Al-Ma'idah

A believer’s life is a regulated life. Although he is free in the world to do whatever he likes, in spite of this, he admits the supremacy and Lordship of God and makes himself subject to regulation. Of his own he ties himself in the bondage of a vow. In the matter of God or His subjects he has taken it upon himself not to act independently but according to God’s commandments. He should have as food only those things that God has permitted and give up eating those things which God has forbidden. If on some occasions even permitted things are forbidden, as is evident from orders applicable while in the state of ihram or during sacred months, he should willingly accept this. If something becomes the symbol of some religious reality, then it should be respected, because respecting such a thing is equivalent to respecting religion itself. And all this should be done out of fear of God and for no other reason.

In normal circumstances, man carries out God’s commands. But under extraordinary circumstances, he becomes a different man. For example, the occasion arises when somebody’s opposition irritates him. Then one who seemed to fear God in normal circumstances, suddenly changed into one who is fearless of God. Then man forgets the limits of justice and wants to degrade and defeat his opponent in whatever way possible. But this type of revengeful, inimical action is not legitimate in the eyes of God, even if it were in retaliation for being prevented from performing the pilgrimage to the Sacred Mosque in Makkah. If others co-opearate with one who indulges in such oppressive activity this will amount to helping in the commission of a sin. Those who fear God will support others only in righteous deeds. It is the most difficult task in the present world to support those who are on the right path and ignore those who are not on the right path as they have all the wordly glories by their side. But it is by virtue of man’s success in this very task that his fate will be decided.

Some animals, due to their being harmful from the point of view of health and morality, are not fit to be consumed by human beings as food. That is the sole reason for Almighty God having forbidden pork. Similarly, there are many things in the body of an animal besides its flesh that are not fit to be eaten. Blood is one of these. Accordingly, in Islam a certain method of slaughtering an animal (dhabh) is prescribed in order to ensure that after slaughtering all of the animal’s blood oozes out. In other methods of killing an animal, except dhabh, the blood of the animal remains absorbed in its flesh and does not get fully separated. For the same reason, in the Islamic law, the consumption of all types of dead animals is also forbidden, because the blood of a dead animal immediately gets absorbed in its flesh. Similarly, meat that is somehow polluted by polytheistic belief is forbidden; for example, the meat of an animal slaughtered by invoking any name other than that of God or the meat of animals in order to attain nearness to (or to appease) anybody other than God. However, God by His special grace has made the allowance that any starving person who has to choose between death and taking forbidden food may opt for the latter. ‘Today I have perfected your religion for you’ i.e. the commandments that were to be given to you have all been given. Whatever was destined to be sent to you has all been sent. Here there is no mention about the perfection of religion in the absolute sense; it is only a declaration of the completion of the process of revelation of the Quran which was started earlier. This mentions the completion of revelation and not that of the religion. Therefore, the wording is not ‘Today I have perfected the religion,’ but rather ‘Today I have completed your religion for you.’ The fact is that the religion of God was given to man in every period in perfect form. God has never sent imperfect religion to man. God has put the people following the Quran on such a firm footing that by virtue of their latent potential they have gone beyond the reach of any external danger. Now if that community comes to any harm, it will be due to its internal weaknesses and not due to any external attacks. And the greatest guarantee of being free from internal weaknesses is that its members should have fear of God at heart.

All those things which are considered clean and perfectly formed in the eyes of nature, and all those animals whose nature is compatible with human nature, are all legitimate and permissible for human consumption. This is subject to the condition that for any external reason they have not developed any defect from the viewpoint of health or in the light of the Islamic law. However, the human mind is not capable of properly applying this principle. Therefore, the principle has been set forth along with its correct application. Hunting by a trained hunting animal is permissible because he catches the hunted animals on behalf of his master. In other words, he has learnt man’s nature. Such an animal, so to say, has become a substitute for man.

