Sụrah al- Ma’idah

The sụrah is called al-Ma.idah (‘The Spread’) on account of the prominence of this word within it. Whereas the previous sụrah concluded by explaining a law concerning both the dead and the alive, this sụrah begins by clarifying a law affecting the living. Thus He says, glorified be He:

The repetition of the Bismillah at the beginning of each sụrah is to teach us to say this auspicious phrase whenever we wish to begin any action.

O ye who believe, fulfil your bonds. Permitted for ye are the dumb livestock, save as is recited upon ye, other than the permitted through hunting while ye are in sanctity; indeed Allah rules as He wishes.

(1)

O ye who believe,… It has been given that the ruling is universal, and that the address is to the believers in particular because it is them who benefit.

…fulfil your bonds…. The plural form denotes that it means every bond, every agreement and contract between different parties. Thus it includes the bonds between people, governmental treaties, and the compacts between Allah and His creatures. As it is the compacts between Allah and His creatures that are most deserving of respect, He begins with them, in His word:

…Permitted for ye are the dumb livestock,… The permitted and the banned (al-halal wa ‘l-haram) and all the other rules are bonds between Allah and the creatures, to the effect that the creatures will act according to the commandments, and that Allah in return for that will reward them with the garden—as He says, glorified be He, ‘Be happy with the sale that ye have contracted…’ ‘Dumb’ is given for bahimat, while ‘livestock’ is given for al-an’am, meaning camels, cattle, sheep and goats and suchlike, including deer and antelope, and asses and donkeys. Animals in general are called bahimat , from a root meaning to be obscure, as they are unable to distinguish, while the an’am are so-called because they are among Allah’s blessings (ni’am). The meaning of their being permitted is in slaughtering them, eating them and deriving benefits from them.

…save as is recited upon ye,… It means the prohibitions that are recited, and that is His word, ‘Banned for ye is the carrion, the blood, the flesh of the pig,…’ .

…other than the permitted through hunting while ye are in sanctity;… It means that which is normally permitted but which is banned for those who are in the sanctified state (iĥram) as part of the pilgrimage rites at Makkah.

…indeed Allah rules as He wishes. In His permitting things and banning things and all the other rules, everything is as to what He sees as best.

O ye who believe, count not as permitted the tokens of Allah, and nor the sacred month, and nor the offering and nor the garlanded, nor those headed for the sacred house seeking profusion from their Master and to content. And when ye are no more in sanctity, hunt. And hatred of a tribe who barred ye from the sacred mosque should not incite ye lest ye aggress. Co-operate unto righteousness and guardfulness, and co-operate not unto sin and enmity, and be guardful of Allah; indeed Allah is severe in punishment.

(2)

O ye who believe, count not as permitted the tokens of Allah,… ‘Tokens’ is given for sha‘a.ir, meaning something so closely connected to a thing that it becomes a sign of it. Thus the sha‘a.ir of hajj are the things closely connected to the hajj, and the sha‘a.ir of Allah are the things closely related to Him. Linguistically, sha‘a.ir is derived from al-sh’ir, meaning to realise, and perhaps the nature of the derivation is that things are realised through their sha‘a.ir. Or it is from al-sh’ir meaning the hair that grows from the body, as if the sha‘a.ir are as closely bound to a person as his own hair, or as his undergarments (shi‘ar) that are next to the skin, in contrast to the outer garments. In the ayah it is used unconditionally, and therefore includes all things that do or shall pertain directly to Allah, glorified be He, as far as He has not prohibited them. Accordingly, the teachings of Hajj are among the sha‘a.ir, and building fine domes over the tombs of the sanctified Imams is among the sha‘a.ir. The meaning of not counting the sha‘a.ir as permitted is to violate Allah’s sacred bounds.

…and nor the sacred month,… Do not consider it permitted, by fighting in it. The sacred months are Rajab, Dhu ‘l-Qa’adah, Dhu ‘l-Hijjah and Muharram.

…and nor the offering… It is the camel, cattle or sheep or goat that is presented as part of the hajj to the house of Allah for slaughter. The meaning of permitting it is that it is not to be counted as permitted instead of being delivered to its station.

…and nor the garlanded,… ‘The garlanded’ are the camels that are marked with a garland around their necks to show that they are to be slaughtered for the House. It is not permitted to normalise them after they have been assigned to Allah, and it is not permitted to revoke the assignation.

…nor those headed for the sacred house… Those heading for the sacred house to perform the hajj are not to be disturbed.

…seeking profusion from their Master and to content…. In intending to perform hajj they are seeking profusion—excess in reward, or wealth or suchlike—from Allah, and His contentment. As for those who come seeking corruption, to bar their way is permissible.

…And when ye are no more in sanctity, hunt…. Having left the state of ‘sanctity’ or iĥram, there is no prohibition against hunting. The imperative denotes permissibility, coming as it does against the background of His earlier word, ‘…other than the permitted through hunting while ye are in sanctity…’ The narrative was dealing with what is banned, and thus the second ayah came to clarify other prohibitions indicated in the first ayah, ‘…other than the permitted…’ .

Having banned the permitting of these prohibitions, He then clarifies, glorified be He, that these prohibitions remain in force whether the Muslims are aggressed against or not—in His word,

…And hatred of a tribe who barred ye from the sacred mosque should not incite ye lest ye aggress…. That a people have hatred and enmity for the Muslims and bar their way and prevent them from attending the sacred house, should not incite the Muslims to aggress against them through permitting what is here mentioned as banned.

…unto righteousness… Goodness and beneficence, obligatory and non-obligatory.

…and guardfulness,… ‘Guardfulness’ (taqwa) means abstinence from the banned (haram). The sense is that the Muslims are to assist and support each other in doing the good works and abstaining from the sins.

…and co-operate not unto sin… The Muslims are not to work together in committing the sins; when one of them wishes to do a sin, others are not to support him.

…and enmity,… It means wronging and aggression. This is related to His word, ‘…lest ye aggress…’. It has become common for people to co-operate in sin and in wrongfulness, and so He forbids the Muslims from doing this.

…and be guardful of Allah;… Refrain from opposing Him and disobeying Him.

…indeed Allah is severe in punishment. That is, towards those who oppose and disobey Him.

In conformity to the narrative’s turning on interdictions mostly to do with the hajj, He now recounts, glorified be He, another group of interdictions for which an exception was made in the previous ayah, in His word, ‘…save as is recited upon ye…’. Thus He says:

Banned for ye is the carrion, the blood, the flesh of the pig, that instituted for other than Allah, the strangled, the beaten, the dropped, the gored, that eaten by beasts save what ye finish off, and that slaughtered over rock-idols, and that ye divide by divining-arrows—that is perversion.

This day those who disbelieve have despaired about your religion, so fear them not, and fear Me.

This day I have perfected for ye your religion, and completed upon ye My blessing, and I am content for ye with Islam as a religion.

So whoso is obliged, in a hunger, not inclined to sin—indeed Allah is forgiving, merciful.

(3)

…is the carrion,… ‘Carrion’ (al-maytah) is that which dies other than in accordance to the instructions of the Legislation, or shari’ah, which are varied. In the case of livestock, for example, its cleanliness depends upon the passages of the throat being cut and other conditions; in the case of hunting that the prey is struck by a sharp missile; in the case of fish that they die outside of the water; and so on. The meaning of being banned is that we are banned from eating it, just as the banning of silk is that the men among us are not to wear it, the banning of one’s mother is against having sexual relations with her, and the banning of alcohol is the banning of drinking it.

…the blood,… This is clarified in His word, ‘…or blood gushed out…’. As for the blood that remains in the meat itself, that is not banned.

…the flesh of the pig,… It is given particular mention, though well-covered among the banned meats, due to the common practice of eating it and imagining it to be wholesome.

It is not to be overlooked that the interdictions divide into two categories. One category is on account of their harm—and as for what is said about modern science having neutralised the damage through sterilisation, so that when it is sterilised it is not banned, the answer is that there is no proof that even after sterilisation there is no harm undiscovered by science just as throughout these fourteen centuries science did not discover the harms that it has now discovered.

The other category of interdictions are those for a spiritual reason, like the meat over which the name of Allah, glorified be He, has not been recited. Such interdictions are not based on any physical harm, but because of deviation from the upright balance.

…what is instituted for other than Allah,… ‘Instituted’ is given for uhilla (with a ha) meaning to begin. It means the animal over which a name other than of Allah was recited at the time of slaughter.

…the fallen,… ‘Fallen’ is given for al-mutaraddiyah meaning that which falls from a high place. It means that which falls from a height and dies. The folk of the ignorance would kill animals in this way.

…the gored,… It means the animal which is gored by another animal and dies.

…that eaten by beasts… It means that which is the prey of another wild beast, partly consumed by it, as it is banned to eat that which remains.

…save what ye finish off,… It means carrying out the modes of the Legislation or shari’ah, such as the slaughter man being a Muslim, the animal’s being directed towards the qibla, the knife being metal, reciting the name of Allah at the time of slaughter, and slicing all four passages of the throat. It is an exception to ‘that eaten by beasts’, although the ruling is universal. It means that if we come across an animal eaten by a wild beast we ‘finish it off’ and it becomes permitted for us. The animal must have some life left in it, sufficient at least that after the death-stroke which finishes it off, in the word of the two Baqirs, bliss be upon them, ‘the minimum perception necessary is that you perceive it move its ear or its tail or roll its eyes.’

…and that slaughtered over rock-idols,… ‘Rock-idols’ is put for nusub plural of nisab, meaning a rock that used to be worshipped. It means the animals killed under the name of one of the idols, in seeking proximity to it.

…and that ye divide by divining-arrows… The ignorance-folk used to purchase a camel for slaughter, then they would write ten names on arrow-shafts. One shaft would have a single share, another two shares and so on up to seven, while three shafts would have no share at all. Then the ten would gather and a shaft would be taken up with the allotted share going to that particular person, and in this way the animal would be divided and the twenty-eight shares apportioned, and the three whose shafts had no share allotted to it would pay for the cost of the camel. It was a form of gambling and Islam banned it.

…—that is perversion…. The division by divining-arrows, or all the given interdictions—to commit them is ‘perversion’ (fisq), meaning the departure from obedience and being guilty of disobedience.

This day those who disbelieve have despaired about your religion,… In Majma’ we have it that the meaning of ‘this day’ (al-yawm) is not literal, but means ‘now’, while al-Qummi narrates that it was the day the Imam was appointed, and this is more in keeping with what is resounding (mutawatir) in the religious texts and recounted by the commentators on the circumstances of the ayah of perfection, that the disbelievers were expecting the Messenger’s life to be futile, in that he would pass on without leaving a successor, when they would rise against Islam and destroy it. But when the Messenger, may Allah condescend upon him and his House, established Imam ‘Ali, bliss be upon him, they were in despair for their plan, as they knew the Imam’s competence and his magnificent power. So when the Messenger, may Allah condescend upon him and his House, died and the disbelievers and the hypocrites knew that the successorship had been usurped, they rose against Islam seeking to pluck it out at the roots. The Messenger, may Allah condescend upon him and upon his House, was aware of this when he recommended the Imam to restraint and steadfastness in face of the internal and external wars that would come to Islam.

Here the question occurs to some as to why, when the Imam had been set up to rule, one party (the nakithin) would break faith, another party (the mariqin) would renegade, and a further party (the qasitin) would deviate? The answer is that the circumstances that had occupied the Islamic movement, had transformed the teachings of Islam, so that the Imam had to re-establish the Islamic principles anew.

That is the kind of situation that produces turmoil and disagreement—the station of the Prophets when they called their peoples to goodness. At that time the external dangers were remote, as the disbelievers had been all but eradicated and Islam—even a superficial form of it—was strong. The internal wars had no effect on the balance between Islam and disbelief, as no matter how weak Islam became due to the internal wars, the disbelievers simply had no presence such as would threaten the existence of Islam.

…so fear them not,… The Muslims were not to fear that they would defeat Islam in the way they feared before.

…and fear Me…. That is, fear committing an act of disobedience and fear contravening the command of Allah and His Messengers.

…I have perfected for ye your religion,… By the appointment of Imam ‘Ali, bliss be upon him, as the successor (khalifah) after the Messenger, may Allah condescend upon him and his House,.

…and completed upon ye My blessing,… The blessing of faith is deficient without the blessing of guardianship or patronage (wilayah).

…and I am content for ye with Islam as a religion…. Islam has degrees, and that day the Muslims were to rise to a lofty level, and He was content with them provided they attained to that level. Here the meaning of being content (riža) is not the opposite of anger, but the opposite of deficiency—just as one wishing to have a house built may say to the decorators that he is not content with it, meaning that his satisfaction is not complete. He will only say that he is satisfied when the house is finished.

The Messenger’s setting up Imam Ali, bliss be upon him, as the official successor took place after the Farewell Hajj (ĥijjat ul-wida’), with the presence of a hundred and twenty thousand companions, men and women. He mounted the minbar and gave a lengthy discourse, and at the end of it he said, ‘He whose patron I am—this ‘Ali is his patron. O Allah, patronise whomso accepts his patronage, show enmity to whomso shows enmity to him, succour whomso succours him, and forsake whomso forsakes him’—all the while he was holding ‘Ali’s hand up high. Then he descended from the mimbar and commanded the Muslims to salam him as ‘Amir al-Mu.minin, the Commander of the believers. And he remained there for three days until their allegiance was complete, and then they set off for the return to Madina.

So whoso is obliged,… That is, obliged to eat the forbidden things that have been given.

…in hunger,… ‘Hunger’ (makhmasah) means a drought or famine. It is so-called on account of how it causes the stomachs to go hungry.

…not inclined to sin… When obliged in this way, one must not be excessive. If one needs to drink half a tumbler of wine, for example, one is not to drink a tumbler, and so on with the carrion and the other interdictions.

…—indeed Allah is forgiving,… He covers up this essential evil in the sense of not punishing it.

…merciful. He mercies humankind, and so it is not fitting for them to break His commands except in the most severe circumstances.

Having clarified some of the interdictions, the narrative turns to clarify some permitted things, so as to balance the two. It is narrated on the circumstances of the descent of this ayah that the Messenger, may Allah condescend upon him and his House, ordered dogs to be killed, and then he was questioned as to any exceptions, and so the ayah was sent down permitting trained dogs in which there is some benefit, forbidding the withholding of those in which there is no benefit, nd commanding the killing of savage beasts and harmful, annoying creatures:

They ask thee what it is that is permitted for them. Say, ‘Permitted for ye are the wholesomenesses, and what beasts ye have taught as houndsmen—ye teach them as Allah has taught ye—so eat of what they lay hold of for ye, and recount the name of Allah upon it; and be guardful of Allah, indeed Allah is swift of reckoning.

(4)

They ask thee… They asked the Messenger, may Allah condescend upon him and his House,

…what it is that is permitted for them…. The context in the narrative shows that what is meant are things permitted to be eaten.

…Say,… The Messenger, may Allah condescend upon him and his House, was to tell them.

…‘Permitted for ye are the wholesomenesses,… ‘Wholesomenesses’ is coined for tayyibat, plural of tayyib, meaning that which has nothing unclean in it, such as human nature is not offended by it. Thus the Legislation permits some consumables but not others on this basis, even though common understanding may not perceive that one thing is wholesome and another is foul. Therefore, that which the Legislator permits is wholesome, even though common understanding may consider it to be foul, and that which He bans is foul, even though common understanding may consider it to be wholesome.

..what beasts ye have taught … The direct mention of hunting is dropped because it is covered by the later ‘what they lay hold of for ye’ . Dogs are called ‘beasts’ along with other animals because they wound their prey. But He then makes it particular, glorified be He, in His word:

…as houndsmen… That is, while the hunter is a houndsman, meaning the owner of it and its trainer.

…—ye teach them as Allah has taught ye… The houndsman teaches the dog just as Allah has taught man to train dogs. Perhaps the pronoun ‘them’ (hunna) in teach them, which is of the form used for the rational feminine, is used in keeping with the topic of teaching and learning. Otherwise the rule is that the form ha be used. In the same way, the purpose of ‘as Allah has taught ye…’ is to penetrate the heart and direct it to Allah, glorified be He, for the wise Quran constantly connects the rules and accounts to this universal relationship—the cognisance of Allah and the journey of the soul towards Him—throughout.

…—so eat of what they lay hold of for ye,… The hunters are to eat of the prey which their dogs catch for them, rather than for themselves, for that is banned.

…and recount the name of Allah upon it;… It means at the moment of dispatching the dog.

It is not to go unmentioned that the condition given in ‘as houndsmen’ excludes hunting with other beasts when the hunter does not make the final stroke. Al-Hažrami narrates from Imam Sadiq, bliss be upon him, saying that he asked about hunting with the falcon, the hawk, the lynx and the dog. He said, ‘Eat none of it save what you finish off—except for the dog.’

He said, ‘Eat, for indeed Allah says, “And what beasts ye have taught as houndsmen—ye teach them as Allah has taught ye—so eat of what they lay hold of for ye, and recount the name of Allah upon it;”’’Then he said, ‘Every beast lays hold of the prey for itself except the trained dog, for that lays hold of it for its master.’

…and be guardful of Allah,… That is, in His commands and prohibitions, so as not to attain to that which He bans.

…indeed Allah is swift of reckoning. Man may imagine that life in the world is lengthy, and that His recompense is remote, but in fact he remains but for a little while before he suddenly sees himself before the reckoning. The Commander of the believers has said, ‘…as if the world never was and as if the hereafter was never away…’

This day the wholesomenesses are permitted for ye, and the food of those granted the book is permitted for ye, and your food is permitted for them. And the safeguarded among the believeresses and the safeguarded women of those granted the book before ye, when ye give them their wages as safeguarded men and not as fornicators and not as the takers of ‘friends’—and whoso disbelieves in the faith, his actions are truly for nothing, and in the hereafter he is of the losers.

(5)

This day…This day, when the clarification of all the laws has been completed, Allah, glorified be He, sums up the things that are permitted, in His word:

…the wholesomenesses are permitted for ye,… The directive covers the wholesome in food, marriage, dwelling, clothing and more, as shown by the conjunct below, ‘and the safeguarded…’. In this it contrasts with the previous ayah which was particularly about food, according to the context. This ayah is proof that the principle of all things is that they are permitted save as is disgusting—and it is clear that the disgusting is discerned by the Legislation and, rarely, by reason.

…and the food of those granted the book… Those unto whom was sent an heavenly book, like the Jews, Christians and Zoroastrians.

…is permitted for ye,… ‘Food’ (ta ‘am) here either means ‘cereals’, ‘grain’ and suchlike, as we have it in narrations and is still common today, or it means all food in general, save as is excepted in His word about meat, ‘what is instituted for other than Allah…’ (above)—and this exception is a matter of consensus (ijma’) along with other exceptions like any food which has been touched moistly by the book-folk, since they are partnerists as shown by His word, ‘Glory be His over their partnerism ’ while another ayah shows the partnerists to be unclean, in His word, ‘The partnerists are but unclean…’ The full discussion is undertaken in fiqh.

Here the question may arise as to the point of this stipulation, given that the ‘food’ in this sense of the people who are not book-folk is also permitted. The answer is that this is a case of dealing with what is predominant, in that the Muslims are mostly in contraction with the book-folk—and this is clearly proven by:

…and your food is permitted for them…. It is obvious that the food of the Muslims is permitted even for the idol-worshipping partnerist. If we take the phrase to be universal and pertaining to all food in general, then is the meaning of our food being permitted for them relative to us, in that their food is permitted for us, or is it relative to them, in that it is permitted for them to eat what we are permitted to eat? It seems that the second is correct, though the first is not without strength, for the principle that we ‘bind them to that which they are bound’’ demands that the food banned for them like our meat for the Jews, for example, is not permissible for them. This is subject to controversy.

…the safeguarded among the believeresses… ‘Believeresses’ is coined for mu.minat . Permitted for the Muslims are the chaste women who believe and who safeguard themselves against the banned—they may marry them. As for the unchaste fornicatresess, the view is widespread among the learned that marriage with them is permitted as per the sunnah, and there is nothing implicit in the ayah against this, since it is established in the principles of jurisprudence that the implicit meanings of descriptive nouns (alqab) have no jurisprudential value.

…and the safeguarded women of those granted the book before ye,… It means the Jews, Christians and Zoroastrians each of whom, according to what is most valid, had a book. The scholars differ over whether they are permitted in permanent marriage when the view is widespread that they can only be taken in temporary marriage. Now, if we maintain the non-permissibility of permanent marriage with them, it would be a case of a general rule [i.e. that all valid forms of marriage are lawful] being qualified and rendered particular by the sunnah [so that only temporary marriage in particular is lawful], and it is firmly established that for the general rulings of the Book to be qualified and rendered particular by the sunnah is permissible.

…when ye give them their wages… It means the dowers that are due to them. It does not mean that the dower must be paid at once upon marriage, but that and also the intention to pay it later. The ayah has no implicit content annulling the state or condition that marriage establishes, to the effect that a man who does not intend to pay the dower and does not pay it is not in fact married and is forbidden to have relations with the woman he has married. Rather the ayah expresses a rule of duty (ĥukm taklifi), and means that to do otherwise is banned. The form of expression is extreme in order to encourage the payment of the dower.

…as safeguarded men… Whether with a Muslim lady or a bookist, the Muslim takes intimacy with her through beneficence and marriage.

…and not as fornicators… It emphasises His word ‘as safeguarded men’.

…and not as the takers of ‘friends’… It refers to a man taking a single woman with whom he permanently fornicates. This is not permitted for a man in respect to a Muslimah or a bookist, and nor vice-versa.

Much the same as this was given in Sụrah al-Nisa, and the sum content is that relations with chaste Muslim women and with chaste bookist women is permitted for the Muslims and is wholesome, and they must give them their dowers. But the relations must be through marriage, and not through adultery and not through taking them as ‘girlfriends’, the two forms common among non-Muslims.

It is then given that the prohibitions and the permissions that have been recounted are all the requisites of belief, which it is essential to cling to:

…—and whoso disbelieves in the faith,… It is another way of phrasing disobedience and the departure from the path of obedience. Perhaps it is used here to show that disbelief—in the context of the prohibitions and the permissions—is not a matter of rejecting the principles of belief but of the requisites (furụ’), that is to say the obligatory actions. It has already been given that disbelief (kufr) is in two categories: disbelief in the principles, which removes a person from being Muslim; and disbelief in the requisites—as in Sụrah Hajj, ‘…and whoso disbelieves…’ and ‘…and if ye disbelieve…’. This makes a person perverse (fasiq).

…his actions are truly for nothing,… ‘Are for nothing’ is given for ĥabitat , meaning the actions that are not worthy of a reward, as He says, glorified be He, ‘Allah accepts but from the guardful.'

…and in the hereafter he is of the losers. That day the disbeliever in the faith will be among those who have lost themselves, in that they will deserve punishment, whereas their obedient comrades will deserve the rewards.

As the narrative touched on the physical forms of wholesomeness and delights, now comes the turn of the spiritual forms of wholesomeness and delight, of which the most wholesome and delightful is the prayer—given the cleansing it incorporates:

O ye who believe, when ye stand for the prayer, wash your faces and your arms as far as the elbows, and wipe of your heads and your feet to the mounds.

