Bible have been "concealing from themselves" - is summarized in verse {32}.

Recite to them in all truth the story of Adam's two sons: How each offered a sacrifice, and how the offering of one was accepted while that of the other was not. The latter said: "I will kill you." The former replied: "Allah only accepts the sacrifice from the righteous.

  - Muhammad Farooq-i-Azam Malik

But recite unto them with truth the tale of the two sons of Adam, how they offered each a sacrifice, and it was accepted from the one of them and it was not accepted from the other. (The one) said: I will surely kill thee. (The other) answered: Allah accepteth only from those who ward off (evil).

  - Marmaduke Pickthall

Even if thou lay thy hand on me to slay me, I shall not lay my hand on thee to slay thee: behold, I fear God, the Sustainer of all the worlds.

  - Mohammad Asad

Even if you stretch your hand to kill me, I shall not stretch my hand to slay you, for I fear Allah, the Rabb of the worlds.

  - Muhammad Farooq-i-Azam Malik

Even if thou stretch out thy hand against me to kill me, I shall not stretch out my hand against thee to kill thee, lo! I fear Allah, the Lord of the Worlds.

  - Marmaduke Pickthall

I am willing, indeed, for thee to bear [the burden of] all the sins ever done by me as well as of the sin done by thee:³⁶ [but] then thou wouldst be destined for the fire, since that is the requital of evildoers!"

  - Mohammad Asad

Lit., "my sin as well as thy sin". It is evident from several well-authenticated ahadith that if a person dies a violent death not caused, directly or indirectly, by his own sinful actions, his previous sins will be forgiven (the reason being, evidently, that he had no time to repent, as he might have done had he been allowed to live). In cases of unprovoked murder, the murderer is burdened - in addition to the sin of murder - with the sins which his innocent victim might have committed in the past and of which he (the victim) is now absolved: this convincing interpretation of the above verse has been advanced by Mujahid (as quoted by Tabari).

I intend to let you bear the burden of my sins as well as yours and thus become an inmate of the Fire which is the reward for wrongdoers."

  - Muhammad Farooq-i-Azam Malik

Lo! I would rather thou shouldst bear the punishment of the sin against me and thine own sin and become one of the owners of the Fire. That is the reward of evil doers.

  - Marmaduke Pickthall

But the other's passion³⁷ drove him to slaying his brother; and he slew him: and thus he became one of the lost.

  - Mohammad Asad

Among the many meanings attributable to the noun nafs (primarily, "soul", or "mind", or "self"), there is also that of "desire" or "passionate determination" (Qamus, see also Zamakhshari's Asas); in this context, the best rendering seems to be "passion".

The latter's soul prompted him to kill his brother; he killed him and thus became one of the losers.

  - Muhammad Farooq-i-Azam Malik

But (the other's) mind imposed on him the killing of his brother, so he slew him and became one of the losers.

  - Marmaduke Pickthall

Thereupon God sent forth a raven which scratched the earth, to show him how he might conceal the nakedness of his brother's body. [And Cain] cried out: "Oh, woe is me! Am I then too weak to do what this raven did,³⁸ and to conceal the nakedness of my brother's body?" - and was thereupon smitten with remorse.³⁹

  - Mohammad Asad

Lit., "to be like this raven".

Lit., "became of those who feel remorse". The thought of burying his dead brother's body, suggested to Cain by the raven's scratching the earth, brought home to him the enormity of his crime.

(He carried around the dead body of his brother and did not know what to do with it.) Then Allah sent a raven, which dug the ground to show him how to bury the dead body of his brother. "Alas!" He cried, "I failed even to be like this raven to find some way to dispose of the dead body of my brother!" So he became full of regrets.

  - Muhammad Farooq-i-Azam Malik

Then Allah sent a raven scratching up the ground, to show him how to hide his brother's naked corpse. He said: Woe unto me! Am I not able to be as this raven and so hide my brother's naked corpse? And he became repentant.

