Appearance
Summaries of Sūrat al-Māʾidah
The summary with which Āyatullāh Jawādī Āmulī opens his commentary on each verse of Sūrat al-Māʾidah, in the order of the verses. To read the summary of one verse, type it on the Summary page.
5:1 — O you who have faith! Keep your agreements
O you who have faith! Keep your agreements. You are permitted animals of grazing livestock, except what is [now] announced to you, disallowing game while you are in pilgrim sanctity. Indeed Allah decrees whatever He desires.
Sūrat al-Māʾidah is one of the three Medinan suras that open with the address “O you who have faith…”. This address carries an educational point: it prepares the one addressed to accept the commands and to bear demanding duties, on the basis of the merits that the one charged with them possesses.
Fulfilling contracts is a duty on everyone. But the secret of addressing the faithful with this phrase is that, after coming to faith, they pledged to keep certain covenants, although the faithless too were commanded to keep the original covenant.
The unqualified and general wording of “fulfil the contracts” binds everyone to fulfil their contracts and covenants, whether founding or confirming, and whether verbal, written, by conduct or by action. These are instances of making a pledge, and that is what the command to fulfil in the verse covers, especially since the definite article (al-) comes on the plural noun. This means that fulfilling a covenant is binding even if the other party is faithless. Accordingly, this divine command counts as one of the international rulings of Islam whose carrying out and application the noble Qur’an has stressed, though the covenant of the Oneness of God, of the prophetic mission and of devotion to the friends of God is among the most important and necessary covenants.
The command “fulfil” is in the distributive plural: each person is individually commanded to keep his own covenant, whether individual or social. Besides this, there is also a collective plural: an address commanding all people together to fulfil their social covenants.
A contract is sometimes conventional (iʿtibārī), like the contracts of sale, hire and the like. At other times it is existential (takwīnī) and real, creating a quality in a person’s inner self. Of this kind is the contract of faith, which comes about in a person of belief who becomes one who knows, and has faith in, the content of the logical tie and the proposition. The command “fulfil the contracts” covers both kinds of contract: the conventional and the existential.
Some jurists said: “His words, Exalted, ‘fulfil the contracts’ are a command to fulfil contracts; hire is a contract, so fulfilling it is obligatory.” Accordingly, the claim of other jurists, who relied on this verse and said, “The principle in a contract is that it is binding,” is not correct.
If we take it that the noble verse “Lawful to you are the beasts of cattle” was revealed together with His words “fulfil the contracts”, what follows from this is that the branch comes from the general principle.
Al-bahīmah is “every four-legged creature among the animals of land and sea”, whether its flesh is lawful or unlawful. That is why its lawfulness was referred to the category of cattle (anʿām). The Commander of the Faithful (a.s.) was asked about eating the flesh of the elephant, the bear and the monkey, and he said: “These are not of the beasts of cattle that are eaten.”
As is well known, cattle have many benefits, such as wool and hair and the carrying of goods and loads. Since there is no sense in ascribing lawfulness to the thing itself, it seems that what is meant in His words “Lawful to you are the beasts of cattle” is the lawfulness of all their uses, although the lawfulness of their meat is, on the whole, more evident than their other uses.
By a brief reference, exceptions have been made from the heading “beasts of cattle”, and these are explained and detailed in other verses and narrations: carrion, for example, and also the prohibition of hunting land animals while in iḥrām. These are exceptions because the prohibition of these cattle is something incidental.
On the basis of the principle “Lawful to you are the beasts of cattle”, eating cattle has been made lawful and permitted unless the prohibition of one of them is set out in a verse or a narration. So in cases of doubt about whether some of the cattle are lawful, one may return to the principle of the lawfulness of cattle, besides relying on the general principle of the lawfulness of things.
God’s (s.w.t.) judgement and His overpowering will in the order of creation are also manifest in the order of legislation, in His setting of laws and His taking the right to legislate from anyone besides Him. On this basis, no one is able to oppose His rulings or object to His creative will, nor to object to His legislative rulings, even though the wisdom of many rulings is unknown to people and may come to light with the passing of time.
5:2 — O you who have faith! Do not violate Allah’s sacraments
O you who have faith! Do not violate Allah’s sacraments, neither the sacred month, nor the offering, nor the necklaces, nor those bound for the Sacred House, who seek their Lord’s grace and [His] pleasure. But when you emerge from pilgrim sanctity, you may hunt for game. Ill feeling for a people should not lead you, because they barred you from [access to] the Sacred Mosque, to transgress. Cooperate in piety and Godwariness, but do not cooperate in sin and aggression, and be wary of Allah. Indeed Allah is severe in retribution.
The sura stresses its concern with this general subject and principle. By repeating the address “O you who have faith”, it urges the need to preserve the divine sacred signs (shaʿāʾir) and to keep to their sanctity, so that others do not play with them by throwing the doors wide open and treating them with complete freedom. After this general instruction, the noble verse points to some examples of the sacred signs, mentioning the particular after the general, to stress their importance further.
The verse lists some of those examples of the divine sacred signs, and the duty to preserve their sanctity, as follows:
“The offering (al-hady)”, which is mentioned in other verses as al-budn (plural of badanah): the camels, cows and sheep that are slaughtered at the noble Kaʿbah as sacrifices.
“The garlands (al-qalāʾid)”, plural of qilādah, which is hung on the neck of the sacrifice to mark it and set it apart.
“The sacred month”, in which starting a fight (as opposed to defending oneself) is forbidden.
“Those bound for the Sacred House”: the visitors of the noble Kaʿbah.
The source of this sanctity lies in the act being ascribed to God (s.w.t.) and in the pure intention of the pilgrim, not in its economic value or price.
The phrase “the sacred month” is a generic noun covering the four sacred months: Rajab, Dhū al-Qaʿdah, Dhū al-Ḥijjah and Muḥarram. It appears as “the sacred months” in the fifth verse of Sūrat al-Tawbah. But what is meant by those four months there is the period from the tenth of Dhū al-Ḥijjah in the ninth year of the Hijrah to the tenth of Rabīʿ al-Thānī in the tenth year. This was the respite given to the polytheists of the Arabian Peninsula after the conquest of Mecca, to make their final decision: either to enter Islam or to face a fierce war. Given the difference between those two terms, there is no sense in what some have said, that the verse under discussion was abrogated by the verse “When the sacred months have passed, kill the polytheists”. Besides, the noble verse in Sūrat al-Tawbah was revealed before the verse under discussion in Sūrat al-Māʾidah.
The sanctity of “those bound for the Sacred House”, their protection and the safeguarding of their lives may refer specifically to Muslims. This is because the divine command “do not violate the sacred signs of God” does not cover the acts of non-Muslims, just as it is unlikely that the polytheists are the ones addressed in the phrase “seeking grace from their Lord and His good pleasure”. So there is no sense in claiming that “nor those bound for the Sacred House” was abrogated by the verse “let them not approach the Sacred Mosque after this year of theirs”.
As for the divine command “when you leave the state of iḥrām, then hunt”, which comes after the prohibition “not permitting hunting while you are in iḥrām”, it conveys permission, not obligation.
It is well known that the polytheists had prevented the Muslims from entering Mecca to perform the ʿumrah in the sixth year of the Hijrah. Even so, the noble Qur’an forbade the Muslims to take revenge for what the polytheists had done to them before, and called them to keep to the international law of Islam, which is justice. No doubt the repetition of the phrase “let not hatred of a people…” in some verses of Sūrat al-Māʾidah clearly shows Islam’s insistence on following justice.
Besides urging justice and not swerving from the path of moderation, the noble Qur’an regards righteousness and Godwariness, in human nature, as the pivot of helping and assisting others. At the same time, it warns the Muslims against helping in wrongdoing and aggression.
