Surah 5. Al-Ma'ida

And We caused Jesus, the son of Mary, to follow in the footsteps of those [earlier prophets], confirming the truth of whatever there still remained⁶³ of the Torah; and We vouchsafed unto him the Gospel, wherein there was guidance and light, confirming the truth of whatever there still remained of the Torah, and as a guidance and admonition unto the God-conscious.

  - Mohammad Asad

Regarding the meaning of ma bayna yadayhi (lit., "that which was between his [or "its"] hands") occurring twice in this verse, as well as in verse {48}, see surah {3}, note [3].

Then in the footsteps of those Prophets, We sent Isa (Jesus) the son of Maryam (Mary) confirming whatever remained intact from the Taurat in his time, and gave him the Injeel (Gospel) wherein was guidance and light, corroborating what was revealed in the Taurat; a guidance and an admonition to those who fear Allah.

  - Muhammad Farooq-i-Azam Malik

And We caused Jesus, son of Mary, to follow in their footsteps, confirming that which was (revealed) before him, and We bestowed on him the Gospel wherein is guidance and a light, confirming that which was (revealed) before it in the Torah a guidance and an admonition unto those who ward off (evil).

  - Marmaduke Pickthall

Let, then, the followers of the Gospel judge in accordance with what God has revealed therein: for they who do not judge in the light of what God has bestowed from on high - it is they, they who are truly iniquitous!

  - Mohammad Asad

Therefore, let the people who follow the Injeel (Gospel) judge by the Law which Allah has revealed therein; those who do not judge by the Law which Allah has revealed, they are the transgressors.

  - Muhammad Farooq-i-Azam Malik

Let the People of the Gospel judge by that which Allah hath revealed therein. Whoso judgeth not by that which Allah hath revealed; such are evil-livers.

  - Marmaduke Pickthall

And unto thee [O Prophet] have We vouchsafed this divine writ, setting forth the truth, confirming the truth of whatever there still remains of earlier revelations and determining what is true therein.⁶⁴ Judge, then, between the followers of earlier revelation in accordance with what God has bestowed from on high,⁶⁵ and do not follow their errant views, forsaking the truth that has come unto thee. Unto every one of you have We appointed a [different] law and way of life.⁶⁶ And if God had so willed, He could surely have made you all one single community: but [He willed it otherwise] in order to test you by means of what He has vouchsafed unto you.⁶⁷ Vie, then, with one another in doing good works! Unto God you all must return; and then He will make you truly understand all that on which you were wont to differ.⁶⁸

  - Mohammad Asad

The participle muhaymin is derived from the quadriliteral verb haymana, "he watched [over a thing]" or "controlled [it]", and is used here to describe the Qur'an as the determinant factor in deciding what is genuine and what is false in the earlier scriptures (see Manar VI, 410 ff.).

Lit., "judge, then, between them...", etc. This apparently applies not merely to judicial cases but also to opinions as to what is right or wrong in the ethical sense (see note [55] above). As is evident from the mention of the "followers of the Gospel" in the preceding verse, and of the Torah in the earlier passages, the people spoken of here are both the Jews and the Christians.

The expression "every one of you" denotes the various communities of which mankind is composed. The term shir'ah (or shar'ah) signifies, literally, "the way to a watering-place" (from which men and animals derive the element indispensable to their life), and is used in the Qur'an to denote a system of law necessary for a community's social and spiritual welfare. The term minhaj, on the other hand, denotes an "open road", usually in an abstract sense: that is, "a way of life". The terms shir'ah and minhaj are more restricted in their meaning than the term din, which comprises not merely the laws relating to a particular religion but also the basic, unchanging spiritual truths which, according to the Qur'an, have been preached by every one of God's apostles, while the particular body of laws (shir'ah or shari'ah) promulgated through them, and the way of life (minhaj) recommended by them, varied in accordance with the exigencies of the time and of each community's cultural development. This "unity in diversity" is frequently stressed in the Qur'an (e.g., in the first sentence of 2:148 , in {21:92-93}, or in 23:52 ff.). Because of the universal applicability and textual incorruptibility of its teachings - as well as of the fact that the Prophet Muhammad is "the seal of all prophets", i.e., the last of them (see 33:40 ) - the Qur'an represents the culminating point of all revelation and offers the final, perfect way to spiritual fulfilment. This uniqueness of the Qur'anic message does not, however, preclude all adherents of earlier faiths from attaining to God's grace: for - as the Qur'an so often points out - those among them who believe uncompromisingly in the One God and the Day of Judgment (i.e., in individual moral responsibility) and live righteously "need have no fear, and neither shall they grieve".

