5. SURAH AL-MAIDAH (The table spread -FOOD)

INTRODUCTION
In verse no.112, the account of prophet Eesa’s disciples is related that they expressed a wish that Allah might sent down from the heaven.’ Maidah ‘ (the table spreadfull of food), from which reference the Surah gets-its name.
TIME OF REVELATION : It was revealed in Madina, and from the contents it appears that it must have been revealed after the treaty of Hudaibiyah in 07 A.H. After the treaty of Hudaibiyah Muslims were allowed to perform Umra, and the need had arisen, in connection with the pilgrimage to Ka‘ba and other Divine symbols, to give them necessary instructions.
CENTRAL THEME : This is the last Surah of the series which had started with Surah Baqarah, in which along with the declaration of the perfection of the Shariah emphasis is laid on observing its laws and commands and on enforcing the laws of the Shariah. Since this was the stage of perfection of the Shariah, the people of Faith are informed of the commands of Shariah concerning the individual as well as the social life and they are emphatically told to be steadfast to their covenant with Allah. In this connection the Muslim Ummah has been warned that they should not adopt the attitude of the Jews and the Christians, who dishonoured their covenant, and were guilty of disrupting the system of Shariah straying away from its restrictions and introducing innovations in the religion. Since the purpose of Quran is guidance and training, all the matters and problems are dealt with in a manner that would create a psychological atmosphere for accepting the restrictions imposed by the Shariah. Accordingly, appropriate to the occasion, the Jews (who have incurred the Divine wrath) and the Christians (who have gone astray), have been shaken to the maximum extent, so that the message might be conveyed to them in the best possible manners, and compared to them the path of the people of the Faith (who have been blessed by Allah) might be illuminated.
ORDER OF THE VERSES: verse no.1 is the beginning in which stress is laid on observing the obligations of the Shariah.
Verses nos. 2 to 6 state what are the commands of the Shariah.
In Verses nos. 7 to 11, emphasis is laid on being faithful and steadfast to the covenant with Allah and to adopt the policy of justice and fair play. In this connection mention is made of a conspiracy of a covenant-breaking nation.
Verses nos. 12 to 26 relate the events of the breaking of the covenant by the Jews and the Christians, so that the Faithful may take a lesson from that. The People of the Book have also been invited to re-establish their relationship with their Lord anew.
In verses nos. 27 to 32 the tale of the two sons of prophet Adam has been related. The purpose is to show that it is necessary to have fear of God in order to be faithful to the covenant with Allah: If there is no fear of God in the heart, then there is a likelihood of developing a criminal mentality.
Verses nos. 33 to 40 state the laws to stop mischief and corruption on the earth and to prevent crimes. Forceful directives are also given to adopt righteousness and the adverse fate that awaits rejection of Faith has also been mentioned.
Verses nos. 41 to 50 present examples of the breach of promises of the Jews and the Christians, as to how they ignored the Book of God and how they tried to avoid observing the commands of the Shariah in the affairs of life.
In verses nos. 51 to 66 the People of the Faith have been directed that they should not befriend such covenant-breaking and mischievous people (Jews and Christians), and that they should avoid being influenced by them.
In verses nos. 67 to 86, the People of the Book have been invited, through the prophet (Sallal Lahu Alaihi Wa Sallam ) to reform themselves. In this connection mention has been made of their covenant breaking, of corruption in their belief, committing of the forbidden acts, and of their befriending the infidels.”ln this connection those people have been praised” who had accepted the dawah of the prophet and were adopting a life of righteousness.
Verses nos.87 to108 state those commands of the Shariah which deal with the acts that are permissible and not permissible (halal and haram). In the end the law of evidence has been stated.
Verses nos. 109 to 120 mark the end of the Surah, in which it has been explained that on the Day of Judgment prophets will give witness before God that they had conveyed the religion of God and its Shariah most appropriately to their people. In this connection, the witness of Prophet Eesa (Jesus) has been presented as an example, so that the point may be brought home to the Christians. This is the witness which prophet Eesa will give in the Court of Allah.

5. SURAH AL-MAIDAH (The table spread -FOOD) (Verses -120)

In the name of Allah, Most Gracious, Most Merciful.

1. O you who believe! Fulfil the obligations (of the Shariah). Animals,1 of the cattle kind, have been made lawful for you2 (as food), except those about which you are being informed herein3; game4 hunting being unlawful when you are in state of ‘Ihram’5. Verily, Allah ordains whatever He pleases.6

2. O you who believe ! Violate not the Sanctity of the symbols7 of Allah, nor of the sacred month8, nor of the animals of sacrifice, nor of the animals having symbolic collars of sacrifice around their necks9, nor of the people proceeding to Sacred House (Ka’ba) seeking the grace and pleasure of their Lord10. And when you have put off ‘Ihram’ (pilgrim garb), you may go hunting. And let not your enmity of a people, who (once) stopped you from going to the Sacred Mosque11 incite you to commit excesses12. Help one another in righteousness and piety, and help not one another in sin and aggression13. Fear Allah. Verily, Allah is severe in punishment14.

3. Forbidden to you are: Carrion15, blood,16 the flesh of swine17, and that (animal) on which is invoked the name of other than Allah18, that which has been killed by strangling19, or by a violent blow20, or by fall21, or by being gored to death22, that which has been (partly) eaten by a wild animal23 unless you are able to slaughter it duly24, and that which is sacrificed on stone25 (altars). (Forbidden) also is the seeking of omen by means of arrows26; that is impiety.Today27 the disbelievers have despaired of (abolishing) your religion, so fear them not and fear Me28. Today29 I have perfected your religion30 for you and completed My favour upon you31,and am pleased with Islam for you as your religion32. So whoever is forced by hunger, (and eats any of the forbidden things), not inclining to sin, then Allah is indeed Oft-Forgiving, Most Merciful

1. Since this is the last Surah concerning the revelation of the commands of the Shariah, it begins with the direction: Fulfil the obligations of the Shariah, as if this is the last covenant that is being taken from the people of the Faith, so that they may observe all the restrictions and checks imposed by the Shariah scrupulously and that they may not deviate from them a wee bit.
If after this, Muslims ignore the laws of the Shariah or disobey them or give preference to their self-made laws, then it is not only insubordination against this heavenly guidance that has been given to them for the last time, but also it is a breach of the covenant that they had entered into with their Lord, by declaring their belief in the Last prophet and the holy Book, Quran.

2. ‘An’am’(cattle) is the word used in Arabic for creatures like camel, cows, bulls, sheep and goats, and the word “bahima” (animals) is of a more general nature, and other four-footed animals are also covered by this word. So by the word ‘Bahimatul An’am the animals meant here are those grazing four-footed animals, which chew cud, do not have canine teeth, and are like cattle in their eating habits, etc., e.g. deer, neel-gai (wild cow), etc.
Have been made lawful means that eating of their flesh, drinking of their milk and utilizing of their skins, bones, etc. have been made permissible, therefore there should not be any hestitation or any uneasiness in eating their flesh on account of some superstition.

3. That is: Exempted from this lawfulness are those animals whose being forbidden has been mentioned earlier in Qur’an and which is being mentioned further in verse no. 3

4. Those who go for pilgrimage to the House of Ka ‘aba are required to observe certain restrictions concerning dress, etc. To accept these restrictions is called as to enter into a state of ‘Ihram’. For further explanation, please see note no.284. Surah Baqarah.

5. In the state of Ihram, that is while on pilgrimage hunting on land is forbidden. Its clarification is given in verse no.96.

6. That is: Allah has full authority to give command and the slaves have no right to question or grumble about any of his commands. The commands of Allah are based on justice but it is likely that for the purpose of testing men the real wisdom and justice behind a certain command has been kept hidden. Therefore, the correct and proper policy for men is to obey Allah without hesitation and without grumbling.
The absolute authority of giving commands vests in Allah. Therefore, a person who considers himself or some other personality or the people as the absolute authority for giving command (making laws), then such a person is really denying the fact that the absolute power and authority for making laws vests in Allah alone. and the whole attitude of such a person is out and out polytheistic and like that of an infidel.

7. For the explanation of symbols note no. 190, Surah Baqarah may please be referred too.

8. For the explanation of the Sacred months. Surah Baqarah. note no 269 may be seen.

9. The animals which were carried towards the House of Ka’aba for the purpose of sacrifice had round their necks collars (belts) in order that they might be recognized as such and nobody should interfere with them. These collars were generally made of the bark of trees and were put around the necks of cows and camels. Ordinarily goats were exempt from this. Thus there were two kinds of animals for sacrifice, one which had collars round their necks and others which had no collars. Here instructions have been given not to violate the sanctity of both the kinds of animals. The mention of the animals with collars is by way of emphasis, since there can be no excuse for interfering with them when the symbols of sacrifice is around their necks.
It may be noted that at that time the caravans of pilgrims used to pass by Madina and on account of the prevailing tension it was quite likely that Muslims might act in a way that would amount to disrespect to the divine symbols. Therefore, it was emphatically forbidden.

10. That is: people who are proceeding for pilgrimage for Hajj or Umra are worthy of being respected as they have undertaken this journey for seeking the grace and pleasure of Allah. To put obstruction in their path or to hinder them from proceeding on their journey or to harm them in any way is a grave sin.
The generality in this command was in keeping with the conditions obtaining at that time, because then the pilgrimage for Hajj was being undertaken not only by Muslims but also by other Arabs also, who used to converge from every corner of Arabia on to Makkah. When subsequently the verse no.28 of Surah “Taubah” was revealed.
which stated that the polytheists are unclean and they should not be allowed near the Sacred Mosque after this year, this command under comment came specifically to be applied to Muslim pilgrims only.

11. Refers to the infidels of Makkah who had prevented Muslims from undertaking Hajj or Umra at that time.

12. That is: Neither cross the limits of the Shariah nor indulge into any act contrary to justice and fairplay.

13. This is a great point of principle that has been stated in this verse. The course of action for Muslims should be that they should help each other and co-operate in acts of righteousness and piety, and should not help any person or co-operate with him in acts of sin and aggression. They should adopt this principled stance in every field ‘of action and practice, in whatever country they may be living, and their problems may be either religious or moral, political or international. Their collective action should be based on this principle and not on the diplomacy of the hypocritical type.

14. That is: If you do not fear Allah and do not act righteously, He will punish you severely.

15. The explanation about carrion is given in note no. 210, Surah Baqarah.

16. For explanation, note no. 211, Surah Baqarah may be seen.

17. For explanation, please see Surah Baqarah, note no. 212

18. For explanation, please see Surah Baqarah, note no. 213.

19. One form of strangling may be accidental, where the animal’s neck gets stuck up in something, resulting in its death, and the other form is by throttling the animal causing its death.

20. There can be many forms of death by a violent blow, e.g. death of the animal by blows with the stick, falling of the wall or the ceiling on the animal or its being a victim of car accident etc.
In the modern times a new method of slaughtering the animal is being practised. The animal is first made unconscious by giving it an electric shock, which is known as ‘stunning’. This shock is of a very weak power, which generally does not kill the animal. It merely becomes unconscious, and in this state of unconsciousness it is slaughtered. But if the shock is more powerful, then there is a likelihood that the animal may die before it is slaughtered and in such an event it would be considered to have died from a violent blow, because its death has been caused by the shock and not by slaughtering.

21. Such a death may be caused by falling in to a well or from a hill, etc.

22. That is: The animal may die by being wounded by the horns of another animal.

23. That is: Some wild animal might have eaten away a part of its body.
“As regards the unlawfulness of the remains of the animals, some part of which has been eaten away by the wild animals; in this matter the superiority of man has been kept in view, and he has been kept free and clear from eating the left over of the wild animals. The people of the pre- Islamic days used to eat the flesh of the dead camels, cow, etc. killed by the wild animals. But Allah has made the leftover of the animals killed and eaten by the wild animals unlawful (haram) for the Faithful.”- (Al-Halal Wal-Haram Fil Islam by Dr. Yusuf Al-Qarzawi page 66).

24. It shows that an animal becomes lawful for being eaten only up an being slaughtered. Slaughtering means to sever that much part of the neck, of the animal that the blood vessels are cut, and the blood from the body is drained out. In the killing of the animal by the “jhutka” method, the brain (head) is suddenly severed from the body, because of which blood from the body is not fully drained out, and remains within. Therefore the jhutka method is a non-Shariah method.

25. These altars were of the stones on which the polytheists used to kill their animals as sacrifices to propitiate their gods. Since these places were reserved for the offerings to other beings other than Allah; the animals slaughtered in these places were forbidden, irrespective of the fact whether the name of any being other than Allah has been invoked on it or not for its being unlawful, it was sufficient that it was slaughtered on these altars.
That is why after mentioning the unlawfulness of the animals on which the name of a being other than Allah has been invoked, there is the mention of the animals being slaughtered on the altars separately. The Divine command also applies to the sacrifices which are offered on the “astanas” or the mausoleums of the ‘Awlia’ (saints and sages) in order to seek their pleasure and propitiation. This command also refutes the claim of the ‘ahle bida’t’ (innovators) that it is lawful to nominate an animal for the “Niyaz” to be offered to a particular wali or saint and slaughtering of such an animal is lawful, if the name of Allah is invoked on it when slaughtering. This is a deviation from the clear command of the Qur’an, for Qur’an has not only declared forbidden that animal on which the name of another being has been invoked but it has also declared that animal as haram which is slaughtered on altars, irrespective of the fact whether on it the name of a being other than Allah has been invoked or not. The very fact that it is being slaughtered on a particular altar is the proof that it is being slaughtered with the specific purpose of pleasing and propitiating a being other than Allah. Therefore, how can that animal, which is being slaughtered to please and propitiate some wali or saint, or as an offering to some jinn. etc., be lawful? Polytheism is after all polytheism, whether it be in the form of idolatry or saint worship.

26. In the Arabia of the pre-Islamic days, it was customary to seek omens for forecasting the future. For this purpose the polytheists had kept three kinds of arrows on the altar of their god, Hubal. On one arrow was written: “Do this work”. On another it was “Don’t do it” And the third arrow was blank. On seeking the omen or drawing the lot, the polytheists used to act according to the arrow drawn. If the arrow drawn was blank, they used to draw the lots again. These arrows were used for gambling also Thus this drawing of the lots, was a great source of polytheism, superstion and gambling. and for these reasons it was declared as forbidden.
This command also applies to all those methods which lead to polytheism or superstition, whether for this purpose the arrow may be used or some other thing, or whether it is to trace a thief or to know the condition of a sick person. To use the method of drawing lots for acquiring knowledge of unseen matters is nothing else but superstition.

27. “Today” means the time or the period when these verses were revealed.

28. By despairing of the disbelievers is meant that now that the Shariah has been perfected and Islam has gained power, the enemies of Islam have no hope of preventing it from reaching the zenith of progress or of destroying it. Therefore there is no question of adopting a compromising attitude in obeying the commands of Shariah due to the fear of the disbelievers. Now that Islam has come into its own your task is to observe the Shariah commands, scrupulously and to adopt the Islamic laws without any compromise.

29. By ‘Today’ does not mean a particular day, but the time or the period in which the Shariah was completed.
This stage of perfection begins after the treaty of Hudaibiyah, i.e. from the month of Zil Qa’adah 06 A.H. and which lasted till the beginning of 11 A.H. At the time of the’ Hajjatul Wada’ (the last Hajj of the Prophet, Zil Hijjah 10 A.H.) it had reached the stage of perfection and the declaration of the perfection of the religion was made with full grandeur, and the manifestation of the veracity of this holy verse was made in such a way as if this verse was revealed on that very day. That is why the narrators have considered this verse to have been revealed on the day of the last Hajj; otherwise from the context it is clear that this verse is a part of the statement pertaining to the commands of lawful and unlawful (halal and haram) things, and it was revealed much before the Hajjatul Wada.

30. Perfecting the religion means that the palace of the religion has been completed. Now there are no gaps left and there is no room for any addition. Whatever guidance Allah had intended to give to mankind has been given, and whatever system of worship and obedience He wanted to reveal. has been revealed. Now this religion is to remain in this very form till the last day and for the nations of the world this is the only minaret of guidance.
This perfection of Islam is indicative of two realities: First: This religion covers all the aspects of life. From the cradle to the grave whatever guidance was necessary, and for the individual as well as social life whatever direction were needed have been provided in this religion. Therefore its followers should also try to be as noble and decent as this religion is that is they should follow its teachings sincerely without creating any divisions and distinctions they should lead their individual and social life in its light and should try to fulfil all its demands.
The second reality is that when the religion is perfected the series of prophethood has been ended because after the perfection of the reli- gion, and when the provision has been made for its preservation till the last day, there remains no need for a new prophet to appear in the world. Therefore prophet Muhammad (Peace be upon him) has been called the last link in the chain of prophets and the holy Qur’an the last Divine Book. This reality has been mentioned in the hadith that his prophethood is the last brick in the edifice of the religion:
“It is narrated by Abu Hurairah (R) that the messenger of Allah (Sallal lahu Alaihi Wa Sallam) said: ‘My example and that of the other prophets is like that of a man who has built a beautiful and magnificent house, but in a corner left a place vacant for a brick, people used to go round it and wondered at its beauty, however (seeing the vacant place) used to say: what is the matter, a brick has not been placed here !’ The prophet said: ‘I am that brick and I am the last of the prophets”

31. That is: The perfection of religion is the completion or perfection of blessings and bounties for you, for a perfect and comprehensive Shariah has opened up for you countless vistas of the real progress in every section of life and it has provided for you such an exquisite garden that the sweet and balmy fragrance of its every flower will exhilarate your very soul.

32. This is the last declaration of Allah about Islam’s being the only desired religion. otherwise this contention has been stated in different ways at different places in the Qur’an. e.g. in Surah Ali- Imran it is stated with:
‘‘ Allah the real religion is Islam’’ (Al-i-Imran Verse No.19),
‘‘Adopting a religion other than Islam is not acceptable, and the person doing so, will be the loser.’’ (Al-i-Imran – 85).
Here with the declaration of the perfection of the religion there is also the mention of Islam’s being the desired religion as if this is the last. warning from Allah that if after the manifestation of Islam as a perfect religion people would contiue to adhere to other religions. then they themselves would be responsible for their straying. After the sunrise, flickering lamps become useless. But then a person loves his lamp so madly that he does not like even to look at the sunlight, then prejudiced attitude of his would go against him, and he will gain nothing except depravity.