And if ye are soiled, cleanse; and if ye are ill or on a journey, or one of ye comes from the privy, or ye have touched women, and then ye find no water, so intend on wholesome ground and wipe of your faces and your hands in it.

Allah wishes not to put ye into distress; nay, He wishes to cleanse ye and to complete His blessing upon ye, that ye might give thanks.

(6)

O ye who believe, when ye stand for the prayer,… That is, when they are intending to perform the prayer, for the person wishing to do a thing stands in order to do it. Have you not seen how when people are sitting occupied with their own affairs—as soon as the azan is called they rise in order to perform the prayer.

…wash your faces… From the hairline unto the chin length-wise, and that which is covered between the thumb and the middle finger breadth-wise, in pure, clean, lawful water with a wash that flows naturally from top to bottom.

…and your arms… The arms are to be washed, and because by ‘arm’ (yad) it could be thought that what is meant is the whole arm, He specifies in His word:

…as far as the elbows,… ‘As far as’ is given for ila because the meaning here is not to indicate the destination of the wash, its final point, but rather the limit of the area washed. If you were to say to someone ill, ‘apply the ointment to your arms to the elbows,’ it would not be understood that you meant that he should begin at the fingertips and apply the ointment in an upward direction towards and finishing at the elbows. Accordingly one starts the wash at the top, for it is to be a natural wash—as we have it from the sunnah.

…and wipe of your heads… ‘Of’ is given for bi. It signifies that what is meant is a part of the head, and that part is the top quarter of the head from the crown to the hairline.

…to the mounds…. These are the arches of the feet. The sequence of the wužụ is certain: washing the face, then the right arm and then the left arm, and then wiping the head and then the right foot and then the left foot—and the wiping is to be with the water remaining from the washing.

…And if ye are soiled,… ‘Soiled’ is put for junub, It means to be removed from cleanliness. One becomes ‘soiled’ (junub) by the emission of sperm or entry into a woman.

…cleanse;… Cleansing is by plunge-bathing into the water all at once, or sequential-bathing by washing the head and neck, then the right side and then the left side.

…and if ye are ill… That is, unable to use water for the wužụ, because of illness.

…or on a journey,… It has been given that journeys are mentioned in particular because normally water would not be available.

…or one of ye comes from the privy,… It is a way of saying passing urine or faeces.

…so intend… ‘Intend’ is the literal meaning of tayammum. Thus the meaning of the ayah, in short, is: ‘Whoso wants to perform the prayer must take wužụ , and if he is sexually soiled he must take ghusl. But if he is ill and water would harm him, or is travelling or is soiled but cannot find water, then he must use the earth and take tayammum. This leaves His word, ‘or one of ye comes from the privy’ which seems to be incongruous with the others. Perhaps it comes here on account of how it is prevalent to use the privy when one turns to perform the prayer.

…and wipe of your faces… ‘Of’ is put for bi, which is to show that it is a part of the face that must be wiped. That part is from the hairline to the top of the nose.

…in it… It is necessary to begin by striking the earth with the hands, and then wiping them, so as to meet the condition ‘in it’.

…Allah wishes not to put ye into distress;… This bidding to wužụ,ghusl and tayammum are not to confine us or put us into distress. On the contrary:

…nay, He wishes to cleanse ye… Allah, glorified be He, wishes to cleanse us of the external and internal dirt and impurities. Modern science has now confirmed that earth as a cleanser is a degree less efficient than water.

…and to complete His blessing upon ye,… By guiding us to our best interests, all of them, after His having guided us to belief.

…that ye might give thanks. That we might thank Him for His blessings upon us and His guiding us to our best interests and to that which will draw us near unto Him, glorified be He.

As Allah, glorified be He, has completed His favour and blessing upon us, so it is for us to meet this in the appropriate way:

And so recount Allah’s blessing upon ye and His pact that He compacted ye by, when ye said, ‘We hear and we obey.’ And be guardful of Allah; indeed Allah is aware of what fills the breasts.

(7)

And so recount Allah’s blessing upon ye and His pact that He compacted ye by,… The Muslims must call to mind Allah’s blessing and His pact by which He binds us, meaning belief and obedience, for Allah takes the pacts of the nations at the hands of the Prophets.

…‘We hear and we obey.’… It is for us to be earnestly obedient in accordance to this compact, while it is for Allah to bring us the goodness of the world and the hereafter. Allah has fulfilled His side of the pact, and so now it is up to us.

…And be guardful of Allah;… It is for us to act in accordance to His commands and prohibitions.

…indeed Allah is aware of what fills the breasts. ‘What fills the breasts’ is given for dhat al-sudụr, literally ‘possessor of the breasts’. It means whatever holds or fills the breast, constantly attached to it, indicating the deepest motivations and innermost secrets and feelings that are constant conditions of the heart, situated in the breast. Though they are hidden there, they are perfectly exposed to the knowledge of Allah, and Allah is aware of them.

Here the narrative returns to the necessity of goodness and of refraining from transgression—as preceded in His word, ‘And hatred of a tribe who barred ye … should not incite ye lest ye aggress.’ And we find this repeatedly in the wise Quran, in that it softens the tone by mentioning the prayer and suchlike, and then returns to the main topic of the narrative after having softened the tone and put it into the general context of obedience to Allah, glorified be He. Therefore, on the theme of the pact unto which Allah, glorified be He, has compacted the Muslims:

O ye who believe, be upholders for Allah, witnesses in fairness, and let not a tribe’s enmity incite ye to incline. Be just, that is nearer to guardfulness; and be guardful of Allah; indeed Allah is informed of what ye do.

(8)

O ye who believe, be upholders for Allah,… It means being earnestly upstanding for Allah and His command and His contentment.

…and let not a tribe’s enmity… That is, the enmity of the enemy towards the Muslim.

…incite ye to incline…. It means incline against them in judgements. How many people when they have an enemy are unjust towards him, generally, out of revenge and vengeance, due to the grudge and spite they have in their breasts.

…Be just, that is nearer to guardfulness;… The meaning is not that kindness is near to guardfulness, but justice is nearer. In such usage as this the meaning is not relative.

…and be guardful of Allah;… That is, by refraining from His prohibitions and implementing His commands.

…indeed Allah is informed of what ye do. He shall reward us for our actions—if good then good, and if bad then bad.

Allah promises those who believe and perform the virtuous deeds: theirs is forgiveness and a magnificent wage.

(9)

Allah promises those who believe… That is, those who believe in Allah and His Messengers and that which they brought.

…and perform the virtuous deeds:… And this necessitates the avoidance of the evils.

…and a magnificent wage. The structure of this phrase gives the sense of certainty.

And those who disbelieve and belie Our signs: those are the companions of the inferno.

(10)

And those who disbelieve… Those who do not believe with a correct, valid faith.

…and belie Our signs:… His signs are His proofs and evidences for His oneness and the other principles.

…those are the companions of the inferno. They shall be onstantly bonded to the fire, eternal in it.

He then reminds the believers of one of His blessings, glorified be He, in that He was true to His pact with them when He saved them from the plots of their enemies:

O ye who believe, recount Allah’s blessing upon ye when a tribe determined to stretch their hands towards ye, so He repulsed their hands from ye. And be guardful of Allah; and upon Allah should the believers rely.

(11)

O ye who believe, recount Allah’s blessing upon ye when a tribe determined to stretch their hands towards ye,… ‘Stretching their hands’ is a way of saying that they wished to harm the Muslims and kill them and eradicate them. Al-Qumi says that the ayah relates to the peace of Hudaibiyah, while it is also said that it is general, meaning everyone who wants to harm the Muslims. It is also said that the meaning of ‘a tribe’ is particular to the Bani al-Nazir who planned to assassinate the Messenger, may Allah condescend upon him and his House, except that he was informed of that and was saved. And there are other views.

…so He repulsed their hands from ye…. Allah, glorified be He, kept their harm away from the Muslims, and in fact succoured them over their enemies.

…And be guardful of Allah;… By implementing His commands and refraining from His prohibitions.

…and upon Allah should the believers rely. The believers entrust their affairs to Him, glorified be He, and put Him as their succourer, their supporter.

If this ayah was about the Bani al-Nazir, who were Jews, the link between it and this ayah is clear, for here He explains, glorified be He, that the Jews betrayed their Prophets after Allah had showered them with all kinds of goodness and blessing—how then would they not betray the Messenger? However, it is possible that the link is on the basis of the pact, in that Allah, glorified be He, wishes to remind the Muslims not to be like the Jews who were treacherous and broke their compact after He had taken it from them—and He has said, ‘…and His pact that He compacted ye by,…’:

And truly Allah took the compact of the sons of Isra.il, and We raised among them twelve headmen and Allah said, ‘Indeed I am with ye. Truly if ye establish the prayer, pay the zakat, believe in My prophets and honour them and lend to Allah a beautiful loan, truly I shall cover your evils and truly I shall enter ye into gardens, rivers flowing beneath them. So whoso disbelieves after this among ye, he has truly strayed from the evenness of path.’

(12)

And truly Allah took the compact of the sons of Isra.il,… He took their firm pledge through the tongues of His Prophets.

…and We raised among them twelve headmen… ‘Headmen’ is given for naqib, meaning ‘headman’, ‘chief’ from naqb, meaning to discover, for the naqib—who is responsible for his tribe—discovers their secrets and understands their hearts so as to direct them towards their best interests as a community. It means that Allah ordered Musa to raise twelve men from the twelve tribes to reconnoitre and report back to their tribe about the land of Syria and its sturdy inhabitants. He chose a man from each tribe to be their ‘headman’, their trusted advisor and confidante, but when they returned they forbade their tribe from fighting them on account of their strength and physical stature. Among them were Kalib b. Yụqna (Caleb) and Yụsha’ b. Nụn (Joshua).

…and Allah said, ‘Indeed I am with ye…. He said that to the sons of Isra.il, and the meaning of His being with them is that He would support them, succour them and guide them.

…Truly if ye establish the prayer, pay the zakat, believe in My prophets… It means the Prophets who came after Mụsa, and it is for this reason that the mention of belief comes after that of establishing the prayer and paying the zakat.

…and honour them… Respecting them, supporting them and giving them succour.

…and lend to Allah a beautiful loan,… By dispensing in His path, for that is like a loan which is given and then taken back. The meaning of a loan being beautiful is that it be free of beholdenness (mann) and of annoyance (idha), and with no motivation other than Allah, glorified be He.

…and truly I shall enter ye into gardens, rivers flowing beneath them…. The rivers flow beneath the trees and palaces of the garden.

…he has truly strayed from the evenness of path.’ He has erred from the middle of the path, for the evenness (sawa) of a thing is its centre.

So for their breaking their pact, We cursed them and We put their hearts to be hard—they distorted the words from their places and forgot a portion of what they were recounted, and thou shall ever be appraised of a traitor among them, save a few of them. So pardon them and let them off; indeed Allah loves the beautifiers.

(13)

So for their breaking their pact,… The Jews broke the compact between themselves and Allah, for they gave up the prayer, denied the zakat, belied the Prophets and murdered them.

…We cursed them… Allah removed them from His mercy, turning some of them into apes and pigs, and making them perpetually rejected wanderers with no base to stand on.

…and We put their hearts to be hard… ‘Hard’ is given for qasiya, meaning harsh, rough and cruel—remote from the truth and inclined to wrongfulness and disbelief. His making their hearts hard in this way means that He deprived them of His grace so that their essential qualities became rotten, like the teacher whose pupil disobeys him—he stops teaching him and refining his ethics so that the pupil is left in ignorance with foul manners.

…—they distorted the words from their places… Such distortions were of two kinds: the distortion of removing some words from the Torah and replacing them with others, and the distortion of interpreting them in ways other than what was meant.

…and forgot a portion of what they were recounted,… It means the Laws that Allah recounted for them in the Torah, for some of the Torah was deleted because they did not wish to teach the people. Or the meaning of ‘forgot’ is ‘neglected’, as in His word, ‘…they forgot Allah and so He forgot them…’

…and thou shall ever be appraised of a traitor among them,… The Messenger, may Allah condescend upon him and his House, would always face the problem of treachery from a party of them or from an individual among them, who would say a word and then act oppositely, and would bind a promise and then break it—just as the Bani Nazir were treacherous after binding their pact.

…save a few of them…. The exception is made from all of them, or the final phrase. That is, a few of them who are not like that, such as ‘Abdullah b. Salam, or a few of them are not treacherous.

…So pardon them and let them off;… The Messenger, may Allah condescend upon him and his House, was to pardon them and let them off, for he was not revengeful, as that was below his station.

…indeed Allah loves the beautifiers. Pardoning and letting off is beautiful behaviour, and beautiful behaviour is beloved, even towards the guilty.

This was about the Jews—and as for the Christians, in some respects their essential conditions are no better than those of the Jews:

And of those who say, ‘We are Christians’—We took their pact, thereupon they forgot a portion of what they were recounted, so We produced between them enmity and hatred until the day of resurrection, and Allah shall shortly announce to them what they made.

(14)

And of those who say, ‘We are Christians’… They say they are Christians, without believing it in their hearts. It is like you might say, ‘He says he is Muslim,’ when you mean that he is not a Muslim in reality, but only in words.

…—We took their pact,… To the effect that they would maintain the prayer and pay the zakat, believe in the Prophets and follow the commands of Allah.

…thereupon they forgot a portion of what they were recounted,… They forgot just as the Jews before them had forgotten.

…so We produced between them enmity and hatred until the day of resurrection,… They divided into different groups with some of them hating others with an unparalleled hatred, and their hatred of each other reached the point that it even outstripped their hatred of the Jews and the Muslims and the idolaters. And history has constantly witnessed the mutual slaughter between the Christian sects, while the present enmity between the Catholics, the Protestants and the Orthodox churches is in no need of proof. This is one of the miraculous aspects of the holy Quran, like its informing us of the degradation of the Jews, and that humiliation and degradation are impressed upon them.

This raises the question of how their enmity will continue until the day of resurrection when during the age of the Mahdi everyone will submit themselves to Allah, and moreover the day of resurrection will only take place decades after all of humankind have died. The answer is that the term simply means that the enmity will exist for as long as they exist, and such meanings are generally summed up in the term ‘until judgement day’, or ‘until the resurrection’.

…announce to them what they made. The nature of this phrase is to convey a severe warning, like it may be said to a criminal, ‘Tomorrow I will inform you of what you have done today,’ the point of which is to warn him of a severe punishment.

He then addresses, glorified be He, the book-folk in a general way so as to guide them to the path’s evenness:

O ye the book-folk, Our messenger has truly come to ye, clarifying for ye much of the book that ye concealed, and pardoning much. Truly a light has come to ye from Allah, and a clear book.

(15)

O ye the book-folk,… The address is to the Jews and the Christians, and perhaps the Zoroastrians are also included.

…Our messenger has truly come to ye,… It means Muhammad, Allah condescend upon him and upon his House.

…clarifying for ye much of the book that ye concealed,… It means the laws of Allah, glorified be He, that contradicted their interests, and so they hid them from the people so that they would remain as they were in their deviation.

…and pardoning much…. That is, much for which they deserved punishment. Or it is the pardoning or mitigating of some of the laws that had been imposed on them in punishment, as He says, glorified be He, ‘…for the wronging of those judaised, We banned for them some wholesomenesses that were permitted for them,…’, so that the opportunity had presented itself for them to make amends for that which had passed them by.

…Truly a light has come to ye from Allah,… The light that had come to the book-folk was the Messenger, may Allah condescend upon him and upon his House, for just as a light in the objective world is the means of being guided to sensory matters in the darkness, so too a spiritual light is the means of being guided on the difficult passes of life in the darkness of the desires and ignorance.

…and a clear book. The Quran, for it is clear and illuminating with no confusion in it and no obscurity.

Allah guides by that whoso follows His satisfaction—the paths of bliss—and taking them out of the darknesses into the light with His permission, and guiding them to a straight road.

(16)

Allah guides by that… ‘That’ is put for hi , the masculine singular pronoun which here pertains to both the light and the book, as He says, glorified be He, ‘…look at thy food and thy drink, it has not spoiled…’ meaning that both the food and the drink were unspoiled.

…whoso follows His satisfaction… That is, whoever pursues the satisfaction of Allah by trying to earn it by accepting the Quran and the prophethood of His Prophet , may Allah condescend upon him and upon his House.

…—the paths of bliss—… ‘Bliss’ is put for salam, meaning salamah, the condition of being sound and flawless in every way. Thus the paths of bliss means being sound and flawless in religion, in the world and in the hereafter—for both individuals and the society.

…and taking them out of the darknesses into the light… The life in the darknesses (zulimat) do not show man how to traverse the difficult terrain of life, whereas the Quran and the Prophet guide us to the truth and illuminate our path.

…and guiding them to a straight road. The straight road that delivers man to the felicity of the world and the hereafter.

Truly it guides to the straight road in belief, not the belief that Allah is the Masiĥ, or that Allah has sons:

Those who said, ‘Indeed Allah—He is the Masiĥ, son of Maryam’ have definitely disbelieved.

Say, ‘Who would have a right upon Allah if He wished to destroy the Masiĥ, son of Maryam, as well his mother and those in the earth, all together?’

Allah’s is the dominion of the heavens and the earth and all between them. He creates as He wills, and Allah over all things is in power.

(17)

Those who said, ‘Indeed Allah—He is the Masiĥ, son of Maryam’ have definitely disbelieved…. Those who posit him as the single god and those who posit him as a partner in godhead—they are the same, since to deny Allah and to posit for Him a partner, glorified be He above that!, are both forms of disbelief.

Say,… The address is to the Messenger, who was to show the invalidity of their claim by saying:

…‘Who would have a right upon Allah… It means ‘who would be able to do anything about one of His commands, or one of His wishes?’

…if He wished to destroy the Masiĥ, son of Maryam, as well his mother and those in the earth, all together?’… The Christians themselves acknowledge that it is possible for Allah to destroy all of that, so how do they reconcile this with their belief in the godhead of the Masiĥ? The god is such that none can oppose His creational commands (amruhu al-takwini), so how can anyone destroy Him?

Allah’s is the dominion of the heavens and the earth and all between them…. How can His be a partner when everything that can be imagined is the possession of Allah—is it possible for God to be owned?

…He creates as He wills,… If He wishes He creates without male and female just as He created Ạdam and Ĥawa, bliss be upon them, and if He wishes He creates from a male and a female, like the remainder of humankind, and if He wishes He creates from a male without a female, like the Masiĥ, bliss be upon him, whose creation therefore is no proof of his divinity as supposed by the Christians.

…and Allah over all things is in power. His power is not confined to a single thing or to a group of things, such that other things that exist would not be His creation.

And the Jews and the Christians say, ‘We are the sons of Allah and His favourites.’

Nay, ye are persons among those He has created, He forgives whom He wills and He chastises whom He wills, and Allah’s is the dominion of the heavens and the earth and what is between them, and unto Him is the outcome.

(18)

And the Jews and the Christians say, ‘We are the sons of Allah and His favourites.’… When the Prophet, Allah condescend upon him and upon his House, warned them of the revenge of Allah and His chastisement, they would say that they were His sons and that the son is beloved, with no reason to fear the revenge of his loving father.

Say: ‘Then why does He chastise ye for your sins?’… He was to ask them why Allah would chastise them. This they acknowledged, as He cites in His word, ‘The fire will never touch us, save for numbered days…’ (al-Baqarah [2]; 81). But if they were the beloved sons, why would they be punished at all? Perhaps the literal present tense actually denotes the past, giving the sense of a question of why they were punished before, when some of them were turned into apes and pigs and suchlike.

Nay, ye are persons among those He has created,… The Jews and Christians are people just like everyone else, and like all other people they will be rewarded if they do good and punished if they do evil.

…and He chastises whom He wills,… Those whom He wishes to chastise among them He will chastise. There is no question of any being His sons or there being any special relationship between themselves and Allah, glorified be He.

…and Allah’s is the dominion of the heavens and the earth… Nothing is from Himself in the sense that He does not own it, glorified be He, in the way that they claimed.

…and that between them,… It means all the rest of His creations. The meaning of ‘the heavens’ here is the stars and all that is seen when looking in their direction, as is common, and it does not mean the upward direction.

…and unto Him is the homecoming. Allah alone owns all things and it is unto Allah alone that all things are returning.

O ye the book-folk, truly Our messenger has come to ye clarifying for ye, at a distance from the messengers, lest ye say, ‘No bearer of glad tidings has come to us, and no warner.’ For truly a bearer of glad tidings and a warner has come to ye—and Allah over all things is in power.

(19)

O ye the book-folk, truly Our messenger has come to ye clarifying for ye,… The Messenger was Muhammad b. ‘Abdullah, may Allah condescend upon him and upon his House, who clarified for them the principles of belief and its requisites.

…at a distance from the messengers,… He came at a time that was at some remove from the previous Messengers. The raising of the Prophet, may Allah condescend upon him and upon his House, was not close in time to any other Prophet, which meant that the book-folk had been in ignorance and deviation, but then the rescuing, guiding teacher had come to them. Perhaps the secret behind the break was to clarify with total clarity that the world will not go aright except with guidance from above, for during the break in revelation the world went seriously and chaotically awry, and the truth of this was a matter of experience. And the Messenger came so that the people would not be in need, and would not be able to argue the case as follows:

…‘No bearer of glad tidings has come to us, and no warner.’… They cannot say that their not being guided and not going aright was because no Messenger had come to them with warnings and glad tidings.

…For truly a bearer of glad tidings and a warner has come to ye… For those who believe and are guardful, the glad tidings of the garden, while for those who disbelieve or are disobedient, a warning of the fire.

…—and Allah over all things is in power. He is powerful enough to despatch a Messenger, so none can say ‘How is it that this one is a Messenger?’

Now the narrative returns once more to the account of the sons of Isra.il who broke every pact and were not loyal to Musa, whom they recognised as their Prophet, much less to another Prophet whom they rejected out of obstinacy and envy:

And when Musa said to his tribe, ‘O my tribe, recount Allah’s blessing upon ye when He put prophets among ye, and put ye as kings, and granted ye what He had not granted to anyone in the worlds.

(20)

…when Musa said to his tribe, ‘O my tribe, recount Allah’s blessing upon ye… The implication being that they should meet this favour with obedience and observation of the laws.

…when He put prophets among ye,… There were seventy Prophets during the dispensation of Mụsa, bliss be upon him, and perhaps the secret of why there were so many Prophets during that period was that mankind was as if in infancy and therefore in need of so many teachers, whereas during the dispensations of ‘Isa, bliss be upon him, and Muhammad, Allah condescend upon him and upon his House, mankind grew more and more fully mature, like adults who need no teachers but can manage with a conscientious guide.