Human society is built on righteousness, on avoiding evil and on keeping away from corruption. The divine command “cooperate in righteousness and Godwariness” is a command to build the virtuous city on righteousness and Godwariness. It is not enough for a person to be righteous and to do good deeds; he must also be skilled, so as to pass those praiseworthy qualities on to others, and he must strive to reform them and to widen the reach of righteousness, good-doing and Godwariness.
As for the Qur’anic instruction to Godwariness at the end of the verse, it is because Godwariness is the practical foundation of the divine commands and prohibitions. And in His words “severe in retribution”, the name of God is used in place of the pronoun to stress the importance of the matter.
5:3 — You are prohibited carrion
You are prohibited carrion, blood, the flesh of swine, and what has been offered to other than Allah, and the animal strangled or beaten to death, and that which dies by falling or is gored to death, and that which is mangled by a beast of prey—barring that which you may purify —and what is sacrificed on stone altars [to idols], and that you should divide by raffling with arrows. All that is transgression. Today the faithless have despaired of your religion. So do not fear them, but fear Me. Today I have perfected your religion for you, and I have completed My blessing upon you, and I have approved Islam as your religion. But should anyone be compelled by hunger, without inclining to sin, then Allah is indeed all-forgiving, all-merciful.
This verse contains two discussions: a jurisprudential one and a theological one. In the jurisprudential discussion, the verse sets out some of the cases excepted and forbidden, as was promised in the first verse of this sura in His words, Exalted, “except what is recited to you”. It points to animals that were forbidden for various reasons, and that the Arabs of the age of ignorance used to eat without any restraint. It forbids eating carrion, blood and the flesh of swine; every animal slaughtered without the name of God being mentioned; and the animal that has been strangled, or beaten, or that falls from a height and dies, or that dies from being gored by another animal; and likewise the animal that a beast of prey has seized and eaten part of. From the last five cases the noble verse excepts every animal that is still alive and has not died, for it becomes lawful to eat after it is slaughtered according to the law (tadhkiyah). The verse also forbids eating an animal that is slaughtered or offered as a sacrifice to the stones and idols that were set up around the Kaʿbah, or gambling with it after slaughtering it. Then the verse states the reason for the prohibition here, which is transgression (fisq).
As for one who is compelled and forced to eat any of the animals mentioned, because of famine or for fear of perishing from hunger, he may eat of them provided two basic conditions are met:
That his doing so is not an act of disobedience to God’s (s.w.t.) commands, nor an inclination on his part to commit sin.
That he eats of the flesh of those animals only as much as suffices and as necessity requires.
As for the theological discussion of the verse, which is set within the jurisprudential discussion, God (the Mighty and Majestic) tells the Muslims that the faithless have despaired of the religion of Islam “today” (meaning the eighteenth of Dhū al-Ḥijjah, in the tenth year of the Hijrah), and are no longer able to do anything to turn it back or destroy it. So from now on the Muslims should not fear the polytheists or be afraid of their plots and schemes. They must fear God (s.w.t.) and obey Him, and not disobey His commands or be ungrateful for the blessing He has bestowed on them; this is what will keep them safe from the plotting of the faithless.
As for the cause of the polytheists’ despair and hopelessness, it is God’s (s.w.t.) appointing of the successor (khalīfah) after His Messenger (s.a.w.), who would take charge of the affairs of Islam and the Muslims. By this He, Exalted, perfected His religion, completed His blessing, and approved Islam as the religion for all, in place of the other religions.
5:4 — They ask you as to what is lawful to them
They ask you as to what is lawful to them. Say, ‘All the good things are lawful to you.’ As for what you have taught hunting dogs [to catch], teaching them out of what Allah has taught you, eat of what they catch for you and mention Allah’s Name over it, and be wary of Allah. Indeed Allah is swift at reckoning.
Mentioning a doubtful matter next to a certain one, or a devotional matter alongside a general rational principle, shows that the two share the same ruling. The lawfulness of game caught by hunting dogs, and the lawfulness of the good things, is of this kind. It is an extension of the ruling on legal slaughter (tadhkiyah), which has its own particular conditions.
The dogs must be trained, so that they obey their owner and are trustworthy, and they must also have the skill for this work; this is one of the conditions for their game to be lawful. In the same way, mentioning the name of God, Exalted, and keeping Godwariness in hunting are among the conditions on the hunter. It should be noted that there is no necessary connection between the lawfulness of the game and the permissibility of the duty while travelling.
5:5 — Today all the good things have been made lawful to you—the food of those who were given…
Today all the good things have been made lawful to you—the food of those who were given the Book is lawful to you, and your food is lawful to them—and the chaste ones from among faithful women, and chaste women of those who were given the Book before you, when you have given them their dowries, in wedlock, not in license, nor taking paramours. Should anyone renounce his faith, his work shall fail and he will be among the losers in the Hereafter.
Among the blessings that God, Exalted, bestowed on the Muslims is making food lawful in general, and marriage with the People of the Book, both of which had been forbidden before. To fix this lawfulness in the hearts of those addressed, it was expressed as “the good things”.
Unlawful relations between Muslims and the People of the Book are forbidden, and both the man and the woman must be chaste. That is, the relation of Muslim men with women of the People of the Book must be one of marriage, not fornication, and the wealth given in that case must be given as a dowry (mahr) and as nothing else.
What follows from the legal lawfulness of the food of the People of the Book, and of marriage with them, is their legal purity. Otherwise it would go against what custom requires, and this would cause them hardship and difficulty. The lawfulness of marriage (with the People of the Book) has particular conditions, which jurisprudence has set out in detail.
5:6 — O you who have faith! When you stand up for prayer
O you who have faith! When you stand up for prayer, wash your faces and your hands up to the elbows, and wipe a part of your heads and your feet, up to the ankles. If you are junub, purify yourselves. But if you are sick, or on a journey, or any of you has come from the toilet, or you have touched women, and you cannot find water, then make tayammum with clean ground and wipe a part of your faces and your hands with it. Allah does not desire to put you to hardship, but He desires to purify you, and to complete His blessing upon you so that you may give thanks.
The divine addresses in the noble verse above point to a number of duties and covenants between the servant and his Lord. Prayer is one of those duties, with its own rulings and conditions, and the one who prays must fulfil those conditions. One of them is purity, which takes the form of ablution (wuḍūʾ) and the full bath (ghusl), or what stands in for them. The form of ablution is washing the face and the hands, and wiping the head and the feet. The verse made clear the limits of what is washed and what is wiped, which were unknown to people in general. As for how it is done, whether from top to bottom or the reverse, that was left to custom; but the practice of the Infallibles (a.s.) made clear all the details of this matter.
From the apparent unqualified wording at the start of the verse it appears that obtaining purity is required before every prayer. But the narrations indicate that this unqualified wording is restricted to the state of ritual impurity (ḥadath), and that the obligation of purity is preparatory, not an obligation in itself.
The commands of the verse apparently mean doing it oneself, not having it done by another. As for the mention of “faces”, “hands” and “elbows” in the plural, it is because the address is directed to the community.
The one in a state of major impurity (junub) must bathe if he wants to pray. As for the sick person, the traveller, or one who has touched his wife or come from the privy, if he has no water or is unable to use water, he must perform dry ablution (tayammum) to establish the prayer.
The noble verse mentions four qualifications (or conditions) for dry ablution: illness, travel, coming from the privy and touching women. The first two are causes of excuse or hindrance, while the last two are causes that call for obtaining purity and make it necessary. The first two conditions and the last two are in keeping with each other, though the first two are separate from the last two.