33. That is: In the holy Shariah, extenuating circumstances have not been overlooked, and taking them into consideration concessions have been allowed. So in connection with the unlawfulness of the things mentioned here, permission is here granted to a person who is really starving to death to eat any of the unlawful things to the extent of his needs to save his life and in so doing he would not be considered a sinner. But it should be noted that any person who would try to take undue advantage of this concession, would be considered guilty.
And remember Allah’s favour on you, and His Covenant by which He bound you when you said: We have heard and we obeyed.’And fear Allah.Verily, Allah knows what is in men’s breasts (hearts ). (Al-Quran)

4. They ask you what is lawful for them (as food); say: “Lawful to you are all clean and pure things;34 and what you have taught your trained hunting animals35 36 (to catch) as Allah has taught you;37 eat what they catch for you,38 but pronounce the name of Allah over it;39 and fear Allah.40” Verily Allah is swift in taking account.

5. This day the things that are clean and pure are made lawful for you41. The food of the people of the Book is lawful42 for you and your food is lawful for them43. And so are the chaste women of the believers and the chaste women of those who were given the Book before you44 (lawful for you) when you give them their due dowers and desire to take them in honoured wedlock, not for fornicating nor as secret paramours. Whoever denies faith after first accepting it, his work is in vain45, and he will be among the losers in the Hereafter46.

6. O you who believe ! When you stand up for Salat47, wash your faces and hands up to the elbows; and perform ‘Masah’ of your heads (with wet hands); and (wash) your feet up to the ankles48. And if you have cohabited with a woman 49, purify yourself by bathing. And if you are ill, or on a journey, or if one of you comes after answering the call of nature, or if you have touched women50 (performed sexual act), and you find no water, then make use of clean earth, touch it with your hands passing them over your faces and your hands (Tayammum)51. Allah does not wish to place you in a difficulty, but to purify you and to complete his favour upon you52 so that you may be grateful.

7. And remember53 Allah’s favour on you, and His Covenant54 by which He bound you when you said: We have heard and we obeyed.’ And fear Allah 55. Verily, Allah knows what is in men’s breasts (hearts ).

34. By clean and pure things (tayyebat) are meant all those things which have not been declared as haram or unlawful by the Shariah and which man’s healthy nature also does not consider filthy.
The question was regarding animals and from the answer given it becomes clear that it is neither right to be independent of the restrictions imposed by the Shariah nor is it proper to abstain from eating animal flesh due to superstition. The right thing for man is to give due consideration to the restrictions of the Shariah and he should only eat the flesh of those animals which are clean.

35. By hunting animals are meant those beasts and birds which are employed by men for hunting other animals. Such beasts and birds are dogs, panthers, hawks, etc.

36. What men have taught the hunting animals is that they do not eat away the animals hunted by them, but they keep it safe and uneaten for their masters. That is why the flesh of animals killed by the trained beasts or birds is lawful (Halal).

37. The training that man imparts to the beasts and birds is due to the knowledge that Allah has granted men. Therefore, man should be grateful to Allah for this divine favour.

38. That is: the hunted animals which the beasts or birds of prey do not eat but keep for you can be eaten by you.

39. That is: When setting the hunting animal for hunt say: Bismillah. It is mentioned in a hadith that A’di bin Hatim asked the Prophet (Sallal lahu Alaihi wa sallam) whether he could hunt for food with the dog? The prophet replied: “If while letting it loose you have uttered the name of Allah, then you can eat it, otherwise not; and if it has eaten something of the hunted animal, then do not eat, because it had hunted for itself and not for you.”- (Bukhari -Kitabuz Zabaih-was-Said).
The summary of the commands that have been mentioned here is this:‘As Islam has fixed a method of slaughtering the pet animals by cutting a part of their necks, as is done in the case of goats, sheep, or cutting of Labba (throat of an animal) as slaughtering to camel etc. Apart from this Islam has also fixed a special method for making the flesh of the hunted animal lawful, and that is to set for hunting the trained animal by pronouncing the name of Allah. If this hunting animal hunts a clean and pure animal. i.e. it kills the animal but does not eat its flesh, but keeps it for its master, then he can eat its flesh, and if this animal is found alive, then it would have to be slaughtered by invoking the name of Allah over it.”
“If it keeps the hunted animal for you and if you find it alive, then slaughter it”. –(Muslim -Kitabus Said).‘
It is worth noting that hunting was not some kind of sport for the Arabs but an important means of livelihood, particularly during their journeys when they used to live on that only. That is why Quran clarified the Shariah commands about the hunted animals so that men may get proper guidance. Accordingly Islam has fixed a definite method for slaughtering the pet animals, but a comparatively easier method for slaughtering the uncommon hunted animals.

40. This is a warning that if you did not care for Shariah restrictions in your enthusiasm for hunt, you will have to answer before Allah therefore fear Him and do not cross the limits of Shariah.

41.‘This day’ means that period or time when the religion of Islam entered its stage of perfection. On this occasion it was declared that in this last Shariah revealed by Allah all clean and pure things have been made lawful and only unclean and impure things have been made unlawful, therefore the restrictions imposed in the previous Shariahs in particular circumstances should be considered as terminated. Similar is the case of the restrictions imposed by the people of other religions on the basis of superstition, like not eating animal flesh at all, have become void automatically, after the perfection of the divine Shariah.
It is a distinctive feature of the Shariah “of Muhammad (Sallal Lahu Alaihi Wasallam) that it has, in the matter of halal and haram liberated men from the unnecessary restrictions and by spreading the table of clean and pure food wide, it has invited the entire mankind to enjoy God’s food to its heart’s content.

42. From the context it is clear that by the food of people of the Book is meant the flesh of their slaughtered animal, i.e. the animal slaughtered by the Jews and the Christians. if it is the flesh of a clean and pure animal and while slaughtering it the name of Allah was invoked over it. It does not mean that if they present the meat of an unclean and impure animal it would be acceptable for Muslims. Nor does it mean that even if they do not invoke the name of Allah over their slaughtered animal it would be lawful for the Muslims. There is absolutely no room for giving such a meaning to these verses for even if a Muslim deliberately stops invoking Allah’s name over his slaughtered animal, its meat will be unlawful for Muslims. So how the slaughtered animal of a Jew or a Christian would be halal, if he does not pronounce Allah’s name over it !
As regards slaughtering by machine, which is the invention of the modern times, it is merely an act of severing head, and this act is free from pronouncing the name of Allah over the animals. Therefore this cannot be said to have been slaughtered by the Shariah method, regardless of the fact whether the person operating the machine was a Muslim or one of the people of the Book.

43. It means that on account of the transgression of the Jews, the things which were declared unlawful for them are not now so after the appearance of the last prophet and the imposition of the last Shariah. Now only those restrictions in the matter of food and drinks are operative for them that have been imposed on Muslims by the Shariah of Muhammad (Sallal Lahu Alaihi Wasallam), therefore, there is no hitch for them according to the Divine Law in eating the flesh of the animals slaughtered by Muslims. In fact, this declaration is a means which opens up a new way of convenience for the people of the Book, if they are able to appreciate it.

44. Refers to the women of the Jews and Christians. Permission is granted to Muslims to marry them on the condition that they must be chaste. It is not permited for Muslims to marry women from the people of the Book (Jews and Christians) who may be lewd and of easy virtue.
Ibn Katheer writes that in view of this permission a number of the companions of the prophet married Christian women, and they did not find it objectionable. (Tafseer Ibn Katheer, Vol. 2, P. 20).
Permission to marry ‘women of the Book’ has been given on account of the fact that there are strong chances of their embracing Islam. But if contrary to this expectation. there is a danger of the husband or the offspring being influenced by the unIslamic culture, then in such a case it would not be proper to take advantage of this permission. Accordingly, further on there is a warning that whoever would reject faith, would be among the losers.
The reason for allowing Muslim men to marry women of Jews and Christians and not allowing Muslim women to marry Jewish or Christian men is that man has the position of a leader compared to woman, therefore he can influence a woman easily and can maintain the Islamic manner of living in the home, provided he is a Muslim, in the real sense of the word. Contrary to this, a woman is subordinate to man, and therefore, if a Muslim woman is the wife of a Jew or a Christian, then it would be difficult for her to adhere to her belief in oneness of God and to following the Islamic manner of living in her household. If even after this manifest reality some one finds this command unpalatable, he should understand that Islam’s nature wants ascendency and superiority, therefore it cannot accept any position of subordination in any sphere.

45. Denying Faith after accepting it means that a man may proclaim to be a Muslim but in actual practice he may behave like a rejector of faith.

46. This warning signifies that the man who wants to take advantage of the permission for marrying a woman from the people of the Book should take care that this wedlock may not prove to be a danger for his faith and belief.

47. That is: when you intend to offer salat (prayer).

48. For Salat, cleanliness and purification is absolutely necessary.The method of cleanliness which has been described here is called in the Shariah terminology, as ‘wuzu’ (ablution). The explanation which the Prophet gave of this command shows that the correct method of wuzu according to Sunnah is this: the hands be washed upto the wrists, and there should be gargling with water, then the inside of the nose be cleaned by water, then the face be washed, and the right hand and the left hand be washed up to elbows, thereafter the head be touched with wet hands (masah) and the ears be included in this Masah; in the end the right foot and then the left foot be washed up to the ankles.
A part from the lengthy discussions about wuzu, a few important points are explained here:
1) By washing the parts concerned with water once, the wuzu is completed, but it is better to wash them three times.
2) With the hands the elbows, and with the foot the ankles should also be washed.
3) It is better that the touching with wet hands of the head (masah) is done to cover the whole skull. and also of the outer and the inner side of the external ears.
4) The parts concerned should be washed in such a way that no portion of them should remain dry. It is mentioned in a hadith that the Prophet saw that some people had left their heel dry in their ablution, thereupon he said:
“A pity for those heels that would burn in the fire (for being kept dry)” – (Muslim – Kitabut Taharah).
5) About the feet, some people are under the wrong impression that merely touching them (masah) with hands is sufficient, while according to the Quran and Sunnah washing them is necessary. If touching them with the hand (masah) were sufficient, then in the instruction the restriction ‘up to the ankles’ would not have been there, nor the warning of punishment in the case of keeping the heels dry would have been given, as mentioned above.
6) The wuzu that has been performed for one salat (prayer) can also serve for the other salat that follows, till it is terminated. As regards the benefit and wisdom of wuzu, it not only provides the apparent cleanliness but also gives the internal purification. Accordingly by performing wuzu, the sins of a Muslim drop out and he feels himself in a state of purification. In a hadith it is mentioned that when a Momin performs wuzu his sins are also washed away with water from his face, hands and feet, till he comes out clean and pure off his sins–(Muslim, Kitabut Taharah).
And on the Day of Judgment due to the effect of wuzu, a Muslim’s face, hands and feet will be bright. –(Muslim, Kitabut Taharah). ‘‘The faces of my Ummah (believers) will be shining due to the effect of ablution when they will be called up on the Day of Judgement and their hands too will be bright.’’

49. The explanation of uncleanliness because of pollution has been given in Note No.99, Surah Nisa.

50. For explanation, please see Surah Nisa. note no.101.

51. The explanation of tayammum has been given in note no. 102 Surah Nisa.

52. That is: The conditions of ghusl (bathing) and wuzu are not for inconveniencing the Muslims but for making them clean and purified. The purification of the body is the means for the purification of the self. Therefore, by teaching the Muslims the method of wuzu, ghusl and tayammum, Allah has completed his favours for the people of Faith.
“Allah does not wish to place you in a difficulty, is a great guiding principle that has been mentioned here. About purification it gives us the guidance that the methods which have been given here for obtaining purification, if followed with sincerity and in a simple and straight way, they would suffice.The prescriber of the Shariah does not want the method to be excessive or complicated. Therefore, the complications and excesses that have occurred in these methods as a result of the hairsplitting indulged into by the theologians are in reality unnecessary restrictions which the people themselves have imposed on themselves.

53. Means that favour and blessing which Allah has bestowed on the people of Faith by sending down the perfect Shariah.

54. Means that responsibility which a man accepts for entering into the faith of Islam or for becoming a Muslim, that is: he will obey Allah and His Messenger. This sense is embodied in the kalimah of witness, and this covenant is also taken from the people of the Faith unambiguously through the Prophet.

55. That is: Fear and be wary of the fact that in the event of disobeying of the commands of the Shariah, you will have to undergo severe punishment in the Hereafter.

8. O you who believe! Stand out firmly56 for Allah, and witnesses in justice57, and let not the enmity of any people prompt you not to act justly58. Do justice, that is next to righteousness; and fear Allah. Verily, Allah is well aware of all that you do.

9. To those who believe and perform acts of righteousness has Allah promised forgiveness and a great reward.

10. And those who reject Faith and deny Our signs will be companions of Hell.

11. O you who believe ! Remember the favour of Allah on you when a people had planned to extend their hands against you, then Allah had restrained their hands from you59; and fearAllah. And let believers put their trust in Allah.

12. And Allah had taken a covenant from Bani Israil60; and we appointed twelve supervisors from among them61; and Allah had said: “I am with you62, if you establish salat (prayer), pay zakat 63, believe in My messengers and support them64, and loan to Allah a hasan (beautiful) loan65, surely I will wipe out form you your evils66, and admit you to Gardens with rivers flowing beneath67. But if any of you, after this, denies faith, he has truly strayed from the right path68.”

13. And because of their breaking their covenant, we cursed them and made their hearts hard69. They change the words from their context70, and they forgot a part of that (book) by which they were admonished71. And you will not cease to find them indulging in dishonesty72, save a few of them73, so forgive them and bear with them 74, verily Allah loves the righteous.

56. That is: All your efforts and striving should be for Allah only and the axis and the centre of your activities should be the pleasure of Allah. This is demanded from the faithful people individually as well as collectively. Individuals should give the proof of their sincerity and selflessness in the field of action and the Muslim Ummah should become collectively the standard bearer of the religion of Truth.

57. Refer to note no. 220 of Surah Nisa,

58. The enmity or hatred of a nation causes a man to have prejudice against the people of that nation, which makes him adopt a wrong attitude towards them, and there remains no distinction for him as to what is just and unjust. But the very purpose of the existence of Muslim Ummah is justice, therefore, it should not be so influenced by the enmity of a particular nation that it should act unfairly. On the contrary, it should be the distinctive characteristic of the Muslim Ummah that it should deal fairly and justly in all its affairs, even in its political problems, and with all the people, even with its enemies.
This characteristic was found to be present to the utmost degree in the companions of the Prophet. They neither ascribed wrong motives to their enemies nor did they adopt ungentlemanly behaviour with them. Even in their wars they did not commit any excesses. They did not show disrespect to the fallen in the battles nor did they treat the prisoners improperly. They did not kill children and old people and they did not rape women. For this reason they were considered fit to rule with justice and to fill the world with impartiality, equity and fairplay.

59. Refers to the conspiracy hatched by the Jews (Bani Nadheer) to kill the Prophet and his companions. But the timely intimation by Allah saved him.

60. Means covenant of obedience and worship. It is stated in the Torah that when prophet Moosa preached them to obey the commands of God and to follow the covenant made with Him, they said: “ All that the Lord has spoken we will do.”- (Exodus -19:8). At another place it is stated:
“You have declared this day concerning the LORD that he is your God, and that you will walk in his ways, and keep his statutes and his commandments and his ordinances, and will obey his voice: ! ” (Deuteronomy 26:17)

61. There were twelve tribes of Bani Israil. Therefore,for every tribe a chief was appointed so that he may watch over the people of that particular tribe in respect of their observing the commands of the shariah, and preventing corrupt practices. The mention of twelve chiefs also occurs in the Bible.(Refer to Numbers, Chapter II, Deuteronomy l :23).

62. And with whatever nation or people God is, His support and assistance will be naturally with that nation or the people.

63. It shows that in the Shariah which was given to the Bani Israil, prayer (salat) and zakat enjoyed basic importance. But so far as the existing Torah is concerned, a mention of zakat is found in that but a reference to salat (prayer) has been totally removed from it .

64. That is: You will believe in the prophets that come from God and you will support them. In this is included believing in the last prophet, Muhammad (Peace be upon him) and supporting him. The hint is particularly to believing in and supporting the last prophet.

65. This spending for Allah is apart from the zakat, a reference to which has already been made in the foregoing “Ayaat”. Beside zakat there may arise need for spending for the sake of Allah for jihad or for propagation of religion. For further explanation, note no.381, Surah Baqarah may be seen.

66. If a man develops in himself the basic qualities, mentioncd above, then his weaknesses and evils can be wiped out:
“Virtues remove evils”.–(Hud -114).
And the mistakes and faults committed by him are forgiven by Allah.

67. Means the ever green gardens of the Paradise.

68. That is: If even after these clear directions a person adopts the line of rejection of Islam and refuses to accept Muhammad(Sallal Lahu Alaihi wa sallam) as the Last prophet of Allah, he loses the right path which is the only path that leads to Allah, and the name of this path is Islam.

69. The nation or the people that break the covenant made with Allah deserve only curses. After this the quality of the heart to absorb good preachings and counsels is lost and admonitions become ineffective.
In the Bible–Book of Zachariah the picture of the hard–heartedness of Bani Israil drawn in these words:
“They made their hearts like adamant lest they should hear the law and the words which the LORD of hosts had sent by his Spirit through the former prophets, Therefore great wrath came from the LORD of hosts.” (Zechariah 7:12)

70. That is: The matter is something, but they refer to something else. When the hearts become hard, the ability to absorb or accept truth is gone. When such people are made to hear truth which is not palatable to them they give their own meaning to it, which neither corresponds to the context nor to the purpose of the speech.
The unauthorized changes that the Jews were effecting in the words of God has been explained in Surah Baqarah note no.96.

71. They did not preserve or kept safe the Torah through which they were preached guidance, but they forgot one part of the Book. Accordingly in the existing Torah (Bible) the narration about the destruction that will be caused on the Doomsday and the mention of the reward and punishment on the Day of Judgment can hardly be found. However. the description of the wordly rewards and punishment is found in detail, and the promise of the greatest reward repeatedly made on following the Shariah is getting that country where the rivers of milk and honey flow, that is Palestine. It is obvious that the manner and style of promoting and encouraging virtue, in any Divine book, cannot be such as found in the Torah, which is the proof of the fact that portion of the Torah which dealt with the description concerning the Hereafter has been forgotten by the Jews.

72. Making changes unauthorizedly in the Divine Books is dishonesty and misappropriation of the trust.

73. That is: Among the Jews people who do not. indulge in this kind of mischief are few, and there are also such people who were blessed with embracing the religion of Truth, Islam.