However elaborate the Law relating to forbidden and permissible things is made, it is finally man’s intention which debars him from certain things and leads him towards certain others. It is not the provisions of Law that act as a watchdog but man himself. If a man himself is not so inclined, then in spite of accepting the Law, he will try to find ways to escape its provisions. It is only the fear of God which compels a man to give proper regard to the Law in its true spirit. That is why it has been said while explaining the Law relating to prohibitions and permissions: ‘Fear God, for God is swift in taking account.’ It is not ever permissible for a Muslim woman to marry a non-Muslim man. But Muslim males have been permitted, subject to certain special conditions to marry women belonging to communities, who are in possession of the Holy scriptures. The wisdom underlying this provision is that a woman is by nature easily influenced. It may be expected of her that once she enters marital life, she may be influenced by her Muslim husband and Muslim society, and thus her marriage may become a starting point for her entry into Islam. (See also note on 2:221). ‘The deeds of anyone who rejects the faith will come to nothing’ i.e. without Faith, good deeds have no reality or value. A good deed is that which is performed for the sake of God. A deed which is not for the sake of God is actually for one’s own self. Why would God give any value to a deed done for one’s own self?

The purpose of salat (prayers) is to purify a man of all evils. Ablution, or wudu, is the preparation of the body for this religious rite. When a man intends to offer prayers, he first goes in search of water. Water is a great gift of God which is the best thing for washing all the impurities out of man. Similarly, salat is a ‘divine spring’ in which a man bathes and purifies himself of evil emotions and vicious thoughts. Initiating the process of ablution (wudu) when a man puts water on his hands, he is, in effect, praying, ‘O, God! Save these hands of mine from indulging in evil, and let whatever evil deeds I have indulged in through them be washed off.’ Then he rinses his mouth and washes his face. At that time his soul prays silently, ‘O, God! Kindly remove the bad effects of any improper food I have put in my mouth; the evil words I have uttered, and the evil things I have seen.’ Thereafter, when he takes water in his hands and massages his head with his hands, his whole existence is moulded by the prayers, ‘O, God! Wash away the bad effects of the evil ideas conceived by my mind and wrong plans devised by me, and cleanse and purify my mind.’ When he washes his feet, this action of his becomes the entreaty before his Lord, that He may cleanse his feet of the dust of evil and make them (his feet) never tread any path except the path of righteousness and justice. In this way, the whole process of ablution assumes, so to say, the practical shape of the prayer, ‘O, God! Make me a person who turns away from wrongs and one who keeps himself clear of evils.’ In normal circumstances, ablution is enough to create feelings of cleanliness in man, but the state of impurity (resulting from sex) is an extraordinary condition. So, in this state, washing of the whole body (ghusl) has been prescribed. However, God does not like to cause his subjects any unnecessary hardship. Therefore, in case of any practical difficulties in taking a full bath, dry ablution (tayammum) has been declared as sufficient to revive the feeling of cleanliness. The simplicity of the methods prescribed for ablution and bathing is a great blessing of God. In this way physical cleanliness is linked with purity under the Islamic law. In case of any difficulties, permission for dry ablution is an additional blessing, because this saves one from the excesses of which many other religions suffered.

Faith is the vow which binds God and His subject. The subject vows that he will remain God-fearing in his life in this world, and God guarantees that He will be His subject’s guardian in this world and in the Hereafter. God’s subject has to prove his fulfillment of his vow in two ways. First, he should become steadfast on the path of God. On every occasion his lifestyle should give the response which is expected of a subject to his Lord. When he observes the universe, his mind should be filled with the realisation of God’s glories and powers. When he looks at himself, he should realise that his existence is entirely due to God’s grace and His mercy. If his emotions erupt, they should erupt for the sake of God. If his attention is focused on anybody, it should be on God. His love should be for God. His fears should be linked with God. The remembrance of God should be uppermost in his mind. He should be given to prayer and obedience to God, and should spend his assets for the cause of God. In devoting his life to God, he should feel pleasure. The second condition for the fulfillment of the vow of God’s subject is that his dealings with his fellow-beings should be based on justice and fair play. Justice means meting out to a person that treatment which he actually deserves—no more and no less. In his dealings he should follow the dictates of justice and not his desires. He should be bound by this principle to the extent that he should adhere to justice even when dealing with his enemies; even when grievances and bitter memories are apt to divert him from the path of justice.

In the world, God makes His appearance felt through symbols, i.e. in the shape of such arguments as cannot be contradicted by man. When an argument of God appears before a man and he indulges in verbal pyrotechnics instead of accepting it, then this amounts to denying the signs of God. Such people will receive severe punishment at God’s behest. And those who accept the argument will be held deserving of God’s reward.

