Al-Ma'idah

Summary

• 1 Covenants are to be fulfilled
• 2 Lawful meats
• 3 Islam completed
• 4 Food caught by hunting animals is permissible
• 5 Muslims permitted to eat the food of Jews and Christians, and to marry their women.
• 6 The law of purifications
• 7–8 Believers reminded of the covenant of Aqabah, Muslims should bear true testimony and not let hatred nor prejudice prevent them from being just.
• 9–11 Muslims told to remember God's forgiveness and favour or forget old quarrels
• 12 God’s covenant with Children of Israel
• 13–16 The disobedience of Jews and Christians exposed.
• 17–18 Jews and Christians mutation of God's teachings.
• 19 Jews and Christians are not the children of God. Muhammad sent as a prophet to remind and warn those who have not read or believed The Books of The People of The Book.
• 20–26 Israel’s rebellion at Kadesh Barnea
• 27–31 The story of Cain and Abel
• 32 The sin of homicide
• 33–40 The penalty of theft and reminder to repent. God's judgment supersedes all.
• 41–44 Warning against distortion of Scripture and judging only by God's revelations.
• 45–55 Reiteration of Quran as confirmation of earlier Scriptures. Muhammad to judge by laws of Allah.
• 56–58 Not to seek guardianship of those who mock faith. Allying oneself only with God.
• 59–63 Hypocrites warned. Believers warned and instructed.
• 64–65 The Jews exhort and warned
• 66 The hypocrisy and unbelief of the jews and Christians rebuked
• 67–69 Muhammad required to preach. He attestes to Jewish and Christian Scriptures. Believing Jews, Sabians, and Christians to be saved
• 70–71 The Jews rejected and killed the prophets of God
• 72–75 The doctrines of the Trinity and Christ’s Sonship rejection.
• 76–77 Reiteration of one God, upholding principles and warning against extremism.
• 78–81 Disobedient Jews condemned by Christ.
• 82–87 Jewish and Christian beliefs compared. Righteous rewarded. Disobedient to be punished. Warnings against transgressions.
• 88 Muslims to use lawful food and be mindful of God
• 89 Expiation for perjury
• 90–94 Shunning of intoxicants and gambling.
• 95–96 Law concerning hunting and gaming during pilgrimage
• 97–101 Pilgrimage and its rites enjoined. Forgiveness of deeds done before laws established.
• 102–104 Arab customs denounced
• 105–108 Accountable for only one's action. Wills to be attested by witnesses.
• 109 The prophets ignorant of the characters of their followers, only God knower of all.
• 110 Jesus—his miracles—God’s favour to him
• 111 The apostles of Jesus were Muslims
• 112–115 A table provided by God for Jesus and the apostles.
• 116–118 Jesus did not teach his followers to worship him and his mother.
• 119 The reward of the true believer.
• 120 God is sovereign

Placement and coherence with other surahs

The idea of textual relation between the verses of a chapter has been discussed under various titles such as nazm and munasabah in non-English literature and coherence, text relations, intertextuality, and unity in English literature. Hamiduddin Farahi, an Islamic scholar of the Indian subcontinent, is known for his work on the concept of nazm, or coherence, in the Quran. Fakhruddin al-Razi (died 1209 CE), Zarkashi (died 1392) and several other classical as well as contemporary Quranic scholars have contributed to the studies. The entire Qur'an thus emerges as a well-connected and systematic book.{{Citation | editor-link = John Esposito | editor-last = Esposito | editor-first = John | contribution-url = http://www.oxfordislamicstudies.com/article/opr/t125/e1086 | access-date = 2022-04-12 | archive-date = 2014-12-28 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20141228201612/http://www.oxfordislamicstudies.com/article/opr/t125/e1086 | url-status = dead

Exegesis

3 Verse of Ikmal al-Din

Main article: Verse of ikmal al-din

This verse was revealed at Arafat according to the hadith:

27–31 Cain and Abel

Main article: Cain and Abel in Islam

The story appears in the Quran 5:27–31:

5:28 If you raise your hand to kill me, I will not raise mine to kill you, because I fear Allah—the Lord of all worlds. 5:29 I want to let you bear your sin against me along with your other sins, then you will be one of those destined to the Fire. And that is the reward of the wrongdoers.” 5:30 Yet Cain convinced himself to kill his brother, so he killed him—becoming a loser. 5:31 Then Allah sent a crow digging ˹a grave˺ in the ground ˹for a dead crow˺, in order to show him how to bury the corpse of his brother. He cried, “Alas! Have I ˹even˺ failed to be like this crow and bury the corpse of my brother?” So he became regretful.|}}

33 Hirabah verse

This verse from Qur'anic chapter al-ma'idah () is known as the Hirabah verse (ayat al-hiraba), It specifies punishment for "those who wage war against Allah and His Messenger and strive to spread disorder in the land": The verbal noun form (i.e. ḥirabah) is frequently used in classical and modern books of Islamic jurisprudence, but neither the word ḥirabah nor the root verb ḥaraba occurs in the Quran. (Yuḥāribūna is the form used in Quran .)

According to early Islamic sources, the verse was revealed after some members of the Urayna tribe feigned conversion to Islam in order to steal Muslims' possessions and killed a young shepherd sent to teach them about the faith. In view of the broad and strong language of the verse, however, various state representatives beginning with the Umayyads have asserted that it applied to rebels in general.

The original meanings of the triliteral root ḥrb are to despoil someones wealth or property, and also fighting or committing sinful act. The Quran "refers to both meanings" in and .

51 Be wary of taking Jews and Christians as guardians

Some Muslim hard liners have used verses such as this one to denounce close relationships with non-Muslims and forbidding non-Muslims from becoming leaders in Muslim countries. However, other Muslim scholars such as Shafi Usmani see this as forbidding only "indiscriminating intimacy" which might confuse the "distinctive hallmarks of Islam", while all other equitable relations as being allowed. Ghamidi in the context of his Itmam al-Hujjah interpretation of Islam, restricts the subjects of this verse to only the Jews and Christians of the Muslim Prophet's time. Others argue that only belligerent non-Muslims are being referenced here. Verse 51 is preserved in the Ṣan‘ā’1 lower text.

Verse 54

Some hadith view the 'beloved' in verse 54 as Abu Musa al-Ash'ari. Verse 54 is preserved in the Ṣan‘ā’1 lower text.

Shia' view

On the Shia interpretation of this verse, God used the singular form "waliyyukum" implying the "wilayah" (Guardianship of the believers) is a single project. In other words, the "wilayah" of the messenger and that of Ali springs from God's wilayah. The word "wali" in the context of this verse cannot mean "friend" because there is not a single verse in the Quran where God says that any one of his messengers is a friend or helper of their followers. Further if the verse implied "wilayah" in the sense of friend or helper, then the singular form "waliyyukum" would not have been used but the plural form "awliya'ukum" would be appropriate because the "friendship" of God is unique.

Verses 72 and 73

Main article: Islamic view of the Trinity

Those who say "Allah is one in a Trinity" have certainly fallen into disbelief. There is only One God. If they do not stop saying this, those who disbelieve among them will be afflicted with a painful punishment.|}}

The Quran: An Encyclopedia notes that "The Quran’s objection to Christian practice is Christianity’s shirk, its worship of Jesus, Mary and the saints 'in derogation of Allah'. There is no justification in believing in the Trinity, for Jesus never would have condoned such a concept".

Verse 82

in Verse 82 it says, "Verily, you will find the strongest among men in enmity to the believers the Jews and those who commit Shirk, and you will find the nearest in love to the believers those who say: "We are Christians."

Verse 90

In Verse 90 it says, "O believers! Intoxicants, gambling, idols, and drawing lots for decisions are all evil of Satan’s handiwork. So shun them so you may be successful." This is a clear ruling in the Quran for Muslims to avoid intoxicants and gambling.

References

References

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