I.e., "in order to test, by means of the various religious laws imposed on you, your willingness to surrender yourselves to God and to obey Him" (Zamakhshari, Razi), "and thus to enable you to grow, spiritually and socially, in accordance with the God-willed law of evolution" (Manar VI, 418 f.).

Lit., "inform you of that wherein you used to differ" (cf. surah {2}, note [94]). Thus, the Qur'an impresses upon all who believe in God - Muslims and non-Muslims alike - that the differences in their religious practices should make them "vie with one another in doing good works" rather than lose themselves in mutual hostility.

To you, O Muhammad, We have revealed this Book with the truth. It confirms whatever has remained intact in the scriptures which came before it and also to safeguard it. Therefore, judge between people according to Allah's revelations and do not yield to their vain desires diverging from the truth which has come to you. We have ordained a law and a Way of life for each of you. If Allah wanted He could have made all of you a single nation. But He willed otherwise in order to test you in what He has given you; therefore try to excel one another in good deeds. Ultimately you all shall return to Allah; then He will show you the truth of those matters in which you dispute.

  - Muhammad Farooq-i-Azam Malik

And unto thee have We revealed the Scripture with the truth, confirming whatever Scripture was before it, and a watcher over it. So judge between them by that which Allah hath revealed, and follow not their desires away from the truth which hath come unto thee. For each We have appointed a divine law and a traced out way. Had Allah willed He could have made you one community. But that He may try you by that which He hath given you (He hath made you as ye are). So vie one with another in good works. Unto Allah ye will all return, and He will then inform you of that wherein ye differ.

  - Marmaduke Pickthall

Hence, judge between the followers of earlier revelation⁶⁹ in accordance with what God has bestowed from on high, and do not follow their errant views; and beware of them, lest they tempt thee away from aught that God has bestowed from on high upon thee. And if they turn away [from His commandments], then know that it is but God's will [thus] to afflict them for some of their sins:⁷⁰ for, behold, a great many people are iniquitous indeed.

  - Mohammad Asad

Lit., "between them": see notes [55] and [65] above.

The implication is that a conscious disregard of God's commandments brings with it its own punishment: namely, a gradual corruption of the community's moral values and, thus, growing social disruption and internecine conflict.

So, O Muhammad, pronounce judgement among them according to the law which Allah has revealed and do not follow their vain desires, and beware of them lest they tempt you away from a part of that which Allah has revealed to you. If they reject your judgement, then know that it is Allah's wish to scourge them for some of their sins. In fact most of the people are transgressors.

  - Muhammad Farooq-i-Azam Malik

So judge between them by that which Allah hath revealed, and follow not their desires, but beware of them lest they seduce thee from some part of that which Allah hath revealed unto thee. And if they turn away, then know that Allah's will is to smite them for some sin of theirs. Lo! many of mankind are evil-livers.

  - Marmaduke Pickthall

Do they, perchance, desire [to be ruled by] the law of pagan ignorance?⁷¹ But for people who have inner certainty, who could be a better law-giver than God?

  - Mohammad Asad

By "pagan ignorance" (jahiliyyah) is meant here not merely the time before the advent of the Prophet Muhammad but, in general, a state of affairs characterized by a lack of moral perception and a submission of all personal and communal concerns to the criterion of "expediency" alone: that is, exclusively to the consideration as to whether a particular aim or action is useful or damaging (in the short-term, practical sense of these words) to the interests of the person concerned or of the community to which he belongs. Inasmuch as this "law of expediency" is fundamentally opposed to the concepts of morality preached by every higher religion, it is described in the Qur'an as "the law (hukm) of pagan ignorance".

