Surah 5. Al-Ma'ida

O YOU who have attained to faith! Be true to your covenants!¹ Lawful to you is the [flesh of every] beast that feeds on plants, save what is mentioned to you [hereinafter² ]: but you are not allowed to hunt while you are in the state of pilgrimage. Behold, God ordains in accordance with His will.³

  - Mohammad Asad

The term 'aqd ("covenant") denotes a solemn undertaking or engagement involving more than one party. According to Raghib, the covenants referred to in this verse "are of three kinds: the covenants between God and man [i.e., man's obligations towards God], between man and his own soul, and between the individual and his fellow-men" - thus embracing the entire area of man's moral and social responsibilities.

I.e., in verse {3}. Literally, the expression bahimat al-an'am could be translated as "a beast of the cattle"; but since this would obviously be a needless tautology, many commentators incline to the view that what is meant here is "any beast which resembles [domesticated] cattle insofar as it feeds on plants and is not a beast of prey" (Razi; also Lisan al-'Arab, art. na'ma). I have adopted this convincing interpretation in my rendering of the above phrase.

Lit., "whatever He wills" or "deems fit": i.e., in accordance with a plan of which He alone has full knowledge. Regarding the prohibition of hunting while on pilgrimage, see verses {94-96} of this surah.

O believers! Fulfil your contract obligations. All four-legged animals from livestock are lawful to you other than those which are hereby announced. However do not violate the prohibition of hunting while you are in Ihram (Hajj dress). Indeed Allah orders whatever He pleases.

  - Muhammad Farooq-i-Azam Malik

O ye who believe! Fulfil your undertakings. The beast of cattle is made lawful unto you (for food) except that which is announced unto you (herein), game being unlawful when ye are on pilgrimage. Lo! Allah ordaineth that which pleaseth Him.

  - Marmaduke Pickthall

O you who have attained to faith! Offend not against the symbols set up by God, nor against the sacred month [of pilgrimage], nor against the garlanded offerings,⁴ nor against those who flock to the Inviolable Temple, seeking favour with their Sustainer and His goodly acceptance; and [only] after your pilgrimage is over⁵ are you free to hunt. And never let your hatred of people who would bar you from the Inviolable House of Worship lead you into the sin of aggression:⁶ but rather help one another in furthering virtue and God-consciousness, and do not help one another in furthering evil and enmity; and remain conscious of God: for, behold, God is severe in retribution!

  - Mohammad Asad

Lit., "nor against the offerings, nor the garlands" - a reference to the animals which are brought to Mecca at the time of pilgrimage, to be sacrificed there in the name of God and most of their flesh distributed among the poor. In order to mark out such animals, and to prevent their being inadvertently used for profane (e.g., commercial) ends, garlands are customarily hung around their necks. See also 2:196 . - The term sha'a'ir Allah (lit., "God's symbols), occurring earlier in this sentence, denotes the places reserved for particular religious rites (e.g., the Ka'bah) as well as the religious rites themselves. (Cf. 2:158 , where As-Safa and Al-Marwah are described as "symbols set up by God"). In the above context, the rites of pilgrimage, in particular, are alluded to.

Lit., "when you have become free of the obligations attaching to the state of pilgrimage" (idha halaltum ).

Inasmuch as this surah was undoubtedly revealed in the year 10 H. (Tabari, Ibn Kathir), it is difficult to accept the view of some of the commentators that the above verse alludes to the events culminating in the truce of Hudaybiyyah, in 6 H., when the pagan Quraysh succeeded in preventing the Prophet and his followers from entering Mecca on pilgrimage. At the time of the revelation of this surah Mecca was already in the possession of the Muslims, and there was no longer any question of their being barred from it by the Quraysh, almost all of whom had by then embraced Islam. We must, therefore, conclude that the above injunction cannot be circumscribed by a historical reference but has a timeless, general import: in other words, that it refers to anybody who might endeavour to bar the believers - physically or metaphorically - from the exercise of their religious duties (symbolized by the "Inviolable House of Worship") and thus to lead them away from their faith. In view of the next sentence, moreover, this interpretation would seem to be the only plausible one.

O believers! Do not violate the sanctity of the Symbols of Allah: the Sacred Month , the animals brought for sacrifice, the garlands that mark such animals, and those people visiting the Sacred House (Ka'bah) to seek the grace and good pleasure of their Rabb. When you put off your Ihram (pilgrimage is over) then you are allowed to hunt. Let not the hatred of some people - who once hindered you from the Sacred Mosque - incite you to commit transgression. Cooperate with one another in righteousness and piety, and do not cooperate in sin and transgression. Have fear of Allah. Allah is stern in punishment.