Here a point needs to be made, that the western incursions that have conquered the Muslims’ psyches has made them think of the Prophets and their nations the way that Darwin and his followers think of them, maintaining the truth of evolution—even though they know that the Quran and the sunnah give the lie to that. The first person on the face of the earth was a Prophet, and from among his and his wife’s descendants were raised the Prophets who were sent to them. In this way one generation succeeded another, and the more they grew distant from the Prophets the more they became savage, while as far they adhered to the Prophets they rose to the heights of human excellence. The sons of Isra.il were a nation constantly distant from true humanity and from virtue, in themselves. It was not that they were worse before and that they gradually got better—as falsely, divisively and imitatively supposed by the evolutionists. And how fortunate are those western scholars who have refuted the Darwinist views and have presented the proof of their fallacy. Yet still our own defeatists regale in their disgusting defeatism and continue to lick the bowl of Darwin.

…and put ye as kings,… The Jews had their kings, their rulers and their leaders.

…and granted ye what He had not granted to anyone in the worlds. The manna and quails sent for them, their distinction over the other people of their time by making them the descendants of the Prophets and having the Prophets reside amongst them, by making them kings and by drowning their enemies and more.

‘O my tribe, enter the holy land that Allah has written for ye, and turn not back on your tails, for ye will turn as losers.’

(21)

‘O my tribe, enter the holy land… It was the land of Sham, or Greater Syria, which was holy and pure of partnerism and was blessed with much greenery and rivers, and with wholesome air and climate. It was a land of many Prophets, and whereas Musa’s people had been slaves in Egypt, now they were rescued from their enemies and Allah wanted for them to enter their new land as lords and kings.

…that Allah has written for ye,… That is, He had decreed for them to enjoy lordship and felicity in that land.

…and turn not back on your tails,… They were not to turn away from the land into which they had been commanded to enter.

…for ye will turn as losers.’ They would then lose the felicity of the world and the reward of the hereafter by not having a comfortable homeland in the world, while their refusing to listen to Allah’s command would result in their losing out on the rewards of the hereafter.

They said, ‘O Musa, indeed within it is a compelling tribe, and indeed we shall never enter it until they leave it—so if they leave it, indeed we shall enter.’

(22)

They said, ‘O Musa, indeed within it is a compelling tribe,… They replied that the holy land was occupied by a strong, sturdy nation.

…until they leave it… That is, until after that powerful people had left that land. They wanted them to leave all by themselves, without hardship, exertion or warfare.

…—so if they leave it, indeed we shall enter.’ In Majma’ we have it that, in short, after Musa and the sons of Isra.il had crossed the sea and the Pharaoh had been destroyed, He ordered them, glorified be He, to enter the holy land. But when they camped at the banks of the Jordan they were afraid to enter it. So Musa sent a man from every tribe, and they were those Allah mentions in His word, ‘…and We raised among them twelve headmen…’ . They went out and what they saw of their strength and prowess amazed them, so when they returned to the Bani Isra.il and they informed Mụsa, bliss be upon him, of what they had seen, Musa told them to conceal it. Two of them obeyed Musa in that, and they were Yusha’ b. Nụn and Kalib b. Yụqina. The other ten disobeyed and gave out the information which spread among the people. They said that were they to enter against them, they would lose their women and wealth to them as spoils; and they determined to return to Egypt and also decided to stone Yusha’ and Kalib to death. This exasperated Mụsa, bliss be upon him, who prayed, ‘Indeed I have nothing but myself and my brother.’ So Allah revealed unto them that they would wander in the earth for forty years, and the only exceptions were those who had not disobeyed Allah in that way. So they remained wandering for forty years, within an area of sixteen farsakhs, the number of their warriors six hundred thousand. Their clothes did not rip or tear but always remained constantly in good repair. Manna and quails were despatched for them. The headmen died except Yusha’ and Kalib, and most of the others died, but their children grew up and it was they who finally went out to take Jericho and were victorious.

Two men who feared, Allah having blessed them, said, ‘Enter upon them at the gate, for when ye enter it ye will truly be the overcomers; so rely upon Allah, if ye are believers.’

(23)

Two men who feared,… The two who feared Allah, the Most High, and were ready to follow His commands and restrictions, were Yusha’ and Kalib.

,,,Allah having blessed them,… They had the blessings of religion and reason.

…said, ‘Enter… Their address was in the plural; ‘Enter, O sons of Isra.il.’

… for when ye enter it ye will truly be the overcomers;… They knew that because Mụsa, bliss be upon him, had informed them that they would be victorious.

…if ye are believers.’ That is, if they had a genuine belief, for Allah is sufficient for those who rely upon Him.

They said, ‘O Musa, We will never ever enter it for as long as they are in it, so go thou and thy Master and fight—indeed we are sitting here.’

(24)

…‘O Musa, We will never ever enter it… They refused to enter the city.

…for as long as they are in it,… That is, for as long as that powerful people were in occupation of the city, for they feared them and gave no credence to Allah’s promise to succour them.

…so go thou and thy Master and fight… ‘Fight’ is given for qatila the dual masculine; they were saying that Mụsa, bliss be uon him, and his Master should fight them. Yet perhaps their deviation was not such as to contradict His being non-corporal, rather they wished that Allah would thrust them out—as He says, glorified be He, ‘rather Allah pelted…’ and, ‘…thy Master comes…’, and for this reason Musa does not censure them for their words. Yet perhaps they did imply His being corporal and Musa’s censure is not recorded in the Quran as it is not relevant to the purpose of the story.

—indeed we are sitting here.’ They said they would sit until the city was cleansed of the powerful tribe, and then they would indeed enter. But as for fighting them themselves, that they would not do, as they thought they had not the capacity for that.

He said, ‘Master mine! I have nothing but myself and my brother, so make a separation between us and the tribe perverse.’

(25)

He said,… That is, Mụsa, bliss be upon him, said to Allah, complaining to Allah of his people.

…‘Master mine! I have nothing but myself and my brother,… His brother Harụn. He himself was obedient to Allah’s command while Harụn was obedient to Musa and listened to his commands, but the same was not true of the rest of the people. As for Yusha’, bliss be upon him, and others like him, it seems that they were not taking part in that discussion.

…so make a separation between us and the tribe perverse.’ He sought from Allah, glorified be He, to be granted a separation between his brother and himself on the one side, and the perverse tribe who would not obey the commands. The meaning of this separation was His not subjecting them to the same judgement in the world and the hereafter.

He said, ‘So indeed it is banned for them for forty years; they will wander in the earth. So despair not for the tribe perverse.’

(26)

He said,… That is, Allah said to Mụsa, bliss be upon him, in response to their disobeying Him and not believing His promise.

…is banned for them… It means that they would not be allowed to enter it.

…for forty years; they will wander in the earth…. They would walk until nightfall, but when they set out the following day they would find themselves back in the same place.

…for the tribe perverse.’ And their wandering for forty years and their landing themselves in such difficulties.

The condition of the Bani Isra.il in breaking their pact and committing the indecencies was much the same as the condition of the two sons of Ạdam, bliss be upon him, Habil and Qabil, for Allah revealed to adam to give his testament along with Allah’s most magnificent name (al-ism al-a’zam) to Habil. Qabil was the elder and so he became angry, and protested saying that he was the elder and so more deserving of the testament. So Adam ordered them at Allah’s revelation to offer a sacrifice, and the sacrifice of Habil was accepted as he was sincere and had offered the best of what he had, while Qabil’s offering was not accepted as his intention was impure and he offered the worst of what he had. When Qabil saw that his sacrifice was not accepted he grew jealous and formed a design against Habil; he placed his head between two rocks and smashed it so that he died. Then he knew not what to do with his corpse, until two crows came and one killed the other and buried the corpse, and so Qabil learned from that and buried Habil’s corpse:

And recite for them the news of the two sons of Adam, in truth, when they sacrificed two sacrifices, and it was accepted from one of them and not accepted from the other—he said, ‘I shall definitely kill thee.’

(27)

And recite for them… The Messenger Allah condescend upon him and upon his House, was to recount for the Jews.

…the news of the two sons of Adam,… Habil the virtuous and Qabil the wicked.

…in truth,… This account is true and genuine, entirely free of falsehood and trifles.

…when they sacrificed two sacrifices,… ‘Sacrifice’ is given for qurban, which is that by which one seeks to be near (quriba) to Allah.

…and not accepted from the other… It was not accepted from Qabil. It is said that the sign of acceptance was that fire would come from the sky and consume that which was accepted. The fire consumed the sacrifice of Qabil but did not consume the sacrifice of Habil.

…—he said,… Qabil, whose sacrifice was not accepted, said to Habil, bliss be upon him.

…‘I shall definitely kill thee.’ He was motivated by obstinacy and envy.

…‘Allah accepts but from the guardful. This was probably a censure of his brother so that he would be guardful of Allah and therefore deserve His affection and kindness. He was not boasting.

‘Truly if thou stretch forth thy hand to kill me, I am not one to stretch forth my hand to kill thee; indeed I fear Allah, Master of the worlds.

(28)

‘Truly if thou stretch forth thy hand to kill me,… That is, ‘If you wish to kill me…’

…I am not one to stretch forth my hand to kill thee;… When a person wishes to kill someone wrongfully, it is not permitted for the wronged party to pre-empt the other. All he can do is to defend himself, save when his self-defence depends upon that. Or what he meant was, ‘If you wish to kill me wrongfully, I do not wish to kill you wrongfully.’

…indeed I fear Allah, Master of the worlds. That is, my fear of Him, glorified be He, prevents me from killing anyone wrongfully.

‘Indeed I wish that thou return with my sin and your sin, lest thou be of the companions of the fire; and that is the recompense of the wrongful.’

(29)

‘Indeed I wish that thou return with my sin… It means the sin of his murder. ‘Returning’ with it means bearing the responsibility for it, and this was said by Habil to Qabil.

…and your sin,… It means Qabil’s burden of sins other than the murder. Habil was not wishing Qabil to sin, for the meaning of ‘wishing’ (iradah) is metaphorical, to show up the contrast with what Qabil wanted, and is not literal.

…be of the companions of the fire;… That is, among those who are constantly in it.

…and that is the recompense of the wrongful.’ Those who wrong themselves.

So his soul allowed him the killing of his brother, and he killed him, and so became of the losers.

(30)

…and so became of the losers. He became a loser in the world and in the hereafter.

After having killed him, Qabil did not know what to do with his brother’s corpse, as before that he had never seen anyone die:

Thereupon Allah raised a crow searching in the earth, to show him how to secrete the atrocity of his brother. Said he, ‘Woe be mine, I was unable to be like this crow.’

(31)

Thereupon Allah raised a crow searching in the earth,… He ‘raised’ (ba’atha) the crow in the sense of bringing it forth. It was searching in the earth, examining it and uncovering it so as to bury the other crow that it had killed, for two crows were fighting and one killed the other and then buried it.

…how to secrete the atrocity of his brother…. The ‘atrocity’ (saw.ah) means the corpse.

…‘Woe be mine,… ‘Woe’ is given for wayl ; the phrase means, ‘O destruction, come to me, for now is thy time.’

…I was unable to be like this crow.’ … He was less than the crow in knowing how to resolve the problem of the corpse.

…and became of the regretful. He regretted killing him. His regret, however, was not repentance, and he only regretted the act. For this reason, there are no grounds for asking why he will still be punished even though he repented.

From Ibn ‘Abbas we have it that when Qabil killed Habil, shrubbery became thorned, the foods were altered, the fruits turned sour, water turned bitter, and the ground turned to dust. Adam said, ‘Something has happened in the earth.’ He went to India, and there was Qabil, having slain Habil. He then composed these lines extempore:

Having given the account of the sons of Adam and of the most famous crime, He now mentions, glorified be He, a number of the specified punishments (al-ĥụdụd) for crimes, beginning with murder, as is appropriate. Thus the Most High says:

As of that We wrote upon the sons of Isra.il that ‘whoso kills a soul for other than a soul or corruption in the earth, it is if he has killed humankind, entirely; and whoso gives life to it, it is as if he has given life to humankind, entirely.’

And truly Our messengers came to them with the clarifications—thereupon many of them after that were in the earth immoderate.

(32)

As of that… ‘As of that’ is given for min ajli dhalika. The word ajli (for which we have put ‘as’) literally means ‘crime’; it is said ajala ‘alaihim sharra meaning ‘he committed an evil crime against them.’ Thus the ayah means ‘since that crime’ and the min denotes a beginning, and here it refers to Qabil’s killing of Habil. In sum, it means since the time of that crime He, glorified be He, legislated the following law, that ‘whoso kills a soul…’. Some elucidators have interpreted the ajli in its usual sense, giving the meaning ‘Because of that unwarranted and inexcusable aggression…’

…upon the sons of Isra.il… The law is not particular to them; they are mentioned in this way as the discourse is centred upon them, and they are the ones who broke the laws of Allah and killed His Prophets.

…that ‘whoso kills a soul… ‘Soul’ is given for nafs. It means the murder of another human being, wrongfully.

…for other than a soul… It means other than in retaliation for a soul, so that the individual case of the executioner of a murderer is excluded from this ruling.

…or corruption in the earth,… Whoever is killed and deserved to be killed for the corruption he was working, is also excluded from the ruling.

…it is if he has killed humankind, entirely;… The unjustifiable aggression of such a person against a living human soul is just like aggression against all of human life.

…and whoso gives life to it,… This does not mean giving life in the sense of bestowing life where there was none, but rather it means protecting life and saving it from destruction.

…it is as if he has given life to humankind, entirely.’ To protect a living soul is like protecting life itself, for the whole of life flows in every living soul, and so aggression against an individual is aggression against all, just as protection of an individual is protection of all.

…And truly Our messengers came to them… To the sons of Isra.il, upon whom the discourse is centred.

…with the clarifications… Clear proofs of the truthfulness of the Prophets.

…—thereupon many of them after that were in the earth immoderate. Even after the Messengers had come to them, they exceeded the limits—they permitted the banned and they shed innocent blood.

In keeping with the topic of taking human life without right, He now discusses, glorified be He, the law of those who work corruption in the earth. Concerning the circumstances of the descent of this ayah, it is given that a tribe from the Bani Žabba came to the Messenger, may Allah condescend upon him and his House, seriously ill. So he sent them to the camels that had been given in charity, for them to drink their urine and eat their milk. But then, when they were healthy and strong, they killed three herdsmen and stole the camels. At that he sent Ali, bliss be upon him, after them and he captured them. Then the ayah was sent down, and the Messenger, may Allah condescend upon him and his House, chose to cut their hands and feet from opposite sides. In some narrations we have it that the ayah was sent down concerning some highway bandits—and there is no contradiction between the two.

The recompense of those who war against Allah and His Messenger, and strive in the earth in corruption, is but that they all be killed or they be crucified or their hands be cut and their feet, oppositely, or exiled in the earth. That is humiliation for them in the world, and theirs in the hereafter is a grievous chastisement.

(33)

The recompense of those who war against Allah… It means waging war against His proteges (awliya), for war against the dependants of a person is war against that person, like His word, ‘…those who annoy Allah and His messenger…’ (al-Ahzab [33]; 58).

…and His Messenger,… Warring against the Messenger’s appointees and protégés amounts to warring against the Messenger, may Allah condescend upon him and his House,

…and strive in the earth in corruption,… They make corruption and draw their swords or other weapons so as to frighten the people. If we do not hold this ayah to be general and to relate to everyone to whom it literally applies, it is essential to apply it to the muggers and highway bandits (qutta’ al-tariq), due to the narrations we have, and because their warring against the people and terrifying them indeed seems to amount to warring against Allah and the Messenger, may Allah condescend upon him and his House,.

…is but that they all be killed… ‘They all be killed’ is given for yuqattalụ, a superlative verb-form, indicating that they all be killed.

…or crucified… The ‘or’ indicates choice, as has been given by al-Sadiq, bliss be upon him, and it means that the choice is up to the Imam.

…or their hands be cut and their feet, oppositely,… It means that their right hand and their left foot be cut, or their left hand and their right foot.

…or exiled in the earth…. It means that they be driven from town to town until they repent and reform themselves. The phrase, ‘is but that’ (innama) indicates that that is what they deserve, and does not mean that they are subject to no other requital.

…That is humiliation for them in the world,… It is their degradation and punishment.

Save for those who repent before ye are in power over them; so know that Allah is forgiving, merciful.

(34)

Save for those who repent before ye are in power over them;… Repentance is acceptable only when it occurs before the criminal is taken by the authority, for when the criminal is taken by the authority and then repents, the repentance has no effect in averting the punishment, but rather the punishment is still applied.

…so know that Allah is forgiving, merciful. The repentant is forgiven his sins and has no punishment, neither in the world nor in the hereafter.

Here the wise Quran turns to train the hearts of the believers so that they are ready to discipline those who depart from divine obedience with swords and by implementing the punishments:

O ye who believe, be guardful of Allah and reach unto Him for a means, and strive in His path, that ye might thrive.

(35)

O ye who believe, be guardful of Allah… It means by implementing His commands and refraining from the things he forbids.

…and reach unto Him for a means,… It means that we are to seek nearness unto Him through doing good and virtuous deeds.

…and strive in His path,… It means against those who depart from obedience to Him.

…that ye might thrive. It means in the hope that we might thrive, for the hope of success and thriving is real and valid as long as it is accompanied by guardfulness and striving.

And we are not to be like those who disbelieve, who are not guardful and strive not and seek not His contentment, glorified be He, and a means unto Him:

Indeed those who disbelieve—had they what is in the heavens and what is in the earth, entirely, and the like of it along with it, to be redeemed by it from the chastisement of the day of resurrection, it would not be accepted from them, and theirs is a painful chastisement.

(36)

Indeed those who disbelieve—had they what is in the heavens and what is in the earth,… It means wealth and position.

…entirely, and the like of it along with it,… If they had all of that and its like again. The usage is imaginative, to emphasise the amount, as everything is everything; it is like the usage of ‘if thou seek forgiveness for them seventy times…’.

…to be redeemed by it… That is, by everything in the heavens and the earth and its like. It means to give all that as a ransom so as to be freed:

…from the chastisement of the day of resurrection,… So as to be saved, as is the way with ransoms in the world.

They wish to depart the fire but they are not departers from it; and theirs is a standing chastisement.

(37)

…to depart the fire but they are not departers from it;… Their punishment and chastisement is eternal without end.

…and theirs is a standing chastisement. Eternal and certain without cessation.

Here the narrative returns to the issue of punishments that opened with the account of the sons of Adam:

And the thief and the thiefess, cut their hands in recompense for what they have earned, as punishment from Allah; and Allah is grand, wise.

(38)

And the thief and the thiefess,… Both male and female thieves are separately mentioned so that it will not be supposed that the ruling does not apply to the female thief. The male thief is mentioned first as most thieves are male, whereas in the verse of fornication it is the female who is mentioned first, due to the tendency of women to engage in fornication.

…cut their hands… That is, four fingers from the right hands, as in Arabic the word ‘hand’ (yad) applies both to the whole hand and also to the fingers as a whole. The application of this ruling depends upon several conditions which are mentioned in fiqh.

…in recompense for what they have earned,… It means in recompense for their stealing.

…and Allah is grand, wise. He grasps by His grandeur and rules according to His wisdom.

So whoso repents after his wronging and repairs—indeed Allah relents unto him; indeed Allah is forgiving, merciful.

(39)

So whoso repents after his wronging and repairs… It means that he regrets his stealing ways and becomes virtuous.

…indeed Allah is forgiving, merciful. He forgives those who repent unto Him and He mercies His disobedient servants when they regret and repent.

That which has been mentioned of Allah’s punishing and His forgiveness is no more than appropriate in regard to His absolute authority:

Know thou not that indeed Allah—His is the dominion of the heavens and the earth. He chastises whom He wills and He forgives whom He wills, and Allah over all things is in power.

(40)

…that indeed Allah—His is the dominion of the heavens and the earth…. He has absolute possession of all things and disposes of them how He wills.

…He chastises whom He wills… It means those who deserve His punishments.

In the context of explaining the punishments and equating them with those of the Jews, the sacred Quran now turns to the account of an instance of adultery that took place among the Jews, who then turned to the Messenger, may Allah condescend upon him and his House, for judgement. From Imam al-Sadiq, bliss be upon him, we have it that, to be brief, a woman of rank from among the Jews of Khaibar committed adultery, while the punishment for adultery in the Torah was specified as being that she be stoned. So they turned to the Messenger, may Allah condescend upon him and his House, hoping that he would lessen that, and then they would follow his verdict. Instead, he gave the verdict that she be stoned, and he stated that that was also the law of the Torah. Some of their learned men denied that, and they brought forth Ibn Sụriya, the most learned of them in the law, to dispute with him. Yet he admitted that the law of the Torah was indeed stoning, and that they had falsified the Torah and put instead of it forty lashes. He was so stung by his own admission that his face blackened and in his confusion he mounted his ass backwards and rode off, and he became famous for that.

In some commentaries, there was an agreement concerning murder between the two Jewish tribes of the Nazir and the Quraiza that ran counter to the Torah. Whereas the law of the Torah was death for the murderer, their pact was that if someone from the Quraiza killed someone from the Nazir, the killer would be killed, but if one from the Nazir killed one from the Quraiza, the killer would pay the blood-wit. So the Quraiza tribe wanted to refer to the Prophetfor him to judge for them according to the Torah, while Ibn Ubayy the hypocrite, who was their friend, said to them, ‘If Muhammadrules as you like—by which he meant contrary to the Torah—be pleased with it, and if otherwise then do not accept it.’

It seems the following verse refers to both accounts, and whatever the case Allah is consoling the Messenger, may Allah condescend upon him and his House regarding the opposition of the hypocrites and Jews. Thus He says, glorified be He:

O thou the Messenger, be not sorrowed by those who compete in disbelief—those who say, ‘We believe’ with their mouths, while their hearts believe not; and those Judaised, all ears to the lie, all ears to another tribe who come not to thee. They distort the words after their places, saying, ‘If ye be given this, take it, and if ye not be given it, beware!’

And for whomso Allah wishes his tribulation—he has no right on Allah at all. They are those whose hearts Allah wishes not to cleanse. Theirs in the world is humiliation, and theirs in the hereafter is a grievous chastisement.

(41)

…by those who compete in disbelief… It means that they were rushing into disbelief by opposing him and not accepting his verdict.

…—those who say, ‘We believe’ with their mouths,… It means that the hypocrites’ professions of belief were merely verbal, in that they made the dual declaration, and were not held in their hearts. It refers to Ibn Ubayy, as has been given.

…while their hearts believe not;… Their hearts persisted in disbelief and deviation.

…and those Judaised,… That is, the Jews. The meaning of their competing in disbelief is their abandoning the law of the Torah and their holding to laws contrary to what Allah had sent down. This was disbelief as Jews, even though they were disbelievers already for remaining as Jews and not becoming Muslims.

…all ears to the lie,… It refers to the Jews, or to both the Jews and the hypocrites, who were excessive in giving ear to lies and accepting what their leaders invented and falsified.

…all ears to another tribe who come not to thee…. Instead of coming to the Prophet for judgement they submitted to the verdict of someone else who gave his rulings in isolation from him—as in the two accounts of adultery and murder given above.

…after their places,… It means after Allah had put those words in their places. They distorted the law of adultery from stoning to lashes, and they changed the law of murder from retribution to compensation.

…‘If ye be given this,…That is, if they be handed down the verdict by the Prophet that the penalty of adultery is lashing and the penalty of murder is compensation.

…and if ye not be given it, beware!’ They advised each other to guard against accepting his verdict if it countered their wishes.