By rejecting the Divine Law do they wish to be judged by the laws of ignorance? Who is a better Judge than Allah for those who believe in Him?

  - Muhammad Farooq-i-Azam Malik

Is it a judgment of the time of (pagan) ignorance that they are seeking? Who is better than Allah for judgment to a people who have certainty (in their belief)?

  - Marmaduke Pickthall

O YOU who have attained to faith! Do not take the Jews and the Christians for your allies: they are but allies of one another⁷² - and whoever of you allies himself with them becomes, verily, one of them; behold, God does not guide such evildoers.⁷³

  - Mohammad Asad

According to most of the commentators (e.g., Tabari), this means that each of these two communities extends genuine friendship only to its own adherents - i.e., the Jews to the Jews, and the Christians to the Christians - and cannot, therefore, be expected to be really friendly towards the followers of the Qur'an. See also 8:73 , and the corresponding note.

Lit., "the evildoing folk": i.e., those who deliberately sin in this respect. As regards the meaning of the "alliance" referred to here, see 3:28 , and more particularly 4:139 and the corresponding note, which explains the reference to a believer's loss of his moral identity if he imitates the way of life of, or - in Qur'anic terminology - "allies himself" with, non-Muslims. However, as has been made abundantly clear in {60:7-9} (and implied in verse {57} of this surah), this prohibition of a "moral alliance" with non-Muslims does not constitute an injunction against normal, friendly relations with such of them as are well-disposed towards Muslims. It should be borne in mind that the term wali has several shades of meaning: "ally", "friend", "helper", "protector", etc. The choice of the particular term - and sometimes a combination of two terms - is always dependent on the context.

O believers! Take neither Jews nor Christians as your protecting friends: they are only protecting friends of one another. Whoever of you disobeys this commandment will be counted as one of them. Surely Allah does not guide the wrongdoers.

  - Muhammad Farooq-i-Azam Malik

O ye who believe! Take not the Jews and Christians for friends. They are friends one to another. He among you who taketh them for friends is (one) of them. Lo! Allah guideth not wrongdoing folk.

  - Marmaduke Pickthall

And yet thou canst see how those in whose hearts there is disease vie with one another for their good will,⁷⁴ saying [to themselves], "We fear lest fortune turn against us." But God may well bring about good fortune [for the believers] or any [other] event of His own devising,⁷⁵ whereupon those [waverers] will be smitten with remorse for the thoughts which they had secretly harboured within themselves -

  - Mohammad Asad

Lit., "vie with one another concerning them" - the pronoun referring to the hostile Jews and Christians, for whose good-will the hypocrites within the Muslim community vie with one another by trying to imitate their way of life.

Lit., "from Himself". Some of the commentators assume that the word fath (lit., "victory" or "triumph") occurring in this sentence is a prophetic reference to the conquest of Mecca by the Muslims. This assumption, however, cannot be correct since Mecca was already in the hands of the Muslims at the time of the revelation of this surah. Hence, the term fath has obviously been used here in its primary significance of "opening" - namely, the opening of good fortune. (Cf. the idiomatic expression futiha 'ala fulan, "so-and-so became fortunate" or "possessed of good fortune", mentioned in Zamakhshari's Asas and in the Taj al-'Arus.) The "other event of God's own devising" may conceivably refer to a divine punishment of the hypocrites apart from the good fortune that might be in store for the true believers.

You see that those who have the disease of hypocrisy in their hearts move around in their camp saying: "We fear lest a turn of fortune strike us." But soon when Allah gives you victory or a decision according to His will, they will regret for what they are hiding in their hearts.

  - Muhammad Farooq-i-Azam Malik

And thou seest those in whose heart is a disease race toward them, saying: We fear lest a change of fortune befall us. And it may happen that Allah will vouchsafe (unto thee) the victory, or a commandment from His presence. Then will they repent of their secret thoughts.

  - Marmaduke Pickthall

while those who have attained to faith will say [to one another], "Are these the self-same people who swore by God with their most solemn oaths that they were indeed with you? In vain are all their works, for now they are lost!"