It is known that there is no hardship or difficulty in religion at all. The wisdom in ordaining ablution, the full bath and dry ablution is to obtain inner purity and humility. All these rulings and matters are among the blessings of God, Exalted, for which the servant must thank Him (the Mighty and Majestic) in teaching, in learning and in practice.
In any case, the noble verse contains four rulings (or points). Three of them are jurisprudential rulings (the full bath, ablution and dry ablution), and one points to the wisdom in ordaining these three rulings.
5:7 — Remember Allah’s blessing upon you and His covenant with which He has bound you when you…
Remember Allah’s blessing upon you and His covenant with which He has bound you when you said, ‘We hear and obey.’ And be wary of Allah. Indeed Allah knows best what is in the breasts.
There is no doubt that remembering the outward and inward blessings of God (s.w.t.), such as the teaching of the Book and wisdom and the religious rulings, and thanking God, Exalted, and praising Him for His blessings, is what would increase those blessings. The person of faith should not forget his covenant and pledge with God (the Mighty and Majestic) from when he came to faith in Him, and should beware of breaking it. That divine covenant and pact is manifest in the pact of the faithful with the noble Prophet (s.a.w.). The pact of the faithful and their allegiance to the Messenger of God (s.a.w.) is in truth their pact and allegiance to God (s.w.t.). And since God, Exalted, knows the outward and the secrets of the hearts, there is no escape from being Godwary of Him and fearing Him.
5:8 — O you who have faith! Be maintainers
O you who have faith! Be maintainers, as witnesses for the sake of Allah, of justice, and ill feeling for a people should never lead you to be unfair. Be fair; that is nearer to Godwariness, and be wary of Allah. Allah is indeed well aware of what you do.
The noble Qur’an calls everyone to follow equity and justice in keeping with human nature (fiṭrah). It holds that achieving this depends on their standing firm for God, Exalted, and on moderating the inner instincts such as love and hatred, because excessive love and excessive hatred both prevent equity and justice from being carried out.
Hostility towards the faithless has a set limit, and going beyond that limit prevents equity and justice from being achieved. So equity and justice must be observed with the faithful and the Muslims, and also with enemies and the faithless. Attaining justice, and being just with companions and enemies, in love as in enmity and hatred, is the one thing nearest to Godwariness, and everything else is far from Godwariness. The faithful should keep their Godwariness of God (s.w.t.). The reason for the content of the verse is also given: God (s.w.t.) knows and is aware of all of man’s deeds.
5:9–10 — Allah has promised those who have faith and do righteous deeds forgiveness and a great…
(9) Allah has promised those who have faith and do righteous deeds forgiveness and a great reward. (10) As for those who are faithless and deny Our signs, they shall be the inmates of hell.
God (s.w.t.) sent His prophets and messengers as bearers of good news and as warners: bearers of good news of His promise, and warners of His threat and His punishment.
The divine promise in this noble verse comes in emphatic form, as something decisively fulfilled. This promise is for those who have two basic qualities: faith in God (s.w.t.) and righteous deeds. The fruit of faith and righteous deeds is a great reward and wide forgiveness, and the end of faithlessness and of denying God’s (s.w.t.) signs is entering Hell and being gathered with the faithless.
What is meant by sheer faithlessness (kufr) is rejection. But rejection differs from denying God’s (s.w.t.) signs. Someone may not accept another person’s words for any of a number of reasons; at other times, the one who denies takes a hostile stance towards the speaker, besides calling him a liar.
5:11 — O you who have faith! Remember Allah’s blessing upon you when a people set out to extend…
O you who have faith! Remember Allah’s blessing upon you when a people set out to extend their hands against you, but He withheld their hands from you, and be wary of Allah, and in Allah let all the faithful put their trust.
The blessing of turning the Muslims’ weakness into strength, and the success of Islam and its followers against their enemies, is a comprehensive heading that takes in a number of other examples of divine blessings.
The hypocrites and the polytheists intended to bring down the pillars of Islam and to dominate the Muslims. But God (s.w.t.) came between them and what they desired, turned their plotting back on themselves, and saved the Muslims from the evil of hypocrisy within and of polytheism without. The least the Muslims can do is to give thanks for this blessing by guarding their Godwariness and relying on God (s.w.t.).
5:12 — Certainly Allah took a pledge from the Children of Israel
Certainly Allah took a pledge from the Children of Israel, and We raised among them twelve chiefs. And Allah said, ‘I am with you! Surely, if you maintain the prayer and give the zakat and have faith in My apostles and support them and lend Allah a good loan, I will surely absolve you of your misdeeds, and I will surely admit you into gardens with streams running in them. But whoever of you disbelieves after that has certainly strayed from the right way.’
God (s.w.t.) took a solemn pact from the Children of Israel (the Jews) that they would have faith in His messengers, help them and support them. But He, Exalted, was not content with that pact and with sending Mūsā (a.s.). He (the Mighty and Majestic) willed to give that pact a real, concrete form, because He knew the bigotry and stubbornness of the Children of Israel. So He chose from among them twelve chiefs (tribes), to complete the proof against them.
In the Children of Israel’s breaking of the pacts, and in the evil consequences they met, there is an eloquent lesson and warning for anyone whose soul tempts him to break covenants and pacts with God (s.w.t.). God (s.w.t.) is present and with man in every state and place; this is what we call His sustaining “withness” (al-maʿiyyah al-qayyūmiyyah). But the appearance of His special “withness”, as kindness and mercy, depends on keeping His covenant and acting on the five conditions: establishing prayer, giving the alms, having faith in God’s messengers and prophets, helping and supporting them, and lending Him, Exalted, a good loan. Breaking the covenant, and not keeping the pact and its conditions, results in the appearance of the “withness” of God’s (s.w.t.) anger. So the fact of His “withness” is settled; whether it is kindness or anger depends on man himself.
In this noble verse God (the Mighty and Majestic) states the good news and His true promise plainly, while hinting at the warning and the threat implicitly. This is so that man may know, first, that God, Exalted, has put His mercy before His anger; and second, that this is a fine Qur’anic style that moves the one addressed to ask questions and reflect on the verse.
The righteous deeds of every nation are a branch of its faith in its own messenger, not a branch of faith in the message of the messenger. Since the Children of Israel did not have faith in all of the prophets (a.s.), and considered the law of Mūsā (a.s.) the last of the laws, this noble verse stresses the need not to make distinctions between any of God’s (s.w.t.) messengers and prophets, since that is one of the branches of religion. So, in putting the establishing of prayer and the giving of alms before faith in Mūsā (a.s.) and his message, the verse is not putting a branch before the root, as some might think; it is only putting one branch before another.
5:13 — Then, because of their breaking their covenant We cursed them and made their hearts hard
Then, because of their breaking their covenant We cursed them and made their hearts hard: they pervert words from their meanings, and have forgotten a part of what they were reminded. You will not cease to learn of some of their treachery, excepting a few of them. Yet excuse them and forbear. Indeed Allah loves the virtuous.
The Jews deserved punishments and afflictions because they broke the divine pact after accepting it, despite the abilities and gifts they had; because they altered the heavenly Book (the Torah); and because they changed God’s (s.w.t.) blessing through their bad choices and conduct. Among the punishments that befell them is that God, Exalted, cursed them, deprived them of His special mercy and kept them far from it, and barred them from knowing the essence of God and from His love.
Another of the evil consequences that surrounded them is that God (s.w.t.) made their hearts hard as stone. This led them to think of fighting God and turning people away from His religion, by altering His Book according to their whims and desires, and by inventing lies against God (s.w.t.).