The Book consoles the Messenger, may Allah condescend upon him and his House, for the hypocrisy of the hypocrites and the distortions of the Jews, in His word:

…And for whomso Allah wishes his tribulation… ‘Tribulation’ (fitna), here, means test or trial. For in these accounts Allah wished to show the true nature of the Jew and hypocrites so that their obstinacy and refusal to return to the word of Allah would become clear, and their lying in their claim to be religious would be revealed.

…—he has nothing on Allah at all…. It means that they can do nothing to ward from themselves anything Allah wishes to impose on them. His authority is total.

…They are those whose hearts Allah wishes not to cleanse…. Allah did not wish to cleanse the hearts of the Jews and the hypocrites of the dirt of disbelief, and so they did not receive His special grace, as did the rest of the believers whose hearts became cleansed of the filth of disbelief. Allah explained for them the proofs and set up for them the convincing evidences, but they refused to accept them and so Allah cut off His grace from them.

…Theirs in the world is humiliation,… Disgrace and humiliation was the lot of the hypocrites and the Jews. As for the hypocrites, it was through the clarification of their hypocrisy before the believers, who then despised them. And as for the Jews, it was by impressing abjection upon them ‘save with a rope from Allah and a rope from humankind.’

…and theirs in the hereafter is a grievous chastisement. The hypocrites are at the lowest of the fire, while the situation of the Jews there is clear.

All ears to the lie! Gobblers of the ill-gotten! So if they come to thee, judge among them or turn away. And if thou turn away from them, they will never harm thee a thing. And if thou judge between them, judge in fairness; indeed Allah loves the workers of fairness.

(42)

All ears to the lie!… A repetition for effect, to bring to mind their ugliness, since when a person wishes to emphasise something he says it more than once, so that it is readily acceptable to the listener.

…Gobblers of the ill-gotten!… ‘Gobblers’ is given akkalụn, which is to say that they are extreme in devouring. The ‘ill-gotten’ means bribes and suchlike.

…So if they come to thee,… It refers to their approaching the Messenger, may Allah condescend upon him and his House, as given in the accounts of the adultery and the murder.

…or turn away…. He was allowed to turn away from them since they knew the law, as it was fixed in the Torah.

…And if thou turn away from them, they will never harm thee a thing…. The Messenger, may Allah condescend upon him and his House, would not have been harmed had he refrained from judging between them, as harm and benefit are only in the hands of Allah, glorified be He.

…And if thou judge between them, judge in fairness;… He was to judge in justice, meaning in accordance to the law of Allah, which is stoning in the case of a married adulterer and the death of the murderer.

…indeed Allah loves the workers of fairness. He loves those who accord to justice in their judgements.

The affair of these Jews was a strange one, for while they did not acknowledge the truth of the Messenger’s call, still they sought his verdicts in judging them. But that was for the simple reason that they wanted to escape from the law of the Torah, and find a verdict that would accord to their desires:

And how would they want thee to judge, when with them is the Torah, Allah’s rule therein? Then they turned back after that; and those are not believers.

(43)

And how would they want thee to judge, when with them is the Torah,… How would they want the Messenger, may Allah condescend upon him and his House, to be their judge, when they were in possession of the Torah, which they recognised as being a book of Allah?

…Allah’s rule therein?… In the Torah they had His laws concerning both adultery and murder.

…Then they turned back after that;… They turned away from the Torah. Or it means that they turned back from the Messenger’s judgement as well.

…and those are not believers. It means in the Torah, or in the Messenger’s verdict, and whatever manifestation of faith they make, it is a lie.

He then explains, glorified be He, that the Torah whose laws were rejected in the instances of adultery and murder was a heavenly book that should have been applied. Clearly this does not refer to the corrupted Torah the Jews now possess, for a part of the Torah remained free of falsification until the time of the Messenger, may Allah condescend upon him and his House, another part of it was corrupted before the Messenger, may Allah condescend upon him and his House. In the same way, it is clear that the Torah was a light and a guidance during its own time, but when a book came that was more of a guidance and more of a light, and which amended some of its laws, they were not to act in accordance to the Torah anymore. It is the same when we say that the sacred Quran is guidance and light, for we mean the entire Quran just the way it is, not that those of its verses that have been abrogated by its other verses should be implemented—if we submit to the view that abrogation applies to the Quran:

Indeed We sent down the Torah, guidance in it and light; the Prophets who submitted judged by it for those Judaised, the servants and the clerics according to their preserving Allah’s book, and they were witnesses over that. So fear not humankind, and fear Me, and purchase not by My signs a small price.

And whoso judges not by what Allah sent down—those, they are the disbelievers.

(44)

Indeed We sent down the Torah, guidance in it and light;… Humankind were guided by it upon the paths of truth, and by it all of life’s murky avenues were illuminated.

…the Prophets who submitted judged by it,… It means the Prophets who submitted to Allah and obeyed His laws. Among them was the Messenger, may Allah condescend upon him and his House, who judged by it in the instances of the adultery and the murder.

… for those Judaised,… The laws of the Torah were only for the Jews, whereas the Christians and Muslims were to be judged according to what they believed. It is ascertained in Islamic law that it is permissible to judge each community of the book-folk by their own book. Thus the Imam Ali, bliss be upon him, (wë±sZXäÅ¾“) has said, ‘By Allah, with the authority I could judge among the people of the Torah by their Torah, among the people of the Gospel by their Gospel, among the people of the Zabur by their Zabur, and among the people of the Quran by their Quran.’ It is also clear that the Imamshave said, ‘Bind them by that which they have bound themselves.’ Yet it is clear that this does not apply to all the laws, as it is not permissible to judge according to some of the laws, and the general principle is that the judge may give verdicts according to their religion as far as Islam permits, but beyond that they must be judged by the laws of Islam.

…the servants… ‘Servants’ is given for rabbaniyụn, meaning the religiously conscientious, an unusual derivation from rabb, meaning Master.

and the clerics… ‘Clerics’ is given for aĥbar, meaning learned. The meaning is that the Prophets and the religiously devoted and the learned judged in accordance to the Torah, and they did so:

…according to their preserving Allah’s book,… It means that because Allah had them preserve the book and because they took the lead in following it, they judged by it accordingly.

…and they were witnesses over that…. The Prophets and the devoted and the scholars were witnesses to the fact that the content of the book was the truth. In short, they judged by the Torah as it was entrusted to them and they were aware of its truthfulness.

Now, having explained that the cream of the community judged according to the Torah, He now explains, glorified be He, that the corollary of all this is that those who are adorned with the same qualities should be courageous in manifesting His laws, and should not deceive and should not hide a law and should not fear the people:

…So fear not humankind,… That is, in manifesting the laws of the Torah such as the stoning of the adulterer and the killing of the murderer.

…and fear Me,… That is, fear abandoning His command and altering His laws, as benefit and harm are all in His hands.

…and purchase not by My signs a small price…. That is, exchange not His signs and His laws in return for the petty. For when they concealed the laws for the sake of bribes and leadership, they were like one who brings goods to sell in return for money; and all wealth and position is a small price when compared to the law of Allah, for it all perishes while the alterations and distortions and the effects of concealing the law of Allah.

…And whoso judges not by what Allah sent down… The sense of this phrase, instead of ‘and whoso judges by other than what Allah sent down’ perhaps is designed to include both the judge who judges by the wrong, and also the silent who hides the law of Allah by his silence. That is because he who knows the law of Allah and is silent and thus hides it is covered in the term ‘and whoso judges not by what Allah sent down.’

…—those, they are the disbelievers. It is clear that failing in the law is disbelief in action, rather than disbelief in principle, except when it is such that it amounts to a denial of a principle of belief or of an essential requisite of Islam. The disbeliever is called a kafir since he conceals the truth, as the literal meaning of kufr is ‘to conceal’.

And We wrote upon them in it that ‘A soul for a soul, an eye for an eye, a nose for a nose, an ear for an ear, a tooth for a tooth and wounds: retaliation.

And whoso judges not by what Allah sent down—those, they are the wrongful.’

(45)

And We wrote upon them in it… He decreed for the sons of Isra.il in the Torah:

…that ‘A soul for a soul,… It means that he who takes a life wilfully is to forfeit his own life in return. Perhaps this ayah supports the view that the preceding ayat were occasioned by the affair between the tribes of Quraiza and Nazir, as given above.

…an eye for an eye,… The penalty for gouging out the eye of someone or blinding it is that the guilty party has his own eye blinded.

…a nose for a nose,… As for destroying a person’s sense of smell, though it seems to be opposed to the literal meaning, yet that is the rule, where possible.

…a tooth for a tooth… All of this is conditional upon the conditions given in fiqh.

…and wounds: retaliation. It means that he who wounds a person is to be wounded in the same way. This covers lips, the male organ, the testicles, the hands, the feet and all other types of wound. ‘Retaliation’ is given for qisas from qissa, meaning to pursue the effect, as if the wounded pursues the effect of the guilty party, and so wounds him.

…So whoso gives it in charity,… That is, whoso gives up the retribution in charity, by pardoning it and giving up his right.

…then that will be an alleviation for him. His giving up his right to retaliation will mitigate his sins. Al-Sadiq, bliss be upon him, has said, ‘His sins will be removed from him to the extent that he forgives his wounds and other (wrongs).

…And whoso judges not by what Allah sent down… We have commented on this phrase above.

…—those, they are the wrongful.’ ‘Wronging’ (zulm) can be to wrong oneself and to wrong someone else. The phrase differs from the earlier description of them as ‘disbelievers’ and the later description of them as ‘perverse’ so as to show that all three of these qualities are true of those who fail to judge by that which Allah has sent down. In the first instance such a person conceals the law of Allah and hides it, and so he is a kafir for the kafir is the concealer—just as He says, glorified be He, ‘..its growth amazes the concealer (kuffar)…’ meaning the planter, for the planter is a concealer in as much as he conceals the seed in the earth. In the second place, such a person is wrongful (zalim) in that he wrongs himself by disobeying Allah, glorified be He, in concealing His law, and he also wrongs the two parties or plaintiffs as well as the society, for it is the law of Allah that is the truth and the just, while all else is deviation and swerving. And thirdly, he is perverse (fasiq) in that by his false verdict he departs from the upright, straight path, as the meaning of fisq from which fasiq is derived, is to depart and desert.

Having mentioned the Jews, His word now turns to the Christians, so as to explain that the Prophets form a single series, that the books of all of them are guidance and light, and that they confirm each other:

And We made ‘isa, son of Maryam, follow in their footsteps, confirming what was before him, the Torah, and We granted him the Gospel; in it is guidance and light and confirmation of what was before it, the Torah, and as a guidance and admonishment for the guardful.

(46)

And We made ‘isa, son of Maryam, follow in their footsteps,… It means that ‘Isa (Jesus) was made to follow in the footsteps of the previous Prophets, in that he was raised after them as a Messenger, may Allah condescend upon him and his House.

…confirming what was before him,… He confirmed that which they had previously received from Allah, glorified be He.

…the Torah,… It was the Torah that was with them, and which ‘Isa confirmed. ‘Before him’ is given for ‘bayna yadayhi’ literally meaning ‘between his hands’ but used in the sense of ‘in front of him.’ So here is a case of a term coined to describe a place being used in the sense of a time, which is common metaphorical usage.

…and We granted him the Gospel,… ‘Gospel’ is given for al-Injil , the book of Allah sent down upon ‘Isa

…in it guidance and light and confirmation of what was before it,… The Gospel was guidance and light, as explained above, and it too confirmed the divine book that preceded it, namely:

the Torah,… Both ‘Isa himself and the book sent down upon him confirmed the truth of the original Torah.

…and admonishment for the guardful. It was an admonition for those who guard against sin, for it warned them of the punishments and guided and encouraged them towards the eternal rewards. The mention of ‘confirmation’ and ‘guidance’ is repeated for emphasis and effect.

And the gospel-folk should judge by what Allah sent down in it. And whoso judges not by what Allah sent down—those, they are the perverse.

(47)

And the gospel-folk should judge by what Allah sent down in it…. It means that it was obligatory for those to whom ‘Isa was sent to implement the Gospel in its entirety, judging by it and accepting its evidences, including the glad tidings of the Messenger, may Allah condescend upon him and his House, and the obligation to follow him.

…And whoso judges not by what Allah sent down—those, they are the perverse. All the religions were from Allah and all the Prophets were the envoys of the one God, and all the books were sent down from Allah. Therefore it was essential that the Prophets judged by the books that had been sent down, and that the people follow the Prophets. However, as far as the books were distorted they were not from Allah, and as for the parts of them that were abrogated or repealed, after that it becomes necessary to follow that which abrogates and repeals.

Having concluded the discourse surrounding the Torah and the Gospel, the two religious books that were then in the hands of the people, He now mentions, glorified be He, the holy Quran:

And We have sent down unto thee the book in truth, in confirmation of that before thee—the book—and as a watcher over it.

So judge between them by what Allah has sent down, and follow not their desires away from the truth that has come to thee.

To each of ye We have put a lane and an avenue. And had Allah willed He would have made ye a single nation, but in order to try ye by what He granted ye.

So seek precedence in the good works. Unto Allah is your return, together, then He shall inform ye as to that in which ye differ.

(48)

And We have sent down unto thee the book in truth,… The holy Quran was sent down upon Allah’s Messenger, may Allah condescend upon him and his House, ‘in truth’ (bi ‘l-ĥaqq), meaning that there is nothing false in it, or that the sending down was in truth, in that both the sender and the receiver were in the right, for the sender is right in sending it down and legislating, while the receiver was a messenger who was right in taking it and accepting it.

…in confirmation of that before thee—the book—… ‘The book’ here means all the books, meaning that the Quran confirms all the heavenly books that preceded it.

…and as a watcher over it…. That is, the Quran is a watcher over the books that preceded it. The Quran is like a witness to the errors and the upright in the previous books, in the sense that it was evidence to everything that had been falsified and everything that had been added and everything that had been deleted. That is because the wise Quran clarifies the general beliefs and the principles of worship and trade and ethics, whereas the previous books had been greatly deviated by the hands of sinners.

…So judge between them by what Allah has sent down,… The Messenger, may Allah condescend upon him and his House, was to judge between the scripturalists in general, or the Jews in particular, by the laws of Allah—including those pertaining to adultery and murder, as given.

…and follow not their desires… They desired that the Messenger, may Allah condescend upon him and his House, judge among them contrary to the law of Allah, so that his verdict would be the lashing of the adulterer and the compensation of the murderer.

…away from the truth that has come to thee…. That is, he was not to swerve from the truth and the correct. The meaning of following their desires was to swerve from the truth, and for one phrase to follow another with the same basic meaning is perfectly acceptable.

Now, as the discourse concerns the unity of religion in all aspects, in that the previous verses dealt with the fact that each Prophet and each book confirmed all the previous Prophets and their books, the question arises as to why the Jews and Christians should accept the Messenger, may Allah condescend upon him and his House, and the Quran. Therefore the narrative turns to the differences between the dispensations in the particularities and the practical details of each, even though they are as one in the basic principles and in substance:

…To each of ye… It means that each community of the Jews, Christians and Muslims.

…We have put a lane and an avenue…. ‘Lane’ is put for shari’ah while ‘avenue’ is put for minhaj. The shari’ah is the beginning of the path, while the minhaj is the straight path which it is necessary for the human to follow in life. The literal translation is ‘To each We have put of ye…’ as the emphasis is on the matter of Allah’s placing a path, not that of the different communities having been placed a path.

…And had Allah willed He would have made ye… ‘Ye’, here, stands for the three communities.

…in order to try ye by what He granted ye…. That is, by what He made obligatory upon the different communities, so that it be clear who follows the appropriate Prophet and who does not, and who implements the commands in their entirety and who does not.

…So seek precedence in the good works…. The communities are to compete in doing good and implementing the commands of Allah.

…Unto Allah is your return, together,… All three of the communities are returning to Allah. Of course, this is metaphorical, as Allah occupies no place.

…then He shall inform ye as to that in which ye differ. The members of the three communities will be informed about the details of their religions, as a prelude to their being requited for their deeds and beliefs.

He then explains, glorified be He, that it is obligatory that the Jews be judged by that which Allah has sent down. The matter is repeated since they sought the verdict of the Messenger, may Allah condescend upon him and his House, in two instances, that of the adultery and that of the murder:

And that: judge thou among them by what Allah has sent down, and follow not their desires, and beware of them lest they tempt thee from some of what Allah has sent down unto thee. And if they turn back, know that Allah wishes but to afflict them for some of their sins, and indeed many of humankind are truly perverse.

(49)

And that: judge thou… The imperative is in the singular, addressed to the Messenger, may Allah condescend upon him and his House. It is conjunctive to His word in the previous ayah, ‘So judge…’. Or it is conjunctive to ‘…the book…’, giving the meaning, ‘And We have sent down unto thee the book…and We have sent down unto thee (this instruction): judge thou…’.

…among them by what Allah has sent down, and follow not their desires,… They desired him to issue a verdict contrary to Allah’s law.

…lest they temp thee from… That is, deviate him by temping him away from,

…some of what Allah has sent down unto thee…. It refers to their seeking him to issue a verdict contrary to the law of Allah, glorified be He. It is recorded that the Jews put it to the Messenger, may Allah condescend upon him and his House, that they would believe in him if he would indulge them by granting them a remission in certain laws, among them the stoning of the married fornicator. The meaning of the warning ‘…beware of them…’ is not to indicate that he would otherwise have acted wrongly, but rather to clarify the law and its importance. It is like His addressing him with the imperative, ‘Establish the prayer…’ and suchlike.

…And if they turn back,… If they turn away from the right and true, and accept not thy judgement, O Messenger.

…know that Allah wishes but to afflict them for some of their sins,… Rebellion against Allah and His Messenger, may Allah condescend upon him and his House, leads to the punishment of Allah, glorified be He, and their recalcitrance towards the Messenger’s judgement was a cause of Allah’s anger, leading in turn to His taking them for some of their sins. Or their recalcitrance was itself the punishment of some of the sins they had committed—a man said to Imam Ali, bliss be upon him, that he was deprived from the mid-night prayer; he replied that ‘Your sins are restraining you.’

…and indeed many of humankind are truly perverse. They are ‘truly perverse’ (la fasiqụn) in that they have departed and are external to obedience to Allah, glorified be He. The phrase was to console the Prophetso that he would not be sad at the fact that his rule was not being accepted.

Is it for the judgement of the ignorance that they yearn? Who is more beautiful than Allah in judgement, for a tribe certain?

(50)

Is it for the judgement of the ignorance that they yearn?… The interrogative is to affect censure. Do the Jews prefer to be judged according to the law of ignorance? The meaning of ‘ignorance’, here, is human ignorance that seeks not to be judged according to a fixed legal structure but rather by desires, ties of class and kin and by prejudices and suchlike. In short, whoso seeks a law other than Allah’s law seeks the laws of ignorance—even when the law rests with a majority in a parliament.

…Who is more beautiful than Allah in judgement,… The question form gives the sense that there is no law better than the law of Allah.

…for a tribe certain? It means a people who have certainty in Allah and the last day, for they know that Allah’s laws are the best of all laws, and that they are free of all the deviations that affect human laws.

After His having explained, glorified be He, the deviation and straying of the Jews, He now mentions that there is no permission to take them or the Christians as patrons (awliya). Concerning the circumstances of this revelation, it is said that a man from among the Muslims said that he had a right upon such and such Jew, and that he would take refuge with him. Another said that he had a right upon such and such Christian and that he would take refuge with him. And so this ayah was sent down:

O ye who believe, take not the Jews and Christians as patrons—some of them are patrons of others. And whoso among ye is patronised by them—indeed he is of them; indeed Allah guides not the wrongful tribe.

(51)

O ye who believe, take not the Jews and Christians as patrons… The Muslims are not to befriend them to the extent that the relationship is as one between a patron and his protégé, or that their friendship be such that they be intimate friends.

…—some of them are patrons of others…. Some of them patronise and assist and succour others—against the Muslims. The truth of this has become apparent in the real world over fourteen centuries, for the Jews and Christians have consistently supported each other against the Muslims, despite all the enmity and hostility between themselves.

…And whoso among ye is patronised by them… Whoso befriends them to the extent that they are as patrons and supporters instead of fellow Muslims,

…—indeed he is of them;… That is, by his actions he is a disbeliever, and bound for the fire, and a danger to the Muslims. And the truth of this has been witnessed over the past century as those Muslims who have taken patronage from the disbelievers have been the most dangerous of all to the Muslims, giving succour to the disbelievers and being succoured by them.

…indeed Allah guides not the tribe wrongful. Such as wrong themselves after their knowledge and recognition, for truly Allah, glorified be He, no longer graces them with His hidden grace.

Following upon this decisive ordinance which has been proven by the logic of the history of Islam, in that every protégé desires the good of his patron, rather than the good of the community, the matter is expounded upon:

So thou see those in whose hearts is a disease rushing about them; they say, ‘We fear that a turnabout will afflict us.’

It may be that Allah will give a conquest or a matter from Himself, then for what they secreted within themselves they shall become regretful.

(52 )

So thou see those in whose hearts is a disease rushing about them;… The Messenger, may Allah condescend upon him and his House, was a witness to those in whose hearts was the disease of doubt and hypocrisy rushing about befriending the book-folk and taking them as patrons. Ibn ‘Abbas has stated that the person meant was ‘Abdullah b. Ubayy, in that the companion Ibn Samit came to the Messenger, may Allah condescend upon him and his House, and said, ‘O Messenger of Allah, I have friends (awliya) among the Jews who are many in numbers, strong in their persons and enthusiastic, yet I renounce their patronage unto Allah and His Messenger, for I have no patron but Allah and His Messenger.’ At this Ibn Ubayy said, ‘But I do not renounce the patronage of the Jews, for I fear a turnabout, and I must have them.' Perhaps they are said to be ‘rushing’ (yusari’ụn) so as to hint that they were seeking ties of patronage without there being any apparent signs of their needing patronage, for they were seeking them as patrons in case the time came when they needed them, which is a worse evil than taking them as patrons at a time when the Muslims had suffered some setback.

…they say,… That is, they said in justification for what they were doing:

…‘We fear that a turnabout will afflict us.’ They meant a reversal of fortune that would raise the disbelievers over the Muslims, and that they were taking them as patrons now so that if ever such a reversal should occur, they would be protected.

…It may be that Allah will give a conquest… It was a hint of victory for the Muslims over the disbelievers.

…or a matter from Himself,… It means other means of the Muslims becoming grand and powerful, like increase in numbers, the evacuation of the disbelievers, and suchlike.

…then for what they secreted within themselves they shall become regretful. Those hypocrites who befriended outsiders in fear of the grandeur of the disbelievers and setbacks for the Muslims would then regret their having taken such close ties with the Jews. Perhaps the term ‘what they secreted’, despite their being open about their taking patronage in fear of a turnabout, is to allude to their having hidden much else within themselves—as is typical with hypocrisy and hypocrites. As for their regret, it was not for the sake of truth but because they would then be twice losers, having lost the confidence of the Muslims after they had recognised their hypocrisy, while their friends the disbelievers had been defeated.