74. That is: It is not unusual, for such people that they may cause harm or they may hurt, but you should, as a gesture of kindness, forgive them and overlook their evil acts.
O people of the Book! There has come to you our messenger, revealing to you much that you used to hide in the Book, and overlooking much. Surely, there has come to you light from Allah and a clear Book. (Al-Quran)

14. And from those too, who say: “we are ‘Nasara’ (Christians)75,”we took a covenant76, but they forgot a part of that (book) by which they were admonished77. So we stirred up enmity and hatred among them till the Day of Resurrection78,and soon Allah will show them their handiwork.

15. O people of the Book! There has come to you our messenger, revealing to you much that you used to hide in the Book, and overlooking much79. Surely, there has come to you light80 from Allah and a clear Book 81.

16. Whereby Allah guides him who seeks His good pleasure to paths of peace82. He brings them out of darkness to light83 by His will, and leads them to a straight path84.

17. Indeed they blasphemed who said that Allah is the Messiah son of Maryam85. Say (to them): “ Who then can do aught against Allah, if He intended to destroy the Messiah, son of Mary, and his mother and everyone on earth86? And to Allah belongs the dominion of the heavens and the earth, and all that is between. He creates what He pleases87, and Allah has power over all things.”

18. And the Jews and the Christians say: “we are sons of Allah and His favourites88.” Say: “why then does He punish you for sins89? Nay, you are but men,– of those whom He has created90; He forgives whom He pleases, and punishes whom He pleases91; and to Allah belongs the dominion of the heavens ‘and the earth, and all that is between; and to Him is the final journeying.

19. O people of the Book ! Now has our messenger come to you making clear to you (the true religion) after an interval (cessation) of the messengers92, lest you should say: there did not come to us any bringer of glad tidings and any warner. Now has come to you a bringer of glad tidings and a warner93, and Allah has power over all things94.

75. Refers to the fact that the name ‘Nasara’ (‘Christians’) for the followers of the Christ is adopted by themselves, while Allah had given to the followers of his religion the name ‘Muslimeen’, as is evident from the last verse of the Surah Hajj. So far the word ‘Nasara’ (Christians) is concerned, it is the plural of the word ‘Nasran’, like Nadama which is the plural of Nadman, -(As-Sihah lil Jauhari, Vol. II page 829), and it is related to Nasirah, which is a city in Syria, where Prophet Eesa had settled. Accordingly, the Bible has it: “And he went and dwelt in a city called Nazareth (Nasirah), that what was spoken by the Prophets might be fulfilled, He shall be called a Nazarene (Nasiri)’. –(Matthew 2 : 23).

76. Means covenant of obedience.

77. Means Injeel, a big part of which they had forgotten.

78. That is: The inevitable consequences of forgetting the guidance of Allah are the differences and sectarianism. Since this result follows according to Divine Law, it is mentioned as stirring up enmity and hatred among them. And the only way of deliverance from this is to believe in the Quran and prophet Muhammad (Sallal Lahu Alaihi Wasallam) and to follow the path of Islam. But when they did not accept this guidance on account of their prejudices, Allah left them to their plight that they might continue quarrelling and disputing among themselves till the last day, and the history of Christianity bears evidence that the Christians indulged in countless religious disputes and quarrels.
By referring to this event the purpose is not only to warn the Christians but also to admonish the Muslim ummah that they may take a lesson from it or else by forgetting the teachings of Quran they would also suffer from disruption and sectarianism.

79. That is: This prophet is disclosing those things which were concealed by the people of the Book, and which were required to be revealed with a view to the revival of religion. Besides these, there are many ‘distortions’ in religion, which do not need to be tackled directly, as their reality automatically comes to light by following the guiding principles of the Quran, therefore the prophet overlooks many such things.

80. Noor (Light) is the attribute of the prophet, meaning prophet Muhammad (Peace be upon him), whose appearance in the world caused the light to spread all over the world.

81. Means Quran, whose teachings are quite clear and plain. The people of the Book had made the teachings of the Divine Scriptures so complicated that it was not possible for anyone to make their meanings clear. But the clear teachings of the Quran put an end to all these complications. Therefore, the dawah of the Quran is that the only way to come out of the intricacies and the complications in which the people of other religions are lost is to accept the clear teachings of the Quran.

82. Whoever would make the good pleasure of Allah as his objective in life and would sincerely follow the religion of truth will have all his doubts and misgivings removed, and he will be secure and safe from every kind of evil. He will be guided at every turn of the road and thus will be saved from following the wrong path and will be placed on the path of peace.

83. By darkness is meant the darkness of ignorance, and by light is meant the light of knowledge.

84. By straight path is meant the religion of Islam.

85. That is: Allah is dissolved in Eesa (Jesus) or Messiah, son of Maryam (Mary), and the reality of divinity is found in him only. In other words, Eesa is the physical manifestation of God.
It is written in the Bible:
“Let all the house of Israel therefore know assuredly that God has made him both Lord and Christ, this Jesus whom you crucified”: (Acts 2:36)

86. That is: If Allah desired to destory Christ, his mother and all the creatures, none had the power to stop Him. And when the Christ himself cannot guard himself against being destroyed, then how can he be god? Such an uncomplicated and simple fact is not understood by the followers of the Christ !

87. That is: Allah can create in any manner He may please. A person’s being born without a father does not mean that he is god or he is associated with godhood.

88. In order to prove this claim of theirs, they made changes in and distorted the writings in the Torah and Injeel. Accordingly where Bani Israil were mentioned as servants or slaves God, it was changed to sons of God.
You are the sons of the LORD your God; (Deuteronomy 14:1)
“See what love the father has given us, that we should be called children of God.” (1 John 3:1)

89. That is: This claim of theirs is refuted by their own history, how they had to suffer severe punishment in the world on account of their transgression and rebellion: the victory and the rule of their enemies over them, enslavement of the entire community, their general massacre, and the destruction of Baitul Maqdis, Such eye-opening events are clear proof of the fact that no community is a favourite of God nor has any community been given any permit for their salvation, but that God decides the matter of reward and punishment on the basis of the actual deeds; then how can we not believe that in the Hereafter the decision of men’s fate will not be on the basis of their performance in this world?

90. No community or nation deserves to receive salvation merely on the basis of their being the descendents of the prophets. The salvation of the people depends on their faith and their own acts and deeds.

91. To forgive or to punish is entirely within the power that only Allah has. He will forgive whom He may be pleased to consider deserving of forgiveness and He may punish whom He may be pleased to consider deserving of punishment. As for the question: whom He would consider deserving of forgiveness and deserving of punishment? In this connection He has made His law of reward and punishment clear in the holy Quran, and this law does not make any distinction between man and man on the basis of race and birth.

92. No prophet was sent after prophet Eesa (Jesus) till at last Prophet Muhammad (Peace be upon him) was sent down by Allah. The Last prophet was sent down in the year 610 A.D., that is after five and three quarters of a century of the raising up of Christ.
During this long period, the people of the Book had made so many distortions in the Divine Scriptures and had introduced so many wrong practices through their own innovations that it had become difficult for the people to know what was the real religion of Allah. These conditions demanded that Allah should send His Messenger, who should show the path of guidance against these wrong and misleading paths, and who should show to the people what the real religion of Allah is. Prophet Muhammad (Sallal Lahu Alaihi Wa Sallam) came for this purpose only.

93. Now there is no excuse for you to adhere to your wrong practices and false beliefs.

94 That is: Now you should understand perfectly that if you still persisted in your transgression, Allah has full power to punish you severely.
And (recall) when Moosa said to his people: “O my people! Remember Allah’s favour to you when He raised from among you prophets, made you rulers and gave you what He had not given to any other among the peoples. (Al-Quran)

20. And (recall) when Moosa said to his people: “O my people! Remember Allah’s favour to you when He raised from among you prophets, made you rulers and gave you what He had not given to any other among the peoples95.

21. “O my people ! enter the holy land which Allah has ordained for you96 and do not turn back, for surely you will then become the losers.

22. “ They said: “O Moosa ! A mighty people are therein97, and never shall we enter it until they leave it. So if they leave, then we shall enter”.

23. Of the people who were afraid, two on whom Allah had bestowed His grace said: “Enter in upon them by the gate98, for if you enter by it, surely you will be victorious. And put your trust in Allah, if you are faithful.”

24. They said: “O Moosa ! We shall never enter it, so long as they remain therein. Go you and your Lord and fight you two, we shall remain here sitting.”

25. (Moosa) prayed: “O my Lord ! I have power only over myself and my brother99 so decide between us and the disobedient people”100.

26. (Allah) said: “So this land is forbidden to them for forty years; they will wander in the earth bewildered 101. So grieve not over the disobedient people”.

27. And recite to them truthfully the story of the two sons102 of Adam103 When they both offered sacrifice, it was accepted from one and not from the other.104 The latter said: “I will surely kill you 105.” He answered: Allah accepts only from the God-fearing106.

95. Refers to the magnificent past of the Bani Israil. Their history can boast of such grand personalities as prophet Ibrahim, prophet Ishaq, prophet Yaqub and prophet Yusuf (Prophets Abraham, Issac, Jacob and Joseph). And during the time of prophet Yusuf, they had gained power in Egypt.
In preference to other communities Allah bestowed this distinction on Bani Israil that He gave them the position of the leadership of the world, so that they might become the standard bearers of the religion of truth and fulfil the duty of giving witness to the Truth. In this connection Allah had been helping them in an extraordinary manner. Deliverance from the tyrant king like Firaun (Pharaoh) is the result of only Allah’s extraordinary help.

96. Means the land of Can’an (palestine). The reason for calling it holy land is that prophet Ibrahim had made it a centre of the Islamic dawah, and Allah had given a promise to the Bani Israil that He would give this holy land to them as a legacy:
“Behold. I have set the land before you; go in and take possession of the land which the Lord swore to your fathers, to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob, to give to them and to their descendants after them”. (Deuteronomy 1:8)
It may be noted that prophet Ibrahim had established two centres of the Islamic dawah, one in Makkah, where he settled his son Ismail and the second in Can’an (Palestine) where he settled his son, Ishaq. The descendents of Prophet Yaqub, whose title was Israil, son of prophet Ishaq, were called Bani Israil. Prophet Yaqub shifted to Egypt with his sons at the time prophet Yusuf gained power there. After settling there for a number of years, their number increased considerably. At that time pharaoh was ruling over Egypt. Moosa (Moses) who was from Bani Israil, was sent as a prophet by Allah. He achieved deliverance of his people from Firaun, and migrated with them to Sinai. Here Allah gave him His Shariah in the valley of the Mount Sinai. Subsequently when prophet Moosa, with his followers, reached the desert of Faran, Allah gave them command to proceed to Can’an in palestine, which was their original native place so as to restore its position as the centre of dawah. Later on in the time of prophet Sulaiman (Solomon) Baitul Maqdis was built in the famous palestinian city, Jerusalem.

97. That is:,The people who dwell there are so mighty that it is not possible for the Israilis to fight them. In the Bible they have been described as follows:
“and all the people that we saw in it are men of great stature. And there we saw the Nephilim (the sons of Anak, who come from the Nephilim); and we seemed to ourselves like grasshopper, and so we seemed to them,” (Numbers 13: 32, 33)

98. In the Torah the names of these two persons have been given as Yusha’ and Kalib, and the summary of the details given therein is like this: prophet Moosa sent twelve chiefs to palestine to find out the conditions prevailing there. After returning from there, they informed a public meeting that in that country ‘rivers of milk and honey were flowing,’ but the residents of that place are very powerful and mighty. On hearing this, the gathering cried out: “Would that we had died in the land of Egypt! Or would that we had died in this wilderness ! O Lord! Why does the Lord bring us to this land, to fall by the sword? Our wives and our little ones will become a prey ! Would it not be better for us to go back to Egypt?” (Numbers -14: 2-3) The two chiefs, out of these twelve, were Yusha and Kalib, who got up and tried to bolster their courage and said that “the Lord, God is with us, so do not fear them.” However, the gathering’s reply to them was: “Stone them with stones”. (Numbers 14: 10).

99. Refers to prophet Haroon, who was the brother of prophet Moosa and also a prophet.

100. When prophet Moosa saw that it is not possible to obey the Divine command of capturing the holy land, as his community was not prepared to obey him, he prayed to Allah that on the one side there were he and his brother Haroon, who were willing and ready to obey the Divine Command, and on the other side there was his community, bent on disobeying the command. In such circumstances it is for God to decide what they should do, and if the Divine wrath would be stirred by this abject disobedience, then, Moosa prayed, that he and his brother should be spared.

101. Allah gave His judgment that as a punishment the Bani Israil would not enter the holy land for forty years, and would wander in the desert in a bewildered way. The Torah says:
“But as for you, your dead bodies shall fall in this wilderness. And your children shall be shepherds in the wilderness forty years, and shall suffer for your faithlessness, until the last of your dead bodies lies in the wilderness... I, the LORD, have spoken; surely this will I do to all this wicked congregation that are gathered together against me: in this wilderness they shall come to a full end, and there they shall die.’ (Numbers 14: 32 to 35)
Accordingly Bani Israil had to pass forty years in the wilderness, during which period all their young males died, and in their place a new generation grew up. At the end of this period, prophets Moosa and Haroon also died and Bani Israil were deprived of their leadership, However, before his death, Moosa had taken Bani Israil near the city of Eriha, from where the border of Palestine begins, and he had surveyed that country from the Mount of Ibrahim which Bani Israil were to conquer soon. After the death of Moosa, Bani Israil advanced under the leadership of Yusha bin Noon and conquered the promised Land, the details of which are given in the Book of Joshua in the Bible.

102. In the Torah their names are given as Cain and Abel.

103. This is an important event of the earliest period of the human race.This event is described in the Torah also, but the parts which impart moral lessons are missing. Here Quran has not only recounted it accurately but has also clearly expressed its moral purpose.

104. The sacrifice offered by Habeel (Abel) was accepted because he was God-fearing, and Cain’s was not accepted because he was impious. Some sign to give the indication that the sacrifice has been accepted or not must have been made to appear by God. What was this sign has not been explained by Quran. However many commentators opine that in those days the sign of acceptance of the sacrifice was that a fire used to descend down from the sky to eat up the sacrifice. -(Tafseer Kabeer Vol. II page 205). It is possible that in the conditions of those days when the human population consisted of only a few individuals, this extraordinary event of the fire eating up the sacrifice might have occurred. (For the explanation of the burning sacrifice, note No.213, Surah Al-i-Imaran may be seen).
Along with this, the importance of sacrifice in the most ancient times as an important part of worship becomes clear. Another reality that impresses us is that the earliest civilization witnessed by man was the civilization of pure Godworship.

105. Cain became jealous because his brother Abel’s. sacrifice was accepted, whereas his own was rejected. This resulted in his decision to murder his own brother.
It is thus obvious that jealousy is a vice that can even lead to the murder of one’s own brother even.

106. For the acceptance of the sacrifice, the condition of piety at this place is like the instances occurring at other places:
“Neither the flesh nor the blood of these sacrifices reach God, but only your piety (Taqwa) reaches Him. “ -( Hajj - 37). In other words, from the very first day this reality of religion was made clear to man that the rituals of worship without the fear of God (piety) carry no weight with Allah.
BANI ISRAIL’S WANDERING IN DESERT Jericho :- (Ariha ) The first city of Palestine which was canquered by Bani Israil under the leadership of Yusha. (Joshua). Canaan :- The promised Land. (Palestine). Jarusalem :- Modern name :- Alquds. Paran Desert and Zin Desert :- In this region Bani Israil were wandering helplessly. MEDITERRANEAN SEA WILDERNESS OF ZIN Sinai :- This is a vast desert between the Gulf of Aqaba and the Gulf of Suez. Mount Sinai (Tur):- Its other name is Tur-i-Sineen. It is situated in the south of Sinai. In the Torah its name is given as Horeb. After coming out of Egypt Bani Israil hadcamped near its base. and here prophet Moosa was blessed with the Sharia. Mount Hoor : Prophet Haroon died here. Mount Nebo : Prophet Moosa died here. Dead Sea : Its other name is Sea of Lot. The River Jordan falls in the Sea. Gaza Yafa PALESTINE Jerusalem CANAAN Jericho RIVER JORDON Mt. Nebo Dead Sea Marej MOAB Edom Mt. Hoor K a des h Aqaba Ailah Gulf of Aqaba Wilderness of Paran SINAI Suez EGYPT Gulf of Suez Mt. Tur

28. Even if you stretch out your hand against me to kill me, I shall not stretch out my hand against you to kill you 107. Verily, I fear Allah, the Lord of the worlds.

29. “Surely, I like you to collect my sin as well as your sin108 and be among the companions of the Hell-fire. And that is the recompense of the evil-doers.”

30. But his mind instigated him for the murder of his brother109; so he murdered him110 and became one of the losers111.

31. Then Allah sent a raven, scratching up the ground to show him how to hide the corpse of his brother112. He said: “Woe to me! I was not even able to be like this raven so that I could hide the corpse of my brother!” Then he became very remorseful113.

32. On that account114, We had decreed for Bani Israil that whosoever kills a human being except as punishment for manslaughter or for spreading mischief in the earth, it shall be as if he killed all mankind, and whosoever saves the life of one, it shall be as if he saved the life of all mankind115. And truly our messengers came to them with clear teachings, yet, even after that many of them continued to commit excesses in the land116.

33. The punishment for those who wage war against Allah and His messenger, and go about to spread mischief in the land is only that they should be killed or crucified, or have their hands and feet on the opposite sides cut off, or they may be exiled out of the land117. That is their disgrace in this world118, and a heavy punishment is theirs in the Hereafter;

34. Except for those who repent before you overpower them; then know that Allah is Oft-Forgiving, Most Merciful 119.

107. That is: If you intend to commit murder, do so, I am not going to take the initiative. It may be noted that taking steps to commit murder is one thing and to defend oneself is another. Here the negation is for initiating and not for defending.

108. That is: If under provocation from you to murder me, I try to kill you then I will also become sinful. But since I am not doing anything against you, the sin of murder which would have been committed by me is being transferred to you. Now by murdering me, you will be doubly guilty, one for the actual murder and the other for murdering a person who inspite of a threat of murder from you did not try to kill you.
In a hadith it is written:
“When two Muslims are facing one another with their swords intent on combat, then the killer and the killed both will go to Hell.” Some one asked: O Messenger of Allah ! This one deserved Hell for being the killer, but why the murdered man?’ He answered: “Because he had also intended to kill his companion.” -(Muslim -Kitabul Fitan).
That is: If both the combatants had the intention of killing one another and if they fight, then the murderer and the murdered person both will deserve to go to Hell.
It should be noted that the case of self-defence is quite different. The Shariah has granted every person the right to defend his/her life, property and if the defender has to draw the blood of the aggressor, then the sin is on the aggressor, and in the Islamic law there is no qisas (retaliation) or compensation in money for such a killing.