  - Marmaduke Pickthall

Because of this did We ordain unto the children of Israel that if anyone slays a human being - unless it be [in punishment] for murder or for spreading corruption on earth - it shall be as though he had slain all mankind; whereas, if anyone saves a life, it shall be as though he had saved the lives of all mankind.⁴⁰ And, indeed, there came unto them⁴¹ Our apostles with all evidence of the truth: yet, behold, notwithstanding all this, many of them go on committing all manner of excesses on earth.⁴²

  - Mohammad Asad

This moral truth is among those to which the first sentence of verse {15} of this surah alludes, and its succinct formulation fully explains the reason why the story of Cain and Abel is mentioned in this context. The expression "We have ordained unto the children of Israel" does not, of course, detract from the universal validity of this moral: it refers merely to its earliest enunciation.

I.e., to the followers of the Bible, both the Jews and the Christians.

The present participle la-musrifun indicates their "continuously committing excesses" (i.e., crimes), and is best rendered as "they go on committing" them. In view of the preceding passages, these "excesses" obviously refer to crimes of violence and, in particular, to the ruthless killing of human beings.

On account of that incident, We ordained for the Children of Israel that whoever kills a person, except as a punishment for murder or mischief in the land, it will be written in his book of deeds as if he had killed all the human beings on the surface of the Earth and whoever will save a life shall be regarded as if he gave life to all the human beings on the surface of the Earth. Yet, even though Our Rasools came to them one after the other with clear revelations, it was not long before, many of them committed excesses in the land.

  - Muhammad Farooq-i-Azam Malik

For that cause We decreed for the Children of Israel that whosoever killeth a human being for other than manslaughter or corruption in the earth, it shall be as if be had killed all mankind, and whoso saveth the life of one, it shall be as if he had saved the life of all mankind. Our messengers came unto them of old with clear proofs (of Allah's sovereignty) , but afterwards lo! many of them became prodigals in the earth.

  - Marmaduke Pickthall

It is but a just recompense for those who make war on God and His apostle,⁴³ and endeavour to spread corruption on earth, that they are being slain in great numbers, or crucified in great numbers, or have, in result of their perverseness, their hands and feet cut off in great numbers,⁴⁴ or are being [entirely] banished from [the face of] the earth: such is their ignominy in this world.⁴⁵ But in the life to come [yet more] awesome suffering awaits them -

  - Mohammad Asad

The term "apostle" is evidently generic in this context. By "making war on God and His apostle" is meant a hostile opposition to, and wilful disregard of, the ethical precepts ordained by God and explained by all His apostles, combined with the conscious endeavour to destroy or undermine other people's belief in God as well.

In classical Arabic idiom, the "cutting off of one's hands and feet" is often synonymous with "destroying one's power", and it is possibly in this sense that the expression has been used here. Alternatively, it might denote "being mutilated", both physically and metaphorically - similar to the (metonymical) use of the expression "being crucified" in the sense of "being tortured". The phrase min khilaf - usually rendered as "from opposite sides" - is derived from the verb khalafahu, "he disagreed with him", or "opposed him", or "acted contrarily to him": consequently, the primary meaning of min khilaf is "in result of contrariness" or "of perverseness".