No doubt there is a two-way relation between these two vices, hardness of heart and the alteration of God’s (s.w.t.) Book. Hardness of heart prepares the ground for alteration, and one of the results of alteration is to prepare the way for the hardness, blackness and darkness of the heart.
So the Jews were deprived of the good and happiness that God (s.w.t.) had granted them through revelation, because of their corruption and faithlessness, and they forgot all the good that God had sent down to them. When they forgot God (s.w.t.) and cast revelation behind their backs, they forgot themselves too. They thought of nothing but their animal side, and cared only for filling their bellies and satisfying their instincts.
Another effect of the Jews’ breaking their covenant with God (s.w.t.), and of the hardness of their hearts, is their wrongdoing against God’s servants and their constant treachery towards human society.
Despite all the vices of the Jews, God (s.w.t.) did not neglect the right of the good and the Godwary among them, who were few. He excepted them from His punishment and displeasure and praised them in many places. And He commanded His noble Messenger (s.a.w.) to pardon them and overlook what they had done, once God gave him power in the land, because God, Exalted, loves those who do good.
5:14 — Also from those who say, ‘We are Christians,’ We took their pledge
Also from those who say, ‘We are Christians,’ We took their pledge; but they forgot a part of what they were reminded. So We stirred up enmity and hatred among them until the Day of Resurrection, and soon Allah will inform them concerning what they had been doing.
Those who claimed to be helpers of God’s religion and to have faith in the Messiah (a.s.) acknowledged their servitude to God (s.w.t.) and had faith in revelation and in the mission of ʿĪsā (a.s.). Forgetting some of the spiritual benefits of revelation, and being afflicted with enmity and inner division because they broke the pact, is a recompense shared by the Jews and the Christians. This noble verse sets out the evil consequences that befell the Christians after they broke their pact with God, Exalted.
Satan the accursed is the chief agent in stirring up enmity among the Christians. This stirring up is by way of recompense, not from the outset. God (s.w.t.) is in essence the source of this stirring up, while Satan the accursed acts like a trained dog. The divine punishment (enmity and hatred among the Christians) will continue upon them until the appearance of the Proof, al-Mahdī (a.s.), or until the Day of Resurrection.
All generations of the Jews and the Christians have been afflicted with this division, enmity and hatred, and still are. They will go on behaving in this way, breaking their covenants and pacts and persisting in rebellion and disobedience, until the Day of Resurrection; so the divine punishment mentioned will remain among them. It should be noted that the qualities of enmity and division among the Jews and the Christians will appear and become manifest when they enter Hell, and that will be their punishment on that day.
5:15 — O People of the Book! Certainly Our Apostle has come to you
O People of the Book! Certainly Our Apostle has come to you, clarifying for you much of what you used to hide of the Book, and excusing many [an offense of yours]. Certainly, there has come to you a light from Allah, and a manifest Book.
In this noble verse God (s.w.t.) calls the People of the Book to follow the greatest Messenger (s.a.w.). He does so after making known to them, at the start of the verse, that the Messenger had made clear much of the knowledge and teachings that were in the Torah and the Gospel, which their rabbis and monks had hidden and concealed. No doubt this telling of the unseen and of concealed truths is a miracle and a proof of the Prophet’s (s.a.w.) truthfulness.
The rabbis and monks had concealed many of the truths and facts in their books, the Torah and the Gospel, such as the qualities that point to the prophet of the end of time (s.a.w.) and his mission, and some rulings and matters, such as the ruling on stoning; and they had a long history in this. As for the noble Messenger (s.a.w.), God (s.w.t.) informed him through revelation of all those truths and of what was in their books. Yet he (s.a.w.) did not disclose many of the secrets and hidden moral and behavioural matters, because he (s.a.w.) is a manifestation of “O You who show the beautiful and veil the ugly”; and this is the meaning of His words, Exalted, “and he overlooks much”. The Messenger of God (s.a.w.) is a light that God (the Mighty and Majestic) sent with His noble Book: “a light and a clear Book”.
5:16 — With it Allah guides those who follow [the course of] His pleasure to the ways of peace
With it Allah guides those who follow [the course of] His pleasure to the ways of peace, and brings them out from darkness into light by His will, and guides them to a straight path.
Guidance in itself belongs to God, Exalted, and to His Messenger (s.a.w.), and the noble Qur’an guides by His leave. Besides bringing a person to his goal and showing him the straight path, guidance is a great reward from God (s.w.t.), since it creates within a person a heartfelt desire for the teachings, an interest in them, and acting on them.
Guidance to the paths of peace; being brought out of the darknesses into the light, which also fits with prevention (dafʿ); and guidance to the straight path: these are three blessings that save a person from Hell and bring him into the Garden that God (s.w.t.) has promised the people of faith, who followed the divine good pleasure in this world and the Hereafter. As for limiting the bringing into light to His leave, Exalted, and not the leave of anyone else, it is because God (the Mighty and Majestic) is the source of all rulings, and no interest governs Him.
5:17 — They are certainly faithless who say
They are certainly faithless who say, ‘Allah is the Messiah, son of Mary.’ Say, ‘Who can avail anything against Allah should He wish to destroy the Messiah, son of Mary, and his mother, and everyone upon the earth?’ To Allah belongs the kingdom of the heavens and the earth, and whatever is between them. He creates whatever He wishes, and Allah has power over all things.
The People of the Book broke their covenant concerning the roots of belief, just as they broke their covenant in the subsidiary rulings. They began to speak of the divinity of the Messiah (a.s.), claiming that he is the son of God, Exalted, and the third of three. This noble verse contains shining rational proofs that show the falsity of the divinity of ʿĪsā (a.s.). He is the son of Maryam (a.s.), and God (the Mighty and Majestic) cannot be anyone’s son. The Messiah and his mother (a.s.) have no control over anything of their own affairs at all; they are created, perishable and owned, with limited existence and power. But God (s.w.t.) is the Owner of everything and the Creator of everything, and His existence is not limited at all.
The Messiah (a.s.) being the son of Maryam (a.s.) refutes the excess of the extreme Christians, who say that he is the son of God, just as it refutes the excess of the negligent among the Jews, who slandered Maryam (a.s.) over her son.
The repetition of the name of God, “God”, in the verse under discussion is to show the importance of the question of the Oneness of God, and to refute everything contrary to it, whether polytheism, dualism, trinity or any other kind of associating partners with God.
5:18 — The Jews and the Christians say
The Jews and the Christians say, ‘We are Allah’s children and His beloved ones.’ Say, ‘Then why does He punish you for your sins?’ No, you are humans from among His creatures. He forgives whomever He wishes, and punishes whomever He wishes, and to Allah belongs the kingdom of the heavens and the earth, and whatever is between them, and toward Him is the return.
The Jews and the Christians claim to be the sons of God (s.w.t.) and His beloved ones (meaning a sonship of honour and distinction), because of their racism and their belief that they are better than the rest of mankind. In this noble verse God, Exalted, refutes their false claim and argues against them by way of rebuttal and resolution (counter-argument). Examples of the rebuttal are the transformation of the Jews, the setting of other peoples and nations over their necks, and the recounting of part of the history of the corrupt Christians, besides the other kinds of punishment and penalty they tasted; all of this refutes their false claim to be God’s beloved. As for the Jews’ and Christians’ admission of punishment in the Hereafter, and their claim that they will remain in punishment only for a short time, it contains a hint that they will be punished in the Hereafter like the other corrupters.