And those who believe say, ‘Are those them who swore by Allah their earnest oaths that indeed they “are with ye”?’ Their deeds are for nothing and they’ve become of the losers.

(53)

And those who believe say… Upon the promise of Allah of victory for the Muslims or His bringing about some other form of grandeur, the genuine believers will say in amazement at the hypocrisy of the hypocrites and their insolence before Allah in declaring a false faith:

…‘Are those them who swore by Allah their earnest oaths… That is: ‘Are those hypocrites whose real natures have become clear the same people who swore their firmest, strongest oaths to the effect:

…that indeed they “are with ye”?’… That is, that they were with the believers in genuinely having faith and in the struggle. How could they have made such oaths, when their real natures have become clear in the decisive battle that has raised the Muslims? Hypocrisy only becomes properly clear in battle and in difficulties, and when the Muslims recognised their hypocrisy they were sure to be astonished at their show of faith and their crude, false oaths by which they sought to prop up their professions of faith and their place among the Muslims.

…Their deeds are for nothing and they’ve become of the losers. All the acts of obedience performed by the hypocrites were wiped out by their hypocrisy. Or all their efforts in bonding with the two sides were futile because of the defeat of the disbelievers, and the believers’ recognition of them as hypocrites and thus refraining from them. They were therefore losers both in the world and in the hereafter.

Having dealt with the issue of the harm of hypocrisy, the narrative now turns to the believers, explaining that were they to apostatise, they should not imagine that their doing so would be of any harm to Allah’s religion, glorified be He, as in every age Allah has entrusted His religion to those who will implement the conditions of faith. So the apostate only harms himself, and can do no harm to the religion of Allah, the Most High:

O ye who believe, whoso apostatises from his religion among ye, Allah shall shortly bring a tribe whom He loves and who love Him—lowly upon the believers, grand upon the disbelievers; they will combat in Allah’s path, and will fear not the blame of any blamer. That is Allah’s profusion, He grants it to whom He wills; and Allah is expansive, aware.

O ye who believe, whoso apostatises from his religion among ye, … The term apostasy (irtidad) covers both leaving Islam for disbelief and also becoming a hypocrite, for the inner turning away from Islam is also a type of apostasy.

…Allah shall shortly bring a tribe whom He loves and who love Him… He has a bond unto them and they have a bond unto Him, glorified be He. ‘Shortly’ is given for sawfa, and this perhaps indicates that they should not think that the delay in the matter would produce a splint or a chink in the faith. On the contrary, the delay is for the coming of the virtuous, after the apostasy of a section of the community.

…lowly upon the believers,… ‘Lowly’ is given idhillatin, from al-dhill, meaning the opposite of harsh, or from al-dhull, meaning the opposite of grand.

…grand upon the disbelievers;… They are soft and relenting and kindly towards the believers, harsh and severe with the disbelievers. This is commendatory, for to be kindly towards the disbelievers would facilitate the persistence of disbelief, whereas to manifest severity leads to the withdrawing of disbelief into itself, without affecting the believers with weakness. It is as He says, glorified be He, in another ayah, ‘…severe against the disbelievers, compassionate among themselves…’.

…and will fear not the blame of any blamer…. ‘Combat’, or jihad, necessitates the apportioning of blame by people from among both the Muslims and the disbelievers. The case of the latter is clear; as for the former, it is because views generally differ, and so some will blame others, as has been presently experienced. Many people are prevented from waging jihad not by the difficulties of jihad, but by the blaming of blamers and the criticism of critics. This ayah was certainly sent down in praise of Imam Ali, bliss be upon him, and his noble companions, even though literally the sense is general, as is generally the case with the ayat of the glorious Quran. Perhaps the term ‘…shall shortly bring…’, despite Imam Ali, bliss be upon him, being present at the time the verse was sent down, is because of the attribute ‘…they will combat…’; since one might say, ‘I will soon bring one who will do such and such’ when what is meant is that the person will soon do the act, not that the person will shortly come.

…That is Allah’s profusion,… The bringing of such a tribe whom Allah will love and who will love Allah, and their being gentle unto the believers and firm upon the disbelievers, and their waging the combat without fearing any blame or censure, is grace and profusion from Allah, in that He has graced them with these qualities and guided them to the truth.

…He grants it to whom He wills;… He grants that profusion to those He wills, those He knows are worthy of it and fitting for it.

…and Allah is expansive,… His profusion is expansive, and that He bestows it upon someone should not be grounds for imagining that thereby it is in any way depleted.

…aware. He is aware of where to deposit His grace and bestow His generosity.

Having given, glorified be He, that it is not permissible for the believers to take the disbelievers as patrons, He now explains that the believers’ patron is Allah, and that it is necessary for them to take Allah and His Messenger and whoever he appoints as a patron. All commentators are agreed that these ayat were sent down concerning Imam Ali, bliss be upon him, and it has been said that the remaining eleven Imams are not included, and that the term ‘sole’ (given for innama) restricts it to him. The answer to this is, firstly, that the restriction only applied at the time of the ayah’s descent, whereas their having this rank was after that. Secondly, and more valid, is the fact that the Imams being patrons was a furtherance of Imam Ali, bliss be upon him, being the patron – just as we say that so and so is the governor of a particular territory, and whoso he appoints as the governor of an area within that territory governs it by extension of the authority of the governor of the whole territory.

Your sole patron is Allah and His Messenger and ‘those who believe’—those who establish the prayer and pay the zakat while they are bowing.

(55)

Your sole patron is Allah… The absolute patron and authority is Allah, for His is the power and the authority over every aspect of ourselves and our affairs.

and ‘those who believe’… It means that believer in particular who has this attribute:

…—those who establish the prayer and pay the zakat while they are bowing. ‘Zakat’ here means charity. Narrators of both schools have narrated that this verse refers to Imam Ali, bliss be upon him, who gave a ring in charity while he was bowing in the prayer. In some narrations we have it that, while in prayer even before that, he gave as charity a valuable staff worth a thousand dinars that was a gift from the king of Ethiopia to the Prophet who had gifted it to Ali, bliss be upon him.

He then recounts, glorified be He, that under their patronage is to be found deliverance and success and victory, and that whoever thinks that success is to be found under the patronage of others is mistaken. And history has confirmed this, for whenever the Muslims have stuck to their patronage they have prospered and progressed, whereas whenever they have accepted the patronage of others they have failed and fallen behind:

And whoso makes a patron of Allah and His Messenger and ‘those who believe’—indeed Allah’s faction, they are the overcomers.

(56)

And whoso makes a patron of Allah… By implementing His commands, glorified be He, and refraining from the things He prohibits.

…and His Messenger… By following him and imitating him in his actions and his words.

…and ‘those who believe’… That is, ‘Ali and the Imams, bliss be upon them, according to the circumstances of the descent, or every believer in general as opposed to taking the disbelievers as patrons.

…—indeed Allah’s faction, they are the overcomers. It is the army and community of Allah who overcome all other parties, factions and armies. There is a break here, because the phrase is not, ‘indeed they are the overcomers’, and this indicates that Allah’s protégés are counted as being Allah’s faction and His community, so that the matter is not one sided on the part of the slave, but also from the side of Allah too, so while the slave seeks Allah’s patronage, Allah does in fact grant it, with all its benefits.

The Muslims have been prohibited from taking the Jews and Christians as patrons, so now the narrative turns to prohibit the taking of any disbeliever or any other scripturalist as a patron. It is narrated concerning the circumstances of this revelation that Zaid b. al-Tabụt and Suwaid b. al-Hirth made a show of Islam, and then some of the Muslims closely befriended them; and so this ayah was sent down. If that is the case, then the ayah also covers the hypocrite:

O ye who believe, take not those who take your religion in scorn and in sport from among those given the book before thee and the disbelievers as patrons, and be guardful of Allah if ye be believers.

(57)

O ye who believe, take not those who take your religion in scorn and in sport… It means those who make a game of religion and play with it, by manifesting Islam outwardly while inwardly maintaining disbelief in their hearts. Or it means making a sport of it by deriding it and mocking it.

…from among those given the book before thee… It means those whose communities that had received heavenly revelations, the followers of the religions that preceded Islam.

…and the disbelievers… The term ‘disbelievers’ includes the hypocrites, as has been explained. It is plain that the term also includes the book-folk, but in the sense of this particular revelation the term is meant to cover the other disbelievers.

…as patrons, and be guardful of Allah if ye be believers. That is, do not oppose Him if ye believe in Him and His instructions.

And when ye call unto the prayer, they take it in scorn and in sport; that is because they are a tribe reflecting not.

(58)

And when ye call unto the prayer, they take it in scorn and in sport;… When the Muslims call out for the prayer, they make fun of the prayer by winking and laughing, as is customary with hypocrites today as well.

…that is because they are a tribe reflecting not. The disbelievers make fun of the prayer for the simple reason that they do not reflect about the benefits of the prayer, and do not realise that it is the way of deliverance from the fire.

A group of Jews came to the Messenger, may Allah condescend upon him and his House, and asked him which of the previous Prophets he believed in. He said that he believed in Allah and what was sent down upon Ibrahim, Isma‘il, Isĥaq until he reached ‘isa When they heard him say that they denied his prophethood and said, ‘We know of no religion’s followers with a lesser portion in the world and in the hereafter than ye, and we know of no religion worse than your religion.’ And so this ayah came down:

Say, O ye the book-folk, are ye enraged at us other than for our believing in Allah and that sent down to us and that sent down beforehand, while most of ye are perverse.’

(59)

Say, O ye the book-folk, are ye enraged at us other than for our believing in Allah… That is, with a faith that does not embrace elements of disbelief, as that of the book-folk.

…and that sent down beforehand,… That is, the revelations sent down upon all the previous Prophets.

…while truly of ye are perverse?’ It was their perversity as having departed from the natural path of Allah’s religion that gave rise to their criticism of the Prophet. The form of this phrase is in line with such usage as: ‘Do you criticise me other than for my being chaste, whereas you are brazen?’ or ‘…other than for my being generous, whereas you are mean?’ Such phrases are part of the beauty of Arabic.

Say, ‘Shall I announce to ye of worse than that in reward from Allah? Whomso Allah curses and is angry upon, and put some of them as apes and pigs, and who worshipped the false god. Those are the worst in location and the most astray from the evenness of path.

(60)

Say,… The directive, in the singular, is to Allah’s Messenger, may Allah condescend upon him and his House.

…‘Shall I announce to ye of worse than that… That is: if you say our belief is evil, let me tell you about something far worse than that.

…in reward from Allah?… It means in requital from Him, glorified be He. It is called ‘reward’ in mockery of them. As for the belief of the Muslims being ‘evil’, even though it was nothing but goodness, it was not countered for the sake of being able to draw the contrast.

…Whomso Allah curses… ‘Curses’ is put for la ‘ana, meaning to cast from His mercy. The curse of Allah was clearly worse than anything the Muslims believed.

…and is angry upon… Angry for the reason of their disobedience and their rejection of the truth.

…and put some of them as apes… It is as He says, ‘…We said to them, “Be apes, outcast!”…’.

…and pigs… He transformed them into the forms of these two dirty animals.

…and who worshipped the false god…. This is a conjunct to ‘whomso Allah curses’. The false god (al-taghụt) was the golden calf that their people had worshipped.

…are the worst in location… Their place in hell was worse than the position of the believers whom they criticised. It has been given that such language is for literary comparison, for otherwise there is nothing evil about the position of the believers.

…and the most astray from the evenness of path. They are far more astray from the centre of the path.

Given that the present discussion began with a consideration of matters common to both the hypocrite and the book-folk, He now mentions, glorified be He, one of the hypocrite’s particular characteristics, the fact that admonition and guidance has no affect on them:

And when they come to ye, they say, ‘We believe’—while they enter with disbelief and they depart with it; and Allah is more aware of what they conceal.

(61)

And when they come to ye, they say, ‘We believe’… Whenever they come into contact with the Muslims they claim to have believed just as the believers have believed.

—while they enter with disbelief and they depart with it;… That is, they enter every discourse in a condition of disbelief and they leave the discourse in that same condition of disbelief. The terminology is such as to convey the idea that their disbelief is something they carry around with them from place to place and from sitting to sitting, without it ever changing. Admonition and eloquence has no effect on them, as their hearts are with their brothers the disbelievers, rather than with the Muslims.

…and Allah is more aware of what they conceal. That is, Allah is more aware than the believers of the disbelief and hypocrisy that the hypocrites hide.

These disbelievers also have another vice along with their disbelief, and which is a corollary of their deviation, and this vice is indicated in His word:

And thou see many of them rushing in sin and enmity and their consuming of the ill-gotten. Truly atrocious is what they do.

(62)

And thou see many of them rushing in sin and enmity… The Messenger, may Allah condescend upon him and his House, could see that their leaders and their leading men were competing with each other in sin and transgression against the people. Since they did not believe in Allah and their so-called religiosity was entirely outward, their thoughts were centred on hunting more and more wealth and position, and so they competed with each other in that. Sins had no importance for them, as their hearts were empty of belief, and transgression is the characteristic of those who seek only to improve their worldly lives.

…and their consuming of the ill-gotten…. They consumed all they could of the fruits of forbidden property, bribery, usury, the wealth of orphans and of acquiring the wealth of people unlawfully.

…Truly atrocious is what they do. That is because their deeds lead them to humiliation in the world and the hereafter.

Here the thread turns to address the scholars and pious among them, demanding why they were silent in the face of these instances of the dishonourable and these crimes?

Why do the servants and the clerics not forbid them from their word of sin and their consuming of the ill-gotten? Truly atrocious is what they work.

(63)

Why do the servants and the clerics not forbid them… Why do they not forbid those of their people who rush about for the purposes of sin and expressing their enmity.

…from their word of sin… The term ‘their word of sin’ (qawlihim al-ithm) covers everything a person says that is wrong, like lying, backbiting, slander, distortion and so forth.

…and their consuming the ill-gotten?… ‘The ill-gotten’ (al-suĥt) includes usury and bribes and suchlike, and is the most severe of all the forbidden.

…Truly atrocious is what they work. It means what the scholars and religious classes do, for their silence before the false and their self-adornment is a kind of ‘work’ (san’ ).

He then gives an example, glorified be He, for their ‘word of sin’, in His word:

And the Jews say, ‘Allah’s hand is shackled.’ Their hands be shackled! And cursed they are for what they say. Nay, Allah’s hands are both outstretched, He dispenses how He wills.

And what is sent down to thee from they Master indeed increases many of them in transgression and disbelief; and We cast among them enmity and hatred until the day of resurrection—the more they prepare a fire for war, Allah quenches it—and they strive in the earth in corruption, and Allah loves not the corrupters.

(64)

And the Jews say, ‘Allah’s hand is shackled.’… They meant that He dispenses not and bestows not, in seeking to justify their own miserliness, for if Allah Himself dispenses not, how could they be expected to dispense? It is said that the circumstances of the revelation were such that the Jews had been the most wealthy of the people of Madina, but when the Messenger arrived and they belied him, their economic fortunes went into decline, and one of the Jews, a man called Fakhas, said that the hand of Allah was shackled. And so this came to refute him.

…Their hands be shackled!… It is a supplicative exclamation, meaning may their hands be deprived of goodness. Or it is informative, meaning that the Jews are wicked and miserly, and that their hands are shackled, not the hand of Allah, glorified be He.

…And cursed they are for what they say…. Allah curses them and casts them from His mercy for what they say.

…Nay, Allah’s hands are both outstretched,… The term is to indicate that He is generous and the giver of plenty. The mention of His having ‘hands’ is to provide a literary parallel, and it is used in the plural to indicate the full meaning of generosity.

…He dispenses how He wills. His putting the Jews into conditions of constraint was not proof that His hand was shackled, but that He dispenses how He wills, according to His wisdom and the what is best.

He then mentions, glorified be He, that the descent of the Quran and their exposure increased many of the Jews in nothing but deviation and straying:

…And what is sent down to thee from they Master indeed increases many of them… Not all of them, for some of them were guided as a result of the sacred Quran being sent down.

…in transgression and disbelief;… Their transgression and rejection of the belief was increased by the descent of the Quran. As for their increase in disbelief, it was because whenever they denied an ayah and a rule, their concealing the truth and disbelieving in it was augmented. And as for their increase in transgression, that is because they opposed the call more and more as they saw it advance.

…and We cast among them enmity and hatred… That is, among the Jews. Their nature that had fermented within themselves by their self-love, their belief that they were Allah’s chosen ones, and their miserliness with material things is bound to give rise to enmity among themselves—for as long as they are Jews and cling to these pathetic beliefs. That is because the causes of conflict in the world generally turn on matters of status and wealth, and these two are concealed within the heart of every Jew. And history has shown the proof of this, for the Jews are always in conflict with each other and hate each other—and even in contemporary Palestine the Jewish parties and forces are engaged in the ugliest forms of hatred and enmity.

…until the day of resurrection… It has been explained that the meaning of this term is the permanence of the law, not the permanence of the Jews.

…—the more they prepare a fire for war, Allah quenches it… Whenever they wish to make war against the Muslims, Allah defeats them and grants victory to the Muslims. History has proven this, for the Prophetwas victorious over the Jews of Quraizah, Nazir, the Khaibar, Fadak and others, although their numbers and equipment were superior, and after that the Muslims could no longer fight the Muslims. And even in present-day Palestine, they depend upon ‘a rope from the people’.

…—and they strive in the earth in corruption,… They are constant in working corruption, in their seeking supremacy over other people.

…and Allah loves not the corrupters.He loathes them, for every worker of good is loved, and every worker of corruption is loathed.

And were the book-folk to believe and be guardful, We definitely would cover their evils and We would definitely enter them into gardens of blessings.

(65)

And were the book-folk to believe and be guardful,…That is, if they were to believe in what Allah had sent down, and become guardful against disobeying Him.

…We definitely would cover their evils… That is, their past sins, for the acceptance of Islam by a person wipes out all that he has done before.

…and We would definitely enter them into gardens of blessings. Those gardens that contain all the various blessings and munificence.

And had they established the Torah and the Gospel and that sent down to them from their Master, they would have eaten from above them and from under their feet. Among them is a moderate nation, while many of them—evil is what they do.

(66)

And had they established the Torah and the Gospel… Had the Jews implemented them without distortions and without adding to them and removing from them.

…and that sent down to them from their Master,… That is, the Quran, which was sent down to them in the sense of it being sent down among them and in their time.

…they would have eaten from above them… It means from the heavens, as Allah makes the skies a means of copious abundance for those who believe and are guardful.

…and from under their feet…. The land would have produced abundant goodness and blessings, as He says, glorified be He, ‘Had the townsfolk believed and been guardful, We would have opened unto them the blessings of the heaven and the earth…’

…Among them is a moderate nation,… It means that among the Jews there were some who were just and balanced in their works, who neither exaggerated nor were they deficient. In this every community is the same, some are balanced while others are extreme. Or it means those who believed in the Messenger, may Allah condescend upon him and his House, who are said to be ‘among them’ in consideration of their past.

…while many of them—evil is what they do. It means that most of them were on one of the two extremes, and evil was what they did.

O thou the Messenger, deliver that sent down unto thee from they Master. And if thou do not, thou will not have delivered His message. And Allah protects thee from humankind; indeed Allah guides not the tribe disbelieving.

(67)

O thou the Messenger, deliver that sent down unto thee from they Master…. This ayah was sent down on the occasion of the Messenger’s appointing Imam ‘Ali, bliss be upon him, to succeed him—as all the commentators are agreed. The Messenger, may Allah condescend upon him and his House, feared the hypocrites on that account, so Allah clarified the importance of the issue in His word:

…And if thou do not,… If the Messenger, may Allah condescend upon him and his House, failed to establish the appointment of Imam Ali, bliss be upon him, it would have been as if:

…thou will not have delivered His message…. The whole of the mission was dependent upon this appointment. That is obvious, as the failure to appoint the successor would have meant the loss of the religion and all the efforts would have been futile. Allah was safeguarding him from that which he feared, and so said:

…And Allah protects thee from humankind;… That is, they were not able to cause the tribulation, revolution and annoyances which the Messenger, may Allah condescend upon him and his House, feared at the time. When the Messenger, may Allah condescend upon him and his House, had departed from his ‘Farewell Hajj’, in the middle of the desert, he commanded that a platform be raised for him, and he gave a long and eloquent address. Then he took the hand of Ali, bliss be upon him, and said, ‘He whose patron I am, so this ‘Ali is his patron; O Allah, befriend he who befriends ‘Ali, and be an enemy to he who is an enemy to him, succour he who succours him and forsake he who forsakes him….’ At this his poet, Hassan b. Thabit, composed the lines that begin:

…indeed Allah guides not the tribe disbelieving. That is, those who disbelieve in the Messenger’s mission. The meaning of His not guiding them is that He graces them not with any further grace once they have turned away from the truth in obstinacy and arrogance. Perhaps the connection between the ayah and that which precedes it and which follows it is that just as the people were ordered to accept it, the Messenger, may Allah condescend upon him and his House, was ordered to deliver it. It is graced by the discourse, with a change in style in the middle of an issue, is a matter of eloquence, as it gives a shock that drives the issue home—as we have seen in similar ayat.

Say: ‘O ye the book-folk, ye are on nothing until ye establish the Torah and the Gospel and that sent down unto ye from your Master.’

And what is sent down to thee from they Master will indeed increase many of them in transgression and disbelief; so despair not for the tribe disbelieving.

(68)

Say: ‘O ye the book-folk, ye are on nothing… The Messenger, may Allah condescend upon him and his House, was to tell the Jews that they were not a valid path of religiosity such as Allah, glorified be He, is content with for His servants.

…until ye establish the Torah and the Gospel and that sent down unto ye from your Master.’… They were to ‘establish’ the Torah and the Gospel and the Quran by implementing their contents without distortion and without amendments. It has been given that the Quran was sent down ‘unto’ them in the sense that it was sent down in their presence.

…And what is sent down to thee from they Master will indeed increase many of them in transgression and disbelief;… Instead of them being guided by the Quran it only increased them in transgression, in that the more they witnessed of it the more they decided to oppose it and to deny all that was in it. The attribution of this attribute to the Quran itself is metaphorical, otherwise the increase was due to their own selves.

…so despair not for the tribe disbelieving. The Prophet was not to let himself become upset by that group who disbelieved even though they had recognised it as the truth, who turned away from guidance after witnessing it and recognising it.

Having given that Allah does not guide the disbelieving tribe, suggesting that they are not capable of being guided, He now states, glorified be He, that were they to believe, they would be bound to receive what all other believers receive, the goodly wage and reward:

Indeed those who believe and those Judaised and the Sabians and the Nazarenes—whoso believes in Allah and the day of resurrection and acts virtuously, no fear is upon them and nor do they sorrow.

(69)

Indeed those who believe… It means those who profess the belief by making the dual testimony, the shahadatain.

…and the Sabians… ‘Sabians’ is given for sabi.ụn. They were a Christian sect, or another religious denomination, as explained in Sụrah Baqara. The precise grammar indicated by the form sabi.ụn, rather than sabi.in, indicates that even the Sabian from whom there is no hope of goodness, still his faith would be accepted—so how then will it be for others?