  - Muhammad Farooq-i-Azam Malik

O ye who believe! Profane not Allah's monuments nor the Sacred Month nor the offerings nor the garlands, nor those repairing to the Sacred House, seeking the grace and pleasure of Allah. But when ye have left the sacred territory, then go hunting (if ye will). And let not your hatred of a folk who (once) stopped your going to the Inviolable Place of Worship seduce you to transgress; but help ye one another unto righteousness and pious duty. Help not one another unto sin and transgression, but keep your duty to Allah. Lo! Allah is severe in punishment.

  - Marmaduke Pickthall

FORBIDDEN to you is carrion, and blood, and the flesh of swine, and that over which any name other than God's has been invoked,⁷ and the animal that has been strangled, or beaten to death, or killed by a fall, or gored to death, or savaged by a beast of prey, save that which you [yourselves] may have slaughtered while it was still alive; and [forbidden to you is] all that has been slaughtered on idolatrous altars.⁸ And [you are forbidden] to seek to learn through divination what the future may hold in store for you:⁹ this is sinful conduct. Today, those who are bent on denying the truth have lost all hope of [your ever forsaking] your religion: do not, then, hold them in awe, but stand in awe of Me! Today have I perfected your religious law for you, and have bestowed upon you the full measure of My blessings, and willed that self-surrender unto Me shall be your religion.¹⁰ As for him, however, who is driven [to what is forbidden] by dire necessity¹¹ and not by an inclination to sinning - behold, God is much-forgiving, a dispenser of grace.

  - Mohammad Asad

See 2:173 .

The nusub (sing. nasibah) were the altar-stones set up in pre-Islamic times around the Ka'bah on which the pagan Quraysh used to sacrifice animals to their idols. However, from the story of Zayd ibn 'Amr ibn Nufayl (Bukhari) it appears that not only sacrificial animals but also such as were destined for common consumption were often slaughtered there for the sake of a supposed "blessing" (see Fath al-Bari VII, 113). Some philologists consider the form nusub a singular, with ansab as its plural (cf. verse {90} of this surah). In either case the term denotes an association with all manner of practices which could be described as "idolatrous", and should not be taken merely in its literal sense. Cf. in this respect also verse {90} of this surah, and the corresponding note [105].

Lit., "to aim at divining [the future] by means of arrows". This is a reference to the divining-arrows without a point and without feathers used by the pre-Islamic Arabs to find out what the future might hold in store for them. (A comprehensive description of this practice may be found in Lane III, 1247.) As is usual with such historical allusions in the Qur'an, this one, too, is used metonymically: it implies a prohibition of all manner of attempts at divining or foretelling the future.

According to all available Traditions based on the testimony of the Prophet's contemporaries, the above passage - which sets, as it were, a seal on the message of the Qur'an - was revealed at 'Arafat in the afternoon of Friday, the 9th of Dhu 'l-Hijjah, 10 H., eighty-one or eighty-two days before the death of the Prophet. No legal injunction whatsoever was revealed after this verse: and this explains the reference to God's having perfected the Faith and bestowed the full measure of His blessings upon the believers. Man's self-surrender (islam) to God is postulated as the basis, or the basic law, of all true religion (din). This self-surrender expressed itself not only in belief in Him but also in obedience to His commands: and this is the reason why the announcement of the completion of the Qur'anic message is placed within the context of a verse containing the last legal ordinances ever revealed to the Prophet Muhammad.

Lit., "in [a condition of] emptiness' (fi makhmasah). This is generally taken to mean in extreme hunger"; but while this expression does, in the first instance, signify "emptiness caused by hunger", the reference to divination in the above verse points to a metonymical use of the term makhmasah as well: that is to say, it covers here not merely cases of actual, extreme hunger (which makes the eating of otherwise prohibited categories of meat permissible, as is explicitly stated in 2:173 ) but also other situations in which overwhelming, extraneous forces beyond a person's control may compel him, against his will, to do something that is normally prohibited by Islamic Law - as, for instance, to use intoxicating drugs whenever illness makes their use imperative and unavoidable.

You are forbidden to eat the meat of any animal that dies by itself (dead body), blood, the flesh of swine (pork) and that on which any name other than Allah has been invoked; also that which is strangled to death , killed by a violent blow, killed by a headlong fall and of those beaten or gored to death; and that which has been partly eaten by a wild animal unless you are able to slaughter it before its death; also that which is sacrificed on altars or is divided by raffling of arrows. All these are sinful acts. Today the unbelievers have given up all their hope of vanquishing your religion. Have no fear of them, fear Me. Today I have perfected your religion for you, completed my favor upon you and approved Al-Islam as a Deen (way of life for you). Anyone who is compelled by hunger to eat what is forbidden, not intending to commit sin, will find Allah Forgiving, Merciful.