A pledge was taken from the Children of Israel by their prophet that they would lead a godly life, and twelve chiefs from their twelve tribes were appointed to keep a watch over them. The pledge taken from the Children of Israel was that they would make themselves godly by offering salat (prayers); that they would discharge the rights of others in the shape of zakat (obligatory alms-giving); align themselves on the side of God by supporting His prophets; and spend their assets in support of the struggle for the religion of God. It was only after undertaking all this and after establishing a collective system among themselves for ensuring the continued fulfillment of these duties that they were entitled to God’s company and support, and entitled to enter the aesthetic atmosphere of paradise, after being purified. One attains paradise by the performance of good deeds and not due to any racial relationship. The requirements mentioned in this pledge are the very same basic requirements of religion. This is the highway which leads all human beings towards God and His paradise. But when the communities blessed with Divine Scriptures go astray, they turn to the right or left of this highway. Now, it happens that with the help of self-made interpretations the concepts of religion are changed. In the name of ceremonial prayers irrelevant discussions are started. Ways of salvation which are supposed to lead a man to his destination without discharging the claims or rights of his fellowmen, are sought. In the name of the call for truth, meaningless worldly activities find favour with such communities. They devise various means of justifying worldly expenditure. In other words, they concoct a religion of their own, keeping purely worldly considerations in view, and start calling it the religion of God. Once a group reaches this stage in its wrong-doing, God withdraws His attention from it. Deprived of Divine guidance, such people reach the stage where they understand only the language of their base desires and remain preoccupied with satisfying their desires, until the angel of death approaches in order to catch hold of them and take them to the court of God.

When The People of the Book (i.e. those communities blessed with Divine Scriptures) go astray, they disregard the clear-cut, eternal parts of the Scriptures and hasten to embrace those parts which are of purely local or topical interest. This leads to conflict and results in degradation in the Hereafter. Whenever such groups leave the right path, infirmities become apparent. They start adopting a religion of their own imagining, casting aside their time-honoured authentic religion. Dissatisfied with the clear commandments given by God and His prophets on religious laws, spirituality and politics, they delve into them to find new points of contention. This opens up the door to differences and sectarianism. Sometimes, to justify worldly desires, sometimes to perfect the ‘imperfect’ religion of God, sometimes just to move with the times, dissatisfied elements introduce new elements into religion which are not really part of it. In this way, different new editions of religion take shape—some spiritual, some political, and so on. Around each one of them, like-minded persons start gathering and finally they form a sect. Succeeding generations start protecting this new version, treating it as if it were the heritage of their forefathers. A stage comes when it will clearly be perpetuated until Doomsday, because man tends to treat the past as sacred, and once something is sanctified by time and tradition, it takes on an aura of being eternal. Sectarianism in the name of religion on the one hand becomes sacred and eternal and on the other comes to be regarded as God’s command and gives licence for harbouring hatred and indulging in violence against others.

The People of the Book made two mistakes in their religion. One is that they omitted some teachings from it by means either of deliberate misinterpretation or distortion. For instance, they made certain changes in their Book obviating the necessity to accept any further prophet for their salvation; their attachment to the religion of their forfathers was considered enough for their salvation. The other mistake which they made in the name of religion, was that they imposed upon themselves restrictions which had not been ordained by God: for example, the petty rites of sacrifice, which were not commanded by their prophets, but which were concocted by their scholars by means of their hair-splitting interpretations. The Quran came to them as a blessing. It revived or renewed their Divine religion, when they had been groping in the darkness on a path which they deludedly thought was leading them towards paradise, when it was actually taking them towards the wrath of God. The Quran pulled them out of this darkness. On the one hand, the Quran presented their lost teachings in their original form, and on the other hand, liberated them from the unnecessary religious restrictions by which they had shackled themselves. Now those who obey and follow their desires will remain groping in the dark, and those who seek the pleasure of God, will find the right path. With the help of God’s guidance, they will be successful in pulling themselves out of darkness and enter the brightness of light. The fact of Truth being Truth and falsehood being falsehood is clarified perfectly, but it is always in terms of reasoning, and reasoning appeals to the minds of only those people who keep their minds open. The false deities (other than the one and only God) set up by human beings are such that they are not capable of creating or destroying anything by themselves. This fact is in itself enough to establish that there is no deity except the one and only God. How can beings that have no powers over creation and death be God?