…and the Nazarenes… That is, Christians. All of these acquire no deliverance or reward on account of their names or their generally belonging to these denominations. Nay:

…—whoso believes in Allah and the day of resurrection… It means with a real belief in the heart, unpolluted by partnerism and suchlike.

…no fear is upon them and nor do they sorrow. They have nothing to fear and no cause for sorrow—neither in the world nor in the hereafter. As for the hereafter, the matter is clear. But in the world, it is because fear and sorrow are only real when there is no hope of escape and being free of the conditions that cause them, and the genuine believer is never without such hope. Therefore the fear of the believer is not like the fear of the disbeliever, and the same applies to sorrow.

The Jews never had a genuine belief, not even in their early days. So why should their refusal to believe disturb the Messenger, may Allah condescend upon him and his House, now?

Most truly We took the pact of the sons of Isra.il and We sent unto them messengers—whenever a messenger came to them with what their souls desired not, a division of them they belied and a division of them they killed.

(70)

Most truly We took the pact of the sons of Isra.il… That is, their emphatic promise to believe in Allah and His Prophets and to follow His commands.

…and We sent unto them messengers… The Messengers brought them guidance to the truth, but they broke their pact and opposed His commands and had the nerve to commit the foulest of crimes.

…—whenever a messenger came to them with what their souls desired not,… Whenever they were not inclined to what was brought them, in that it did not accord to their desires.

…a division of them they belied… Like ‘Isa,. These they called liars and denied that they were from God.

They reckoned their would be no tribulation, so they went blind and deaf, and thereupon Allah relented unto them, and then many of them went blind and deaf—and Allah is observing of what they do.

(71)

They reckoned their would be no tribulation,… The Jews who belied the Prophets and killed them thought that their killing the Prophets and calling them liars would not lead to tribulation (fitna). This is true of all those who commit major crimes, they suppose that the social conditions will continue much as they desire them to. Yet the reality is the exact opposite, since in order for a society to remain free of defects and disasters requires that it follows the teachings of the Prophets, and when a Prophet is denied his place of leadership and guidance by being killed or being belied, the society becomes subject to the severest disasters and the sternest tribulations.

…so they went blind and deaf,… That is, they became deaf and blind to the path of guidance due to their killing the Prophets and denying them. People see the path and hear the truth to their benefit for as long as it is a light that illuminates things for them, but when the light goes out, and the guide is denied, they can no longer see their path nor hear the truth until they fall into disaster.

…and thereupon Allah relented unto them,… By sending other Prophets. His ‘relenting’ (tawba) is general, and does not mean that he forgave them their killing the Prophets.

…and then many of them went blind and deaf… Again many of them became blind and deaf to the truth, in that they abandoned the teachings of the Prophets and they met their destinies in deviation. But not all of them, as some of them believed and were guided.

…—and Allah is observing of what they do. He will requite them for the crimes and sins they committed.

This has been the conditions of the Jews, in that they disbelieved after Allah had guided them to the path. And the Christians were like their brothers the Jews in being blind to the truth after being guided:

Definitely disbelieved have those who say, ‘Indeed Allah, He is the Masih, son of Maryam’ while the Masih said, ‘O sons of Isra.il, worship Allah, my Master and your Master; and whoso partners unto Allah—Allah has banned the garden for him, and his abode is the fire; and the wrongful have no succourers.’

(72)

Definitely disbelieved have those who say, ‘Indeed Allah, He is the Masih, son of Maryam’… They said that Allah, glorified be He, had united with the Masih and so the two have become one. Of course this is ridiculous, for if the two remain as two after the union there has been no union, and if only one remains then there is but one, and if neither exist then there is nothing. Then they said that the Masih is Allah, when the Masih himself that he was but the slave of Allah:

…while the Masih said, ‘O sons of Isra.il, worship Allah, my Master and your Master;… He told the Jews to worship Allah, the one, before whom all are slaves, being His creatures.

…and whoso partners unto Allah… It means setting up some partner in His place, whether He is acknowledged alongside the partner or not, as this too is setting up a partner unto Allah.

…and the wrongful have no succourers.’ The wrongful who wrong themselves through partnerism have no one to come to their aid against the violence of Allah and His chastisement.

Here the narrative turns to another branch of the Christians, those who established three gods:

And definitely disbelieved have those who say, ‘Indeed Allah is the third of three’ while there is not any god save a single god. And if they desist not from what they say those who disbelieve among them will be touched by a painful chastisement.

(73)

And definitely disbelieved have those who say, ‘Indeed Allah is the third of three’… They hold that Allah is one of the three gods—Allah, God the father, the Masih, God the son, and God the holy spirit—and that these three are one. And when they were asked to explain how this was possible when it was self-contradictory, they would say that it is a matter above the human mind, and that it is not necessary for us to know the how of it. And they raise the question of how we Muslims can admit that Allah is never fully known, and yet deny that the issue of divine unity and trinity is above the level of human rationality. The reply is that the difference is the most clear of all that is clear, in that what they are saying is not possible and not rational, for it is not possible for one to be three and three to be one, while we maintain that there is something but that we cannot fully fathom it, so that the difference is between that which is irrational and that which is imperceptible.

…while there is not any god save a single god…. Existence has only one god, and that is Allah, glorified be He.

…And if they desist not from what they say… That is, if the Christians who maintain the trinity continue to say this thing about God being three:

…those who disbelieve among them will be touched by a painful chastisement. In the world and the hereafter. ‘Those who disbelieve of them…’ is given instead of ‘they…’ as a means of emphasis that is, in the Arabic, a style of eloquence. It is intended to show that it is because of their saying that thing that they are disbelievers, emphasising the earlier, ‘And definitely disbelieved have those who say…’ . It is like it might be said, ‘Stop what you are doing, or I will imprison the doer of that deed,’ instead of, ‘…or I will imprison you,’ when it is intended to show clearly that the cause of the imprisonment is the doing of that deed.

There then follows an interrogative of astonishment, and it is established in the principles of jurisprudence that such interrogatives and expressions of astonishment are to serve the purpose of expressing the will for the topic of the interrogative and the astonishment and suchlike, so as to express the call or the prohibition in a different way. Thus the interrogative and the astonishment are not on account of ignorance about the matter or amazement, as it is in the case of ourselves. He says, glorified be He:

Will they not repent unto Allah and seek His forgiveness? Allah is forgiving, merciful.

(74)

Will they not repent unto Allah… Will those Jews and Christians not give up those low beliefs and absurd words, and return to Allah, glorified be He?

…and seek His forgiveness?… That is, for their past disbelief and disobedience,

…Allah is forgiving, merciful. He would forgive them were they to repent or seek His forgiveness, and He would mercy them from His profusion were they to return to the path of obedience.

Having mentioned the opinions of the Christians about the Masih, He now explains the reality of ‘Isa, and that he was not as they supposed:

The Masih son of Maryam was but a messenger, messengers having vacated before him. And his mother was truthful—they would eat food. Look how We clarify for them the signs, then look how deviated they are.

(75)

The Masih son of Maryam was but a messenger,… The Masih son of Maryam, bliss be upon him, was a Messenger of the God, not a god himself. He is mentioned as being the ‘son of Maryam’ so as to refute his being the son of Allah.

…messengers having vacated before him…. He was a Prophet just like the other Prophets who preceded him, and just as they were not gods, so he was not a god.

…was truthful… She was pronounced in her truthfulness and in her confirming Allah and His signs. She was not a god as was imagined by a party of the Christians, who maintained a trinity of the father, the mother and the son.

…—they would eat food…. It a characteristic of the creatures to eat food, not of the God, since the eater of food is dependent upon food, and has a stomach, and has parts, and has moods, and all of this negates his being God.

…look… The address is in the singular. The Messenger, may Allah condescend upon him and his House, was to look how Allah clarifies His signs for those Christians.

…how We clarify for them the signs,… His ‘signs’ means the proofs of ‘Isa not being God.

…then look how deviated they are. That is, how they turn away from the truth after the truth had been clarified and proven by the signs.

Say, ‘Do ye worship instead of Allah that which possesses neither your adversity nor your benefit? And Allah—He is the Hearing, the Aware.’

(76)

Say,… The Prophet was to say to those deviated Christians who worshipped the Masih as God:

…‘Do ye worship instead of Allah that which has not the authority over ye to harm or to benefit?… Nothing in existence can harm or benefit another save with the permission of Allah—and harming and benefiting through the normal means, like one who murders and presents a gift, or through the unseen means, like the Prophet and the Imams, all of that is because Allah has set some particular causes to produce precise effects, and has put the agent in control over the causes; yet in the final analysis all of it is under the authority of Allah, glorified be He.

…And Allah—He is the Hearing, the Aware.’ He hears the words and is aware of our inner beings, as well as our activities. So the Christians should be wary of opposing Him so as not to be subject to His punishments.

Say, ‘O ye the book-folk, exaggerate not in your religion other than the truth. And follow not the desires of a tribe who certainly strayed from yore, and they sent many astray and they strayed from the evenness of path.

(77)

Say, ‘O ye the book-folk,… The Prophet’s address was to be directed either to both the Jews and the Christians, for the Jews maintained that ‘Uzair is the son of Allah, and denied that ‘Isa was a Messenger of Allah, which is a form of negative exaggeration; or it was to be directed just at the Christians.

…exaggerate not in your religion… It refers to their saying that ‘Isa is Allah, or the third of three, or that he is the son of Allah.

…other than the truth…. The conjunct in for explanation, for every form of exaggeration (ghulụ) is other than the truth.

…And follow not the desires of a tribe who certainly strayed from yore,… When their predecessors were astray in their beliefs and their exaggerations, why were they following them. When in ancient times they were astray, why were they following in their footsteps of falsehood.

…and they sent many astray… They sent many astray by leading them into the straying of disbelief and partnerism.

…and they strayed from the evenness of path. They strayed from the straight road. The repetition is to show a difference, in that one straying was ‘from yore’ while the other was’ from the evenness of path’. Or the meaning of ‘tribe’ was their leaders who maintained the divinity of ‘Isa in front of the Prophet, and who perceived yet did not believe. They strayed before the mission of the Prophetby their belief in trinity, and after the Prophet’s mission by their disbelief in him.

Those of the sons of Isra.il who disbelieved are cursed on the tongue of Da.ud and ‘isa, son of Maryam. That was in that they disobeyed and were aggressors.

(78)

Those of the sons of Isra.il who disbelieved are cursed… The curse was upon them from ancient times, for they were persistently doing ugly deeds and disbelieving in the Prophets and saying unworthy things about God.

…on the tongue of Da.ud… The Prophet David, bliss be upon him, in his book the Zabụr.

…and ‘isa, son of Maryam…. And on the tongue of ‘Isa in the Gospel. They were cursed by Da.ụd, bliss be upon him, because of their violating the Sabbath, and so they were turned into apes. And ‘Isa, bliss be upon him, cursed them for their further disbelieving, and so they were turned into pigs.

…That was in that they disobeyed and were aggressors. They deserved to be cursed on account of their disobedience, and they aggressively stepped beyond the limits of Allah, glorified be He.

Then He explains, glorified be He, some of their disobedience and transgressing, in His word:

They would not forbid each other from the dishonourable they did. Truly atrocious is what they did.

(79)

They would not forbid each other from the dishonourable they did…. Their scholars did not forbid the people from doing the dishonourable, and so the dishonourable flourished. So all of them deserved the punishment, some for committing the dishonourable and some for remaining silent towards those who did it.

…Truly atrocious is what they did. Vile was their committing the dishonourable and remaining silent about it.

Thou see many of them make patrons of those who disbelieve. Truly atrocious is what their souls send on for them: Allah’s wrath upon them, and in the chastisement they are eternal.

(80)

Thou see… The Prophet was a witness of how that disobedient, insolent nature of theirs had persisted until his own time, so that:

…make patrons of those who disbelieve…. The Jews sought the patronage of the disbelievers of Makka and told them that they were better guided than the Muslims, even though it is obligatory upon the believer to be hostile to those who do not acknowledge Allah and His laws.

…Truly atrocious is what their souls send on for them:… Vile indeed was that which was sent to the hereafter for the Jews by their own hands.

…Allah’s wrath upon them,… There is nothing worse for a person than that Allah’s wrath be upon him.

…and in the chastisement they are eternal. The wrath pains their souls, like one who knows that the king is angry with him. And the fire pains their bodies, as indicated in Allah’s word that is the exact counterpoint of this, ‘…and the contentment of Allah is greater…’. Thus the people of the fire suffer the two kinds of pain, while the people of the garden enjoy the two forms of delight.

And did they believe in Allah and the Prophet and that sent down upon him, they would not take them as patrons; but many of them are perverse.

(81)

And did they believe in Allah and the Prophet and that sent down upon him,… If those Jews had a genuine belief in Allah and the Prophet Muhammadand the Quran,

…they would not take them as patrons;… They would not take the disbelievers as their patrons. Or the meaning is that had they genuinely believed in Musa and his book, they would not have taken the disbelievers as patrons, for such belief would have prevented them from entering into relations of patronage—so they are liars when they claim to believe in Musa and his book.

…but many of them are perverse. Many of them are found to be outside the domain of obedience to Allah, His Messenger, may Allah condescend upon him and his House, and His book. They only claim to believe with their tongues, while their hearts are spoiled for belief.

He then mentions, glorified be He, one of the differences between the Jews and the Christians, in that the Jews generally have an obstinate, arrogant and spiteful nature, while the Christians are not that way—for many of their scholars are fair. And how true this is, for we see this even now, as we find many Christians becoming Muslims, while we only very rarely do we find any Jew accepting Islam.

Thou shall definitely find the most extreme of humankind in enmity to those who believe to be the Jews and those who partnerise. And thou shall definitely find the nearest of them in affection for those who believe to be those who say, ‘We are Christians.’ That is because among them are priests and monks, and because they are not arrogant.

(82)

Thou shall definitely find the most extreme of humankind in enmity to those who believe to be the Jews… The Jews have most enmity towards the Muslims, for they are the firmest of enemies.

…and those who partnerise…. They are in a line with the Jews and just below them in enmity to the Muslims.

…And thou shall definitely find the nearest of them in affection for those who believe… Those who are nearest of all mankind to the Muslims in love and affection:

,,,to be those who say, ‘We are Christians.’… Although they are Christians by their saying, ‘We are Christians’, yet they are not in fact upon the teachings of ‘Isa and his real religion. Nevertheless, they are the nearest of people to the Muslims in love and affection.

…That is because among them are story-tellers and ascetics,… The reason for their being closest to the Muslims is that among them are ‘preachers’ (qissisin), meaning scholars who spread the (religious) stories, and ‘ascetics’ (ruhban) who live in hermitages and suchlike.

…and because they are not arrogant. They are not too arrogant to follow the truth and implement it when they know it. And so the ayah excludes those of the Christians to whom these attributes do not apply.

The following portent, along with the portent before it and the portent after it, came down regarding the Najashi or Negus, the king of Abyssinia. The Messenger, may Allah condescend upon him and his House, had sent Ja’far b. Abi Talib (bliss be upon him) with a party of believers to the Najashi, who honoured them and welcomed the delegation. Then he sent three of his preachers to the Messenger, may Allah condescend upon him and his House, telling them to look at how he spoke and how he prayed. They arrived in Madina and the Messenger, may Allah condescend upon him and his House,invited them to Islam and recited for them the Quran:‘When Allah says, “O ‘Ịsa son of Maryam, recount my blessing upon thee and thy mother…[as far as:] …clear sorcery.’[1] Upon hearing this from Allah’s Messenger they wept and believed. Then they returned to the Negus and informed him about Allah’s Messenger and recited for him what had been recited for them. The Negus wept and the preachers wept and the Negus accepted Islam. He did not manifest his Islam to the people, but feared them for his life, and so he departed from his city to go the Messenger, may Allah condescend upon him and his House, but he died as he was crossing the sea. It was this affair that occasioned the sending down of these portents:

(83)

And when they hear that sent down unto the Messenger, thou see their eyes flooding with tears… Those Christians wept upon hearing the Quran.

…at what they recognise – the truth…. They recognised that which they had been recited as being the truth. When a person realises the truth, and sees how it is opposed from without, or sees that those who support it are oppressed, he weeps in sympathy for the truth, or for those who stand by it.

…And they say, ‘Master ours, we believe,… That is, they believed in His religion and His Messenger.

…so record us with the testifiers! That is, with those who testify to the truth; here it means the Muslims. (84).

(84)

‘Why should we not believe in Allah… Those Christians ask what reason they have not to believe in Allah with a genuine belief, like the belief of the Muslims.

…and what has come to us – the truth – … That is, the Quran and Islam.

…while we crave that our Master enters us with the virtuous tribe?’ That is, while they hoped and desired that they would be entered into the Garden along with the virtuous. (85).

(85)

So Allah rewards them for what they say… He rewards them for their words, for they are the expression of their deep belief.

…– Gardens, rivers flowing beneath them,… Gardens with streams flowing beneath the trees and palaces.

…eternal in them…. Theirs is eternity; their blessings neither cease nor decay.

…And that is the recompense of the beauty-workers. That reward is the recompense of those who work beauty: in belief, in words and in deeds. (86).

(86)

…– those are the companions of the inferno. They are constantly bound to the fire just as the people of the Garden are eternal in the Garden. (87).

Because the narrative has mentioned ascetics who made wholesome things forbidden for themselves, here comes the prohibition of the Muslims forbidding what Allah has permitted, just as extravagance and transgression are forbidden. Both extremes are objectionable, and both are forbidden:

(87)

O ye who believe, ban not the wholesome (things) that Allah has made permitted for ye,… ‘Wholesomenesses’ is given for tayyibat, meaning things that are good, clean and wholesome. When such things are permitted for us we are not to treat them as being forbidden, refraining from them as we do from the forbidden. ‘That’ is given for ma, which seems to indicate universality, and precludes the possibility of considering the ruling to apply to any particular wholesome thing. In fact the portent was sent down concerning an affair involving the Imam Ali b. Abi Talib (bliss be upon him) along with Bilal and ‘Uthman b. Maž‘ụn. Each of them had sworn an oath. Ali (bliss be upon him) had sworn that he would never sleep at night save as Allah willed, while Bilal had sworn that he would never eat or drink during the day, and ‘Uthman b. Maž‘ụn had sworn that he would never marry. And all of that was with the intention of refraining from the worldly desires in hope of the reward of Allah. Then the wife of ‘Uthman, who was a pretty woman, went to see ayisha who asked her why she looked so plain. She replied, ‘For whom should I adorn myself when, by Allah, my husband has not come near me since such and such time, for indeed he has become an ascetic and dresses in rags and has renounced the world.’ When Allah’s Messenger, may Allah condescend upon him and his House, came, Ayisha informed him about the affair, and he went out and summoned the Muslims to a congregational prayer. The people assembled and the Messenger mounted the pulpit; he praised Allah and then said,

‘What is the condition of tribes who ban for themselves the goodnesses? Indeed I sleep at night and I marry and I consume during the day, and whoso dislikes my sunnah is nothing to do with me.’

At that, those three rose to their feet and said, ‘O Allah’s Messenger, we have sworn to these.’

This does not invalidate the guardedness (al-‘ismah) of Imam Ali (bliss be upon him) for the reasons that, firstly, he put the condition, ‘unless Allah wills’, and, secondly, it is of the type: ‘O thou the Prophet, why ban thou that which Allah made lawful for thee…’ (al-Tahrim [66]; 2). Perhaps the mystery of both affairs is that prior to the prohibitions they were lawful. The word ‘why’ (lima) does not indicate an upbraiding or censure, but rather is for guidance and as a preliminary to the bestowal of the law.

…and transgress not;.. It means transgression by renunciation of the wholesome things, or by exceeding them into the area of unwholesome.

…indeed Allah loves not the transgressors. It has been given that ‘not loving’ in such phrases means loathing and hating. (87).

(88)

And eat of what Allah has provisioned ye, permitted and wholesome;… The provision of Allah is to be consumed since it is lawful and harmless and clean.

…and be guardful of Allah in whom ye are believers. We are not to oppose His commands and not to commit the things He forbids. (88).

(89)

Allah holds ye not to your vain oaths,… The solemn oaths which Allah permits are binding, and to break them requires for a penalty to be paid. But oaths that are merely verbal, such as those that commonly take place among people who swear oaths for everything big or small, and oaths that He does not permit, like an oath sworn to deny oneself some wholesome thing out of asceticism – all such oaths are vain, and breaking them is not a sin and requires no penalty.

…but he holds ye to the oath ye bind…It means the oaths that are sworn in earnest with a serious intention and which are in relation to things appropriate to such oaths. A person may vainly say, ‘No, by Allah’ and ‘Yes, by Allah’ when he has no intention of seriously swearing a solemn oath, but merely to be emphatic. In the same way, oaths sworn in relation to things that are not appropriate to such oaths are not binding. This was given in al-Baqara, but is repeated here as a summary of the above ruling and as a preliminary to the penalty or atonement (kafara).

…– its atonement… That is, the atonement of breaking an oath that has been solemnly sworn. ‘Atonement’ is given for kafarah, and it is called kafarah because it covers (kafara) the sin. The kafarah or atonement is to be paid when the oath-taker acts contrary to the requirement of his oath.

…is feeding ten destitutes… Ten paupers. Each of them is to be given a madd of food, a measure equivalent to three-quarters of a kilo.[2] Or they can be fed a meal.

…with the middling of what ye feed your families;… It is not necessary to feed them the very best food, like rice, and not permissible to give them the poorest, such as pearl-barley or millet.

…or clothing them… That is, to give each of the ten clothing in the form of an inner covering and an outer robe, of whatever material.

…or the freeing of a neck…. It means the freeing of a slave, an instance of calling the whole of something by the name of one of its parts.

…fasting for three days…. He must fast for three consecutive days, as detailed in fiqh.

…is the atonement of your oaths when ye swear them…. That is, when ye swear the oaths and consequently break them.

…And preserve your oaths…. It is a command. We are not to break our oaths, but rather we are to fulfil them.

…Thus Allah clarifies for ye His portents, that ye be thankful. Just as the explanation of these forms of atonement is given with perfect clarity, like the ruling of the vain and void oaths, so too is everything explained. And we are to be grateful to Him that He has guided us to what benefits us. (89).

Having recounted the permitting of the wholesome things, now comes the explanation of the banning of the things that are unwholesome:

(90)

O ye who believe, indeed liquor… It means all drinks that intoxicate, whether or not from the grape.

…and rock-idols… They were the idols to which they would dedicate their slaughtering, and then splash with the animal’s blood.

…and the divining-arrows… They were used to divide a carcass in a way that was a form of gambling. It is given special mention on account of its popularity among the pagan Arabs.

…an act of the devil,… It is the devil who commands people to these practices, as opposed to the act of the Compassionate, in the sense that he commands them and has them implemented. It was the devil who instituted these things, either in person as is clear from some hadeeth, or indirectly and by proxy by whispering and casting the idea into the hearts of the perverse.

…so shun it,… That is, shun these acts and practices – meaning: consume not liquor, nor gamble, nor worship idols, nor divide out meat by casting lots.

…that ye might thrive. That is, so as to achieve goodness in the world and felicity in the hereafter. (90).