  - Mohammad Asad

At that time the believers will say: "Are these the same people who solemnly swore by Allah that they would stand beside you?" As a result all their deeds will be voided and they will become losers.

  - Muhammad Farooq-i-Azam Malik

Then will the believers say (unto the people of the Scripture): Are these they who swore by Allah their most binding oaths that they were surely with you? Their works have failed, and they have become the losers.

  - Marmaduke Pickthall

0 you who have attained to faith! If you ever abandon your faith,⁷⁶ God will in time bring forth [in your stead] people whom He loves and who love Him - humble towards the believers, proud towards all who deny the truth: [people] who strive hard in God's cause, and do not fear to be censured by anyone who might censure them: such is God's favour, which He grants unto whom He wills. And God is infinite, all-knowing.

  - Mohammad Asad

Lit., "whosoever from among you abandons his faith" - i.e., in result of having placed his reliance on non-Muslims who are hostile to Islam, and having taken them for his "allies" and spiritual mentors.

O believers! Whoever among you renounce Islam let him do so; soon Allah will replace them with others whom He will love and they will love Him, who will be humble towards the believers, mighty against the unbelievers, striving hard in the way of Allah, and will have no fear of reproach from any critic. Now this is the grace of Allah which He bestows on whom He pleases. Allah has boundless knowledge.

  - Muhammad Farooq-i-Azam Malik

O ye who believe! Whoso of you becometh a renegade from his religion, (know that in his stead) Allah will bring a people whom He loveth and who love Him, humble toward believers, stern toward disbelievers, striving in the way of Allah and fearing not the blame of any blamer. Such is the grace of Allah which He giveth unto whom He will. Allah is All Embracing, All Knowing.

  - Marmaduke Pickthall

Behold, your only helper shall be God, and His Apostle, and those who have attained to faith - those that are constant in prayer, and render the purifying dues, and bow down [before God]:

  - Mohammad Asad

Your real protecting friends are Allah, His Rasool, and the fellow believers - the ones who establish Salah, pay Zakah and bow down humbly before Allah.

  - Muhammad Farooq-i-Azam Malik

Your friend can be only Allah; and His messenger and those who believe, who establish worship and pay the poor due, and bow down (in prayer).

  - Marmaduke Pickthall

for, all who ally themselves with God and His Apostle and those who have attained to faith - behold, it is they, the partisans of God, who shall be victorious!

  - Mohammad Asad

Whoever makes Allah, His Rasool and the fellow believers his protecting friends, must know that Allah's party will surely be victorious.

  - Muhammad Farooq-i-Azam Malik

And whoso taketh Allah and His messenger and those who believe for friend (will know that), lo! the party of Allah, they are the victorious.

  - Marmaduke Pickthall

O you who have attained to faith! Do not take for your friends such as mock at your faith and make a jest of it - be they from among those who have been vouchsafed revelation before your time, or [from among] those who deny the truth [of revelation as such] - but remain conscious of God, if you are [truly] believers:

  - Mohammad Asad

O believers! Do not make your protecting friends those, from among the people who were given the Book before you and the unbelievers, who have made your religion a mockery or pastime, fear Allah if you are true believers.

  - Muhammad Farooq-i-Azam Malik

O ye who believe! Choose not for friends such of those who received the Scripture before you, and of the disbelievers, as make a jest and sport of your religion. But keep your duty to Allah if ye are true believers.

  - Marmaduke Pickthall

for, when you call to prayer, they mock at it and make a jest of it - simply because they are people who do not use their reason.

  - Mohammad Asad

When you call for Salah (prayers) they make it as an object of mockery and pastime; this is because they are a people devoid of understanding.

  - Muhammad Farooq-i-Azam Malik

And when ye call to prayer they take it for a jest and sport. That is because they are a folk who understand not.

  - Marmaduke Pickthall

Say: "O followers of earlier revelation! Do you find fault with us for no other reason than that we believe in God [alone], and in that which He has bestowed from on high upon us as well as that which He has bestowed aforetime? - or [is it only] because most of you are iniquitous?"