  - Muhammad Farooq-i-Azam Malik

Forbidden unto you (for food) are carrion and blood and swine flesh, and that which hath been dedicated unto any other than Allah, and the strangled, and the dead through beating, and the dead through falling from a height, and that which hath been killed by (the goring of) horns, and the devoured of wild beasts, saving that which ye make lawful (by the death stroke), and that which hath been immolated unto idols. And (forbidden is it) that ye swear by the divining arrows. This is an abomination. This day are those who disbelieve in despair of (ever harming) your religion; so fear them not, fear Me! This day have I perfected your religion for you and completed My favor unto you, and have chosen for you as religion AL- ISLAM. Whoso is forced by hunger, not by will, to sin: (for him) lo! Allah is Forgiving, Merciful.

  - Marmaduke Pickthall

They will ask thee as to what is lawful to them Say: "Lawful to you are all the good things of life."¹² And as for those hunting animals¹³ which you train by imparting to them something of the knowledge that God has imparted to yourselves - eat of what they seize for you, but mention God's name over it, and remain conscious of God: verily, God is swift in reckoning.

  - Mohammad Asad

The implication is, firstly, that what has been forbidden does not belong to the category of "the good things of life" (at-tayyibat), and, secondly, that all that has not been expressly forbidden is allowed. It is to be noted that the Qur'an forbids only those things or actions which are injurious to man physically, morally or socially.

Lit., "such of the trained beasts of chase" (min al-jawarih mukallibin). The term mukallib signifies "trained like a [hunting] dog", and is applied to every animal used for hunting - a hound, a falcon, a cheetah, etc.

They ask you what food is lawful for them, say: All good clean things are lawful for you, as well as what you have taught your hunting birds and beasts to catch, trained by you with the knowledge given to you by Allah. Eat what they catch and hold for you, however, pronounce the name of Allah over it. Have fear of Allah. Allah is swift in settling the accounts.

  - Muhammad Farooq-i-Azam Malik

They ask thee (O Muhammad) what is made lawful for them. Say: ( all ) good things are made lawful for you. And those beasts and birds of prey which ye have trained as hounds are trained, ye teach them that which Allah taught you; so eat of that which they catch for you and mention Allah's name upon it, and observe your duty to Allah. Lo! Allah is swift to take account.

  - Marmaduke Pickthall

Today, all the good things of life have been made lawful to you. And the food of those who have been vouchsafed revelation aforetime is lawful to you,¹⁴ and your food is lawful to them. And [lawful to you are], in wedlock, women from among those who believe [in this divine writ], and, in wedlock, women from among those who have been vouchsafed revelation before your time - provided that you give them their dowers, taking them in honest wedlock, not in fornication, nor as secret love-companions.¹⁵ But as for him who rejects belief [in God] - in vain will be all his works: for in the life to come he shall be among the lost.¹⁶

  - Mohammad Asad

This permission to partake of the food of the followers of other revealed religions excludes, of course, the forbidden categories of meat enumerated in verse {3} above. As a matter of fact, the Law of Moses, too, forbids them explicitly; and there is no statement whatsoever in the Gospels to the effect that these prohibitions were cancelled by Jesus: on the contrary, he is reported to have said, "Think not that I have come to destroy the Law [of Moses]...: I am not come to destroy, but to fulfil" (Matthew v, 17). Thus, the latitude enjoyed by post-Pauline followers of Jesus in respect of food does not correspond to what he himself practiced and enjoined.

Whereas Muslim men are allowed to marry women from among the followers of another revealed religion, Muslim women may not marry non-Muslims: the reason being that Islam enjoins reverence of all the prophets, while the followers of other religions reject some of them - e.g., the Prophet Muhammad or, as is the case with the Jews, both Muhammad and Jesus. Thus, while a non-Muslim woman who marries a Muslim can be sure that - despite all doctrinal differences - the prophets of her faith will be mentioned with utmost respect in her Muslim environment, a Muslim woman who would marry a non-Muslim would always be exposed to an abuse of him whom she regards as God's Apostle.

The above passage rounds off, as it were, the opening sentences of this surah, "O you who have attained to faith, be true to your covenants" - of which belief in God and the acceptance of His commandments are the foremost. It is immediately followed by a reference to prayer: for it is in prayer that man's dependence on God finds its most conscious and deliberate expression.

Today all good clean things have been made lawful for you; and the food of the People of the Book is also made lawful for you and your food is made lawful for them. Likewise, marriage with chaste free believing women and also chaste women among the People who were given the Book before you is made lawful for you, provided that you give them their dowries and desire chastity, neither committing fornication nor taking them as mistresses. Anyone who commits Kufr with Iman (rejects faith), all his good deeds will be in vain and in the Hereafter he will be one of the losers.