Most of the classical commentators regard this passage as a legal injunction, and interpret it, therefore, as follows: "The recompense of those who make war on God and His apostle and spread corruption on earth shall but be that they shall be slain, or crucified, or that their hands and feet be cut off on opposite sides, or that they shall be banished from the earth: such shall be their ignominy in this world." This interpretation is, however, in no way warranted by the text, and this for the following reasons: (a) The four passive verbs occurring in this sentence - "slain", "crucified", "cut off" and "banished" - are in the present tense and do not, by themselves, indicate the future or, alternatively, the imperative mood. (b) The form yuqattalu does not signify simply "they are being slain" or (as the commentators would have it) "they shall be slain", but denotes - in accordance with a fundamental rule of Arabic grammar - "they are being slain in great numbers"; and the same holds true of the verbal forms yusallabu ("they are being crucified in great numbers") and yuqatta'a ("cut off in great numbers"). Now if we are to believe that these are "ordained punishments", it would imply that great numbers - but not necessarily all - of "those who make war on God and His apostle" should be punished in this way: obviously an inadmissible assumption of arbitrariness on the part of the Divine Law-Giver. Moreover, if the party "waging war on God and His apostle" should happen to consist of one person only, or of a few, how could a command referring to "great numbers" be applied to them or to him? (c) Furthermore, what would be the meaning of the phrase, "they shall be banished from the earth", if the above verse is to be taken as a legal injunction? This point has, indeed, perplexed the commentators considerably. Some of them assume that the transgressors should be "banished from the land [of Islam]": but there is no instance in the Qur'an of such a restricted use of the term "earth" (ard). Others, again, are of the opinion that the guilty ones should be imprisoned in a subterranean dungeon, which would constitute their "banishment from [the face of] the earth"! (d) Finally - and this is the weightiest objection to an interpretation of the above verse as a "legal injunction" - the Qur'an places exactly the same expressions referring to mass-crucifixion and mass-mutilation (but this time with a definite intent relating to the future) in the mouth of Pharaoh, as a threat to believers (see 7:124, 20:71 and 26:49). Since Pharaoh is invariably described in the Qur'an as the epitome of evil and godlessness, it is inconceivable that the same Qur'an would promulgate a divine law in precisely the terms which it attributes elsewhere to a figure characterized as an "enemy of God". In short, the attempt of the commentators to interpret the above verse as a "legal injunction" must be categorically rejected, however great the names of the persons responsible for it. On the other hand, a really convincing interpretation suggests itself to us at once as soon as we read the verse - as it ought to be read - in the present tense: for, read in this way, the verse reveals itself immediately as a statement of fact - a declaration of the inescapability of the retribution which "those who make war on God" bring upon themselves. Their hostility to ethical imperatives causes them to lose sight of all moral values; and their consequent mutual discord and "perverseness" gives rise to unending strife among themselves for the sake of worldly gain and power: they kill one another in great numbers, and torture and mutilate one another in great numbers, with the result that whole communities are wiped out or, as the Qur'an puts it, "banished from [the face of] the earth". It is this interpretation alone that takes full account of all the expressions occurring in this verse - the reference to "great numbers" in connection with deeds of extreme violence, the "banishment from the earth", and, lastly, the fact that these horrors are expressed in the terms used by Pharaoh, the "enemy of God".

The punishment for those who wage war against Allah and His Rasool and strive to create mischief in the land is death or crucifixion or the cutting off their hands and feet from opposite sides or exile from the land based on the gravity of their offense. This will be their humiliation in this world and in the Hereafter they will have grievous punishment,

  - Muhammad Farooq-i-Azam Malik

The only reward of those who make war upon Allah and His messenger and strive after corruption in the land will be that they will be killed or crucified, or have their hands and feet on alternate sides cut off, or will be expelled out of the land. Such will be their degradation in the world, and in the Hereafter theirs will be an awful doom;

  - Marmaduke Pickthall

save for such [of them] as repent ere you [O believers] become more powerful than they:⁴⁶ for you must know that God is much-forgiving, a dispenser of grace.

  - Mohammad Asad

I.e. before belief in God and in the ethical principles decreed by Him becomes prevalent: for, in that event, repentance on the part of "those who make war on God and His apostle" would be no more than an act of conforming to the dominant trend and, therefore, of no moral value whatever. It is to be noted that the exemption from suffering relates to the hereafter.

except those who repent before you apprehend them, in such a case, you should know that Allah is Forgiving, Merciful.

  - Muhammad Farooq-i-Azam Malik

Save those who repent before ye overpower them. For know that Allah is Forgiving, Merciful.

  - Marmaduke Pickthall

O YOU who have attained to faith! Remain conscious of God, and seek to come closer unto Him, and strive hard in His cause, so that you might attain to a happy state.