109. When a man wants to commit a sin, his conscience checks him. But when he continually goes on suppressing his conscience then his self (mind) eventually prepares him to commit that sin.

110. The Torah states: Cain said to Abel his brother, ‘Let us go out to the field’, and when they were in the field, Cain rose up against his brother Abel and killed him. (Genesis 4: 8) It appears that this murder was committed in a state of unawareness.

111. This was the first murder that was committed on the earth.
A hadith says:
“Whoever is killed unjustly, in that killing Adam’s first son is involved, because he is the first person who introduced the system of killing.”- (Muslim -Kitabul Qasamah)

112 . Cain had left the corpse of his dead brother unattended to, leaving the corpse in the field so that it may wither and decay is a disrespect to the corpse. To avoid this disrespect, Allah showed Cain the way to bury the corpse, through the demonstration by a raven. That was the earliest era of the human race on this earth and it was the first dead body that had fallen on it, Cain could think of burying the corpse into the ground only after seeing the crow scratch the ground and bury something into it. This action of the raven led Cain to bury the dead body of his brother into a grave.
It shows that to bury the human dead body into ground is according to the guidance given by nature and this matter is being followed from eras.

113. And the consequence of the crime is remorse. By indulging in aggression and tyranny man cannot find peace of mind and satisfaction of heart. As against this, by adopting a policy of justice and truth he can achieve the wealth of satisfaction and peace.

114. That is: This criminal tendency may not develop in men and the human blood may not become cheap, and for this purpose Allah had explained to Bani Israil the severity of the unjust killing in an effective way.

115. It shows what a big crime is unjust killing in the light of Islam, and what a great virtue is the act of saving a life. A person who unjustly kills another person does not commit a single crime but also acts against humanity, for the main thing is the respect for life, and a man becomes guilty of murder only when he has no respect for human life. And when a person has no respect for human life, then such a person becomes a danger for the whole society.Nothing can be said as to what he would do next. As against this, a man who saves the life of a person who is in danger of losing his life, he not only performs a virtuous act, but also gives proof of the fact that in his heart there is a great respect for the human life, and that he is a sympathiser and well-wisher of humanity. Such a person is the protector of the human society.

116. That is: After showing the severity of and seriousness of murder to Bani Israil, Allah had also sent His messengers, who had been explaining to them the commands of Allah, and who had been warning them against disobeying God. But inspite of this many people had continued to indulge into excess and mischief, and even today there are many who are indulging in the same practices.
When these verses were being revealed, the Jews were busy conspiring against Muslims. Behind the battles that the polytheists, of Macca waged against Muslims there was the hidden hand of the Jews of Madina. They had also schemed to kill the Prophet and his companions in which they were unsuccessful. Here taking into consideration that very background, the Jews have been warned by explaining to them the severity and seriousness of crimes like murder and killing.

117. Here the commands are given concerning those who may rebel against Allah and His messenger and by their defying and rebellious attitude may challenge the laws and the system of Islam, whether such persons may be Muslims or non-Muslims.This command also applies to the group which may rebel in order to overthrow the Islamic system of Justice and Truth, and also to that gang and band of people which, by indulging into crimes like murder, robbery, loot, destruction; kidnapping of women or hijacking of planes, etc, create’ the ‘problem of law’ and order for the government. The general punitive laws of Islam may not be sufficient to deal with such criminals, therefore, the Shariah has framed special law for keeping them under check, and Islamic government is authorized to give whatever punishment it deems proper to the perpetrators of these crimes, in accordance with the conditions and the needs of the time. In the commands for ‘exile’ imprisonment is also included.

118. That is: When they raised the banner of rebellion against Allah and His messenger, and when they did not respect His laws, how can they deserve to be respected? To subject them to severe punishment, which would be an eye opener for others, and to disgrace them is the open demand of justice.

119. That is: Before they are captured by the Islamic government, if they repent and reform their attitude and conduct, it would not be proper to punish them under this law, because Allah forgives those who repent.
Then whosoever repented after his wrong doing and amended his conduct, verily Allah will accept his repentance. Allah is Oft-Forgiving, Most Merciful. Do you not know that to Allah belongs the Sovereignty of the heavens and the earth? He punishes whom He pleases and He forgives whom He pleases. And Allah has power over all things. (Al-Quran)

35. O you who believe120! Fear Allah121 and seek nearness to Him122 and strive123 in His cause so that you may succeed.

36. Verily , if those, who reject faith, had all that is on the earth, and as much more in addition, to ransom them from the punishment of the Day of Resurrection, it shall not be accepted from them124. Theirs will be a painful punishment.

37. They will wish to come out from the Fire, but never will they come out from there125. And theirs will be a lasting punishment.

38. As for the thief, male or female126, cut off their hands127. It is the recompense for their own deeds, an exemplary punishment128 from Allah. And Allah is Mighty, wise129.

39. Then whosoever repented after his wrong doing and amended his conduct, verily Allah will accept his repentance130. Allah is Oft-Forgiving, Most Merciful.

40. Do you not know that to Allah belongs the Sovereignty of the heavens and the earth? He punishes whom He pleases and He forgives whom He pleases131. And Allah has power over all things.

41. O Messenger ! Let not those grieve you who hasten to disbelief 132; among those who say with their mouths: “We believe” but their hearts believe not 133; or it be among the Jews, men who will listen to any lie, will listen even to others who have never come to you134. They change the words from their context 135, saying: “If you are given this, take it, but if not, beware 136 !”And to whom Allah intends to subject to trial, you cannot do anything for him against Allah.137Those are the people whose hearts Allah did not intend to purify138. For them there is disgrace in this world and in the Hereafter a heavy punishment.

120. In the foregoing verses methods of curbing and crushing the mischief and evil of the rebels was mentioned. Now the faithful are being directed to develop in themselves those basic qualities which would make them virtuous and of impeccable character.

121. That is: avoid and eschew the evil and sinful acts.

122. That is: Perform those acts and deeds which get you nearness to Allah. For getting near to Allah merely avoiding commitment of sins is not sufficient. It is necessary in a positive way, to worship Him and obey His commands. Therefore, along with fear of Allah (piety), emphasis is laid on performing those acts which are the means of gaining nearness to Allah.
The meaning of the word ‘wasilah’(means) used here is correct with reference to the context and also by the fact of its being in consonance with the general trend of the Quranic teachings, because Quran has declared Faith and pious deeds as the means of reaching God and of gaining His pleasure, and on this rests the success in the Hereafter.
In the text the word ‘wasilah’ has not been used as a common noun (nakirah) but as denoting a proper noun (ma’rifah). The ‘al’ before the word, according to the Arabic grammar (Nahv), refers to that particular thing to which the mind of a Quran reader turns immediately on reading this word. And it is obvious that the mind of the person studying Quran turns to righteous deeds on reading the word ‘wasilah ‘(the means of nearness). Therefore, there is no room for taking some other means as the meaning of the word wasilah according to the rules of the Arabic grammar.
So far as the dictionary meaning is concerned, in the Lisan-ul-Arab, which is the biggest and the most reliable dictionary of the Arabic language, the meaning of the word ‘wasilah’ has been given as nearness only:
wasilah that is nearness.- ( Lisanul Arab Vol. 11, page 727).
And in the oldest dictionary, As-Sihah Lil Jauhari. wasilah has been explained as under:
“A certain person gained ‘wasilah’ to His Lord means that a certain person sought the nearness of His lord through his acts.” (As-Sihah Lil Jauhari Vol. 5 P.1841)
And our pious forefathers (Salaf Saleheen) had taken wasilah to mean nearness or the means to nearness only. Accordingly, Ibn Jarir Tabari, stating the meaning of wasilah to be nearness, has quoted the statements of Mujahid, Ata, Abu Wayel, Hasan, etc. in support, and also this commentary of Qatadah:
“That is: by His obedience and by performing acts of His liking, gain the means of His nearness.”-( Tafseer Tabari Vol. 4, page 147).
Allama Ibn Katheer also gives the same meaning and writes: “The contention which these leading lights have stated (in the explanation of the word wasilah), there is no difference of opinion among the commentators about this meaning of this word.”-(Tafseer Ibn Katheer, Vol. 2 page 52).
After this explanation, the edifice of ‘wasta , and wasilah’ which the ahl-i-bidat (innovators) have erected by giving the word a wrong meaning, comes down crashing automatically. They explained the verse as ‘Seek the means or the medium of the prophets and the saints.’ Then they declared calling the prophets and the saints for solving their difficulties and to seek their unseen help in adversity as proper and permissible, and then they created this concept that Allah bestows His favours and blessings through them only. As a result this self-created means of theirs, became the means of polytheism and they could not adhere to the tawheed, which. was taught by Quran and the recipient of the Quran (Peace be upon him).

123. By jihad is meant that striving which may be undertaken to stand firmly by the religion of truth, to propagate its dawah, to fight its enemies, to raise its Kalimah, and to enforce its laws; for achieving this purpose all the might and abilities may be brought into play, to sacrifice the property and all the means in this cause, so much so that for achieving the goal even the life may be sacrificed.
Jihad is also applicable to actually waging war in the cause of Allah, and also for striving peacefully for the same objective, when the missionary has to pass through storms of oppositions.

124. The disbelievers in the Hereafter consider the worldly wealth as everything worth living and striving for. But when the Doomsday will occur, they would realise that the main and real problem was of the salvation in the Hereafter. By ignoring that, they had committed a blunder in the world, as a result of which they had become great losers. They would like that somehow amends might be made, but at that time nothing would avail. This helplessness of theirs has been pictured in these words that if they would have the entire wealth and treasures of the world, nay even if twice this wealth and treasures, and if they offer all this as ransom for getting salvation from their final and certain doom, this ransom will not be accepted from them. The same thing has been stated in the following hadith:
“On the Doomsday the infidel would be asked that if he got gold equal to the entire earth, would he give it as a ransom? He would say of course ! He would be told that less than that was demanded of him, but he did not agree.” (Bukhari and Muslim).

125. That is: They would like to run away from the Hell, but there will be no possibility of their escaping from that prison.

126. The Islamic punitive law does not make any distinction between the criminals on the basis of their sex. The person found guilty of the crime, whether male or female, deserves punishment in equal measure.

127. In the event of the crime of theft having been proved, only one hand, i.e. right hand, will be cut off. The enforcement of this law and other punitive laws of this kind has not been demanded of a single individual but of the society of the believers, and the time of the revelation of this Surah shows that this demand was made at a time when the Muslims had gained ruling power and had established their own system of justice.
As regards the question: What is the demand of Islam, in respect of establishing their own Islamic system of justice, from the Muslims of a country where they are not in a position to do so? The brief reply to this question is that their inability to enforce the Islamic punitive law in such a country is obvious, but this helpless does not mean that they should give up their support of the criminal laws of Islam, and they should support and endorse the self-made laws enacted by man as right and proper, because to consider the man-made laws right and proper compared to the laws ordained by God is contrary to faith and also opposed to their stand of being the standardbearers of truth and justice. In fact, it is their responsibility that they should hold aloft the standard of Islam and present the Islamic dawah before the people till such time these dawah efforts reach their logical end.

128. It refers to the wisdom behind this punishment. Cutting off the hand as a punishment for theft is really a very severe punishment, but this harsh punishment has been prescribed with the purpose of teaching a lesson to the crime-loving persons, so that they are discouraged. Theft does not merely remain a theft, along with it more heinous crimes like murder, rape, etc are also committed. Therefore, by prescribing this harsh punishment for theft, Islam has not only checked the commitment of theft but also other more outrageous crimes. The present day man-made laws have tried to prove the crime of theft to be a minor one, by prescribing light punishment, inspite of the fact that the increasing number of crimes of thefts and other more severe crimes have disturbed the peace of the modern society and have caused an inestimable damage to civilization. The law experts try to veil the reality by inventing new philosophies about the crime. They feel pity for the thief but have no pity for the society, whose very order and peace is challenged by the thief. They cry out when they see the hand of a thief being severed, but they have no tears to shed for the heads of the innocent persons being severed by the thieves ! Wherever this punitive law of Islam is inforce today, there it exercises such an awful terror that the incidence of theft is found to be merely nominal. And this reality is to silence all the objections that are being raised against the Islamic laws describing them to be barbaric.

129. Allah is Mighty, therefore His laws should be enforced and be obeyed. He is Wise, therefore His laws are not without wisdom and good justification. The punishment for theft is harsh, but it is not against the interests of humanity, but for its benefit.

130. That is: By repenting and by reforming his conduct, he would be spared the punishment in the Hereafter. It may be noted that repenting after having been caught by the law enforcing authority does not absolve a person from receiving the due punishment.

131. The entire authority and power of punishing and forgiving is vested in Allah. There is no power which can interfere with Him in the exercise of this authority.

132. That is: There are people who are leaving no stone unturned to see that Islam does not gain power and the affairs of men are not decided by the just Islamic Shariah; a missionary of Islam is naturally perturbed by the activities of such people, but that should not dishearten him.

133. Means hypocrites, particularly those hypocrites who were in league with the Jews.

134. This is the description of the party of the Jews, who used to come and meet the Prophet, whereas there were also others who did not come to him at all. Those who used to see him did so not to seek the truth, but to spread a concoction of what they learnt from him, and falsehood, so that the people who did not see the Prophet, may not be drawn towards him. In other words, those Jews who used to go to the Prophet had a scheming mind.

135. Its explanation has been given in the foregoing note. Here it also means that when they did not hesitate to distort the words of Allah as revealed in the Quran, it would not be at all difficult for them to distort the meaning of what the Prophet said.

136. Refers to the learned men of the Jews who used to say to their people that if the commands which they were giving to the people were also given by the Prophet, then they should be accepted, otherwise they should not be obeyed.

137. For those persons who knowingly and consciously follow the evil path, and whose conscience is dead, no advice can have any effect. on them. When such people are subjected to a trial by Allah, instead of taking a lesson from that they tend to become more wicked, as a result there is an increase in their evil and mischievous deeds. None has the ability to bring them to the right path. It is this divine law of straying which has been mentioned here as “To whom Allah intends to subject to temptation...”

138. That is: When they themselves want to remain impure at heart, with evil and sinful tendencies, why should Allah purify them?

42. (They are) listeners of falsehood, devourers of forbidden things139; If they come to you, either judge between them, or decline to do so140. If you decline, they cannot hurt you in the least. And if you judge, judge in equity between them 141. Verily, Allah loves those who judge in equity.

43. And how is it that they come to you for decision, when they have the Torah? Therein is the command of Allah. Yet even after that they turn away, infact they are not believers142.

44. Verily, We sent down the Torah, where in was guidance and light,143 by which the prophets who were Muslims144 judged the cases of Jews, and the Rabbis and the Jurists too;145 for to them was entrusted the protection of Allah‘s Book, and they were witnesses thereto.146 So fear not men, but fear Me, and sell not My revelations for a small price .147 And whosoever judge not by the Shariah which Allah has sent down are infidels.148

45. And We ordained therein for them: “Life for life, eye for eye, nose for nose, ear for ear, tooth for tooth, and wounds equal for equal.”149 Then whosoever forgoes retaliation, it is an act of atonement for himself.150 And whosoever judge not by the Shariah which Allah has sent down are wrong-doers.151

46. And in their footsteps We sent Eesa,152 son of Maryam, confirming what was before him from the Torah.153And we gave him Injeel, therein was guidance and light, and confirmation of what was before him of the Torah, a guidance and admonition to those who fear Allah.

139. In the text the word used is ‘Soht’ which means the unlawful earning. In Arabic it is mostly used to connote bribe. Here it refers particularly to the Qazis (judges) of the Jews who used to take bribes and accepting wrong evidence gave judgements against truth and justice.

140. That is: If they come to you requesting you to give judgement in their cases, then it is up to you to decide to give judgment or to refuse to take that responsibility.
At that time the colonies of the Jews that were located around the city of Madina had their own separate sphere of influence. Therefore, the responsibility of giving judgments in their mutual cases did not devolve on the Islamic government of Madina. But some of the Jews did not want their cases to be decided by the commands given in the Torah, and wanted them to be decided by the Prophet of Islam, in the hope that perhaps there may be a light judgment in the Islamic Shariah.

141. The meaning of judging in equity is that no partiality be shown to any party of the dispute, nor any excess be committed with either of the parties. It also means that the judgments be given according to the just Islamic Shariah.

142. In this verse an expression of astonishment is made on the practice of the Jews that they bring to the prophet such cases for decision about which clear commands are found in the Torah, in order that the Prophet may give some other decision than what is in their Book. They claimed to believe in the Torah, at the same time they were not prepared to abide by the commands given in that Book. Similarly, they did not believe in the Prophet of Islam, yet they wanted him to give judgment in their disputes. This action, this practice of theirs is a proof of the fact that in reality they believed in nothing.
Here the reference to the Torah that it contains Allah’s command means that it contains the punitive laws and Shariah limits, which is explained in the coming verse No.45. It also indicates the nature of the cases which they wanted to refer to the Prophet, that they pertained to laws of punishment, about which there were clear laws and commands in the Torah, but they wanted to seek a means of escape from those laws.

143. The Book, that was revealed by Allah to Moosa (Moses), had guidance to the true religion Dawatul Qur’an 347 as well as the clear Shariah for disciplining the individual and social life and placing it on the path of truth and justice. This was the speciality that was found in the part of the Torah which was available with the Jews at the time of the revelation of the Quran. Even today in the collection of the Bible the first five scriptures, Genesis, Exodus,v Leviticus, Numbers, Deuteronomy, contain some parts of the original Torah– the parts of the original Torah can be found by using the touchstone of Quran only-even now in these parts, these characteristics of guidance and light are there. Quran refers to this reality, and it does not mean that all the Scriptures that are known as Torah today contain divine guidance, because the Jews have made many changes and distortions therein and have included many misguiding things, and they have also made additions in the original Shariah.

144. That is: All the prophets that came from Allah to Bani Israil had their religion as Islam and they all were Muslim. It is these people of Bani Israil who called themselves Jews not the prophets sent by Allah.

145. That is: prophets, and also the truth loving learned men, Rabbis and jurists used to give judgments according to the Shariah of Allah.

146. That is: They were made responsible for protecting the Divine Book in such a way that no changes and distortions could be effected in that, and by making it the book of rules of conduct they should also give the witness of its veracity.

147. No fear nor any greed should prevent men from obeying and enforcing the Divine commands. For futher explanation see Note No.64. Surah Baqarah.