A community which is blessed with the Book and a prophet, and proves that it accepts them, receives many blessings from God—special help and victory over opponents; domination on the earth; God’s pardon and the promise of paradise, etc. In the case of the earlier generations of a community, this is a reward for their actions; they surrendered their existence to God, therefore, God blessed them with His bounties. However, in the case of later generations, the position changes. Now the whole matter assumes a national or communal character. Whereas the earlier people enjoyed the blessings of God by virtue of their performance, the later generations assume that they are entitled to the same blessings—whatever their actions—simply because they belong to a certain community or race. Then they start believing that they are the specially favoured people of God, and whatever they do, they will definitely receive the bounties of God. With a view to removing this misunderstanding on the part of the people of the Book, God has specifically ordained that the rewards meant for them will start right here in this world. Such people can see in the present world itself how their God is going to deal with them in the future world. If, in this world, they are enjoying supremacy over their enemies, then it means that they are the favourite group of God, and if their enemies prevail over them, then it means that the reverse is true. If a group which is in possession of the Book is repeatedly vanquished and remains downtrodden in this world, in spite of being large in number, it should never entertain the hope of enjoying a high position and honours in the Hereafter.

Considering any community as a favourite community of God is an absolutely meaningless thought. Before God the reckoning is individual to individual and not community to community. Everybody will get his reward before God according to his deeds. In the eyes of God, every man is a human being irrespective of his belonging to this community or that. Every man’s future will be decided on the basis of his performance in this world of test and trial. Paradise is not the native place of any community; nor is hell the prison for any particular community. It is the way of God that He, on His behalf, raises certain individuals who acquaint the people with the realities of life; warn them of hell and give them the good news of paradise. It is only by supporting these ‘warners’ and ‘bringers of good news’ and cooperating with them that man finds God, and not in any other way.

It is the way of God that He chooses a group in order to convey His message to the people. He sends His prophet and His Book to this group and assigns them the task of conveying this message to others. Just as a particular person is the recipient of revelation, similarly a particular group is made the bearer of the revelation. In ancient times this special position was enjoyed by the Children of Israel and after the advent of the last of the prophets, his followers (ummah) were appointed to this position. Just as God requires of a community that it should represent His religion, similarly He also wants the community representing His religion to enjoy honours and high position in this world, so that it should be demonstrated to the people that in the new world coming into existence after Doomsday, prominence and distinction will be conferred only upon the ‘People of the Truth’. All others will be subdued and distanced from God’s blessings. However, this worldly benefit is not conferred on this group unconditionally: the group has first to face the test of entitlement. It has to prove that it has full faith in God under all circumstances and bows to His will and pleasure even if that tries their patience to the very limits.

At the time the Children of Israel left Egypt under the leadership of Moses and reached the Sinai desert, a tyrant community, the Amaliqa, was ruling Syria and Palestine areas. God informed the Children of Israel that the tyrant people had come to the end of their epoch, that they should enter that country and that with the help of God they would overcome the tyrant people after some negligible resistence. But, the Israelites were so terror-striken by the tyrant community that they were not prepared to enter its country. This meant that they were more afraid of human beings than of God. Thereafter, they became worthless in the eyes of God. God then decided that for forty years (1440 B.C. to 1400 B.C.) they would wander in the desert, by which time all those who were of the age of twenty years or more would have died and during this period a new generation living under new conditions would have grown up. And it actually happened like that. In the forty years spent in the desert, all the people of advanced age died. Thereafter, their new generations under the leadership of Yusha‘ bin Nun (Joshua) conquered Syria and Palestine. This Yusha‘ was one of the the two righteous Israelites who had previously advised their community to trust in God and enter the Amaliqa’s country. The Children of Israel had told Moses that if they invaded that country (of the Amalekites) they themselves would be defeated and their children would be treated as so much loot. But, these very children, after growing up, entered that country and captured it. The children acquired this strength because, for a long period, they had faced the hardships of desert life. Those very conditions which had been considered by the fathers of the children to be so dangerous as to spell death for their children actually held for them the secret of life. To live in favourable conditions is evidently very pleasant. But, the fact is that the best latent talents of a man emerge when he has to struggle with circumstances for his life. In Egypt, the Children of Israel had been living in peace for centuries. The result of this was that they had become a dead community. But after their exile, the desert life which they had to live was a total challenge for them. Those who spent their lives from childhood to youth in such circumstances were naturally a different kind of people. The desert conditions had fostered in them simplicity courage, diligence and realism; and these are the qualities which infuse life into a community. If a community becomes ‘dead’ as a result of the prevailing circumstances, then it is placed in extraordinary circumstances in order to revive it.