  - Mohammad Asad

O believers! Fear Allah and seek the means to be closer to Him and make Jihad (struggle) in His Way so that you may be successful.

  - Muhammad Farooq-i-Azam Malik

O ye who believe! Be mindful of your duty to Allah, and seek the way of approach unto Him, and strive in His way in order that ye may succeed.

  - Marmaduke Pickthall

Verily, if those who are bent on denying the truth had all that is on earth, and twice as much,⁴⁷ to offer as ransom from suffering on the Day of Resurrection, it would not be accepted from them: for grievous suffering awaits them.

  - Mohammad Asad

Lit., "and the like with it".

As for those who are unbelievers, if they have everything that the earth contains or twice as much to offer as a ransom to redeem themselves from the punishment of the Day of Resurrection, it will not be accepted from them and they shall have a painful punishment.

  - Muhammad Farooq-i-Azam Malik

As for those who disbelieve, lo! if all that is in the earth were theirs, and as much again therewith, to ransom them from the doom on the day of Resurrection, it would not be accepted from them. Theirs will be a painful doom.

  - Marmaduke Pickthall

They will wish to come out of the fire, but they shall not come out of it; and long-lasting suffering awaits them.

  - Mohammad Asad

They will desire to get out of the fire but will not be able to do so and they shall have an everlasting punishment.

  - Muhammad Farooq-i-Azam Malik

They will wish to come forth from the Fire, but they will not come forth from it. Theirs will be a lasting doom.

  - Marmaduke Pickthall

NOW AS FOR the man who steals and the woman who steals, cut off the hand of either of them in requital for what they have wrought, as a deterrent ordained by God:⁴⁸ for God is almighty, wise.

