Surah 5. Al-Maida, Ayah 77
| قُلْ يَا أَهْلَ الْكِتَابِ لَا تَغْلُوا فِي دِينِكُمْ غَيْرَ الْحَقِّ وَلَا تَتَّبِعُوا أَهْوَاءَ قَوْمٍ قَدْ ضَلُّوا مِنْ قَبْلُ وَأَضَلُّوا كَثِيرًا وَضَلُّوا عَنْ سَوَاءِ السَّبِيلِ |
| Transliteration | : | 'a- fa- laa yatobon 'ilaa 'allaah wa- yastaghfiron -hu wa- 'allaah ghafor rah.em |
| Pickthall | : | Say: O People of the Scripture! Stress not in your religion other than the truth, and follow not the vain desires of folk who erred of old and led many astray, and erred from a plain road. |
| Asad | : | Say: "O followers of the Gospel! Do not overstep the bounds [of truth] in your religious beliefs;91 and do not follow the errant views of people who have gone astray aforetime, and have led many [others] astray, and are still straying from the right path."92 |
| Malik | : | Tell them: "O people of the Book! Do not transgress the bounds of truth in your religion, and do not yield to the fancies of those people who went astray before you, They misled many others and have themselves strayed away from The Right Way. |
| Yusuf Ali | : | Say: "O people of the Book! exceed not in your religion the bounds (of what is proper) trespassing beyond the truth nor follow the vain desires of people who went wrong in times gone by who misled many and strayed (themselves) from the even way. 785 |
Note - 91Cf. 4:171. This passage, like the preceding ones, is
obviously addressed to the Christians whose love for
Jesus has caused them to "overstep the bounds of truth"
by elevating him to the rank of divinity; therefore my
rendering, in this context, of ahl al-kitab as "followers
of the Gospel".
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Note - 92Lit., "have gone astray from the right path": i.e., are
persisting in this condition until now (Razi): an
allusion to the many communities who, in the course of
time, have come to attribute divinity to their spiritual
leaders - a phenomenon frequently encountered in the
history of religions.
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Note - 785Excess, as opposed to moderation and reason, is the
simplest test by which a hypocrite or a selfish man who
"trades" on religion, is known from a sincere, pious, and
truly religious man. Excess means that truth is sometimes
concealed or trampled upon, that the fashions of
ancestors or contemporaries are copied or overdone, and
Allah's name is dishonoured by blasphemies or the setting
up of false gods or fetishes, or that good (or even bad)
men are deified and worshipped. The true path is the even
path, the path of rectitude. (Cf. ii. 108, and v. 12).
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Cf. 4:171. This passage, like the preceding ones, is obviously addressed to the Christians whose love for Jesus has caused them to "overstep the bounds of truth" by elevating him to the rank of divinity; therefore my rendering, in this context, of ahl al-kitab as "followers of the Gospel". |
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Lit., "have gone astray from the right path": i.e., are persisting in this condition until now (Razi): an allusion to the many communities who, in the course of time, have come to attribute divinity to their spiritual leaders - a phenomenon frequently encountered in the history of religions. |
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Excess, as opposed to moderation and reason, is the simplest test by which a hypocrite or a selfish man who "trades" on religion, is known from a sincere, pious, and truly religious man. Excess means that truth is sometimes concealed or trampled upon, that the fashions of ancestors or contemporaries are copied or overdone, and Allah's name is dishonoured by blasphemies or the setting up of false gods or fetishes, or that good (or even bad) men are deified and worshipped. The true path is the even path, the path of rectitude. (Cf. ii. 108, and v. 12). |