Whatever a man receives in this world is bestowed by God. Therefore, being jealous of a person on seeing him well situated in life and then inflicting harm on him amounts to trying to nullify God’s plan. Such a person is to some extent given the scope to do whatever he likes in this world of trial, but in the eyes of God, he is the worst sinner. Abel drew the attention of his elder brother, Cain, to this fact. This created some hesitation in his mind. He realised that he was bent on killing his younger brother without any justification. But the feeling of jealousy in him did not cool down. He invented excuses to justify his action. Ultimately, his inner struggle resolved itself and rest in his self-devised justification and he proceeded to kill his brother. The voice of conscience is the voice of God. A question arising in a man’s conscience about any action of his amounts in fact to his facing a test. A man is successful if he gives a positive response to the voice of his conscience, but if in taking the shelter of false excuses he suppresses the voice of his conscience, then he has failed.

The real reward for the deeds performed for the sake of God will be given in the Hereafter. However, sometimes even in this world certain occurrences show whether human actions have gained God’s approval. This happened in the case of Adam’s sons, Abel and Cain (Habil and Qabil). Abel’s offerings from his flocks of sheep and goats were accepted by God and he was duly blessed, but Cain’s offerings of his agricultural produce were not, and he remained unblessed. Cain then became so jealous of his younger brother that he threatened to kill him. Abel said that Cain’s offering had been rejected because Cain had no heartfelt fear of God and should, therefore, reform himself instead of threatening him. But, jealousy and enmity blur the truth and one can think only of how to eliminate one’s supposed enemy. Abel told Cain that he might raise his hand to murder him, but that he would not retaliate, because God had prohibited any fighting between one Muslim and another. Even if a Muslim wanted to assassinate his brother, the brother should not consider it legitimate to kill his attacker. This obviated the mutual clash which was otherwise inevitable, as well as the resulting endless chain of action and reaction in Muslim society. If two Muslims are bent on each other’s destruction, the guilt is divided between the two. But if one Muslim carries out his intention, while the other remains immersed in prayer, the attacker will not only shoulder the burden of his own sin, but also that of any sin which his victim might have commmitted had he not remained patient and prayerful.

Whatever a man receives in this world is bestowed by God. Therefore, one who, out of being jealous inflicts harm upon another who is better situated in life attempts, in effect, to nullify God’s plan. Such a person is to some extent given the scope to do whatever he likes in this world of trial, but in the eyes of God, he is the worst sinner. Abel drew the attention of his elder brother Cain to this fact. This created some hesitation in Cain’s mind. He realised that if he was bent on killing his younger brother, it was without any justification. But the feeling of jealousy in him did not cool down. He invented excuses to justify his action. Ultimately, his inner struggle resolved itself by returning to his self-devised justification and he proceeded to kill his brother. The voice of conscience is the voice of God. A question arising in a man’s conscience about any action of his amounts in fact to his facing a test. A man is successful if he gives a positive response to the voice of his conscience, but if, in taking the shelter of false excuses, he suppresses the voice of his conscience, then he has failed. It has been recorded in a tradition of the Prophet that transgression and the killing of kindred are sins for which punishment starts right here in this world. The punishment for the unjustified atrocity committed by Cain against his brother was given to him not only in the Hereafter but in this very world where he was immediately plunged into misery. It has come to us through Mujahid that Cain, after committing the murder, was afflicted by his lower leg becoming stuck to his thigh. He remained lying on the ground, unattended and uncared for, until he died in ignominy and distress. (Tafsir ibn Kathir). Cain was instructed by means of a crow how to bury the dead body under the ground. This points to the fact that man was less knowledgeable than the animals about the ways of nature. And, if he follows his emotions, there is no worse transgressor than he. Furthermore, it is implied that if, rather than committing a crime, a man buries the intention in his heart, he will not have to face the shame of it afterwards. A man should curb and bury his bad intentions in his heart and not allow them to emerge and become a reality. A man, before bringing his evil designs to fruition, has simply to bury the intention. If, not, he will be confronted with the problem of burying the dead body, which, even after burial, will be treated by God as not having been buried.