148. In this verse those people who do not judge by Divine Laws have been very clearly and unambiguously declared as disbelievers or infidels. Although this has been stated in connection with the rebellious attitude of the Jews, but since the matter is of the nature of a principle, this command is applicable to every person who may give judgment in contravention of the Divine Laws though such a person may belong to any group or he may be counted among the Muslims, for having an authority to give judgments over others and reject the Laws of Allah is an open rebellion against this Constitution ( Divine Book), which the Ruler of the Universe has revealed. When the companion of the Prophet, Huzaifah(R) was asked whether these verses, in which the persons not giving judgment according to the Divine Shariah are declared as infidels, wrong-doers and evil-doers, are concerning the Bani israil, replied instantly: “What good brothers for you are Bani Israil, that all the bitter things are for them and all the sweet things for you. No, by God! you will follow their very methods, step by step.”-(Tafseer Ibn Jarir Tabari, Vol.6,P.I64).
It may be noted that persons delivering judgments contrary to the provisions of the Divine Laws have been declared infidels when the commands of the Shariah were clear to them and they were free in the matter of enforcing them. In other words, it was their rebellious mentality which prompted them to deviate from the Shariah laws. Therefore, today those Muslims who are knowingly and willingly behaving in this very fashion are following the footsteps of the Jews, and we do not declare them infidels because Islam has prevented us from declaring kalimah-reciting Muslims as infidels, and has directed us to leave the case of those whose practical life is a mixture of Islam and Kufr (disbelief), for He knows the truth about the intentions and only He knows what circumstances prevented that people.

149. In the Torah, this command appears like this: If any harm follows, then you shall give life for life, eye for eye, tooth for tooth, hand for hand. foot for foot, burn for burn, wound for wound, stripe for stripe. (Exodus 21=23 to 25)
But the Jews, while acting on this command. made distinction between noble and lower people. Between their two tribes, Bani Nadir and Bani Quraizah, the former were considered to be of noble birth. If a member of the Bani Nadir tribe was killed at the hands of a member of the Bani Quraizah tribe the murderer was put to death in retaliation. But if a member of the Bani Nadir tribe killed a member of the Bani Quraizah tribe, then the killer could not be killed in retaliation and the heir of the murdered had. essentially to accept compensation there for and that too at half rate.
This change in the Shariah laws made by them has been very severely criticised here.
The law given in the Torah referred to by Quran forms the most important section of the Islamic Penal Laws. Equal retaliation in all the wounds and injuries is apparently an extremely severe punishment but it is not only in accordance with justice but also a discouraging blow to the criminals and thereby society is assured of peace. In modern times too much slogan shouting is done for equality but when equal treatment is meted out to the criminal these standard-bearers of equality are instantly upset.
It may be noted that equal retaliation in the case of wounds and injuries would be insisted upon only when it would be possible to inflict the same kind and nature of wound or injury. otherwise if there is a danger of inflicting a severer or deeper injury or wound the guilty person would have to pay compensation, which will be fixed according to the damage caused.

150. That is, the person who forgoes or remits retaliation, for him this virtuous act will be an atonement for his own sins.

151. Wrong-doers, because they discarded the just laws of Allah and judged by the man- made laws which cannot fulfill the demands of justice.
Here it should clearly be understood that judging does not only imply delivering judgements from the chair of a judge, but it also implies making laws or passing legislation and issuing administrative judgment or decisions. Therefore, the person who makes laws contrary to the laws of the Shariah or the ruler or the administrator who uses his ruling authority to oppose the Divine Shariah, commits infidelity, wrong and evil acts irrespective of the fact whether his orders, rules or laws are based on customary laws or on religious mythology on the basis of culture or the theory of secularism.

152. That is: Allah sent down Jesus, son of Mary in the footsteps of those prophets who had appeared in Bani Israil. Prophet Eesa (Jesus) was sent about one and a half thousand years after Prophet Moosa ( Moses)

153. Prophet Eesa had confirmed the Torah as a Divine Book. It is mentioned in the Injeel: “Think not that I have come to abolish the law and the prophets; I have come not to abolish them but to fulfil them. For truly, I say to you, till heaven and earth pass away, not an iota, not a dot will pass from the law until all is accomplished.” (Mathew 5: 17, 18)
O you who believe ! Take not the Jews and the Christians for friends. They are but friends to each other. And he among you who takes them for friends is of them. Verily, Allah guides not wrong-doing people. (Al-Quran)

47. And let the people of the Gospel (Injeel) judge by that which Allah has revealed therein.154 Whosoever judge not by the Commands which Allah has sent down are evil-doers.

48. And to you we sent the Book with truth, confirming what is before him from the (previous) Scripture155 and guarding over it;156 so judge between them by the Shariah which Allah has sent down, and follow not their desires, away from the truth that has come to you.157 For each (group) of you We prescribed a Shariah and a clear cut way.158 If Allah had so willed, He would have made you a single community (Ummah), but that He may test you in what He has given you.159 So vie with one another in good deeds.160 To Allah you will all return, then will He inform you the truth of the matters in which you have been differing.161

49. And (O prophet !) judge between them by that which Allah has sent down, and follow not their desires, but beware of them lest they seduce you from some part of that which Allah has sent down to you.162 Then if they turn away, then know that Allah’s will is to punish them for some sins of theirs. And truly most men are transgressors.

50. Do they then seek the judgment of ignorance?163 Who is better than Allah for judgment to a people who have certainty in’ their belief?

51. O you who believe ! Take not the Jews and the Christians f or friends. They are but friends to each other. And he among you who takes them for friends is of them.164 Verily, Allah guides not wrong-doing people.

154. That is: Allah had revealed Injeel with the set purpose that the people should decide their problems making it the basis of their decisions, and if the people of Injeel had judged their cases by the teachings of Injeel, they would have definitely recognised the Quran as a Revealed Book, because the information that has been given in the Injeel about the next prophet is confirmed by the Quran. Besides, if the voice of God can be recognised in Injeel, it can as well be recognised in the Quran, because both are the tunes from the same instrument.

155. Means the Torah.

156. Quran’s guarding over the Torah means that the Quran has gathered in itself the original teachings of the Torah and it is a touchstone for the amended Torah; by testing it with the help of the Quran it can easily be found out what are the real teachings of the Torah and what are the unauthorised insertions and distortions by the Jews.

157. That is: For the differences that the people of the Book have created in the original religion, this Book (Quran) has a decisive position. In this Book Allah’s religion has been presented in its original form and shape, without any adulterations effected by the people of the Book. Therefore, in all the affairs and problems of life this Book is the standard of Truth and in all disputes and law suits only this Book should be made the basis of judgment.

158. Shariah that is commands, duties and laws and minhaj (course of action) that is the methods and ways of acting on these laws and commands and performing those duties, and the forms of practising these laws. It may be noted that where the word Shariah is used singly, it is applicable on both the things combined.
For different ummahs Allah had prescribed different Shariah and ways of practising them, which was in accordance with the circumstances then prevailing. But this difference was not the difference of the main religion, but was that of the methods and ways. So far as the religion is concerned, it has been one and the same for all the ummahs, for example belief in the oneness of Allah, in the Hereafter, Prophethood, Obedience and worship of one God and the concept of being answerable to Him, purification of the self, purification of character and practices, etc. Therefore, it is not proper to consider the differences in the methods and ways of practising and of the Shariahs as differences in the religion. It can be understood from this example: All the prophets had taught to worship only one God, Allah, but so far as the form and minor details are concerned, they were different . e.g, there is no difference in the sacrifices being offered only for Allah. However as regards the details as to when it should be offered, and what animals are required for that, and what should be done after slaughtering them, there were differences in these matters. Similarly the etiquette for prayers (salat), fixation of the Qiblah, etc. In these matters there were differences according to the places and times.

159. If Allah wanted, he could have forced every one to follow one religion. But it would have been against His plan, under which He has created man, i.e. man should be put to test and for this purpose it is necessary that there should be occasions to test him. This difference in the Shariahs provides occasions for putting men’to test. The people who are influenced by the external forms and methods of religion cannot understand its reality, and when the divine guidance comes before them, they turn away from it. Contrary to this, those persons who are realistic have their eyes on the main religion and they welcome the divine guidance in whatever form it comes to them. Those who accepted the guidance of Quran were such people.

160. That is: If these people want to entangle themselves in religious discussions and disputes, leave them to their plight, and you vie with one another in virtuous work.

161. The last and final judgment will be given in the Court of Allah, when the people will realise what was the reality of the religious disputes which they had started.

162. This is one more warning to beware of the opposing forces that are trying to turn you away from the Book of Allah and which are hatching conspiracies against you, and that you should keep away from them. It is a pity that inspite of this warning the Muslims, under the influence of the western philosophy of law and secular mode of government, have given up the Islamic system of government, and in the countries where they are not in power by themselves, they are found to be supporting the non-Islamic laws and commands instead of expressing their dislike for them. This situation, as is clear from the verses, is not only contrary to the witness of truth but is also dangerous for the very faith.

163. The word used here is ‘jahiliyah’ (Ignorance) as opposed to Islam, and here the judgement of the days of ignorance means those commands, laws and customs which were put into practice by the people against the Divine Shariah. The reason for declaring them to be of the “jahiliyah” is that though apparently they appear to be beneficial for the society, they are not based on the knowledge of truth but on emotionalism and ignorance.
This jahiliyah or ignorance is not confined to the period of pre-Islamic days only but was found even in the subsequent periods also and even in the modern era of learning and science this ignorance is spread all over .
Allama Ibn Katheer, illustrating examples of the ignorance of his time (fourteenth century A.D.) writes:
“And as the tartars who judge by their royal political commands, which are derived from the directives of their king, Changez Khan, and which he had formulated under the name , Alyasiq’. In fact, it is the name of a book which is a collection of commands which he had taken from different Shariahs, e.g. Judaism, Christianity and Islam, etc. In this there are many commands which are entirely based on his own personal view and desires. In this way this collection has become a selfmade shariah, which is being followed and whose commands and judgments are preferred to the judgments and commands of the Book of Allah and the Sunnah of the Prophet. So whoever acts in this way is an infidel and deserves to be beheaded, unless he turns to the Judgment of Allah and His Messenger, and any matter, whether big or small, he may not decide without referring to it. -(Tafseer Ibn Katheer, Vol. II page 67).

164. Among the Muslims there were some who were not sincere in their faith. These people had friendly relations with the Jews in view of their personal interests, even though such a relationship was forbidden earlier (Surah Aal-i-Imran, Verse No.28). Here it is further emphasised, and people are warned that faith and friendship with the enemies of Islam cannot go together, and therefore those persons who would cultivate friendship and friendly relations with them would be counted as belonging to that group or community.
It should be noted that the restriction on the friendship with the Jews and the Christians in the Quran means that there should not be heart-felt love or friendship with them, because heart-felt friendship and love for the enemies of the Prophet and the rebels against Allah is contrary to faith. Secondly, it implies that Muslims should not overlook the religious interest and political benefits of Islam and Muslims and should not cultivate friendly relations with infidel individuals or groups for the sake of their own personal interests. The political conditions obtaining at the time of the revelation of these verses demanded that the Muslims should be very cautious in forming relationship with non-Islamic elements, so that they may not divulge their war secrets to others, and besides, if it was required to take any action against any group of the infidels, then their personal friendship might not come in the way, but that they should be above all friendly and personal considerations and should give proof of their loyalty to Allah and His Messenger .
As regards human friendship with the infidels in the ordinary circumstance it has not been forbidden. For further explanation, Note No.41, Surah Aal-i-Imran may be seen.
You see those in whose heart is a disease eager running towards them, saying: “We fear lest there may befall us disaster.” But it may happen that Allah will give you victory or show something else from Himself. Then will they feel ashamed of that which they are hiding in their hearts. (Al-Quran)

52. You see those in whose heart is a disease165 eager running towards them, saying: “We fear lest there may befall us disaster.”166 But it may happen that Allah will give you victory or show something else from Himself. Then will they feel ashamed of that which they are hiding in their hearts.167

53. And those who believe will say: “ Are these the men who swore their strongest oaths by Allah, that they were with you? All they did was in vain,168 and they have become the losers.

54. O you who believe ! whoever turns away from his religion, (he will not in anyway harm Allah), soon will Allah bring forth a people whom He will love and they will love Him, humble towards believers, stern towards disbelievers, striving in the cause of Allah, and fearing not the reproaches of the reproachers.169 This is the grace of Allah, He bestows it on whom He pleases. And Allah is bountiful170 and He is Allknowing.

55. Your friend, in reality, is Allah, His messenger, and the believers171, who establish salat (prayer), and pay zakat and bow down before Allah.172

56. And whoever takes Allah, and His messenger and those who believe, for friend, (he is the party of Allah, and) verily, only the party of Allah will be victorious.

57. You who believe ! Take not for friends such of those, who were given the Book before you, and disbelievers as make a jest and sport of your religion.173 And fear Allah if you are (true) believers.

165. That is: The disease of discord, hypocrisy.

166. The hypocrites were afraid that if the final victory were gained by the enemies of Islam, then there would be no future for them. Therefore, they were not openly and wholeheartedly supporting Islam. They thought that it was better for them if they remained with the group of Muslims, and also had relations with the anti-Islam communities.

167. That is: He may bestow the favour of final victory on Muslims or before that cause some such event to occur as would bring the hypocrites to disgrace.

168. The acceptance of one’s acts and deeds depends on sincere faith. All manifestations of religiosity with hypocrisy are unacceptable to Allah. Therefore, all the acts and deeds of such people which merely have the label of religiosity on them would go in vain and would be of no avail.

169. Here the idea is to show that for the purpose of striving for religion persons who are hypocrites and self-seeking are quite useless. For this high purpose the people required are such and such.
The hypocrites were in love with the world. It is obvious that people of this type can spare no time from their worldly occupations to devote to religious work. They had a soft corner for the enemies of the religion. How could they then take up cudgels against them? They were hungry for self-praises. How could they be expected to bear the criticism and reproaches of the world on following the path of truth and justice? In the positive qualities that have been mentioned in the verse there is full material for providing training to the soldiers in the cause of Truth.

170. Refers to the fact that He is not stingy in the matter of bestowing His favours, but that His bounty knows no bounds.

171. That is: The people who are not loyal to God do not deserve to be your friends, but those who deserve your friendship are God, His Messenger and His loyal slaves. You should take them into your confidence.

172.“They bow down before Allah” expresses the spirit both of salat and zakat, that the sincere believers make arrangements for the prayer in such a way that in their hearts there is sense of humbleness, and when they pay zakat, at that time also their hearts bow down before Allah. But the conditions of the hypocrites are quite the opposite. Their prayers and their payment of zakat are for show only, their hearts do not bow down before Allah. When the heart does not bow down, what is the use of bowing down the head?

173. That is: To form friendships with such persons who make fun of Islam is detrimental to the self-respect of Muslims.

58. And when you call for prayer they take it as a mockery and fun. That is because they are a people who understand not.174

59. Say: “O people of the Book! What else is the reason of your resentment against us than that we believe in Allah, and the revelation that has come to us and that which came before us, and that most of you are evil-doers?”175

60. Say: “Shall I tell you of the worse fate than this that was meted out by Allah?176 Those whom Allah has cursed,177 on whom His wrath has fallen,178 and some of whom he transformed into apes and swine,179 and those who worshipped Taghut (rebels).”180 These are the people whose position is the worst and they are far astray from the straight path .

61. And when they come to you, they say: “We believe ;” but they had come in disbelief and went away in the same, and Allah knows best what they were hiding.

62. And you will see many of them vying with one another in sin and transgression, and their devouring of illicit gain. Evil indeed are the things that they do.

63. Why do not the Rabbis and the theologians forbid them from uttering sinful words and eating things forbidden?181 Evil indeed is what they are doing.

64. And the Jews say: “Allah’s hand is tied up.”182 Their hands are tied up and they are accursed for what they said.183–Nay, both His hands are widely outstretched;184 He spends as He pleases.185 And in fact, the revelation that has come to you from your Lord increases in most of them rebellion and disbelief.186 And We have cast among them enmity and hatred till the Day of Resurrection.187 Every time they kindle the fire of war, Allah extinguishes it.188 And they strive to do mischief on earth, and Allah loves not those who do mischief.

174. That is: They make fun of Azan, the call to the prayer. Azan or call to prayer is the symbol of Allah and it is an invitation to the people to come to worship Allah. To ridicule such a thing is not the act of a sane person, and such an unreasonable thing can be done only by a person who is a fool.

175. That is: You are annoyed with us only because we believe in every truth that has been revealed by Allah, whether it is the earlier Scriptures or the Quran. If apart from this, we have committed any other fault, show us. But if only our belief is disagreeable to you then it clearly means that you are bent on disobeying Allah, for no man of faith can adopt such an attitude with people following the right path.

176. That is: On account of your animosity to Islam, you are waiting for an adverse fate for us, but the pages of your own history are full with the examples of much worse fate, and you are going the same way. Therefore, instead of wishing for adverse consequences for others, think of the consequences that you are likely to encounter .

177. In the Bible, the mention of this curse is found at various places, e.g. You shall say to them, Thus says the LORD, the God of Israel: Cursed be the man who does not heed the words of this covenant................... they have gone after other gods to serve them; the house of Israel and the house of Judah have broken my covenant which I made with their fathers. Therefore, thus says the LORD, Behold, I am bringing evil upon them which they cannot escape; though they cry to me, I will not listen to them.................................. ( Jeremiah II )

178. In the Bible it is written: “Thus says the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel: You have seen all the evil that I brought upon Jerusalem and upon all the cities of Judah. Behold, this day they are a desolation, and no one dwells in them, because of the wickedness which they committed, provoking me to anger, in that they went to burn incense and serve other gods .............. Therefore my wrath and my anger were poured forth.” ( Jeremiah 44)

179. Allah had created them in the honourable species of man, and had also provided guidance for their moral and spiritual evolution. But when they failed to understand their high position and tried to lower themselves from the high position of mankind, Allah transformed their honour into disgrace and provided a great lesson for others by changing them into apes and swine.
This is a tragic happening which occurred with a group of the Jews due to their transgression. As regards the question as to how men were transformed into apes and swine, there is no need to try to interpret it by far-fetched explanations. Suffice it to say that the God who gives shape and features to man, can also distort his features in any way He likes. Therefore, if the faces of the men who distorted the religion of Allah were distorted into the faces of apes and swine, what is unbelieveable and astonishing in that !