Indeed the devil only wants to occasion enmity and hatred among ye through wine and gambling,

(91)

Indeed the devil only wants… All the devil wants with his suggestions and commands to drink alcohol and gamble is,

… to occasion enmity and hatred among ye… He wants to create enmity (al-‘adawah) and hatred (al-baghža.) among the Muslims. The difference between them is that the former pertains to the activities of the body, while the latter pertains to the conditions of the heart.

…through wine and gambling,… In Majma’ we have it that the revelation was occasioned by Sa’d b. Abi Waqqas and an Ansari who had been appointed his ‘brother’. He invited him to a meal and they drank fermented date-juice (nabeez), an intoxicant. The two fell out, and the Ansari picked up the jawbone of a camel and with it struck Sa’d, such that his nose burst open. At that, Allah sent down this portent about them.

The causing of enmity through liquor is obvious, as alcohol causes loss of reason that can lead in turn to anything. As for enmity being caused by gambling, it is because of d’Ịsagreements between the gamblers as to who has won, firstly, and, secondly, due to the hatred of the loser for the winner.

…from the remembrance of Allah… Drunkenness causes lack of attention to Allah, glorified be He, while gambling preoccupies a person and makes him forget Him, the Most High.

…so will ye carry on? The address is to the Muslims. The interrogative is clearly a command, meaning: ‘Do not carry on, but leave them on account of these harms.’ (91).

(92)

And obey Allah and obey the Messenger… That is, observe the commands and prohibitions of the religion. Obedience to Allah and to the Prophet is a single obedience, as is clear, and Allah is mentioned because it is He who in principle is to be obeyed, while the Messenger is to be obeyed because it is He who conveys the commands and interdictions.

…and beware;… That is, be wary of disobeying them, for that leads to disgrace in the world and the hereafter.

…and if ye turn away – know that upon Our messenger is but the clear delivery. Those who turn away from their obedience must expect the dire consequences, for the Messenger delivered the message and yet they failed to benefit from it and transgressed the limit.(92).

When the banning of alcohol and gambling was sent down, some of the companions asked the Messenger (may Allah condescend upon him and his House) about their brothers who had passed away and had drunk alcohol and consumed the receipts of gambling. They wanted to know whether it would be counted as a sin against those who had been killed or had died before the ban, when they had engaged in these two things. This portent was sent down:

(93)

…on those who believe and do the virtuous deeds for what they have savoured,… ‘Savoured’ is put for tami’u. It means their having consumed alcohol and the receipts from gambling before the ban.

…when they have been guardful and believed and done the virtuous deeds,… That is, when their savouring was coupled with guardfulness and belief and acting virtuously. A person can be a believer and perform the virtuous deeds, without being guardful, meaning that within himself he has not that quality of inhibition and fearing Allah, glorified be He. For this reason He mentions guardfulness alongside belief and doing the virtuous deeds.

He then repeats, glorified be He, the previous phrase of ‘been guardful and believed and done the virtuous deeds’ in this form:

…and thereafter been guardful and believed,… No mention, here, of the virtuous deeds.

…and thereafter been guardful and worked beauty;… Here there is no mention of believing, but it should not be overlooked that ‘working beauty’ is another way to say ‘doing the virtuous deeds’. Perhaps the point of the repetition is to signify permanence in the three qualities, so that the meaning is that their not being to blame for their savouring is dependent upon their belief, guardfulness and virtuous deeds in the past, and upon their continuing belief, guardfulness and virtuous deeds thereafter. The repetition of guardfulness (taqwa) in the second phrase emphasises that both faith and the virtuous deeds are of no benefit without guardfulness or taqwa.

‘And thereafter’ is put for thumma, which is the word that seems to indicate that continuity is essential, giving the meaning that the continuity of guardfulness with belief, and the continuity of guardfulness with the virtuous deeds, are essential conditions in being blameless for past savouring.

This raises a question: the portent apparently shows that not being blameworthy for savouring is conditional upon belief and guardfulness and doing the virtuous deeds, yet we know from the circumstances of the portent’s revelation that such savouring was permitted, as alcohol was not banned following its descent, so what is the meaning of this condition? To drink alcohol was permitted and lawful before the ban for both Muslim and disbelievers, so what is the meaning of putting its lawfulness as conditional upon faith and the other two qualities?

The answer is that the condition has no further, implicit meaning. It does not mean, ‘without faith, the savouring of them was blameworthy.’ Normally the putting of a conditional is to explain the implicit, like saying, ‘If Zaid comes to you, honour him!’ which carries the implicit meaning of, ‘If Zaid does not come to you, honour him not.’ Sometimes the conditional form carries no implicit meaning, like, ‘If you are provisioned a son, have him circumcised.’ This has no implicit meaning to the effect that, ‘If you are not provisioned a son, do not circumcise him.’ Clearly, without a son there is no question of circumcising him or not circumcising him. The meaning of the sentence, ‘If you are provisioned a son…’ is that it is necessary to circumcise a son. And so too in the portent, which explains that those believers who drank while they were guardful and used to perform the virtuous deeds – there is no blame on them. This was to clear the air among the companions who wondered whether they were blameworthy. There is no implicit meaning, and so there is no place for questions about why the implicit meaning is not established.

Then there is the possibility that the portent implies that there is an objection to the disbelievers consuming whatever is permitted, just as the evidence proves that it is problematic for those who hate the Prophet’s heirs even to consume the lawful, to the extent that any enemy of the holy lady al-Zahra (bliss be upon her) who drank the water of the Euphrates – to do so was forbidden for him. By this criterion, the implicit meaning of the portent opens an arena thatis vast.

…and Allah loves the beauty-workers. It means those whose affairs are beautiful. It seems the portent encourages the performing of good deeds, even if the person is not a believer.

Finally, it should not be overlooked that those who savour the banned and then defend themselves by this portentare mistaken. The portentstates that the condition of not being blameworthy depends upon belief, guardfulness and virtuous deeds, and it is clear that these cannot coexist with the wilful consumption of what is banned. (93).

In the flow of this discussion of the permitted and the banned, and in completion of what came at the beginning of the Sụrah, namely His word‘…other than the permitted through hunting while ye are in sanctity…’ and‘…And when ye are no more in sanctity, hunt….’ there now comes a word about the prey taken in sanctity (ihram) and the atonement for that:

(94)

O ye who believe, Allah shall definitely try ye with something of the hunt… The believers are examined through the prey that is forbidden for those in sanctity, or ihram.

…that your hands and your spears reach,… During the minor pilgrimage or ‘umrah of Hudaibiya the believers were tested on their way to Makka by vast numbers of prey that were easy to catch. They only had to extend their arms or cast their spears and they could have caught numerous wild poultry birds and small wild fowl besides the banned birds. This was Allah’s testing the believers as to which of them would obey and abstain, and which of them would disobey and hunt.

…for Allah to know who fears Him unseen…. This is the purpose of such testing. ‘Unseen’ means in secret and in private. It has already been given that Allah’s tests are not because He does not already know, but in order for what He knows to become apparent, and for the proofs and arguments, His hujja, to be complete. Thus His coming to know means that what He knows becomes manifest. That is because knowledge is a connection, and therefore it is valid for it to be brought about by a thing becoming known and unveiled for the knower, and by the known becoming real in existence. What is meant by ‘unseen’ is what is beyond the senses – and here it relates to Allah, glorified be He, or to the remainder of the people, meaning while Allah is unseen for them, or while they are unseen for the other people.

…So whoso transgresses after that… It means after the interdiction; that is, whoso hunts and violates the commands of Allah.

(95)

O ye who believe, kill not the prey while ye are in sanctity… ‘Prey’ (al-sayd) means every wild animal whether edible or not, save for the exceptions. ‘In sanctity’ is given for ĥurum, plural of haram. A person is ‘in sanctity’ when he enters the state of sanctity (ihram) or the place of sanctity (haram). The verse shows the banning of hunting both in the state of sanctity and in the place of sanctity, just as it applies to both the Hajj and the ‘Umrah.

…– and whoso of ye kills it deliberately,… The address is to those in sanctity. The term ‘deliberately’, here, seems to be purely descriptive (laqab) with no implied meaning. Thus we have it from the sunna that whoso kills by mistake must also pay the atonement. Perhaps it is because hunting is predominantly carried out with intent. Besides that, it fits with His later word: …that he tastes the mischief of his affair.

…a recompense like what was killed in livestock … The recompense in atonement is that he pays the penalty of one of the three types of livestock that is like the prey that was killed. So for example the gazelle is like a sheep, the wild ass and the wild buffalo are like cattle, and the ostrich is like a camel or cow. .

…adjudged by two just men among ye,… Two just men are to judge the likeness between the animal that has been killed and the animal – one of the three types: sheep, cow or camel – that is offered in atonement. So, whatever they judge to be similar to the animal that was killed, is to be taken as its atonement.

We have it in narrations that those meant by ‘two just men’ are the Messenger, may Allah condescend upon him and his House, and the Imam, bliss be upon him. Therefore, whatever textual evidences may be found about similarity – the ruling must accord to that. And where there is no textual evidence – it seems that there is no objection to holding to the literal content of the portentwhereby the information given by two just men who are aware of the similarities is sufficient, provided there is no contradictory text about value and suchlike.

…as an offering delivered to the Ka’bah;… The offering is given as an atonement and brought to the Ka’aba, which is to say in the direction of the Ka’aba, for if the prey was killed by a man in sanctity for Umrah, his recompense is slaughtered in Makkah, while if he was in sanctity for Hajj, it is slaughtered at Mina.

…or an atonement of feeding destitutes,… When livestock cannot be found, a similar amount of money is spent on food, and this is given in charity to people who are destitute.

…or the equivalent of that in fasting;… It means the equivalent of feeding is to be undertaken through fasting, one day’s fast for a particular amount of food, depending on what was killed. The details are to be sought in fiqh.

…so that he tastes the mischief of his affair.… The purpose behind legislating these penalties of atonement is in order for the hunter to taste the consequences of his forbidden hunting.

…Allah has pardoned what is past,… The former hunting is pardoned, so that when someone intentionally hunts and then pays the atonement, Allah forgives his sin.

…and whoso repeats –…. When a person deliberately hunts for a second time.

… Allah will take vengeance from him… There is no forgiveness, as the sin is too great. It cannot be cleansed by atonement. Nay, revenge will be taken from him in the hereafter for his violating the condition of sanctity or the place of sanctity. This is how the portentis explained in hadith. But it is not remote that the portentdirects ‘what is past’ to mean before the prohibition. The forgiveness is then on the basis that it was a sin to hunt even during the pre-Islamic ignorance. As for the returning to it after the prohibition, that is such as is covered by ‘Islam erases what was before it’. The meaning of ‘vengeance’ is the atonement and the punishment.

…a holder of revenge…. He takes vengeance on those who disobey Him and oppose Him. (95).

(96)

Permitted for ye is the prey of the sea,… The meaning of ‘the sea’ (al-bahr) is general and includes rivers, for the Arabs call rivers seas. This kind of hunting is permitted in sanctity, and in the sanctity, if a river were ever to flow through it. And it is permitted for the prey to be brought to it. This is for the hunting of it. As for the eating of it:

…an enjoyment for ye and for those on the move,… Such food is among the human comforts (mata’), by which man is sustained and his life made comfortable. ‘Those on the move’ is given for sayyara, and here it means the caravans on the move. Fish is dried for the journey. Along with those in sanctity, the journeying caravans are singled out, even though it is also food for those not travelling, because of its many benefits for the traveller. It is not normally possible to slaughter livestock on a journey, and so the benefits to the traveller of dried fish are numerous.

…as long as ye are in sanctity…. That is, as long as you are in the sanctity or the condition of sanctity, as given above, because a person is ‘in sanctity’ (haram, singular of hurum) when he has put himself in sanctity as a muhrim, and also when he is within the sanctity, the haram.

…And be guardful of Allah,… Be wary of His punishments, and observe His prohibitions.

…unto Whom ye will be mustered. ‘Mustered’ is given for hashr. He is the destination of our journey, when we will be raised and gathered unto Him. Then man will be punished for the sins and violations he has committed. (96).

Here, where the topic is the law about hunting in sanctity, comes a word about the places and times that Allah, glorified be He, has instituted as sacred, so that during certain periods and at certain locations people are safe from the disputes and vengeance that disturb human life:

(97)

Allah has set the Ka’bah,… The name ‘Ka’aba’ denotes its cubic shape based on four corners, rather than being a circular building. It means a protrusion or elevation.

…the Sacred House,… ‘Sacred House’ is given for (al-bait al-haram). The term is juxtaposed alongside ‘the Ka’aba’ in an explaining capacity (‘atf al-bayan). The reason for this juxtaposition is that during the ignorance, the people had several ka’abas, to which they would perform pilgrimages, and they would circulate around them. The Prophet, may Allah condescend upon him and his House, destroyed these, while he called the Ka’aba ‘The Sacred House’ (al-bait al-haram), since within its environs it is not allowed to fight, to hunt and so forth.

…as a motivator for humankind,… ‘Motivator’ is given for qiyam(an), used here as the second object of the verb ‘put’. The meaning is that the Ka’aba has been established in order for mankind to stand, to be erect, meaning in order that their affairs be on their feet and aright and go straight. These include both their economic and social affairs or conditions – as given in the rationale of the Hajj.

…and the sacred month… Allah, glorified be He, has also put the Sacred Month, as a means for mankind to stand upright. The ‘Sacred Month’ is actually four months: Dhu ‘l-Qa’ada, Dhu ‘l-Hijjah, Muharram and Rajab. The sacredness or sanctity of these months set aright people’s affairs and those of the society, in order for there to be a lightening of the burdens of warfare and enmity, to be replaced by the safety and security in which the economy flourishes and which is conducive to the exchange of ideas and to learning. So the Sacred House is a place of safety and security, while the sacred months are a time of safety and security. And indeed, Allah has ordained sanctity for other things:

…and the offering… This too is decreed as being sacred in that no harm is to come to it. It means an offering to the Ka’aba, a cow or a camel, designated by a badge or a garland.

…and the garlands…. The word ‘garlands’ is the literal translation of qala.id by which is meant that which is garlanded in dedication. This too is decreed as sacred, meaning that no harm is to come to it. It means the animal that is set apart and dedicated to be sacrificed. Or it may mean the pilgrim who ‘garlands’ himself, in the sense that he dedicates himself to perform the Hajj. It would be said that a man would bind his camel or himself with garlands made from the bark of a sacred tree, so as not to be afraid. It might be said that that which is not an offering or garlanded is also respected or sacred, since it is not permissible for anyone to make use of the property of another or the person of another, so what is special about these two? The answer is clear, since the ‘offering’ is not allowed to be touched, even though that would otherwise be permissible through retaliation or insolvency and suchlike – just like the pilgrim in sanctity cannot be violated even with such violation as would be lawful were he not in sanctity. It is not permissible to arrest and detain a pilgrim in sanctity, even though it may be right to do so, for the obligation is that he completes the Umrah and the Hajj for Allah. And just as invalidation is not permissible for himself, so invalidation is not permitted for any other.

…That is for ye to be aware that Allah is aware of everything in the heavens and everything in the earth,… It means His putting these things as sacred is for us to recognise the all-penetrating extent of His knowledge, glorified be He. Indeed He knows the conditions of each person, and the enmity and harm that man perpetrates, and He knows that man is in need of peace and tranquillity in a time and in a place, and that people need something to set aright their worldly and religious affairs. Thus He has established these sanctities for the nation’s ease and relaxation. Perhaps the mention of ‘the heavens’ is a digression, as what has preceded has been to do with the earth, but if the earth had been mentioned alone it might be imagined that He, glorified be He, had no knowledge of what is in the heavens.

…and that Allah is of all things aware. He knows all that affects the person, the animal, the times and the places; everything. (97).

Because certain laws have been given, there now follows a mention of the threat and the promise:

(98)

Be aware that Allah is severe in punishment,… Severe in retribution when dealing with those who disobey Him and oppose Him.

…and that Allah is forgiving, merciful. And forgiving and merciful towards those who repent and believe and do the virtuous deeds. He forgives their sins, and He mercies them with His profusion and abundance. (98).

(99)

Nothing is upon the Messenger but the delivery;… His responsibility is to deliver the message and explain the legislation, whereas the acceptance of this is with the people themselves. That is not a matter for the Messenger, may Allah condescend upon him and his House, and it is not his affair.

…and Allah is aware of what ye manifest and what ye hide. He knows man’s open acts and words, and his intentions and his hidden actions, for nothing is hidden from Him, and He will recompense everything. Therefore, be good and be not disobedient. (99).

Having explained the lawful and the banned, glorified be He, He now says that they are not the same. So no one should consume the impure while claiming that there is no difference between it and the pure – in the way that today we see many consuming the unlawful while claiming that there is no difference between it and the lawful things:

(100)

Say, … Here the address is to the Messenger, may Allah condescend upon him and his House.

…‘The foul and the wholesome are not the same,… That is to say, the unlawful and the lawful, the banned and the permitted, are not the same as each other.

…even though the plenty of the foul may astonish thee.… ‘Thee’ means thou, the listener. The impure is more plentiful than the pure. For example it is clear that the types of animal that are banned are more than those that are permitted. Yet the plenty of the unlawful does not cause it to become pure. Perhaps ‘even though’ (given for wa law) is in reply to some people objecting along the lines of ‘how can such a plentiful thing be banned?’

…that ye might thrive.’ To achieve the rewards, in the present and the future. (100)

We have stated that it is usual for the Wise Quran not to dwell at length on a single topic, so that the listener finds it agreeable. So whenever a matter is wished to be given at length, it is interspersed, in order to grace the atmosphere and to sharpen the listener, with a new, startling ruling. Here is one such instance: the following portent, known as the ‘portent of questioning’ (ayat al-su.al), comes here in the context of the banned and permitted. On the other hand, the portent is related to the Hajj. We have it from the Commander of the believers, bliss be upon him, that Allah’s Messenger, may Allah condescend upon him and his House, was preaching, when he said, ‘Indeed Allah has written upon ye the Hajj.’ A man called Saraqa b. Malik rose and said, ‘Every year, O Messenger of Allah?’ He turned away until he had repeated it twice, or three times. Then Allah’s Messenger, may Allah condescend upon him and his House, said, ‘Woe to you! How would you be safe if I said yes? For if I said yes, it would be obligatory, and if it were obligatory, ye would not be able, and if you neglected it you would have disbelieved. So neglect with me what I neglect for you. Those who went before ye were destroyed by the plenty of their questioning and their opposition to their Prophets, so when I order you to something, do it as far as you are able, and when I forbid you from something, shun it.’ And then this portent was sent down:

(101)

O ye who believe, ask not of things that will hurt ye if they are made manifest for ye…. It means that lines of inquiry should not be pursued when the answers may be burdensome, difficult and lead to regret and sorrow.

…though if ye ask of them as the Quran is sent down… That is, during the process of revelation, and in the existence of the Prophet, may Allah condescend upon him and his House.

… they will be made manifest for ye…. That is, revelation will bring the answers, and this will lead to hardship for the community through the legislating of new laws of which the community was not in need.Here several questions are raised. Why should we not ask about matters that pertain to religion? And is the legislation so haphazard that it could be brought into being by a mere question – was not every law introduced according to what is beneficial and what is harmful, and explained by the Prophet, may Allah condescend upon him and his House, so that mankind can attain to the benefits and shun the harms? And what is so special about the period of revelation – for the Imams, bliss be upon them, are in the same position in that they know all the laws?

The answer is that the rulings of the divine legislation are subject to what is beneficial and detrimental, including the benefit of facilitation of duty, that is to say, the benefit of making laws easy and not over-burdensome. Indeed, in many instances where no law has been legislated, the reason for the omission is this very simplification or facilitation of duty. But it is clear that this benefit is not applicable where there is obstinate quarrelsomeness, persistent opposition and injustice. Thus He has said, glorified be He: ‘So for a wronging by those judaised, We banned upon them some wholesome things that had been permitted for them.’ (al-Nisa, ‘Women’ [4]:161).That clarifies the second question. As for the first: when Allah’s Messenger, may Allah condescend upon him and his House, was in the position of explaining the sum of the laws, unless the issue was a personal one – like not knowing how to divide a legacy, or a wife not knowing her rights, or not knowing how to live with a disobedient son, and suchlike – there is simply no good reason to question. Such questioning leads to confusion and can only increase the burden. As for the third question: the legislative interests of man were perfected during the period of Allah’s Messenger, may Allah condescend upon him and his House, and so there is no new legislation after him. And therefore the Imams, bliss be upon them, are not equivalent to the Messenger, may Allah condescend upon him and his House, in being able to legislate some ruling. Now, supposing that some beneficial ruling would have been legislated if only the circumstances had arisen during the lifetime of Allah’s Messenger, may Allah condescend upon him and his House, this benefit – the benefit of the door to new legislation being closed, so that none can draw up new legislation after the Messenger, may Allah condescend upon him and his House – is stronger and better on the whole than looking out for every benefit in order to legislate a new law.

Perhaps the answer to the second question can be deduced from a hadith that comes to us from the Commander of the believers, bliss be upon him, who said: ‘Indeed Allah has made some obligations (fara.iž) obligatory upon ye, so do not omit them. And He has determined some limits for ye, so do not transgress them. And He has forbidden you from some things, so do not commit them. And He has been silent about some things, and has not called to them, in forgetfulness, so do not impose them on yourselves.’

…Allah has exempted them,… Allah has exempted those rulings from His legislation, in order to facilitate duty. He has preferred for us the benefit of facilitation over the benefit of that particular law. But if you ask about them, persistently and argumentatively, the benefit of facilitation will be withdrawn and you will be tried by that law.

…clement. He is clement to those He places in hardship and difficulty. (101)

(102)

A tribe before ye asked them,… Such questions whose answers would hurt the questioner were asked by the previous peoples. The Jews asked ‘Ịsa for the spread, and then disbelieved. Bani Isra’il asked to be led to war, but when their request was granted, all but a few of them turned away. The tribe of Saliĥ asked for the she-camel, but then hamstrung it. And the partnerists asked the Prophet, may Allah condescend upon him and his House, for things, but when the things they were asking for were shown to them, they rejected and disbelieved.

…and thereupon through them they became disbelievers. So their chastisement was increased. This portent tends to explain the reason behind the interdiction of the previous portent. (102)

Now the thread returns to the mention of some permitted things that had been held as sacred by the people of the ignorance:

(103)

…any bahira… It is a she-camel whose ears have been split. From al-bahr, meaning a split.In the days of the people of ignorance when a she-camel had mothered five times, and the fifth was a female, its ears would be split and it would be forbidden for women, but when it died it would be permitted.

…or sa.iba… A she-camel that had mothered ten times would be declared a sa.iba, meaning one that flows, as a river or stream flows. Such a camel would be allowed to roam untouched, as the ignorance folk held it forbidden to ride or eat her. Sometimes a she-camel would be declared a sa.iba as a vow offering – one of them might vow that if he was to be freed from illness, or arrive safely from a journey, he would donate his camel as a sa.iba.