The refutation of the People of the Book’s claim by resolution is that the only measure that distinguishes people is their faith, their righteous deeds and the degree of their Godwariness and fear of God (s.w.t.). If the People of the Book had looked at their own reality, they would not have claimed a sonship of honour to God and His love for them, for they are human beings like all other human beings, and they will be sifted and tested in the Hereafter. Forgiveness and punishment are in the hand of God, Exalted. By His wisdom He will have mercy on whoever deserves mercy and will punish whoever deserves punishment; and all of them are returning to Him.
It is worth mentioning that the very fact that the Jews and the Christians commit sins can serve for rebuttal and resolution. Whoever claims to be a son of God should not sin and disobey God (s.w.t.), whereas those who claim this sonship do not hesitate to commit sins of every kind.
5:19 — O People of the Book! Certainly Our Apostle has come to you
O People of the Book! Certainly Our Apostle has come to you, clarifying [the Divine teachings] for you after a gap in [the appearance of] the apostles, lest you should say, ‘There did not come to us any bearer of good news nor any warner.’ Certainly, there has come to you a bearer of good news and a warner. And Allah has power over all things.
No doubt the People of the Book are responsible and bound to have faith in the Messenger of God (s.a.w.) and his message, for God (s.w.t.) sent him to make clear the concealed teachings and matters, and all the important questions and necessary needs. His words, Exalted, “after an interval (fatrah) between the messengers” do not mean that time was empty of a divine proof, because rational and transmitted proof, and the evidence within, show that such an interval is impossible. The particular negation, that there was no prophet during that interval, does not entail a general negation (that is, a negation of the proof). The principle is that the divine proof exists: the prophets, the Imams (a.s.) and the scholars of religion are the divine proofs.
The greatest Prophet (s.a.w.) is the bearer of good news for gaining virtues and performing acts of obedience, and the warner against vices and committing sins. His (s.a.w.) being sent means the completion of the proof of God, Exalted, against the People of the Book. It is an example of the absolute divine power, a means of refuting the delusion of the Jews, and a warning to the People of the Book.
5:20 — When Moses said to his people
When Moses said to his people, ‘O my people, remember Allah’s blessing upon you when He appointed prophets among you, and made you kings, and gave you what none of the nations were given.
This is a reminder of the active source of change and transformation, and a making use of the blessings of God, Exalted, in the missions of the prophets (a.s.), especially Mūsā (a.s.). No doubt the sending of prophets to guide human society is the most important and greatest divine blessing that God (s.w.t.) granted the Children of Israel.
Among the other blessings that God (the Mighty and Majestic) lavished on the people of Mūsā (a.s.) are their independence and freedom from any ruling power; delivering them from the authority of Pharaoh and his unjust rule; giving them ownership of their honour, their lives and all their own affairs; and granting them many gifts and favours that God had not granted to any people before them. In this noble verse Mūsā (a.s.) reminds the Children of Israel of those blessings, so that they may thank God (s.w.t.) for them and not deny His favours.
The phrase “remember God’s blessing upon you” is like the text and heading of a chapter, which the following verses detail and explain. What is meant by “the worlds” at the end of the verse is either absolute or relative. Since lam is a particle that turns the present tense into a negated past, the meaning is that God (s.w.t.) had not, up to that time, given any people of the worlds what He had given the Children of Israel. As for the future, the verse does not refer to it, although some have considered it relative.
5:21 — O my people, enter the Holy Land which Allah has ordained for you
O my people, enter the Holy Land which Allah has ordained for you, and do not turn your backs, or you will become losers.’
Mentioning the blessings that God, Exalted, granted the Children of Israel in the previous verse was a prelude to the command to enter the Holy Land and to preparing them for struggle (jihād). So Mūsā (a.s.) gave his people the good news of entering that land by God’s (s.w.t.) command and decree, and commanded them to set about it. He made clear to them that their entering the Holy Land depended on faith in the law, on not disobeying and not turning back from their religion, and on obeying the commands and instructions of their prophets. This divine command required struggle and effort, just like the effort to earn one’s daily bread, which requires toil and hardship even though God (s.w.t.) has guaranteed their provision. That is why the noble verse points out that turning back from religion is the great loss.
5:22 — They said, ‘O Moses, there are a tyrannical people in it
They said, ‘O Moses, there are a tyrannical people in it. We will not enter it until they leave it. But once they leave it, we will go in.’
The Children of Israel answered Mūsā’s (a.s.) request, made by God’s (s.w.t.) command in the previous verse, with complete insolence. They said they would not enter the Holy Land until the tyrants left it. In this they disobeyed God’s (s.w.t.) command, and their answer meant rejecting Mūsā’s (a.s.) request to enter the promised land.
We infer from the verse that the Children of Israel did not hold to the Oneness of God in their fear, but were plainly polytheists. The result of this wrongdoing and disobedience of theirs was that they were barred from entering the Holy Land, which none deserve but the good, not the corrupt. When the Children of Israel became tyrants and arrogant, they were barred from entering the Holy Land.
5:23 — Said two men from among those who were Godfearing and whom Allah had blessed
Said two men from among those who were Godfearing and whom Allah had blessed: ‘Go at them by the gate! For once, you have entered it, you will be victors. Put your trust in Allah, should you be faithful.’
No land is empty of the righteous and the friends of God, so that the proof may be complete against all people. Here two righteous men of the Children of Israel came forward. They feared God, they were among those whom God had blessed, and they used that blessing in what pleases God (s.w.t.). They proposed to the Children of Israel that they enter the Holy Land, and gave them the good news of a sure victory if they united and relied on God, because God, Exalted, had given them this good news through His Prophet Mūsā (a.s.). So the truth of the news of victory, of certain conquest and of dwelling in the Holy Land became clear to the Children of Israel through Mūsā (a.s.) and these two righteous men.
5:24 — They said, ‘O Moses, we will never enter it so long as they remain in it
They said, ‘O Moses, we will never enter it so long as they remain in it. Go ahead, you and your Lord, and fight! We will be sitting right here.’
The Children of Israel paid no heed to what the two righteous men said to them, ignored their guidance and dared to defy the Prophet Mūsā (a.s.). They declared plainly, with the particle of negation and emphasis, that they would not enter the Holy Land. They overstepped the bounds of courtesy and said to Mūsā (a.s.): “So go, you and your Lord, and fight” the Amalekites. This shows that they wanted God (s.w.t.) to solve their problems and to meet their selfish wishes, and nothing more. Their words reveal their materialistic and anthropomorphic nature and leanings, unless what they meant was: “Let your Lord support you and help you with the unseen in fighting the Amalekites!”
The arrogance of the Children of Israel, their unwillingness to help religion and their refusal to fight had negative results and bitter consequences for them, among them their wandering in the desert for forty years.
5:25 — He said, ‘My Lord! I have no power over [anyone] except myself and my brother
He said, ‘My Lord! I have no power over [anyone] except myself and my brother, so part us from the transgressing lot.’
Mūsā (a.s.) saw the disobedience of the Children of Israel, their refusal to obey God’s (s.w.t.) command to enter the Holy Land, and their insolent answer to the advice of the two righteous men “from among those who feared, whom God had blessed”. He then addressed his Lord, saying: “O God, You know that I have control over none but myself and my brother Hārūn; so judge between us and these transgressing people!”
5:26 — He said, ‘It shall be forbidden them for forty years
He said, ‘It shall be forbidden them for forty years: they shall wander about in the earth. So do not grieve for the transgressing lot.’
The existential prohibition imposed on the Children of Israel, that they would not enter the Holy Land for forty years and would wander in the desert, counts as part of God’s (s.w.t.) answer to the prayer of His Prophet Mūsā (a.s.). Even so, Mūsā (a.s.) was saddened by the punishment that befell his people. But God, Exalted, said to him: “So do not grieve over the transgressing people”. This was although Mūsā (a.s.) had not cursed his people or prayed against them; he had only asked God (the Mighty and Majestic) to separate him from them and to judge as He wills.