180. By taghut is meant the mischievous and the rebellious people, and by worship is meant following them blindly and obeying them in sinful acts. Here the word worship has been used to mean excess in obedience. In explaining taghut, Imam Razi writes:
“One opinion is that by taghut is meant that calf which was worshipped, and another opinion is that it means the theologians of the Jews. And every person who obeyed some one in sinning against Allah’s command has, in reality, worshipped him ”.–(At-Tafseerul Kabir, Vol.12, p. 37).
What is stated in the verse means that obeying the rebels against Allah instead of obeying Allah implies worshipping them. This is the worst disgrace that can come to one’s lot. The history of the Jews is a witness to this fact that this disgrace had come to their lot.

181. It signifies that in a corrupt society the learned men and the leaders have a great responsibility for reforming the people. It is among the duties of these learned men, etc. to forbid people from committing sins and especially from earning by illegal means and devouring forbidden things. But when a section of the learned men itself suffers a moral setback, then it not only does, not forbid people from doing evil things but itself indulges in that. As is popularly known the forbidden chicken becomes lawful for the Qazi. Ibn Jarir Tabari says that no other verse is more forceful than this one for rousing the ulema from slumber. He has quoted Ibn Abbas in support of his statement (See Tafseer Tabari part 6, p.193).
This is a mirror which the Quran has placed before the Muslims so that thier ulema may see their faces in it.

182. When they used to be asked to spend in the cause of Allah, they used to say that Allah’s hand is tied up, that is He has become a miser , that is why He is asking them to spend for Him. They are being reproached for this blasphemy of theirs.

183. It shows that one who utters derogatory remarks against Allah deserves to be cursed.

184. Allah’s ma’rifat or recognition has been explained in the Quran in a very simple, natural and understandable way. Therefore, in reply to the blasphemous words of the Jews meaning that Allah has become miserly, the meaning of what has been stated here-both His hands are widestretched–is quite clear. But later on the polemicists (Mutakallimin) started discussions as to what is meant by the hands of Allah, etc. Such kinds of discussions are not only useless but also divert the reader’s minds to other channels, away from the main purpose and dawah of the Quran, and their minds are occupied by unnecessary arguments. That is why Quran has forbidden to go into ‘mutashabihat’ (allegorical references), and this was the practice of the earlier sages (Salaf Saleheen) that they used to avoid interpreting them. Imam Razi writes: “ As regards the question, what is implied by hand and what is its reality, we leave its understanding to Allah, and this was the method that was adopted by our righteous forefathers (Salaf Saleheen).” –(At-Tafseerul Kabir, Vol.12, page 43)

185. That is: He is very generous and magnanimous for His slaves and He is ruling over them with extreme graciousness.

186. That is :Prejudice has made them blind. That is why they grasp only misguidance from true guidance.

187. Kindling of fire of hatred and rancour among the Christians was mentioned in Verse No.14. In this verse is mentioned the casting of enmity and hatred among the Jews. The atmosphere of hostility that is found between the Jews and the Christians is very deep rooted, and in this connection each group has compiled its own history. Therefore, it is likely that temporarily there may be a clear atmosphere between them in view of certain considerations, but to remove the indelible stain in their bosoms is not possible for anyone. Therefore, they will continue to go at each other’s throats. (For further explanation Note No.78 may be seen).

188. Whenever the Jews tried to foment a war, Allah arranged to put it down. Had He not done so, the earth would have witnessed great disaster. Whatever battle the polytheists of Makkah waged against the Muslims, they were all incited by the Jews. With the help of their scheming minds, they always tried to foment discord among the Muslims and the infidels, but Allah had been protecting Muslims from being destroyed from this fire of war .
Even today Israel (Jews) is actively busy in inciting war and fomenting trouble, which goes to prove the truthfulness of the holy Quran.
And had they stood fast by the Torah and Injeel, and the revelation that was sent to them from their Lord, they would have been fed from above them and from beneath their feet. Among them there is a group on the right path, but many of them are of evil conduct. (Al-Quran)

65. And had the people of the Book believed and been righteous, We should indeed have blotted out their sins and admitted them to the gardens of bliss.189

66. And had they stood fast by the Torah and Injeel,190 and the revelation that was sent to them from their Lord,191 they would have been fed from above them and from beneath their feet.192 Among them there is a group on the right path,193 but many of them are of evil conduct.

67. O Messenger! Convey (to the people) what has been revealed to you from your Lord. If you did not, then you would not have fulfilled His mission.194 And Allah will protect you from men.195 Verily, Allah guides not those who are infidels.196

68. Say: “O people of the Book ! You have no basis at all, unless you stand fast by the Torah and Injeel, and the revelation that has come to you from your Lord.” 197 But the revelation that has come to you from your Lord will increase in most of them rebellion and disbelief.198 So grieve not over (the condition of) the infidels.

69. Verily, those who are Muslims or Jews, and Sabians199 or Christians –whosoever believe in Allah and the Last Day and act righteously – on them shall be no fear nor shall they grieve.200

70. We took the Covenant201 of Bani Israil and sent to them messengers. Every time there came to them a messenger with what they themselves desired not – some they belied and some they slew.202

71. And they thought that no trouble would come of it. So they became blind and deaf.203 Then Allah accepted their repentance. Yet many of them became blind and deaf.204 And Allah sees well all that they do.205

189. That is: If the people of the Book had accepted the faith preached by Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him), and had they adopted righteousness, then Allah would have forgiven them, their past sins and would have admitted them to the blissful gardens of Paradise.

190. Standing fast by or establishing the torah and Injeel means to follow scrupulously the original Torah and the original Injeel (Gosepl), and not the amended Torah and Gospel. For further explanation Notes No.143 and 197 may be seen.

191. That is: The holy Quran: Standing fast By Allah’s Book means to make it one’s guidance and the law of life.

192. Means worldly favours and bounties. In the Torah, it is written:
“If you walk in my statutes and observe my commandments and do them, then I will give you your rains in their season, and the land shall yield its increase, and the trees of the field shall yield their fruit. (Leviticus. 26: 3,4)
“And all these blessings shall come upon you and overtake you, if you obey the voice of the LORD your GOD. Blessed shall you be in the city, and blessed shall you be in the field.’’ (Deuteronomy 28: 2,3)
But it should be clearly understood that Quran offers the worldly benefits as a result of obedience to Allah and not as the main objective and motivating force. That is why these blessings and favours have been mentioned in the Quran by the way, while seeking the pleasure of Allah and glory in the Hereafter has been presented as the main motivating force for offering worship and obedience to Allah. This fact has been repeated in the Quran so often and in such an effective way that it has become a specific characteristic of the Islamic Dawah, and without exception this has been the thrust of the missions of all the prophets. In the amended Torah the aspect of the Hereafter has been subdued and the worldly benefits of the obedience to Allah have been repeatedly mentioned as the main objective for worship and obedience. It shows how much the minds of the editors of the Torah were influenced by the world and its glamour.
Even today when the influenced minds present the Islamic Dawah, they do it by presenting the material and worldly benefits of the Islamic system in beautiful words; The aspect of the Hereafter is presented by the way. This method of Dawah is neither of the prophets nor of the Quran nor can it change the inner man.

193. This was the group of the people of the Book which was on the right path, though it was small in number. When the message of Quran became clear to them, they accepted it and embraced Islam.

194. This is a very emphatic command which has been given to Prophet (Sallal lahu Alaihi Wasallam). A prophet is a messenger of Allah. Therefore it is his duty and mission that he should convey, without reservation and without caring for any danger, the message of Allah to the people. Any hesitation or faltering in conveying this message is a defect in fulfilling the mission of prophethood. Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) fulfilled this mission in the best possible manner, and conveyed the whole Quran as it was revealed to him. In his last Hajj, which took place about three months before his death, he asked the gathering of the people:
“You would be asked about me, then what would you answer?”
Those present replied: ‘We give witness to the fact that you conveyed to us (Allah’s Message), you fulfilled your duty and you wished us well.’ He raised his first finger towards the sky and said:
“O Allah! Be a witness.” -(Muslim, Kitabul Hajj).
Today the Quran, as it was revealed to the Prophet, is in our hands. Therefore, none can put forth an excuse in the court of Allah tomorrow that the message of Allah did not reach him.

195. And this prophecy of the Quran came to be true word by word, for inspite of the scheming, conspiracies and warring activities of the opponents, the Prophet (Sallal lahu Alaihi Wasallam) was safe from the mischief of his opponents and no force on earth could succeed in killing him.

196. That is: The infidels will never succeed in their aims. The plan which Allah had made in connection with the last Prophet (Sallal Lahu Alaihi Wasallam) would be successfully completed.

197. Standing fast by or establishing the revelation that has come to you means to follow scrupulously the Quran. By standing fast by the Quran is standing fast by the Torah and the Injeel, because so far as the original Torah and the original Injeel are concerned, there is no difference between their basic teachings and the basic teaching of the Quran. These are the different branches of one and the same tree. Had the “people of the Book” followed the teachings of the Torah and the Gospel (Injeel), then they would not have found anything new in the Quran, and that they would have continued their spiritual journey on the same path in the light of the teachings of Quran.

198. That is: On account of their prejudices and bigotry.

199. See Note No.86, Surah Baqarah.

200. This has been explained in Note No.87 Surah Baqarah.

201. Means pledge and promise for following the Shariah as also the promise of following and supporting any prophet that would be sent to them.

202. That is: On the one hand a covenant for following the Shariah and on the other hand the insolence of attempts to kill the prophets. When a man becomes a worshipper of his own desires, he collects in his personality contradictory traits.

203. That is: After committing these crimes, when they were not confronted with any trouble or doom, they thought that they were not going to be punished for their crimes, although it was the leniency which is generally shown to the guilty in order to give them a chance to reform.

204. It means that when they turned to Allah and reformed themselves, Allah granted them forgiveness. But even after that they became blind and deaf. It is a reference to the history of the Bani Israil, in which the events of their rise and fall occurred several times. In the Bible, it is stated:
“So they ate, and were filled and became fat, and delighted themselves in thy great goodness. Nevertheless they were disobedient and rebelled against thee and cast thy law behind their back and killed thy prophets, who had warned them in order to turn them back to thee and they committed great blasphemies. Therefore thou didst give them into the hand of their enemies,...yet when they turned and cried to thee thou didst hear from heaven, and many times thou didst deliver them according to thy mercies... Yet they acted presumptuously and did not obey thy commandments,” (Neh 9:25 to 29).

205. That is: Though they have become blind, but Allah sees well all that they do. In the Zabur (psalms) it is stated:
“They say the widow and the sojourner, and murder the fatherless; and they say, ‘The Lord does not see; the God of Jacob does not perceive.’ Understand, O dullest of the people; Fools, when will you be wise? He who planted the ear, does he not hear? He who formed the eye, does he not see? He who chastens the nations, does he not chastise? (Psalms 94: 6 to 10)
Indeed they have committed infidelity who said: “ Allah is one of three in a Trinity,” while there is no god except the One God. And if they desist not from what they are saying, verily a painful doom will befall those who are guilty of infidelity. (Al-Quran)

72. They indeed became guilty of infidelity who said “Verily Allah, He is Messiah, son of Maryam,206” Whereas the Messiah had said: “O Bani Israil ! Worship Allah, my Lord and your Lord. 207” Whoever joins a partner with Allah, Allah has forbidden him the Paradise, and his abode will be Hell-fire. And for the wrong doers there will be no helpers.

73. Indeed they have committed infidelity who said: “ Allah is one of three in a Trinity,”208 while there is no god except the One God. And if they desist not from what they are saying, verily a painful doom will befall those who are guilty of infidelity. 209

74. Will not then they turn to Allah and seek His forgiveness? For Allah is Oft -Forgiving, Most Merciful.

75. Masih (Messiah), son of Maryam, was no more than a messenger. Many were the messengers that passed away before him.210 And his mother was a woman of truth.211 They both had to eat food.212 See how Allah makes His arguments clear to them, and then see how senselessly they turn away!

76. Say: “Do you worship, besides Allah, that which has no power either to harm or benefit you213? And it is Allah alone Who hears and knows all things.”214

77. Say: “O People of the Book! Do not commit excesses in your religion unjustly,215 nor follow the vain desires of the people who went astray before this, who misled many and strayed away from the straight path.216

206. This has been explained in Note No. 85.

207. Prophet Eesa (Jesus) had neither claimed himself to be a god, nor did he ask his followers to worship him, but that he had preached to worship and pray to only one God and to believe in His Lordship only. Even today this preaching of Jesus is found in the Injeel:
“you shall worship the Lord your God and Him only shall you serve. “ (Metthew 4: 10) And this fully confirms the teaching of the Quran.

208. For explanation see Note No.280, Surah Nisa, and Note No.3 Surah Ikhlas.
It may be borne in mind that there are many sects among the Christians and there are many differences in the beliefs of these sects. Some believe that God dissolved in Jesus, i.e. Messiah is the physical existence of God, and some believe that there are three gods. There is also differences of opinion about the fixation of the three gods. Some believe the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit to be the three factors of the trinity, while some others believe the Mother (Maryam or Mary) to be the third god in place of the Holy Spirit. (God gives us refuge from these false beliefs !)

209. That is: Those who will desist from these reprehensible acts will not be punished, but those who will not desist and will persist in their infidelity will have to face very painful punishment.

210. That is: Messiah or Jesus was a prophet like other prophets, and when none of these prophets was a god, then what is the reason for treating Jesus as god?

211. Maryam (Mary), mother of prophet Eesa was a virtuous and truthful lady. These qualities had undoubtedly led her to the peak of an exemplary moral character, but inspite of it she was a human being.

212. The clear proof of prophet Eesa and Maryam not being gods is that they both eat food like other humans, and how can those who have to eat food be considered gods?
And one who himself is needy, how can provide for the needs of others? So far as Injeel is concerned, it also presents prophet Eesa (Jesus) and his mother Maryam (Mary) as humans, and therein is also clearly mentioned the fact that prophet Eesa used to eat food:
“And as he sat at table in the house, behold, many tax collectors and sinners came and sat down with Jesus and his disciples. And when the pharisees saw this, they said to his disciples, “why does your teacher eat with tax collectors and sinners?” (Matthew 9: 10,11)
And Injeel also is the witness of the fact that Jesus used to get hungry: “In the morning, as he was returning to the city, he was hungry.” (Matthew 21: 18)

213. That is: There is no being other than Allah who can harm or benefit anybody, then where does the question of worshipping any being other than Allah arise’? Messiah’s being a messenger of Allah does not mean that he has power to harm or benefit anybody, and therefore there is absolutely no ground for worshipping him.

214. That is: To hear all things and to know all things is not the attribute of Jesus, nor of any other being except Allah. Then what is the point in invoking Messiah or any other person for help and for solving difficulties. When they are unable to hear your invocation or appeals and please, how would they be able to come to help you or to pull you out of the difficulties?

215. This has been explained in Note No.277, Surah Nisa.

216. Refers to those persons who preceded them and who committed excesses in their faith and crossed the limits in their regard for Jesus. By indulging in their far-fetched interpretations and introducing innovations in religion they not only went astray themselves, but also misled others. Since this straying was in connection with the basic beliefs, it resulted in their straying away from the right path, which was lost to them, they fell far far away from the straight path the way of Islam.
The history of Christianity shows that St. Paul and his companions suggested and used the words Lord and son of God for the Christ and invented the belief of atonement. In the letters of St. Paul which have been appended to the four Gospels of the Bible, this misleading philosophy of theirs can be seen. Quran points to these very false beliefs and innovations.

78. Curses were pronounced on those who disbelieved from among the children of Israil, by the tongue of Dawood and of Eesa, son of Maryam,217 because they disobeyed and persisted in excesses.

79. They did not forbid one another from the evil that they committed. Vile was that which they were doing.218

80. You will see many of them making friends with those who disbelieve.219 Surely ill for them is that which they themselves sent forth for them, that Allah’s wrath they have incurred, and in torment will they abide.

81. And only if they had believed in Allah, in the’ prophet, and in what has been revealed to him, never would they have taken them for friends.220 But most of them are disobedient.

82. You will find the Jews and the polytheists the harshest of men in enmity to the believers; and you will find nearest among them to the believers those who call themselves ‘Nasara’ (Christians),221 that is because there are among them worshipping men of learning and monks, and they are not proud.222

83. And when they listen to the revelation that has been sent down to the messenger, you will see their eyes overflowing with tears, because of their recognition of the Truth. They speak out: “Our Lord! We believe, so write us down among the witnesses.223

84. “And how can we not believe in Allah and the Truth that has come to us, when we are eager for our Lord to admit us to the company of the righteous.”224

85. So in reward for this saying of theirs Allah awarded them gardens, with rivers flowing underneath. They will abide therein for ever. That is the recompense of those who do good.

217. Those men of Bani Israil who had become rebellious and indulged in open contravention of the divine commandments were very severely taken to task by prophet Dawood( David). Such instances are found in Zabur ( Psalms ):
“Grant not, O Lord, the desires of the wicked, do not further his evil plot! Those who surround me lift up their head, let the mischief of their lips overwhelm them ! Let burning coals fall upon them ! Let them be cast into pits, no more to rise !” (psalms 140: 8 to 10)
“For the sin of their mouths, the words of their lips, let them be trapped in their pride. For the cursing and lies which they utter, consume them in wrath, consume them till they are no more.” (psalms 59: 12, 13)
“He clothed himself with cursing as his coat, may it soak into his body like water, like oil into his bones!... May this be the reward of my accusers from the LORD,of those who speak evil against my life! (Psalms 109: 18 to 20)
And prophet Eesa reproached and cursed severely those learned men who were prominent in opposing him and who had ignored the principal reality of the religion and were concerned only with its external manifestations. Some extracts from the Injeel, in this connection, are as under:
‘But woe to you, scribes, pharisees, hypocrites because you shut the kingdom of heaven against men; for you neither enter yourselves, nor allow those who would enter to go in... Woe to you, scribes and pharisee, hypocrites for you cleanse the outside of the cup and of the plate, but inside they are full of extortion and rapacity .You blind pharisee first cleanse the inside of the cup and of the plate, that the outside also may be clean...” Woe to you, scribes and pharisees, for you build the tombs of the prophets and adorn the monuments of the righteous, saying, “If we had lived in the days of our fathers, we would not have taken part with them in shedding the blood of the prophets... You serpents, you brood of vipers, how are you to escape being sentenced to hell?...’O Jerusalem, Jerusalem killing the prophets and stoning those who are sent to you... Behold, your house is forsaken and desolate.” (Matt 23: 13 to 38)

218. This was the general conditon of the Bani Israil that they had given up restraining one another from committing evil or in other words they were practising laissez faire, which resulted in encouragement to the mischief-mongers, and corruption became wide spread. There is a great lesson in this for the Muslim Ummah.