…or wasila… This was a camel that had given birth to two male foals, or a sheep that mothered for the seventh time, male or female. They would not slaughter her and not eat her, and the two offspring would be forbidden for women until one of them died, when they would become permitted.

or ĥam,…The ĥam or ĥam wasa male that mounted its own offspring, or had sired ten deliveries. They said of this that it had ‘protected’ (ĥama) its back, and they would not mount it and would not prevent it from grazing and watering (wherever it liked). Allah sent down this portentshowing that none of this had been made sacred or banned.

…rather those who disbelieve have forged unto Allah the lie,… They falsely ascribed these prohibitions to Allah, glorified be He.

…and most of them reflect not.That is, most are unable to discern between that permitted and that banned, between the true and the false. (103)

(104)

And when it is said to them,… When it is said to those who counted these things as sacred, ascribing the sanctity falsely to Allah.

…‘Come to what Allah has sent down… That is, accept the laws in the Quran.

…they say, ‘That which we find our fathers upon suffices us.’They declare in reply that they are satisfied that their interests can best be served by the beliefs, words, actions and customs of their forefathers. And so He asks, glorified be He, in a tone of surprise and indignation:

…What, even if their fathers knew nothing…That is, nothing about the true and the false.

…and were not guided?And they were not guided to the truth. Overall, the sense is: will ye follow them even though they were ignorant and astray? (104)

Having explained, glorified be He, the conditions of the disbelievers and that they are astray, He now commands the Muslims to follow the truth, for they will not be harmed by the straying of whoso strays, as long as they themselves are guided:

(105)

… ye will not be harmed by whoso strays when ye are guided….The straying of whosoever strays will not harm anyone who is guided. Of course, among the conditions of being guided is to bid to what is honourable and to forbid the dishonourable, to express guidance and the other obligations of this type.

…Unto Allah is your return all together,…All of mankind, those guided along with those astray, are headed towards Allah.

…then He shall inform ye as to what ye were doing.Good and bad deeds will not be mixed up as they are in the world, where all is confusion. The believers will not be made to pay for the sins of those astray, and nor will those astray be able to escape the consequences of their sins. (105)

Having dealt with some matters pertaining to the lawful and the banned, He now turns, glorified be He, to the explanation of a new law, that came in the context of a particular event. It is narrated from Imam Baqir, bliss be upon him, that three men went out from Madina to trade with Sham: Tamim b. ‘Aws al-Dari, and his brother, Udday, who were both Christians, and Ibn Abi Mariya, the protégé of ‘Amr b. al-As al-Sahmi, who was a Muslim. On the way Ibn Abu Marya became ill and wrote a testament by his own hand, and placed it in his baggage. Then he enjoined upon them and handed them his wealth, telling them to deliver it to his family. When he died, they opened his baggage and took whatever they fancied. Then they returned with the property to his heirs, but as they searched his property they missed some of the things that he had set out with. They then looked at the testament and saw that the property was listed there in full. They spoke to Tamim and his brother, who said, ‘We know nothing about it. That which he entrusted to us we have delivered, just as it was.’ The matter was brought before Allah’s Messenger, may Allah condescend upon him and his House, and this portent was sent down:

if ye are striking out in the earth and the affliction of death afflicts ye.

(106)

O ye who believe, witnessing among ye… The believers are to note that proper, accepted witnessing among them is to be by two persons.

…when death comes to one of ye, at the time of testament,…That is, when he sees in himself the signs of death, and it is time to make his final testament.

…or by a different two from other than yourselves…Two other men to bear the responsibility of witnessing, two who are not Muslims. The ‘or’ (aw) of this phrase is to show sequence, not simply choice. So these two men are to be called upon in the absence of two just Muslims.

…if ye are striking out in the earth…If you are travelling and you find not two Muslims to bear the testimony of the testament, then two other men.

…and the affliction of death afflicts ye.It means that its signs become apparent. The grammatical structure shows that the testimony of the two non-Muslims is conditional upon the dying person being on a journey, but this is given as an instance of the general rule to be discerned, that the real condition is the absence of Muslims, whether travelling or not.

So, when they bear the testimony, and they wish to fulfil it, this is the procedure:

…Ye shall detain them after the prayer…After the prayer of ‘asr, since at that time the people assemble in larger numbers. Perhaps this is because the presence of a crowd of people is more likely to deter any lying, due to the dread it would put into the heart of those bearing the testimony, the executors and witnesses.

…by Allah…This shows that it is obligatory for the witnesses to be from those who acknowledge Allah, like the book-folk.

…if ye are in doubt:That is, if their testimony is in doubt, and there is suspicion of alteration, substitution or forgery in the affair. This is a condition for their swearing an oath, meaning that they only swear an oath when their testimony is in doubt. Otherwise, they present their testimony without swearing an oath.

…‘We sell it not for a price,…They swear that they have not changed the testimony, not altered or forgedanything, in return for ‘a price’, meaning some property.

…even if they are relatives,…People constantly incline towards their relatives and give false testimony for their sake. The clause is a kind of emphasis, meaning that they are swearing that they did not present a false testimony, not even for the sake of their relatives.

…and we hide not Allah’s testimony,…It means the testimony that Allah commands us to fulfil. Saying it is Allah’s is to stress its gravity.

…for then we would certainly be of the sinners.’If they were to hide the true testimony, they would be of the disobedient and worthy of chastisement.

The ruling concluded from this is that when a person wishes to deposit a testament, it is for him to find two just Muslims to act as witnesses. But if he is on a journey when the signs of death come to him, and there are no Muslims around to witness his testament, then he is to have his testament witnessed by two scripturalists – two men of the book-folk. Their testimony is accepted without any oath, unless the heirs doubt their veracity. When they are doubted and there is suspicion that they have altered the testament, then the religious authority (al-hakim al-shar’ii) has them presented after the ‘asr prayer, and has them swear, firstly, that ‘by Allah, we have not reached for property through this testimony, and we have not altered the testament even for our relatives, nor have we concealed the testimony that Allah has commanded us to convey. Had we done so we would certainly have been among the sinners.’ When they have sworn this oath, or its equivalent in meaning, they present their testimony concerning the testament, and their testimony is accepted from them. (106).

With the sending down of this portent, Allah’s Messenger, may Allah condescend upon him and his House, prayed the ‘asr prayer, and then summoned Tamim and ‘Udday, and had them swear on the pulpit, by Allah, that they had not taken anything else, and not concealed anything; and thereupon he let them go. Then it became apparent that they had in their possession a silver cup finished with gold engraving along with a jewelled necklace that had belonged to the deceased. The heirs said that they were in the deceased’s baggage, and the two Christians said that they had bought them from him, and had forgotten to say so. So the matter was presented before Allah’s Messenger, may Allah condescend upon him and his House, and the portent ‘So if it is discovered…’ was sent down. At that, two men from the deceased’s relatives, ‘Amr b. al-‘As and Muttalib b. Abi Wada’a, rose and swore by Allah that the two Christians had betrayed and lied. So the cup was handed to the deceased’s heirs. After some time Tamim accepted Islam, and he used to say, ‘Allah spoke the truth and His Messenger spoke the truth, I took the cup, and I repent unto Allah and I seek His forgiveness.’

(107)

So if it is discovered…‘Discovered’ is given for ‘uthira, meaning to become apparent, to become manifest.

…that the two have a claim on sin,…‘Have a claim on’ is given for istihaqqa,meaning that they deserve, have a right to. Here it means that it is maintained by the heirs that the two trustees have lied in their oaths, and have betrayed the testimony.

…stand in their place…They stand in the place of the two non-Muslims, that is, they stand ready to swear an oath just as the two before them did.

…from among those with a claim,…It means the deceased’s relatives, for the testament is their right.

…two kinsmen,…‘Kinsmen’ is given for awlayan, the dual-plural of awla, meaning the next-of-kin, the person responsible for the deceased’s body and for the proper final’Ịsation of his affairs. Grammatically, ‘a different two’ is substituted for ‘two kinsmen’, showing that they are one and the same thing, that is, the different two are to be two close kinsmen. Their oath nullified the testimony of the false, non-Muslim trustees.

…both swearing by Allah that: ‘Our testimony is truer than their testimony,…They swear by Allah that in calling the two witnesses false, they, the relatives, are sincere and that their testimony is true, while that of the two witnesses is not true, but false. The word ‘truer’ (ahaqq) does not signify comparative degrees, as has been given.

…and we transgress not,…Their oath continues with their declaring themselves not to have transgressed from right into wrong, but that they are only seeking what is rightfully theirs.

…for then we would be among the wrongers.’Were they to transgress they would have wronged themselves by swearing such a false oath. (107)

Having sworn this oath, the oath of the two trustees is annulled, and the property is taken from them and given to the bereaved relatives.

(108)

That…The procedure given in the earlier portentfor the two trustees to swear an oath after the ‘asr prayer.

…is nearer that they produce a testimony in its form,…It is more likely to result in the two trustees presenting the testament just the way it was entrusted to them. The swearing of oaths deters many people from lying.

…or they fear that an oath be returned after their oath …Or, if swearing an oath in front of a crowd is not enough for them to be honest, what makes it still more likely that they will fear dishonesty, is that they know the turn for swearing an oath will pass to the relatives, who will swear against their lie and the truth will favour them instead of the witnesses. Then they will suffer the disgrace of lying and stealing, and the disgrace of swearing a false oath.

…Allah guides not the tribe perverse.It means those who are perverse by departing from obedience to Allah, and commit sins, for He will not favour them with His special grace that He reserves for the obedient. (108)

Previously an aspect of the histories of the Jews and Christians was given, here other aspects of the history of the Christians is given in a different fashion:

(109)

The day Allah gathers the Messengers and says,… That is, be guardful of the day of judgement, the day when Allah assembles all the Prophets and Messengers, and says to them:

…‘How were ye answered?’… That is, how did their respective communities respond to them? With belief and confirmation, or with disbelief and denial?

…They say, ‘We have no knowledge;… The Prophets reply to His question, glorified be He, by saying that they do not have full knowledge, they are only aware of what is apparent, while as for what is within and unseen, it is Allah alone who has such knowledge.

…indeed Thou are the Aware of the unseens.’The word ‘unseens’ is used for ghuyub, the plural of ghaib, meaning unseen. Thus ‘unseens’ are all those things that are hidden from the senses. This account is highly summarised, or it takes place at one of the stations of the resurrection, for it has several stations, and each station differs in detail and in aspects from the preceding station. That given is the answer of the Prophets in general, but the reply of ‘‘Ịsa, bliss be upon him, is more detailed, and it comes after a few portentson the history of ‘‘Ịsa, bliss be upon him: (109).

and when thou created from earth like the form of a bird by My permission and then blew into it and it was a bird by My permission,

(110)

When Allah says,… ‘Says’ is put for qala, which is the past tense used to denote something that is certain to happen. It means ‘be guardful of the day…when Allah will definitely say…’Or the latent word is ‘remind’ (udhkur), giving the meaning: ‘Call to mind (the time) when Allah says…’

…‘O ‘‘Ịsa son of Maryam,…His being the son of Maryam is mentioned to counter the word of the Christians that he is the son of Allah.

…recount my blessing upon thee and thy mother,… ‘Blessing’ is in the singular because it means the whole genus of blessing; it does not mean a single blessing. The meaning of recounting a blessing is being grateful for it and doing the kind of thing that is right and fitting to be done by one who is grateful for such a blessing. And it is clear that such blessings upon a mother as chastity and purity and suchlike are among the greatest blessings on the son. And so these are among the things deserving gratitude. Then He elucidates some of His blessings, glorified be He, in His word:

…when I helped thee with the soul of holiness:… He was assisted and succoured by a pure spirit untainted by any impurity. It was Jibra.il, bliss be upon him, or another angel. Or it was a spirit blown into him keeping him from instability, for the Prophets and Imams are provided with a pure soul (ruh tahira) that protects them and guides them by the command of Allah, glorified be He.

…thou spoke to the people in the cradle… When he was a baby. He said, bliss be upon him: ‘Indeed I am Allah’s slave, He gave me the book and set me as a Prophet and set me as blessed wherever I am, and enjoined upon me the prayer and the zakat for as long as I live…’(Maryam [19]: 32).

…and in maturity,… ‘Maturity’ is put for kahl, meaning the period before old-age. It is mentioned to complete the phrase, which means that the blessing to ‘Ịsa was special in that he spoke to people in both his conditions of babyhood and maturity, whereas other people can speak only in the one condition, that of maturity.

…and when I taught thee the book…The singular form denotes the genus of book sent down from the heavens, for there had been books sent down on the earlier prophets, and he had learned these from Allah, glorified be He.

…and the wisdom…This is the knowledge of things the way they are. The knowledge of the books is different from the knowledge of the wisdom, from the knowledge of things and their places.

…and the Torah and the Gospel,… The Torah is the book sent down upon Musa, bliss be upon him. The Gospel was sent down to ‘Ịsa himself, bliss be upon him.

…and when thou created from earth like the form of a bird…He formed the shape of a bird, and it is clear that this kind of sculpture was not banned because it was at the command of Allah. Perhaps this is signified by the clause:

…by My permission…Or perhaps it signifies that his making that statue was by the power of Allah, for without Allah’s permission it would be impossible for anyone to make or create anything.

…and then blew into it…Into the earthen model he had made. It should not be concealed that the soul (al-rụĥ) is a fine substance (jism latif), and so it was possible for ‘Ịsa, bliss be upon him, to blow that substance into the earthen model, by Allah’s permission.

…and it was a bird by My permission,… It was a real, living, bird, just like any other bird, by the will and command of Allah, glorified be He.

…and when thou brought out the dead…He called them from the graves and they came out alive.

…by My permission,… By His will. He supplicated for that and He granted his prayer.

…and when I averted the sons of Isra.il from thee…He averted the Jews from him, so that they were unable to kill him.

…when thou came to them with the clarifications,…At the time he came to them with clear proofs that his mission was genuine and that he was telling the truth.

…and those of them who disbelieved… Those of the tribe of Israel who disbelieved in him and what he had brought.

…said, ‘This is nothing but clear sorcery.’They meant that the miracles ‘Ịsa brought forth were plainly no more than sorcery and magic. (110)

(111)

And when I revealed… That is, ‘And recall My blessing upon thee when I revealed…’ ‘Revealed’ (wahy) means, here, that it was cast at them, through the medium of ‘Ịsa or Yahya, bliss be upon them. Or the meaning is that it wa inspired into their hearts through the medium of reason (al-‘aql), which is the inner proof.

…unto the bright ones that:… The ‘bright ones’ (al-hawariyun) were his favourite disciples; the reason for this name has been given.

…‘Believe in Me and in My messenger!’… Belief in Allah was a blessing for ‘Ịsa, bliss be upon him, just as his own corroboration was a blessing upon him for both would have resulted in himself finding more nearness to Allah, glorified be He, as it was then possible to guide them.

…‘We believe,… They confirmed their belief in Allah and His Messenger.

…and witness…They called on Allah to witness, or perhaps their appeal to be witnessed was to ‘‘Ịsa, bliss be upon him.

…that we are Muslims.’ That is, that they had surrendered to Allah and to His commands and prohibitions. (111)

(112)

When…That is: ‘Recall My blessing upon you, O ‘Ịsa, son of Maryam, when the disciples spoke with you about Allah sending down a spread of food, and you requested it from Him and He answered you and sent down the spread.’

…the bright ones said, ‘O ‘Ịsa son of Maryam,…Their calling him ‘son of Maryam’ would have been out of respect, or it is that Allah is conveying the sense of what they said. Or it was what ‘‘Ịsa, bliss be upon him, himself told them to call him; or it might have been the custom among them.

…Is thy Master able to send down upon us a spread from the heaven?’… Their asking about His being ‘able’ related to His power, and took place when their faith was less than perfect, or it may have related to His will, so that the sense is ‘Is He willing to send us a spread?’ The word ‘spread’ is put for ma.ida, meaning the cloth upon which a meal is spread, as a picnic would be spread. They wanted ‘Ịsa to perform this miracle so that they could see it, sense it and eat it, so that no doubt would remain within them about the veracity of his prophethood. Perhaps this took place before his other miracles of curing the blind and the lepers.

…He said, ‘Be guardful of Allah,… He told them to fear Allah and not ask the questions of the ignorant and full of doubt.

…if ye are believers.’That is, believers in Allah and His perfect attributes that make Him fully able to do the paltry kind of thing they were asking. (112)

(113)

…and till our hearts be tranquil,…They wanted their hearts to be fully confident in the principle of the Origin and that ‘Ịsa was His prophet, or the confidence of vision, just as Ibrahim, bliss be upon him, said, ‘He said, “For sure, but that my heart be tranquil.”’ (al-Baqara [2]: 261)

…and till we know for sure thou have been truthful to us,…Truthful in informing them of the Legislation. This too shows that they wanted the knowledge of seeing with their eyes, and that they were in doubt.

…and till of that we be among the witnesses.’They would testify about that to those who were not present, that they had seen the spread with their own eyes. (113)

(114)

‘‘Ịsa son of Maryam said, ‘O Allah, our Master,… The extra ‘our Master’ is eloquence in a supplication. The latent sense is: ‘O Master, it is Thou who have raised us from nothing, so be profuse upon us with the completion of Thy process of raising us.’

…send down upon us a spread from the heaven,… A cloth with food laid out upon it, sent down from above.

…that it be for us a festival, for the first of us and the last of us,… They would take the day on which the spread came down as a holy day, a festival, an ‘iyd. All nations have festivals to commemorate triumphs and so forth, and it is clear that the honouring of a community by sending a spread down to them from the side of Allah, glorified be He, would be among the greatest occasions to commemorate. ‘The first’ of the community meant those who were present, ‘the last of them’ meant those who would come after them, their offspring.

…and a portent from Thee…. A sign from Allah of His oneness, and of the prophethood of His prophet, and so forth.

…And provision us,… That is, they wanted to be provisioned from the spread.

…Thou are the best of provisioners.’ He is profuse with His blessings and He wants nothing in return for them, unlike people, who always expect something to reach them in return whenever they give something. (114)

(115)

Allah said, ‘Indeed I am sending it upon ye,…Allah, glorified be He, replied to ‘Ịsa, bliss be upon him, that He had accepted his request, and was sending it down upon them.

…so whoso among ye disbelieves after this,… After the spread was sent down.

…indeed I shall chastise him with a chastisement with which I chastise no one of the worlds.’A chastisement which would be so severe that no one of all the disobedient people of that age would be chastised with the like of it, for the unqualified ‘worlds’ generally covers all the worlds of a single period. The severity of the chastisement is on account of how they would have disbelieved after they had believed, then requested a miracle and had their request granted them.

From the Household, bliss be upon them, we have it that the spread would be sent down and the people would gather round it and eat from it, and then it would be raised. Those of substance among them and their leading men said that they would not call the poor among them to eat from it along with themselves. So Allah raised the spread due to their wilfulness, and they were turned into apes and pigs. (115)

It has preceded that Allah, glorified be He, will question the Prophets about the responses of their communities, and that was followed by an account of some of the miracles of ‘‘Ịsa that deserved the proper response of a proportioned belief, but the Christians raised him to a level higher than his station when they set him as their god. Therefore, at the gathering of the resurrection he will face questioning about this forgery attributed to him, and he will renounce it. This is on the day when the Prophets will be assembled and asked, ‘How were ye answered?’:

(116)

And when Allah says, ‘O ‘Ịsa son of Maryam, did thou…The interrogative is a censure of those who made this false, lying claim, and an assertive denial of the attribution of to ‘Ịsa, bliss be upon him.

…say to the people, “Take me and my mother as two gods instead of Allah”?’… That is, alongside Allah, as it was not that they did not believe in the divinity of Allah, glorified be He.

…He will say, ‘Glory be Thine!…‘Ịsa will reply with this declaration that Allah is free of and far above everything suggested by such words.

…what I had not the right to say…. Such as taking him and his mother as gods.

If I had said it, Thou would know it;… But it does not exist in His knowledge, and so it did not take place.

…Thou know what is in my spirit…That is: ‘You know my innermost conditions, the conditions of my heart and soul, so how much better informed You are of my words.’

…while I know not what is in Thy spirit;… This is simply for a reciprocal balance in eloquence, and to draw out the contrast. Otherwise, Allah has no spirit, glorified be He. And the word ‘I know not’ is to explain his submissiveness, bliss be upon him, to Him, glorified be He.

…indeed Thou are the Aware of the unseens.That is: You are aware of all the things that are hidden from the senses, while I am not like that. Therefore You know that I did not tell the people to take me and my mother as gods. (116)

Then ‘Ịsa, bliss be upon him, explains what he did say to his people, further to his renouncing the forgery attributed to him:

(117)

‘I said nothing to them save what Thou ordered me to, that: “Worship Allah my Master and your Master!”… He told the people what he had been ordered to tell them, and asserted their common need to worship Allah, glorified be He, their Master and His Master, their Creator and his Creator.

And I was a witness over them as long as I was among them,…He was a witness of what they said and did only for as long as he was in their midst.

…then when Thou took me,… Took him up to the heavens in a full ascension. The manner of his ascension has been given.

…Thou were Thyself the Watchful over them,…‘Thou, O my Allah, were thereafter the observer of their deeds, their beliefs and their words.’

…And Thou over all things are a witness.He is present and a witness over all things.(117)

‘Indeed the people’s point of origin is Thee, my (Divine) Master and their (Divine) Master, and their return is in Thy hands alone’:

(118)

‘If Thou chastise them—indeed they are Thy slaves…. They are not able to take anything away from themselves, nor can any but Allah save them.

…the Wise.’He who does nothing but what accords to wisdom and the best interests. Here is the submission of an affair to its Owner, the consigning of the affair to its proper manager. This wording does not negate ‘Ịsa’s knowledge that they are to be chastised – we might say to a someone who has the choice about something, ‘If you like, you can do it, and if not, then you can leave it’, even though we know for sure which of the two alternatives he will choose. Moreover, some of them, those with no option, may be worthy of forgiveness. (118)

Allah will say, ‘This is the day their truthfulness benefits the truthful—

(119)

…‘This is the day their truthfulness benefits the truthful—… On that day the lies of the liar, the forgery of those who said that ‘Ịsa is Allah’s son, or that he is Allah, will not profit them. Nor will those who say that ‘Ịsa is not a prophet be profited by their lie. That day is the day of honesty, and the truthful will profit from their truthfulness.

…rivers flowing beneath them,…Rivers flowing under the palaces and greenery.

…Allah is pleased with them… Their works in the realm of the world has pleased Him, glorified be He.

…and they are pleased with Him…. They are pleased with their recompense and reward.

…That is the magnificent achievement.It is the achievement than which there is no greater achievement. (119)

Allah’s is the dominion of the heavens and the earth and that within them; and He over all things is in power.

(120)

Allah’s is the dominion of the heavens and the earth… There is no partner for Allah anywhere, and all the dominion is His and His alone.

…and that within them;…All the human beings, the animals, the plants, the inorganic and so forth.

…and He over all things is in power.Nothing is denied Him, and given that these are His attributes He has no partner in the dominion. (120)

[1] Portent 111, below.

[2] The madd was a weight standardised by Allah’s Messenger, may Allah condescend upon him and his House, but which has since been abandoned.

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