  - Muhammad Farooq-i-Azam Malik

This day are (all) good things made lawful for you. The food of those who have received the Scripture is lawful for you, and your food is lawful for them. And so are the virtuous women of the believers and the virtuous women of those who received the Scripture before you (lawful for you) when ye give them their marriage portions and live with them in honor, not in fornication, nor taking them as secret concubines. Whoso denieth the faith, his work is vain and he will be among the losers in the Hereafter.

  - Marmaduke Pickthall

0 YOU who have attained to faith! When you are about to pray, wash your face, and your hands and arms up to the elbows, and pass your [wet] hands lightly over your head, and [wash] your feet up to the ankles. And if you are in a state requiring total ablution, purify yourselves.¹⁷ But if you are ill, or are travelling, or have just satisfied a want of nature, or have cohabited with a woman, and can find no water - then take resort to pure dust, passing therewith lightly over your face and your hands. God does not want to impose any hardship on you, but wants to make you pure, and to bestow upon you the full measure of His blessings, so that you might have cause to be grateful.

  - Mohammad Asad

For an explanation of this and the following passage, see 4:43 and the corresponding notes. Here, the reference to prayer connects with the last sentence of the preceding verse, which speaks of belief in God.

O believers! When you rise up for Salah (prayer), wash your faces and your hands as far as the elbows, wipe your heads with wet hands and wash your feet to the ankles. If you had an emission of semen, then take a full bath. However, if you are sick or on a journey or you have used the toilet or you had intercourse with your women (your wife) and you do not find any water then resort to Tayammum - find clean soil and rub your faces and hands with it. Allah does not wish to burden you; He only wishes to purify you and to perfect His favor upon you, so that you may be thankful.

  - Muhammad Farooq-i-Azam Malik

O ye who believe! When ye rise up for prayer, wash your face, and your hands up to the elbows, and lightly rub your heads and (wash) your feet up to the ankles. And if ye are unclean, purify yourselves. And if ye are sick or on a journey, or one of you cometh from the closet, or ye have had contact with women, and ye find not water, then go to clean, high ground and rub your faces and your hands with some of it. Allah would not place a burden on you, but He would purify you and would perfect His grace upon you, that ye may give thanks.

  - Marmaduke Pickthall

And [always] remember the blessings which God has bestowed upon you, and the solemn pledge by which He bound you to Himself¹⁸ when you said, "We have heard, and we pay heed." Hence, remain conscious of God: verily, God has full knowledge of what is in the hearts [of men].

  - Mohammad Asad

Lit., "His solemn pledge by which He bound you". Since this pledge is given by the believers to God and not by Him to them, the personal pronoun in "His pledge" can have only one meaning: namely, God's binding thereby the believers to Himself.

Remember Allah's favor to you and the covenant which He ratified with you when you said: "We hear and we obey." Have fear of Allah; surely Allah knows the secrets of your hearts.

  - Muhammad Farooq-i-Azam Malik

Remember Allah's grace upon you and His covenant by which He bound you when ye said: We hear and we obey; and keep your duty to Allah. Allah knoweth what is in the breasts (of men).

  - Marmaduke Pickthall

0 YOU who have attained to faith! Be ever steadfast in your devotion to God, bearing witness to the truth in all equity; and never let hatred of anyone¹⁹ lead you into the sin of deviating from justice. Be just: this is closest to being God-conscious. And remain conscious of God: verily, God is aware of all that you do.

  - Mohammad Asad

Lit., "of people".

O believers! Be steadfast for the sake of Allah and bear true witness and let not the enmity of a people incite you to do injustice; do justice; that is nearer to piety. Fear Allah, surely Allah is fully aware of all your actions.

  - Muhammad Farooq-i-Azam Malik

O ye who believe! Be steadfast witnesses for Allah in equity, and let not hatred of any people seduce you that ye deal not justly. Deal justly, that is nearer to your duty. Observe your duty to Allah. Lo! Allah is Informed of what ye do.

  - Marmaduke Pickthall

God has promised unto those who attain to faith and do good works [that] theirs shall be forgiveness of sins, and a mighty reward;

  - Mohammad Asad

Allah has promised those who believe and do righteous deeds, forgiveness and mighty reward.

  - Muhammad Farooq-i-Azam Malik

Allah hath promised those who believe and do good works: Theirs will be forgiveness and immense reward.

  - Marmaduke Pickthall

whereas they who are bent on denying the truth and giving the lie to Our messages - they are destined for the blazing fire.

  - Mohammad Asad

As for those who reject faith and deny Our revelations, they will be the companions of hellfire.

  - Muhammad Farooq-i-Azam Malik

And they who disbelieve and deny Our revelations, such are rightful owners of hell.

  - Marmaduke Pickthall