5:27 — Relate to them truly the account of Adam’s two sons
Relate to them truly the account of Adam’s two sons. When the two of them offered an offering, it was accepted from one of them and not accepted from the other. [One of them] said, ‘Surely I will kill you.’ [The other one] said, ‘Allah accepts only from the Godwary.
The likeness and correspondence of the noble Qur’an’s stories with reality, and the true conclusions that come from them, are among the special features of this mighty heavenly Book. Reciting another story, this time about the sons of Ādam (a.s.) from his own loins, on the tongue of the greatest Messenger (s.a.w.), shows us the truth of the news and the truthfulness of the one who tells it.
The story tells of the two sons of Ādam (a.s.) offering a sacrifice to God (s.w.t.), and of the sacrifice of one being accepted and that of the other being rejected. The brother who was not Godwary, whose sacrifice was not accepted, envied his other brother and threatened to kill him. His brother answered him: “God (the Mighty and Majestic) accepts the sacrifice only of the Godwary. Godwariness is the measure for a sacrifice to be accepted, and your sacrifice not being accepted shows your lack of Godwariness!”
5:28 — Even if you extend your hand toward me to kill me
Even if you extend your hand toward me to kill me, I will not extend my hand toward you to kill you. Indeed, I fear Allah, the Lord of all the worlds.
Hābīl said another sentence to his brother Qābīl that shows his Godwariness. He began it with the lām of oath, and swore that he would not stretch out his hand against him and defile himself by killing him. He made clear that he had offered his sacrifice to draw near to God, Exalted, and he left the judgement on the killing and the wrongdoing to God alone. We conclude from what Hābīl said to Qābīl earlier that Hābīl held to the Oneness of God in his fear and dread. He fears none but God, Exalted, and dreads no one else at all.
5:29 — I desire that you earn [the burden of] my sin and your sin
I desire that you earn [the burden of] my sin and your sin, to become one of the inmates of the Fire, and such is the requital of the wrongdoers.’
This last sentence that Hābīl spoke was a warning to Qābīl. It made clear to him that if he went ahead and killed him, he would bear the sin of the killing, besides the sin of the one wrongfully killed, and that his refuge would be Hell, and how evil a destination! This points to Hābīl’s Godwariness.
There is no contradiction between this verse and the general principles and roots of the noble Qur’an, such as His words, Exalted: “No soul earns except against itself, and no bearer of burdens bears the burden of another”. It is either by way of exception (khurūj ikhtiṣāṣī) or by way of governance (ḥukūmah). In matters of practical wisdom too, such as the union of the deed with the doer, the doubt disappears given man’s existence in the world of change, transformation and movement, where the deed separates from the doer, and even knowledge from the knower, at times.
5:30 — So his soul prompted him to kill his brother
So his soul prompted him to kill his brother, and he killed him, and thus became one of the losers.
Taṭwīʿ al-nafs means the self making something easy and permitted for a person to do. Our saying, “Qābīl’s self made the killing of his brother easy for him,” means that it made it attractive to him and tempted him to it without restraint. And so he became one of the losers, because he lost both the price and what was bought with it.
5:31 — Then Allah sent a crow, exploring in the ground
Then Allah sent a crow, exploring in the ground, to show him how to bury the corpse of his brother. He said, ‘Woe to me! Am I unable to be [even] like this crow and bury my brother’s corpse?’ Thus he became regretful.
After Qābīl killed his brother Hābīl, he was at a loss how to bury him. So God (s.w.t.) sent a raven to teach Qābīl how to bury Hābīl. The raven dug a hole, put something in it, and then heaped the earth back over that thing. So Qābīl understood how to bury his brother’s body. When he realised how helpless he was, even compared to the raven, he grieved over his state and regretted what he had done.
5:32 — That is why We decreed for the Children of Israel that whoever kills a soul
That is why We decreed for the Children of Israel that whoever kills a soul, without [its being guilty of] manslaughter or corruption on the earth, is as though he had killed all mankind, and whoever saves a life is as though he had saved all mankind. Our apostles certainly brought them manifest signs, yet even after that, many of them commit excesses on the earth.
So the killing of a brother became the cause of a general divine ruling. Whoever kills a person wrongfully (not in retaliation, nor in carrying out the bound on one who wages war and spreads corruption, nor for any other legal permission) is as if he had killed a whole society. And whoever gives life to a person, saving him from death or guiding him to the truth, is as if he had given life to the whole society. Since every human being has his own personality and rights, killing him means attacking his humanity and his rights. On the other hand, retaliation is a service to human society. So killing one who is wronged is equal to killing all people and attacking their humanity.
Since excess has its clear instance in material matters too, the same holds in killing and the shedding of blood. The hands of the Children of Israel were always stained with bloodshed and wrongful killing.
5:33–34 — Indeed the requital of those who wage war against Allah and His Apostle
(33) Indeed the requital of those who wage war against Allah and His Apostle, and try to cause corruption on the earth, is that they shall be slain or crucified, or shall have their hands and feet cut off from opposite sides, or be banished from the land. That is a disgrace for them in this world, and in the Hereafter, there is a great punishment for them, (34) excepting those who repent before you capture them, and know that Allah is all-forgiving, all-merciful.
The bound is carried out on one who wages war against God (s.w.t.) and His Messenger and spreads corruption in the land, by one of the following rulings, as the Islamic ruler decides according to the public interest: killing, or crucifixion (execution), or cutting off the right hand and the left foot (or the reverse), or banishment (exile).
It is clear that these rulings, issued against the one who wages war and spreads corruption in the land, are a disgrace and humiliation for him in the land (in this world), besides the severe divine punishment that awaits him on the Day of Resurrection.
If the one who wages war repents before he is arrested, his repentance averts disgrace and punishment from him in this world and the Hereafter. If he repents after his arrest, his repentance removes only the punishment of the Hereafter, while the disgrace and punishment of this world remain.
5:35 — O you who have faith! Be wary of Allah
O you who have faith! Be wary of Allah, and seek the means of recourse to Him, and wage jihad in His way, so that you may be felicitous.
No doubt faith in God and His Messenger (s.a.w.), and Godwariness of Him, Exalted, is a shield for man. It protects him from falling into sin and guards him against disobedience and against whisperings from without and within. Drawing near to God (s.w.t.) by the means He has commanded comes in stages: showing servitude to Him through prayer, fasting, the pilgrimage and keeping ties of kinship; love of God (the Mighty and Majestic); devotion to the infallible Imams (a.s.) and dissociation from their enemies; and striving in the way of God. If all these stages are passed through, man becomes one who abides forever in the gardens.
5:36–37 — Indeed if the faithless possessed all that is on the earth
(36) Indeed if the faithless possessed all that is on the earth, and as much of it besides, to redeem themselves with it from the punishment of the Day of Resurrection, it shall not be accepted from them, and there is a painful punishment for them. (37) They would long to leave the Fire, but they shall never leave it, and there is a lasting punishment for them.
There is no way at all for the faithless to escape the punishment of Hell on the Day of Resurrection. No ransom will help to save them, even if it were as much as all that is in the earth, and they cannot transfer their sins or cast their burdens on anyone else. More precisely, no worldly ties of any level are accepted at the Resurrection, and the sinners will never escape the painful punishment. Whenever they think of getting out of Hell and escaping its woes, all their attempts fail, and they reap nothing but disappointment and loss, because the punishment will fill their whole being.
5:38 — As for the thief, man or woman
As for the thief, man or woman, cut off their hands as a requital for what they have earned. [That is] an exemplary punishment from Allah, and Allah is all-mighty, all-wise.