219. That is: Their attitude to the Muslims is inimical, while to the infidels they are affectionate. Thus they were the enemies of the Muslims and friends of the infidels of Makkah. Same is the case of the hypocrite-Muslims of today; they are indifferent to the Muslims but are very eager to extend their hand of friendship towards infidels and polytheists.

220. That is: They are absolutely false in their claim that they believe in Allah, the Prophet and the Book,i.e. they believe in Moosa to be a prophet of Allah and the Torah to be a divine Book. If they were honest in their claim, they would not have become friendly to the enemies and the infidels, and antagonistic to the people of Faith (Muslims), for members of a species remain with the same species or as the saying goes: Birds of a feather flock together.

221. The Jews and the polytheists are the bitterest enemies of Muslims. However, the Christians are a bit nearer to the Muslims in friendship. The reason, as is explained in the next sentence is that one group of them proved to be friendly towards Muslims. This verse refers to that group only. It is not correct to consider’ the Christians of every era to be friendly towards Muslims. History shows that the Christians proved to be very bitter enemies of Muslims. The events of Spain and the wars of crusades are the open examples of their hostility towards the Muslims. Similarly the Christians of the present time, believing in secularism, can also not be counted as friendly, for they do not possess the qualities mentioned in the verse.

222. Monks are continent, God-fearing men. “They are not proud “ signifies that they are humble and have no self-conceit, therefore whenever they see the truth, they accept it.

223. This is a description of those who were among the group of Christians. But they were truth loving, that is why they recognised that Quran was the divine word, when they heard it. Because of their recognising the Truth, tears came to their eyes.
Much before the revelation of this Surah, that is at the time of the migration to Abyssinia (05 A.H.) this event had taken place. When Hazrat Ja’far (R) recited the earlier verses of Surah Maryam to Najjashi, king of Abyssinia, he was extremely impressed by the grandeur of the divine revelation, and he could not help shedding tears so much so that his beard was soaked with his tears. The bishops present in the court also wept. Then Najjashi said: “These words and the words revealed to Jesus are the two rays emanating from one and the same lamp.”-(Siratun Nabi by Ibn Hisham, VoI. I, page 359). The fact is that any person who is in search of Truth will definitely find it in the pages of the holy Quran, and in his frenzy of the pleasure for getting at the truth would not be able to restrain his tears. It is a characteristic of the divine word that it melts the heart.

224. That is: When we want that Allah should include us in the company of the righteous people, it is expected of us that we should rise above sectarianism and welcome the truth with open arms.
Satan only seeks to cast enmity and hatred among you by means of wine and gambling, and keep you away from the remembrance of Allah and from salat (prayer). Will you not then abstain? And obey Allah and obey the messenger, and beware ! If you turn away, then know that the duty of our messenger was to convey the message clearly. (Al-Quran)

86. But those who rejected faith, and belied our revelations, they shall be companions of Hell-fire.225

87. O you who believe ! Make not unlawful the clean things which Allah has made lawful for you;226 and commit no excess.227

88. Verily Allah does not like those who commit excesses. And eat of the lawful and clean things which Allah has provided for you; and fear Allah in whom you believe.

89. Allah will not call you to account for your unintentional oaths, but He will call you to account for your deliberate oaths.228 In expiation229 thereof, feed ten needy persons with the average kind of food that you serve to your family, or clothe them, or give freedom to a slave. But whosoever cannot afford, for him is fasting for three days. That is the expiation for the oaths you have sworn.230 And be careful about your oaths.231 Thus does Allah make clear His commands, so that you may be grateful.

90. O you who believe ! wine and gambling, stone -altars and divination from232 arrows for drawing lots are all filthy and acts of Satan. So refrain from this, so that you may succeed.

91. Satan only seeks to cast enmity and hatred among you by means of wine and gambling, and keep you away from the remembrance of Allah and from salat (prayer).233 Will you not then abstain?

92. And obey Allah and obey the messenger, and beware ! If you turn away, then know that the duty of our messenger was to convey the message clearly.

225. Refers to those Christians who would persist in their disbelief and would not accept the Dawah of Quran.

226. Earlier a mention of the monk was made. In this context an attempt is being made to remove a possible misunderstanding. The Christian monks have made unlawful for themselves many clean and lawful things and pleasures of the world, which was not a proper thing. The followers of Quran should eschew this ascetic way of life and should not treat lawful things as forbidden.
One form of declaring the food made lawful by God as unlawful is being followed by the polytheists of India in connection with meat eating. They have a very uncomfortable feeling in eating the flesh of the clean animals, and they avoid eating it merely on account of their superstition in such a way as a forbidden thing is avoided; and they want that others should also give up eating flesh of the clean animals.

227. Committing excess can be in the form of making unlawful what is lawful, and another thing is of indulging in wasteful spending of lawful things.

228. This has been explained in Note No. 332, Surah Baqarah.

229. That is: Expiation for breaking the oath. Kaffarah or expiation is the act prescribed by the Shariah such as giving alms etc for removing the sin of a fault committed. The word kaffarah means to cover .

230. That is if after taking an oath, you break it, then it will be incumbent upon you to expiate for that.

231. That is: Be very cautious in the matter of taking an oath, and when you have taken an oath remember it and try to redeem it. And if you are required to break it, then expiate for it. It means that in the matter of taking oaths carelessness is an irresponsible act.

232. Explanation regarding games of chance, drawing lots or divining arrows has been given in Note No.26.

233. Here three outstanding evils of winedrinking and gambling have been mentioned: First: These habits fan the flames of hatred and enemity among people. Since intoxicants like wine are stimulants, and also affect the intellect and consciousness, a sort of provocation is generated in the drinker’s mind and in this state the sense of revenge becomes uppermost. A man’s intellect does not remain in a position to take the right decision or to control himself. This is the reason why we see many more accidents and tragic happenings in the state of intoxication and the rate of crimes also increases. In other words there is an undeniable connection between the crimes and wine-drinking.
As regards gambling, a loser has rancour in his heart against the winner, because in his heart he believes that his money has not changed hands on the basis of truth and justice, but only because of chance. In trade and business a man may sustain some loss, but he is not defeated, but in gambling defeat is an essential part of the game of chance along with the loss and damage, and this concept of defeat generates in the mind of the loser a bitter feeling against the winner.
Secondly, the characteristic of wine and gambling both is to lure men away from remembering God, and it is a fact that the drunkards are generally found to be involved in sinful acts and pleasure-seeking. Similarly a gambler is so much overwhelmed by the concept of winning and losing that a sense of leading a responsible life does not bother him at all, and he becomes a prey to the tendency of living a life of pleasure and luxury.
“Thirdly, these things prevent him from offering prayer to God. It is a thing of common observation that generally those who indulge in wine-drinking and gambling do not care to offer salat. In reality it is found that only those persons offer prayer whose souls are awakened. Wine and gambling lull the souls to sleep, then how a man indulging in them can rise for offering prayer. For further explanation, Notes Nos. 316, 317 and 318 of Surah Baqarah and Note No. 97 of Surah Nisa may be seen.
It should be noted that by Khamr (wine) is meant, as stated by the Prophet (Sallal lahu Alaihi Wasallam) every kind of intoxicant:
“Everything which may cause intoxication is khamr (wine) and every intoxicant is haram (forbidden).” (Muslim- Kitabul Ashrabah).
In another Hadith it mentioned that :- “Every thing that may cause intoxication and prevent from offering prayer (Salat) is forbidden.” –(Muslim - Kitabul Ashrabah).
It shows that the main cause of these things being forbidden is their ability to intoxicate. Therefore, every thing, which causes intoxication is khamr (wine), whether it is prepared from grape, or from dates, or from barley, or jaggery, or whatever name may have been given to it by the people. Besides beer, whisky, wine, the alcohol used for purposes of intoxication and all intoxicants, whether solid or liquid are covered by this command. It is also mentioned in the hadith:
“A thing whose large quantity can cause intoxication, its small quantity is forbidden.” –(At- Tirmizi- Abwabul- Ashrabah).
It is so because there should be no leaning towards what is forbidden and the opening for mischief should be closed. It should also be understood about gambling that every dealing which it has, is dependent on chance and losing and winning as its basis is a game of chance, whether it is a betting on the cotton futures or horse-racing or dog-racing, or in any other form. The present day lotteries also are the developed forms of gambling, even if they are state lotteries.
Allah has made the Ka‘ba, the Sacred House, a means of stability for the people, as also the Sacred Month, the animals for sacrifice and the animals with collars around their necks (as mark for sacrifice), so that you may know that Allah has knowledge of what is in the heavens and on the earth and that Allah is well acquainted with all things. (Al-Quran)

93. On those who believed and performed deeds of righteousness, there is no sin for what they might have eaten (in the past), when they feared Allah, believed in Him and performed righteous acts; again feared Allah and believed in Him; again feared Allah and did good.234 And Allah loves those who do good.

94. O you who believe ! Allah will surely try you in the matter of a game which will be within the reach of your hands and your lances,235 so that He may see who fears Him unseen. So whoever transgresses after that, for him there will be painful punishment.

95. O you who believe ! Kill no game while you are in the state of pilgrimage (Ihram).236 whoever among you kills it intentionally, the compensation thereof is an offering of a domestic animal, equivalent to the one he killed, as adjudged by two just men among you, brought to the Ka ‘ba;237 or by way of atonement, the feeding of needy; or its equivalent fasts;238 so that he may taste the consequences of his deed. Allah has forgiven what is past, but whoever repeats, Allah will inflict penalty on him,239 And Allah is Mighty Lord of Retribution.

96. Lawful has been made for you the game of the sea and its use for food,240 for your benefit and that of the Caravan. But forbidden for you is hunting on land while you are in the state of pilgrimage (Ihram). And fear Allah to whom you shall be gathered.

97. Allah has made the Ka‘ba, the Sacred House, a means of stability for the people,241 as also the Sacred Month, the animals for sacrifice and the animals with collars around their necks242 (as mark for sacrifice), so that you may know that Allah has knowledge of what is in the heavens and on the earth and that Allah is well acquainted with all things.243

234. That is: Before the clear and absolute command banning wine-drinking etc, was revealed, whatever the people might have eaten or drunk, Allah, will not call them to account for that, provided they had given the proof at every time of test and trial of their having fear of God , steadfastness and righteousness. The repeated mention of fear of God, faith, righteousness in these verses points to the fact that in obeying the Divine Commands occasions for trial repeatedly occurred, and the sincere slaves of Allah gave a good account of themselves and proved to be loyal to Him.

235. The command for prohibiting hunting when a man has put on Ihram for pilgrimage was given in the Verse No. 1. Here the people are being informed that in this connection they will be tried repeatedly, that is Allah will provide such occasions when the game would be within easy reach of their spears and they would be able to hunt the animals easily, but they should fear Allah and their pledge of following the Shariah should be kept.
At the time of the revelation of the Quran, hunting was a necessity for the Arabs. Therefore, this restriction was not a convenient thing for them and there was an open test for them.

236. In the command for not hunting while on the pilgrimage is also included the restriction for not capturing and slaughtering any animal that can be hunted if it comes near and can be easily caught and slaughtered.

237. That is: Like the animal that he has killed, and which should be a domestic animal and that should be sent to Ka‘ba for sacrifice, for example if the pilgrim has killed a deer, then its equivalent can be a goat, and the equivalent of a neel-gai can be a cow. But the decision as to which animal can be considered equivalent would be given by two just and truthful men of faith.

238. This judgment will also be given by two Dawatul Qur’an 375 S.5 o o o o o o just and truthful men as to how many poor and needy persons should be fed or how many days fast should be observed.

239. It means that expiation or atonement does not mean that a man may go on committing sins after making atonements for them, and remaining under the wrong impression that he will not be called to account in the Hereafter.

240. That is: Hunting in the sea and rivers, etc., while on the pilgrimage is lawful. Similarly the food obtained from such hunting by the pilgrim (Muhrim) or by a non-pilgrim (Gair- Muhrim) is lawful for all, the pilgrims and nonpilgrims.
The words ‘ta ‘amuhu’ (its food, i.e. sea-food) signify that without hunting, the food which the sea or the river may itself throw out are lawful for being consumed as food.

241. It is a point for gathering for the people and is an axis of all their activities. Forms of worship like Hajj and Umra are connected with it.It is the Qibla for salat. Religious interests are linked with it. Here the spring of guidance gushes forth. It is the House of peace, refuge of humanity, and is the most important means of unity of the millat.

242. The command about these things has been given in Verse No.2. Here it is being explained that along with the sacredness of the House of Ka‘ba the sanctity of these things also carry the most important religious interests. Therefore, the directions that are being given in connection with their sanctity and deference should be observed scrupulously.

243. That is: The great benefits that are connected with these symbols convince us that the Being who has created this system of sanctity and has sent down the Shariah that is full of wisdom is in the know of all the realities of the heavens and the earth and He is absolutely perfect in His knowledge.

98. Know that Allah is severe in punishment, and that Allah is Oft-Forgiving, Most Merciful.244

99. The duty of the messenger is only to convey (the message). Allah knows what you disclose and what you hide.

100. Say: “The filthy and the pure are not equal, although the abundance of the filthy may allure you.245 So fear Allah, O men of understanding ! So that you may succeed.

101. O you who believe ! Ask not questions about things which, if made known to you, would be disagreeable to you246. And if you ask about them when the Quran is being revealed, they will be made known to you. Allah forgave this247. And Allah is Oft- Forgiving, Most Forbearing.

102. A group before you did ask such questions, and then because of that became disbelievers248.

103. Allah has not prescribed (anything like) ‘Bahirah’ or ‘Saibah’ or ‘Wasilah’ or ‘Haam’.249 But those who disbelieve invent a lie against Allah, and most of them have no sense.

104. And when it is said to them: “Come to what Allah has revealed; and to the messenger”, they say: “Enough for us is the way we found our fathers following.” What! Even though their fathers had no knowledge whatever, and no guidance250?

105. O you who believe ! You should save your own souls. No harm can come to you from those who stray, if you are rightly guided251. To Allah you will all return, then He will inform you of what you have been doing.

244. Means that those who would show disrespect to these symbols would be liable for punishment and those who would show respect to them would deserve to be blessed with favours and bounties.

245. This is a crushing blow to the wrong mentality that is generally found in people about good and evil. When evil becomes popular and is practised commonly, it holds great attraction for the people. They flock towards it. They are in no mood to make a distinction between the pure and the filthy. Nor are they interested in knowing what is halal and what is haram. But to be influenced by the abundance of evil is the tendency of the unwise, not of the wise, because intellect and nature do not consider good and evil as equal, nor do they place good and evil people on the same plane and level. They distinguish between the milk and the dung, between the honey and the wine. However abundant filth may be, they always hate it.
This realistic principle has been clarified here with a view to preventing people from being polluted by the filthy and forbidden things as declared by the Shariah merely because large number of persons are attracted towards them or that trend of the time is favouring them.

246. That is: Do not ask irrelevant questions concerning the commands of the Shariah, because through that the restrictions will increase. The important characteristic of the mentality of the followers of Quran which was sought to be developed through this verse and other verses like this and by the special training given to its followers by the Prophet (Sallal Lahu Alaihi Wasallam), was that they used to follow the commands of the Shariah with complete sincerity and always used to strive to fulfil their real purpose. They had no interest in raising unnecessary discussions and being unduly inquisitive, for inquisitiveness and hairsplitting adversely affected the broadness which the Shariah had intended in relation to its commands, and they become narrow. During the periods that followed, this characteristic went on disappearing and the mentality of the people of the later periods had no relation to the mentality of the companions of the prophet. Accordingly a peculiar kind of theological mentality developed. And when people became unnecessarily inquisitive and the mind was entangled in details, practice suffered and talking grew. A particular section of the people became experts in putting farfetched questions, in hairsplitting and raising unnecessary and imaginary problems like the lawyers and advocates of today. Countless examples of such problems will be found in the books of Fiqh. For example, the question whether a man, who performs the rite of running between Safa and Marwah during the Hajj in the state of nudity, would be considered to have rightly performed his rite? It is obvious that it is an imaginary problem, for a man who would go on pilgrimage cannot be expected to do this shameless act. Or this question: If a man becomes an apostate while in the act of calling Aazan (call for prayer), then from where another person should start giving the call? Probably such a problem had never occurred and there is no possibility of its occurring till the Doomsday. Similar is the case with this problem: If somebody says to his wife: ‘Divorce to your hand, divorce to your foot, or divorce to your head “ then does the divorce take place, or if somebody tells his wife: ‘ As many divorces to you as there are stars in the sky’, then how many divorces have taken place? Or whether can a person marry his own illegetimate daughter? When questions of this kind were invented, then essentially they affected the minds and the conducts, and naturally that style of thinking, that mentality and that spirit did not survive which was the distinguishing feature of the Muslims of the early times. In a hadith, the prophet has said:
“And Allah has kept quiet about certain things, without having forgotten them; do not be inquisitive about them.”
It is also mentioned in another hadith that the prophet used to forbid people from asking many questions.-(Muslim Kitabul Aqziah).
On one occasion he said: “O people ! Hajj is prescribed for you, therefore perform Hajj. That man asked: ‘Whether every year ,O Messenger of Allah!’ ‘The Prophet kept quiet. When that man repeated his question for the third time, the prophet said: ‘If I had said yes, then it would have become compulsory for you, and then you would not have been able to act on it.’ Then he said: ‘Let me leave you in the state in which I leave you, because the peoples of the previous time were doomed on account of asking many questions and of differences with their prophets. Therefore, whenever I may give you a command about something, act on it as far as it is possible for you, and when I may forbid you to do something, leave it.’ –(Muslim Kitabul Hajj, Chapter 73).

247. It seems that in connection with the details of the commands of Shariah, some people had asked unnecessary questions. They are being informed that this time Allah has forgiven them, but that in future they should take care.

248. This refers to the Jews who had created difficulties for themselves by asking irrelevant questions, and they went so much into the details of the Shariah-commands that they caused restrictions to be placed on themselves as a result of their hairsplitting; then they were so much absorbed and entangled in these minute irrelevant details that they became disobedient and rejectors of faith. In Surah Baqarah, Verses Nos. 67 to 71, the story of the cow has been narrated, that when they were asked to slaughter a cow, they asked so many questions that they made a simple and easy command of the Shariah a very difficult one to be followed. In this way they increased their own restrictions.