  - Mohammad Asad

Tell them: "O people of the Book! What makes you against us other than that we believe in Allah and in what has been revealed to us and what was revealed before? The fact is that most of you are rebellious transgressors."

  - Muhammad Farooq-i-Azam Malik

Say: O, People of the Scripture! Do ye blame us for aught else than that we believe in Allah and that which is revealed unto us and that which was revealed aforetime, and because most of you are evil-livers?

  - Marmaduke Pickthall

Say: "Shall I tell you who, in the sight of God, deserves a yet worse retribution than these? They whom God has rejected and whom He has condemned, and whom He has turned into apes and swine because they worshipped the powers of evil:⁷⁷ these are yet worse in station, and farther astray from the right path [than the mockers]."⁷⁸

  - Mohammad Asad

Contrary to many of the commentators who take this reference to "apes and swine" in a literal sense, the famous tabi'i Mujahid explains it as a metaphorical description (mathal) of the moral degradation which such sinners undergo: they become wildly unpredictable like apes, and as abandoned to the pursuit of lusts as swine (Manar VI, 448). This interpretation has also been quoted by Tabari in his commentary on 2:65 . - As regards the expression "powers of evil" (at-taghut), see surah {2}, note [250].

As is evident from the following verses, the sinners who are even worse than the mockers are the hypocrites, and particularly those among them who claim to be followers of the Bible: for the obvious reason that, having been enlightened through revelation, they have no excuse for their behaviour. Although in verse {64} the Jews are specifically mentioned, the reference to the Gospel in verse {66} makes it clear that the Christians, too, cannot be exempted from this blame.

Ask them: "Should I tell you of those who will have even worse than this in retribution from Allah? They are those whom Allah has cursed; who have incurred His wrath; some of whom were turned into apes and pigs; who worshipped Taghut (forces of Shaitan); these are worse in rank and far more astray from the Right Way."

  - Muhammad Farooq-i-Azam Malik

Shall I tell thee of a worse (case) than theirs for retribution with Allah? Worse (is the case of him) whom Allah hath cursed, him on whom His wrath hath fallen! Worse is he of whose sort Allah hath turned some to apes and swine, and who serveth idols. Such are in worse plight and further astray from the plain road.

  - Marmaduke Pickthall

For, when they come unto you, they say, "We do believe": whereas, in fact, they come with the resolve to deny the truth, and depart in the same state.⁷⁹ But God is fully aware of all that they would conceal.

  - Mohammad Asad

Lit., "they come in with a denial of the truth and depart with it".

When they come to you they say: "We believe". But in fact, unbelievers they came and unbelievers they depart. Allah knows fully well what they hide in their hearts.

  - Muhammad Farooq-i-Azam Malik

When they come unto you (Muslims), they say: We believe; but they came in unbelief and they went out in the same; and Allah knoweth best what they were hiding.

  - Marmaduke Pickthall

And thou canst see many of them vie with one another in sinning and tyrannical conduct and in their swallowing of all that is evil.

  - Mohammad Asad

You will see many of them try to beat each other in sin and rancor, and they consume what is unlawful. Evil indeed is what they do.

  - Muhammad Farooq-i-Azam Malik

And thou seest many of them vying one with another in sin and transgression and their devouring of illicit gain. Verily evil is what they do.

  - Marmaduke Pickthall

Why do not their men of God and their rabbis⁸⁰ forbid them to make sinful assertions and to swallow all that is evil? Vile indeed is what they contrive!

  - Mohammad Asad

According to Baghawi, the rabbaniyun ("men of God" - see surah {3}, note [62]) stand, in this context, for the spiritual leaders of the Christians, and the ahbar for the Jewish scholars ("rabbis"). Regarding the "swallowing of evil", see note [54] above.

Why don't their Rabbis and the Jurists of laws forbid them from uttering sinful words and eating unlawful things? Evil indeed are their deeds.

  - Muhammad Farooq-i-Azam Malik

Why do not the rabbis and the priests forbid their evil speaking and their devouring of illicit gain? Verily evil is their handiwork.