God (s.w.t.) is the One who fixes the bounds (ḥudūd) of matters of rights. The greatest Prophet (s.a.w.) and the infallible Imams (a.s.) are charged with carrying out the divine bounds, and in the age of the Occultation this task falls on the shoulders of the holder of authority over the Muslims (walī amr al-muslimīn). As for the role of people with regard to the divine laws, it is limited to submitting to the commands of the holder of authority over the Muslims in carrying out the bounds.
Cutting off the hand of the thief, for example, is a punishment that rests on the act of the thief himself. Those responsible for religion must carry out that divine bound without any mercy, because this bound represents a punishment sent down from God, Exalted. And the commands of God, the Mighty, the Wise, do not accept change, alteration or substitution, because they rest on the foundation of wisdom.
5:39–40 — But whoever repents after his wrongdoing
(39) But whoever repents after his wrongdoing, and reforms, then Allah shall accept his repentance. Indeed Allah is all-forgiving, all-merciful. (40) Do you not know that to Allah belongs the kingdom of the heavens and the earth? He punishes whomever He wishes, and forgives whomever He wishes, and Allah has power over all things.
Whoever commits an injustice, such as theft or the like, and then repents of his injustice and strives to put himself right, is included in divine forgiveness and mercy. For God (s.w.t.) is the owner of the heavens and the earth, and pardoning some of His creatures, such as the one who wages war (al-muḥārib) or the thief, when they repent of what they did, and punishing those who do not repent, are all in His hand, Exalted; for He has power over all things.
5:41 — O Apostle! Do not grieve for those who are active in [promoting] unfaith
O Apostle! Do not grieve for those who are active in [promoting] unfaith, such as those who say, ‘We believe’ with their mouths, but whose hearts have no faith, and the Jews who eavesdrop with the aim of [telling] lies [against you] and eavesdrop for other people who do not come to you. They pervert words from their meanings, [and] say, ‘If you are given this, take it, but if you are not given this, beware!’ Yet whomever Allah wishes to mislead, you cannot avail him anything against Allah. They are the ones whose hearts Allah did not desire to purify. For them is disgrace in this world, and there is a great punishment for them in the Hereafter.
There were two main groups in Medina who fought against Islam and showed enmity to the Muslims, namely the Jews and the hypocrites, and they kept weaving plots and stirring up trouble against the Muslims. So this noble verse came down, commanding the most noble Prophet (s.a.w.) to stand firm in his call and his message in the face of those intrigues and plots, and not to grieve over what they do.
But those two groups spent all their efforts stirring up trouble and hastening into unbelief. The hypocrites, whose hearts did not agree with their words, were Muslims outwardly and faithless inwardly.
And among the Jews were some who made a habit of spying and had become practised in it. They spied and gathered news for the rabbis of the Children of Israel and their scholars, who were sunk in worldly desires. Besides listening to the lies and fabrications of those rabbis, these spies passed on news of the Messenger (s.a.w.) to their rabbis; while those transgressing rabbis distorted the meanings of the Torah to buy with it the pleasure of their nobles and their rich, who filled their pockets with money and bribes.
This matter was a divine test for the Jews, which they failed to pass. God (s.w.t.) tries and tests whom He wills of His servants, and no one, not even the greatest Messenger (s.a.w.), has any right ever to object to that.
So the Jews failed to pass the divine test, and instead of being guided they followed misguidance and neglected the Torah and its teachings. From here the divine will was that their corrupt hearts should not be purified, so that they thereby deserved the punishment of this world (disgrace) and would taste the great punishment of the Hereafter that awaits them.
5:42 — Eavesdroppers with the aim of [telling] lies
Eavesdroppers with the aim of [telling] lies, eaters of the unlawful—if they come to you, judge between them, or disregard them. If you disregard them, they will not harm you in any way. But if you judge, judge between them with justice. Indeed Allah loves the just.
After setting out the political ruling on the plot of the Jews (the Jews of Khaybar) and the conveying of that ruling to the Messenger of God (s.a.w.), this verse contains a jurisprudential ruling for the case where the Jews (the People of the Book) come to the Islamic court and the greatest Messenger (s.a.w.).
First, God (s.w.t.) exposed the Jews and uncovered their plotting, and divided them into two groups: the group of naive spies, and the group of those who devour what is unlawful and forbidden (suḥt). Then He, Exalted, commanded His Messenger (s.a.w.) that if the Jews came to him for him to judge between them, he had the choice between judging between them according to Islamic laws and teachings, or turning them away and sending them back to their own courts; and that they would never harm him if he refused to judge between them, because all matters are in the hand of God (the Mighty and Majestic). But if he decided to judge between them, he must judge between them with equity and justice, because God, Exalted, loves those who act with equity.
5:43 — And how should they make you a judge
And how should they make you a judge, while with them is the Torah, in which is Allah’s judgement? Yet in spite of that, they turn their backs [on Him] and they are not believers.
This noble verse begins with rebuke and astonishment, and calls for disputing with the Jews in the best way. He, Exalted, says to His noble Messenger (s.a.w.): How can these people come to you and make you judge in what has arisen between them, when they possess a heavenly book, the Torah? And how can they ask you for judgment and a ruling, and then, after it becomes clear to them that you are truly the Messenger of God and that your judgment is the judgment of God (s.w.t.), turn their backs and go away?
It is clear that the unbelief of the Jews, their deviation from the true belief and their lack of faith are the cause of their turning away from the Torah, and at the same time of their refusing the Prophet’s judgment.
5:44 — We sent down the Torah containing guidance and light
We sent down the Torah containing guidance and light. The prophets, who had submitted, judged by it for the Jews, and so did the rabbis and the scribes, as they were charged to preserve the Book of Allah and were witnesses to it. So do not fear the people, but fear Me, and do not sell My signs for a paltry gain. Those who do not judge by what Allah has sent down—it is they who are the faithless.
God (the Mighty and Majestic) describes the Torah as light and guidance, just as He describes the noble Qur’an and the Gospel. But what is meant by these two descriptions is the original, unabrogated Torah, which contained the teachings of the prophets who came after Mūsā. The prophets who guarded and preserved the rulings of the Torah, and judged by it among the Jews with full sincerity and submission before the truth, were guides and light in their own age according to those laws and heavenly books; their likeness is that of a lamp that lights up what is around it.
The godly scholars had a deep bond with God (s.w.t.), and the rabbis were the pride of society thanks to their righteous deeds. All of them were true guardians of the heavenly book, and they preserved it so that it would not be tampered with, distorted, or interpreted by personal opinion at the hands of outsiders. These godly scholars should not fear people; rather, they must fear God, Exalted, alone, just as they must confront those who want to buy the goods of this world with the divine rulings. For those who have power, authority, influence and rule, yet hold back and do not judge according to the divine religion, and keep silent about making the truth known: those are the faithless, truly.
5:45 — In it We prescribed for them
In it We prescribed for them: a life for a life, an eye for an eye, a nose for a nose, and an ear for an ear, a tooth for a tooth, and retaliation for wounds. Yet whoever remits it out of charity, that shall be an atonement for him. Those who do not judge by what Allah has sent down—it is they who are the wrongdoers.
This noble verse calls the Jews to act according to the rulings of the Torah, setting out an example of its rulings on rights and society: the divine ruling on retaliation (qiṣāṣ). God (s.w.t.) decreed for the Jews in the Torah the ruling of a life for a life, a like for a like in the other limbs, and proportion in wounds. But on the basis of other verses, together with the sunnah of the greatest Messenger (s.a.w.) and the infallible Imams (a.s.), the unrestricted wording of this verse has been qualified in the three branches mentioned.