249. That is: These things were not prescribed by Allah. These are mere superstitions and they have no origin in the Shariah. Bahirah, Saibah, Wasilah and Haam are the names of the animals which used to be dedicated and liberated in honour of the idols by the polytheists.
Bahirah is that she-camel whose fifth offshoot used to be a male. Such a she-camel used to be liberated in honour of the idols after splitting its ears. They neither used it for riding, nor for milking nor for slaughtering.
Saibah was that camel, male or female, which used to be liberated in honour of idols as a measure of thanksgiving after fulfilment of some wish or after someone’s recovery from illness. Such a camel was not used for riding thereafter .
Wasilah was that goat which gave birth to a fixed number of young ones and finally to a male and female issues together. The milk of such a goat was forbidden to women and it used to be liberated in honour of the idols.
Hamm was the camel which had given birth to ten young ones. It used to be liberated in honour of the idols and it was considered improper to employ such an animal for labour.
These were absurd and superstitious practices. This practice was first introduced, as stated in a hadith, by A’mar bin Aa’mir Al-khuzai in the pre- Islamic days:
“The Messenger of Allah (Sallal lahu Alaihi Wasallam) said: ‘I saw A’mar bin Aa’mir Al-khuzai in the Hell dragging his intestines. He is the first man who had introduced the practice of Saibah.” -(Bukhari-Kitabut Tafseer).
Even today the polytheists practice the system of consecrating and liberating cows and bullocks in honour of the idols. Among Muslims are also persons who practise bid’at (innovations) and liberate goats, sheep, etc. in honour of some saint, wali etc. Allah’s Shariah is clean and free from all these absurdities.

250. That is: The fact that a practice or a system being followed from the forefathers or of its being a part of the culture does not mean that practice or system is right or proper and it is based on right guidance. If somebody’s forefathers were deprived of knowledge and learning and were misguided, then how far is it wise to follow blindly in their footsteps?

251. That is: When Allah’s messenger had shown them the right path and had placed the argument for it, and if even after that they remained unreformed, then leave them to their plight. Their stubbornness would take them to their own downfall. They would not be able to harm you at all, provided you are rightly guided, and are steadfast and firm in your belief.
It does not mean that man should care for himself and should not attempt to guide others or he should have no concern with reforming others. Quran has placed the responsibilities of giving witness of the Truth, Dawah of Islam, advising for truth, bidding what is good and forbidding what is evil on the Muslim Ummah, and to fulfil these responsibilities is demanded by the fact of a man’s being rightly guided. Therefore to interpret this verse in such a way as to cancel all these responsibilities is not correct. In order that there should be no misunderstanding in this connection, the great companion of the Prophet, Abu Bakr Siddique (R) had said in his address:
“O people! You recite this verse, and I have heard the messenger of Allah (Peace be upon him) saying that when the condition of the people comes to such a stage that they may see an oppressor but they may not hold his hand, then it is not far that Allah may take them within the strike of His punishment.” -(Tirmizi-Abwabut Tafseer).
At the time of the revelation of the Quran, hunting was a necessity for the Arabs. Therefore, this restriction was not a convenient thing for them and this was an open test for them.

106. O you who believe! When death approaches any of you, the testimony among yourselves when making bequest shall be two just (reliable)men from yourselves;252 or if you are travelling through the earth and the trouble of death befalls you, then two witnesses may be taken from among nonmuslims. 253 If you doubt (their integrity), detain them both after the prayer,254 and let them both swear by Allah: “We shall not sell the evidence for any price, even though he (the beneficiary) be our near relative, and we shall hide not the witness of Allah; if we do, then surely we will be sinners.”255

107. Then if it is known that these two were guilty of the sin (of usurping right), let two others more worthy witnesses stand forth in their places, from among those who were deprived of their right,256 and let them swear by Allah: “We affirm that our testimony is truer than that of those two, and that we have not committed any excess; if we do, surely we will be wrong-doers.”257

108. By this way it is more likely that they would bear true witness, or fear that after their oaths some oaths may be rejected.258 Fear Allah and listen.Allah guides not the transgressors.

109. On the day when Allah will assemble all the messengers and will ask: “What reply did you get? ”259 They will say: “We have no knowledge; only You know all that is hidden.”260

252. That is: When the symptoms of the impending death may appear and the man concerned may intend to make a bequest or it may become necessary for him to make a bequest, then he should take two just and reliable men from amongst the Muslims as witnesses for that.
The bequest can be concerning one’s property or concerning the deposits in trust kept with one, stating how they are to be returned to the depositors, or it can be concerning the debts that are to be repaid by the person making the will. The explanation of the Shariah-limits of the bequest has been given in Note No.29 Surah Nisa.
It may be noted that oral will is also permissible in Islam, but it is better to have it in writing. Since in those times reading and writing were not common and the material used for this purpose was also not readily available, Quran did not insist on the bequest being in black and white, but made it necessary to have two reliable witnesses for the same.

253. That is: If during journeying, the trouble of death is likely to befall a Muslim and two Muslims are not available to act as witnesses, then two non-muslims can be made witnesses to the will. However, this will be in exceptional cases, otherwise the main standard for witnesses is that which has been mentioned above.
Among the non-muslims also, only those can be taken as witnesses who believe in God, if need arises should be ready to swear by God while giving evidence. As for those who do not believe in God at all, they are not fit to be made witnesses, which is supported by the contents of the verse that follows.

254. When the testator is dead and the question of execution of his will is to be undertaken, and there is a doubt about the evidence of the witnesses, then they should be detained after the prayer and made to give their evidence on oath. This has to be done after the prayer, means after any farz prayer, so that the witnesses may give their statement, confirmed by oath, with full sense of responsibility.

255. With this sworn declaration they will have to give their evidence about the bequest. In this declaration there is an assurance that in the matter of this bequest they have not made any change or added anything by taking bribe, or for any personal gain, or for doing any favour to any of their relations. Dawatul Qur’an 381 S.5

256. If the heirs of the deceased are led to feel through some indications or circumstantial evidence that the witnesses have indulged in making false statement or are misappropriating the deposit in trust given by the will-maker to them– such occasions arise while travelling that a man hands over all his belongings to his companions for passing them on to his heirs- then two persons from amongst the heirs who may be most eligible for making a sworn declaration, should stand up and give their statement.

257. After their sworn contradictory statement, the evidence of the witnesses of the bequest will be nullified, and this dispute will be decided in favour of those whose rightful claim was being usurped.
It clarifies the principle about the system of evidence in the Islamic law that in certain conditions circumstantial evidence is not only acceptable but on its strength evidence can be rejected provided it is confirmed by a sworn statement.

258. The system of evidence mentioned here comprises of two important things: one is sworn statement or declaration and secondly contradictory or nullifying oaths. This is the most appropriate system because the witnesses will be careful and will give accurate evidence, otherwise they would think that their evidence would be rejected.

259. That is: All the Prophets that have been sent down to this world by Allah will be gathered in His court on the Day of Judgment, and He will ask them as to what response was received by them from the people to the Divine message that they conveyed to them.

260. It does not mean that the Prophets would express ignorance about the response that they received from their followers, because at different places in the Quran it is mentioned that they would give witness about the response from their communities. What the verse in question means is that seeing the grandeur of the Divine Court they will express their helplessness that in the presence of the Knower of all secrets their knowledge has no significance. This answer will be quite appropriate because the question pertains not only to the rejectors of the faith but also to the communities of the prophets. therefore. they will express their ignorance of the fact that after their departure from the world whether their followers made any changes in their teachings and if they did, what sort of changes they were.

110. (That day) when Allah will say: “O Eesa, son of Maryam ! 261 Remember My favour to you and to your mother , when I helped you with the holy spirit ,262 you spoke to the people in the cradle and in maturity;263 and when I taught you the Book and wisdom, and the Torah and the Injeel; and when you made out of clay the shape of a bird by My command, and you breathed into it and it became a bird by My command;264 and you healed those born blind and the lepers by My command;265 and when you raised the dead by My command;266 and when I restrained (the hands of) Bani Israil from (harming) you,267 when you went to them with clear signs, and those of them, who disbelieved said: “This is nothing but clear magic.”268

111. And when I inspired269 the disciples to believe in Me and in My messenger, they said: “We believe and bear witness that we are Muslim.”270.

112. When the disciples said: “O Eesa, son of Maryam ! Can your Lord send down for us a tray of food from heaven?”271 He said: “Fear Allah,272 if you are true believers.”

113. They said: “We wish to eat from that and satisfy our hearts, and to know that you have indeed told us the truth, and that we may be witnesses thereof ?273

114. Eesa, son of Maryam, said: “O Allah our Lord ! 274 Send down for us a tray of food from heaven, that it may be a festival for us – for the first and last of us 275–and a sign from You. And give us sustenance, and You are the Best of Sustainers.”276

115. Allah said: “I will surely send it down to you,277 and whoever of you disbelieves after that then verily I will punish him with a punishment such as I have not inflicted on any one among all the people.”278

261. What Allah will say to the prophets. especially to prophet Eesa (Jesus), is being stated here.

262. The explanation of the Holy Spirit has been given in Note No. 110 and No.405 Surah Baqarah.

263. See Notes Nos. 68 and 69, Surah Aal-i- Imran.

264. The miracle of creating a live bird from the clay was performed by prophet Eesa by the command of Allah only. The breath of life was blown into their bodies with the command of God only, that is prophet Eesa had no power to instil or breathe life into the birds of clay, but it was a manifestation of the power of Allah.

265. This miracle of prophet Eesa is recorded in the Bible as under:
“As he passed by, he saw a man blind from his birth...As he said this, he spat on the ground and made clay of the spittle and anointed the man’s eyes with the clay, saying to him, ‘Go, wash in the pool of Silo’am’ (which means Sent). So he went and washed and came back seeing So they again said to the blind man, ‘What do you say about him since he has opened your eyes?’ He said, ‘He is a prophet.” (John 9: 1 to 17)
“And as he entered a village, he was met by ten lepers, who stood at a distance and lifted up their voices and said, ‘Jesus, Master, have mercy on us.’ When he saw them he said to them, ‘Go and show yourselves to the priests. And as they went they were cleansed. Then one of them, when he saw that he was healed, turned back, praising God with a loud voice;” (Luke 17: 12 to 15)

266. That is: He used to bring dead person back to life. This miracle is also recorded in the Injeel: “While he was still speaking, a man from the rulers house came and said, ‘Your daughter is dead; do not trouble the Teacher any more.’ But Jesus on hearing this answered him, ‘Do not fear; only believe, and she shall be well.’ And when he came to the house, he permitted no one to enter with him, except Peter and John and James, and the father and mother of the child. And all were weeping and bewailing her; but he said, ‘Do not weep; for she is not dead but sleeping.’ And they laughed at him, knowing that she was dead. But taking her by the hand he called saying,’Child, arise.’ And her spirit returned, and she got up at once; and he directed that something should be given her to eat.” (Luke 8: 49 to 55)

267. That is: He saved him from the conspiracies of Bani Israil. They were not successful in crucifying him. For further explanation see Note No.81, Surah Aal-i-Imran.

268. They termed these miracles of prophet Eesa as manifestations of magic, although no magician has ever brought to life a dead person, nor gave sight to a blind man; nor could a magician prove himself to be a man of such high and noble character .

269. That is: The suggestion was put in the hearts of the disciples of Christ that they should accept faith and become Muslim. In other words their faith and belief in God and His messenger was a result of the guidance given by Allah.
The explanation of disciples (hawarieen) has been given in Note No.77, Surah Al-i-Imran.

270. It shows that the religion of the disciples of Christ was Islam and not Christianity, and they believed in Allah, and not Christ, to be the God. The falsehood that the Christians have ascribed to them against this belief are mere inventions, and on the Day of Judgment all this falsehood will be exposed.

271. By saying ‘Can your Lord send down’ the disciples did not mean that they had doubts whether the Lord had the power to do it or not, because the disciples were sincere believers, and there is no question about their being doubtful about Allah’s power. What they meant was that whether sending down a tray with food for them would be in accordance with the wisdom of God, whether His wisdom would decide in favour of sending down a tray with food for them in a miraculous manner.

272. That is: While demanding such an extraordinary thing, fear Allah; if He grants you your request, He will subject you to a very hard trial.

273. From this statement of the disciples it appears that they had not demanded the sending down of the tray with food, but they had only made a request. And from their saying that they wished to eat from that, it is clear that they must have said it at a time when they must have been troubled with acute hunger. Dawatul Qur’an 383 S.5 r r r r S.5 384 Dawatul Qur’an

274. These praying words prove that the Christ did not address Allah as his Father, but that he used to call Him as His Lord and that of the others. Thus it refutes the statement of the Bible that the Christ used to address God as his Father.

275. That is: This sending down of this sustenance, food from the heaven would become an occasion for celebration as a festival for all the people of his ummah.
By the first ones are meant those people of the Christ’s ummah who were living in his time and by the last ones are those who came after him. By festival is not meant merely an event for celebration but an event that may be remembered by the coming generations also.
Although this event is not recorded in the Bible with clarity or detail, but the description of the Last Supper in the Bible makes it an important event, and it is a well known event for the Christians. Possibly this Last Supper may be the same event as this sending down of the tray with food. It is likely that the people of Injeel might have forgotten the details, but a mention of the table spread is there in this event:
“And on the first day of Unleavened Bread ............... And when it was evening he came with the twelve. And as they were at table eating, Jesus said ‘Truly, I say to you, one of you will betray me, one who is eating with me. ‘They began to be sorrowful, and to say to him one after another, ‘Is it I?’ He said to them, ‘It is one of the twelve, one who is dipping bread into the dish with me. For the son of man goes as it is written of him, but woe to that man by whom the son of man is betrayed...And as they were eating, he took bread, and broke it, and gave it to them, and said, ‘Take; this is my body! And he took a cup, and when he had given thanks he gave in to them and they all drank of it .” (Mark 14: 12 to 23)
It is also learnt from the Bible that this event took place on a Friday in the evening. (And on that very day in the night prophet Eesa was raised up to heaven). This appears to be the origin of the Good Friday that is being celebrated by the Christians, that on that day the Christ had taken his last supper in the evening:
“and after Good Friday is a special day for the administration of the Lord.’s supper. –(The Oxford Dictionary of the Christian Church P-571).

276. In these words of prayer Prophet Eesa has attributed this sign (miracle) to Allah only, as also the sustenance. That is, to effect miracles and to provide sustenance is the act of Allah. In this attribute of His, neither Christ is a partner with Him nor any other being.

277. It signifies that Allah had decided upon to send down the tray with food, and therefore, It must have come down, and a majority of the commentators are of this opinion.

278. If even after seeing such a clear and open sign. anyone disbelieves. then his disbelief will be the greatest among all the people of the world, and therefore, he will be liable to get the severest punishment.
Allah will say: “This is a day on which the truthful will benefit from their truthfulness; theirs are gardens with rivers flowing beneath, they will live therein for ever; Allah is pleased with them and they are pleased with Allah,” This is the great success. (Al-Quran)

116. And when Allah will say: “O Eesa, son of Maryam! Did you say to the people, ‘take me and my mother for two gods beside Allah?”279 He will say: “You are Immaculately pure.280 Never could I say what I had no right281 (to say). Had I said such a thing, You would indeed have known it, You know what is in my heart, though I know not what is in Yours, verily You alone know in full what is hidden.

117. “Never did I say to them anything except what You commanded me to say, that ‘worship Allah my Lord and your Lord’;282 And I was a witness over them as long as I remained amongst them; when You took me in your possession,283 You were watchful over them, and You are a witness to all things.

118. “If you punish them, they are Your slaves, and if You forgive them, You are the Mighty, the Wise.”284

119. Allah will say: “This is a day on which the truthful will benefit from their truthfulness;285 theirs are gardens with rivers flowing beneath, they will live therein for ever; Allah is pleased with them and they are pleased with Allah,” This is the great success.

120. To Allah belongs the sovereignty of the heavens and the earth and whatsoever is therein, and He has power over all things.

279. The Christians not only worship the Christ, but they also worship his mother, Maryam or Mary, and this is the inevitable result of their belief that prophet Eesa is the son of God. When prophet Eesa is considered as God (Allah gives us refuge from this blasphemy), then why not his mother, who gave birth to him, be considered another god. Accordingly she was given the title of Mother of God:
“It was at Ephesus, the city of the goddess, that the earliest proof is found of an established cult of the Virgin Mary as the Mother of God, and in the council held at Ephesus in A.D.431 this cult was definitely established as a feature of the orthodox ritual.” –(Ency. of Religion and Ethics,Vol. IX p.908). It should be noted that at the time of the revelation of Quran the protestant sect of the Christian had not existed.
It came into existence centuries after the advent of Islam. At that time Catholic and other sects existed, e.g. Jacobites, Nastorian, Marian, etc. There were differences in beliefs among these sects. Some said that God had come as the Messiah, therefore the person of the Christ is the person of God. Some believed in Trinity, i.e. Father, Son and the Holy Spirit all three were combined in godhood. Some considered the Holy Spirit as god in place of Maryam, and some thought along with the three components of trinity, Maryam was also worthy of worship being Mother of God. (Please see Arazul Quran (Urdu) by Sayed Sulaiman Nadavi Vol. II pages 196 to 199).

280. That is: You are completely free and pure from any partnership or association in your Godhood.

281. This is the statement of denial that prophet Eesa will give in the Hereafter in the court of Allah, which Quran is presenting to the world in advance, particularly for the information of the Christians that they must realize that the invented things which are being ascribed to the Christ have 387 S.5 no substance whatsoever.

282. For explanation, please see Note No.76, Surah Al-i-Imran.

283. In the text the word “tawaffaitani” has been used, which here means to take or to seize or to end the time. The explanation of this word has been given in Note No.82, Surah Al-i- Imran.
Since Prophet Eesa was raised up alive in the heaven by Allah, the words uttered by him ‘You took me in Your possession, interpret the event correctly instead of the words “You caused my death.” Similarly the words ‘I remained amongst them’ are more appropriate than the words “I was alive amongst them”.

284. This statement of the Christ is pathetic as well as responsible. He will not intercede in favour of the Christians, because intercession or appeal for mercy for the polytheists is not permissible. Instead he will entrust their case to Allah, who has the power and authority to decide whatever He pleases, and His decision will essentially be just. This refutes the statement of the Bible in which it is stated:
“The Father judges no one, but has given all judgment to the son,” (John 5:22)
On the Day of Judgment when the worshippers of Christ will see that Allah Himself is conducting the court and Christ has no authority whatsoever in the Court and that he has appeared merely as a witness, then the whole edifice of their belief in Christianity will collapse and they will receive the shock of their life.
This statement of the Christ is so realistic and so effective that it can melt the most hard-hearted men. what a pity that the worshippers of Christ do not ponder over this!

285. That is: Today only those will reach their goal who were truthful in the world, who believed firmly in the oneness of God, and who did not introduce or follow any innovations in the Religion of Allah.