  - Marmaduke Pickthall

And the Jews say, "God's hand is shackled!" It is their own hands that are shackled; and rejected [by God] are they because of this their assertion.⁸¹ Nay, but wide are His hands stretched out: He dispenses [bounty] as He wills. But all that has been bestowed from on high upon thee [O Prophet] by thy Sustainer is bound to make many of them yet more stubborn in their overweening arrogance and in their denial of the truth. And so We have cast enmity and hatred among the followers of the Bible,⁸² [to last] until Resurrection Day; every time they light the fires of war, God extinguishes them;⁸³ and they labour hard to spread corruption on earth: and God does not love the spreaders of corruption.

  - Mohammad Asad

The phrase "one's hand is shackled" is a metaphorical expression denoting niggardliness just as its opposite - "his hand is stretched out wide" - signifies generosity (Zamakhshari). However, these two phrases have a wider meaning as well, namely, "lack of power" and "unlimited power", respectively (Razi). It would appear that the Jews of Medina, seeing the poverty of the Muslims, derided the latters' conviction that they were struggling in God's cause and that the Qur'an was divinely revealed. Thus, the "saying" of the Jews mentioned in this verse "God's hand is shackled", as well as the parallel one in 3:181 , "God is poor while we are rich", is an elliptical description of their attitude towards Islam and the Muslims - an attitude of disbelief and sarcasm which could be thus paraphrased: "If it were true that you Muslims are doing God's will, He would have bestowed upon you power and riches; but your poverty and your weakness contradict your claim - or else this claim of yours amounts, in effect, to saying that God cannot help you." This outstanding example of the elliptic mode of expression (ijaz) so often employed in the Qur'an has, however, a meaning that goes far beyond the historical circumstances to which it refers: it illustrates an attitude of mind which mistakenly identifies worldy riches or power with one's being, spiritually, "on the right way". In the next sentence the Qur'an takes issue with this attitude and declares, in an equally elliptical manner, that all who see in material success an alleged evidence of God's approval are blind to spiritual truths and, therefore, morally powerless and utterly self-condemned in the sight of God.

Lit., "among them". The personal pronoun refers to the hypocritical followers of the Bible - both the Jews and the Christians - spoken of in verses {57-63} (Tabari); cf. verse {14} of this surah, which makes a similar statement with regard to such of the Christians as "have forgotten much of what they had been told to bear in mind".

I.e., He does not allow any of the warring parties to resolve their conflicts through a final victory. with the result that they continue to live in a state of "enmity and hatred".

The Jews say: Allah's hand is tied up! - Nay! Their own hands will be tied up and they will be cursed for what they utter. Both of His hands are free; However, He spends as He pleases. The fact is that the revelations that have come to you from Allah will surely make many of them increase in their wickedness and unbelief. We have stirred among them enmity and hatred till the Day of Resurrection. Every time they kindle the fire of war, Allah extinguishes it. Now they are striving to spread mischief in the land. Allah does not love those who do mischief.

  - Muhammad Farooq-i-Azam Malik

The Jews say: Allah's hand is fettered. Their hands are fettered and they are accursed for saying so. Nay, but both His hands are spread out wide in bounty. He bestoweth as He will. That which hath been revealed unto thee from thy Lord is certain to increase the contumacy and disbelief of many of them, and We have cast among them enmity and hatred till the Day of Resurrection. As often as they light a fire for war, Allah extinguisheth it. Their effort is for corruption in the land, and Allah loveth not corrupters.

  - Marmaduke Pickthall

If the followers of the Bible would but attain to [true] faith and God-consciousness, We should indeed efface their [previous] bad deeds, and indeed bring them into gardens of bliss;

  - Mohammad Asad

If instead of this rebellious attitude the people of the Book had believed and become Godfearing, We would certainly have removed their iniquities and admitted them to the gardens of Bliss (Paradise).

  - Muhammad Farooq-i-Azam Malik

If only the People of the Scripture would believe and ward off (evil), surely We should remit their sins from them and surely We should bring them into Gardens of Delight.

  - Marmaduke Pickthall