  - Mohammad Asad

The extreme severity of this Qur'anic punishment can be understood only if one bears in mind the fundamental principle of Islamic Law that no duty (taklif) is ever imposed on man without his being granted a corresponding right (haqq); and the term "duty" also comprises, in this context, liability to punishment. Now, among the inalienable rights of every member of the Islamic society - Muslim and non-Muslim alike - is the right to protection (in every sense of the word) by the community as a whole. As is evident from innumerable Qur'anic ordinances as well as the Prophet's injunctions forthcoming from authentic Traditions, every citizen is entitled to a share in the community's economic resources and, thus, to the enjoyment of social security: in other words, he or she must be assured of an equitable standard of living commensurate with the resources at the disposal of the community. For, although the Qur'an makes it clear that human life cannot be expressed in terms of physical existence alone - the ultimate values of life being spiritual in nature - the believers are not entitled to look upon spiritual truths and values as something that could be divorced from the physical and social factors of human existence. In short, Islam envisages and demands a society that provides not only for the spiritual needs of man, but for his bodily and intellectual needs as well. It follows, therefore, that - in order to be truly Islamic - a society (or state) must be so constituted that every individual, man and woman, may enjoy that minimum of material well-being and security without which there can be no human dignity, no real freedom and, in the last resort, no spiritual progress: for, there can be no real happiness and strength in a society that permits some of its members to suffer undeserved want while others have more than they need. If the whole society suffers privations owing to circumstances beyond its control (as happened, for instance, to the Muslim community in the early days of Islam), such shared privations may become a source of spiritual strength and, through it, of future greatness. But if the available resources of a community are so unevenly distributed that certain groups within it live in affluence while the majority of the people are forced to use up all their energies in search of their daily bread, poverty becomes the most dangerous enemy of spiritual progress, and occasionally drives whole communities away from God-consciousness and into the arms of soul-destroying materialism. It was undoubtedly this that the Prophet had in mind when he uttered the warning words (quoted by As-Suyuti in Al-Jami' as-Saghir), "Poverty may well turn into a denial of the truth (kufr)." Consequently, the social legislation of Islam aims at a state of affairs in which every man, woman and child has (a) enough to eat and wear, (b) an adequate home, (c) equal opportunities and facilities for education, and (d) free medical care in health and in sickness. A corollary of these rights is the right to productive and remunerative work while of working age and in good health, and a provision (by the community or the state) of adequate nourishment, shelter, etc. in cases of disability resulting from illness, widowhood, enforced unemployment, old age, or under-age. As already mentioned, the communal obligation to create such a comprehensive social security scheme has been laid down in many Qur'anic verses, and has been amplified and explained by a great number of the Prophet's commandments. It was the second Caliph, 'Umar ibn al-Khattab, who began to translate these ordinances into a concrete administrative scheme (see Ibn Sad, Tabaqat III/1, 213-217); but after his premature death, his successors had neither the vision nor the statesmanship to continue his unfinished work. It is against the background of this social security scheme envisaged by Islam that the Qur'an imposes the severe sentence of hand-cutting as a deterrent punishment for robbery. Since, under the circumstances outlined above, "temptation" cannot be admitted as a justifiable excuse, and since, in the last resort, the entire socio-economic system of Islam is based on the faith of its adherents, its balance is extremely delicate and in need of constant, strictly-enforced protection. In a community in which everyone is assured of full security and social justice, any attempt on the part of an individual to achieve an easy, unjustified gain at the expense of other members of the community must be considered an attack against the system as a whole, and must be punished as such: and, therefore, the above ordinance which lays down that the hand of the thief shall be cut off. One must, however, always bear in mind the principle mentioned at the beginning of this note: namely, the absolute interdependence between man's rights and corresponding duties (including liability to punishment). In a community or state which neglects or is unable to provide complete social security for all its members, the temptation to enrich oneself by illegal means often becomes irresistible - and, consequently, theft cannot and should not be punished as severely as it should be punished in a state in which social security is a reality in the full sense of the word. If the society is unable to fulfil its duties with regard to every one of its members, it has no right to invoke the full sanction of criminal law (hadd) against the individual transgressor, but must confine itself to milder forms of administrative punishment. (It was in correct appreciation of this principle that the great Caliph 'Umar waived the hadd of hand-cutting in a period of famine which afflicted Arabia during his reign.) To sum up, one may safely conclude that the cutting-off of a hand in punishment for theft is applicable only within the context of an already-existing, fully functioning social security scheme, and in no other circumstances.

Male or female, whoever is guilty of theft, cut off the hand (that was used in theft) of either of them as a punishment for their crime. This is exemplary punishment ordained by Allah. Allah is Mighty, Wise.

  - Muhammad Farooq-i-Azam Malik

As for the thief, both male and female, cut off their hands. It is the reward of their own deeds, an exemplary punishment from Allah. Allah is Mighty, Wise.

  - Marmaduke Pickthall

But as for him who repents after having thus done wrong, and makes amends,⁴⁹ behold, God will accept his repentance: verily, God is much-forgiving, a dispenser of grace.

  - Mohammad Asad

I.e., by restituting the stolen goods before being apprehended by the authorities (Manar VI, 382).

But whoever repents after committing the crime and reforms his conduct, Allah will surely turn to him with forgiveness. Allah is Forgiving, Merciful.

  - Muhammad Farooq-i-Azam Malik

But whoso repenteth after his wrongdoing and amendeth, lo! Allah will relent toward him. Lo! Allah is Forgiving, Merciful.

  - Marmaduke Pickthall

Dost thou not know that God's is the dominion over the heavens and the earth? He chastises whom He wills, and He forgives whom He wills: for God has the power to will anything.

  - Mohammad Asad

Don't you know that Allah has sovereignty over the heavens and the earth? He may punish whom He pleases and forgive whom He pleases. Allah has power over everything.

  - Muhammad Farooq-i-Azam Malik

Knowest thou not that unto Allah belongeth the Sovereignty of the heavens and the earth? He punisheth whom He will, and forgiveth whom He will. Allah is Able to do all things.

  - Marmaduke Pickthall