The heir of the blood (in retaliation for killing) and the injured and wounded person (in retaliation for limbs and wounds) are the holders of the right. They may pardon, and that will be an expiation for their sins; and if they do not pardon, no one may prevent them from taking retaliation, and so the offender is bound to accept the retaliation. The holder of the right may also pardon part of his right and then come to a settlement with the offender over what remains of it.
So whoever has the authority to judge and rule, and whose ruling is binding and in force, but does not judge by what God has sent down and stands in the way of carrying out retaliation, is among the wrongdoers.
5:46 — We followed them with Jesus son of Mary
We followed them with Jesus son of Mary, to confirm that which was before him of the Torah, and We gave him the Evangel containing guidance and light, confirming what was before it of the Torah, and as guidance and advice for the Godwary.
The caravans of the prophets and messengers (a.s.), with their books and laws, can be likened to a poem of divine revelation and its rhyme: all of them move in the direction of tawḥīd and revelation. The noble verse points out that God (s.w.t.) sent ʿĪsā (a.s.) in the footsteps of the messengers who came before him among the Children of Israel, and he confirmed the rulings and teachings of the Torah that had not been abrogated. And He sent down to him the Gospel, the heavenly book in which there is guidance and light, like the noble Qur’an, which is guidance and light.
The true Gospel, like its bearer ʿĪsā (a.s.), confirms the rulings and teachings of the Torah, and contains special guidance and exceptional counsel for the Godwary. The word “confirming” at the beginning of the noble verse refers to ʿĪsā (a.s.), while the second refers to the Gospel itself. The first guidance is attributed to the general, universal and doctrinal lines, while the second guidance refers to the purification, morals and counsel that the Gospel contains for the Godwary; so the verse contains no repetition.
The word Injīl (Gospel) means glad tidings and joyful news. God (s.w.t.) sent down the Gospel, and the teachings in it, to ʿĪsā (a.s.) as glad tidings for him and for the Godwary; and perhaps the real glad tidings after which the Gospel was named are the glad tidings of the coming of the Seal of the Prophets (s.a.w.).
5:47 — Let the people of the Evangel judge by what Allah has sent down in it
Let the people of the Evangel judge by what Allah has sent down in it. Those who do not judge by what Allah has sent down—it is they who are the transgressors.
There is a sin shared by the Jews and the Christians, which is not following the teachings of revelation. After the noble Qur’an warned the people of the Torah against unbelief and injustice, because they distorted the heavenly book and did not judge according to divine revelation (what God has sent down), God (s.w.t.) calls the people of the Gospel (the Christians) to follow the heavenly revelation (the Gospel), and warns them of the consequences of not judging according to the divine book and of falling into transgression (fisq, unbelief in practice).
The universal major premise at the end of the noble verse includes the Muslims too, even though its apparent sense indicates that it is particular to the Christians; just as the endings of the previous verses also refer to everyone.
This verse and the verses before it make clear the deviation of the scholars of the People of the Book from the roots and branches of religion.
5:48 — We have sent down to you the Book with the truth
We have sent down to you the Book with the truth, confirming what was before it of the Book and as a guardian over it. So judge between them by what Allah has sent down, and do not follow their desires against the truth that has come to you. For each [community] among you We had appointed a code [of law] and a path, and had Allah wished He would have made you one community, but [His purposes required] that He should test you in respect to what He has given you. So take the lead in all good works. To Allah shall be the return of you all, whereat He will inform you concerning that about which you used to differ.
After setting out the aim of sending down the Torah and the Gospel and pointing to some of their features, God (s.w.t.) mentions in this noble verse some of the qualities and distinctions of the noble Qur’an. He assures His Messenger (s.a.w.) that He has sent it down to him from His presence with the truth, confirming all the earlier heavenly books, and that it stands guard over them and prevails over them all. Then He commands him to judge between people according to the noble Qur’an, and not to follow people’s desires after the truth has come to him.
God, Exalted, has appointed for every prophet and community a law and a way. Had He (s.w.t.) willed, He would have made people one community and given them one law; but the difference of laws and the multiplicity of ways is part of the divine test. People must race one another in good works toward God and compete honourably in this, so that all may know that their return is to God (the Mighty and Majestic), and He will inform them on the Day of Resurrection about what they used to differ over.
5:49 — Judge between them by what Allah has sent down
Judge between them by what Allah has sent down, and do not follow their desires. Beware of them lest they should beguile you from part of what Allah has sent down to you. But if they turn their backs [on you], then know that Allah desires to punish them for some of their sins, and indeed many of the people are transgressors.
After God (s.w.t.) commanded His Prophet (s.a.w.) in the previous verse to judge between the People of the Book by what God has sent down and to avoid their selfish desires, He commands him in this verse to judge by what God has sent down. The reason for the repetition is either that the subjects differ (judging by the law of Mūsā (a.s.) in killing), or to show the importance of the matter, so that those with designs would stop troubling and harming the Prophet (s.a.w.).
The prohibition, as a matter of duty, addressed to the noble Messenger (s.a.w.) against following the desires and inclinations of others does not conflict with his infallibility at all. For infallibility is a settled trait of knowledge that does not take away the infallible person’s power to commit sin; rather, the infallible person does not do so because he knows the reality of sin, that it is fire and poison.
As for the turning away of the worshippers of appetite from the divine ruling, it goes back to their lack of faith and their persistence in committing sins, and so they deserved a painful punishment. But God (the Mighty and Majestic) takes them to task only for some of their sins, not all of them.
The description “transgressors” (fāsiq) in the verse is an active participle and carries a sense of an occurring act; that is, many people transgress at times, but the quality of transgression is not fixed in them. Even so, their transgression and their turning away from the judgment of the greatest Messenger (s.a.w.) can become a fixed quality in them, and in that case God (s.w.t.) leaves them to themselves.
5:50 — Do they seek the judgement of [pagan] ignorance
Do they seek the judgement of [pagan] ignorance? But who is better than Allah in judgement for a people who have certainty?
After setting out the cause of the turning away of the people of desire from the divine command, this noble verse sets out the results of that, and then the end that awaits those who turn away.
The people of desire want a judgment of the age of ignorance (jāhiliyyah) through and through, and so you see them swerve from accepting the divine judgment and refuse to submit to it. Whoever claims Islamic government, but whose judgment and rulings the Household of Prophethood (a.s.) do not accept, his judgment and rulings are those of the age of ignorance.
What is meant by the word “better” is designation, not comparison; for the judgment of God, Exalted, is the best without qualification, while there is no goodness in the judgment of others set against the judgment of God (the Mighty and Majestic). The judgment of God (s.w.t.) is not better only for the people of certainty; it is good and true always and for everyone, and everything besides it is ugly and false. Only those of sound reason and the people of certainty submit to God’s (s.w.t.) judgment and make the fullest use of it.
5:51 — O you who have faith! Do not take the Jews and the Christians for allies
O you who have faith! Do not take the Jews and the Christians for allies: they are allies of each other. Any of you who allies with them is indeed one of them. Indeed Allah does not guide the wrongdoing lot.
This verse is a prelude to the questions of allegiance and disavowal (al-tawallī wa al-tabarrī), and likewise the questions of guardianship (wilāyah), leadership and the appointment of the guardian.
God (s.w.t.) has forbidden the faithful to form any bond of allegiance between themselves and the Christians and the Jews, whether that allegiance takes the form of love for them, help for them, making pacts with them, or accepting their guardianship. For they take no one as allies but themselves, and they have not taken the faithful as allies; so love and help for them would be love and help from one side only. If one of the faithful took them as allies, he would in reality have submitted to accepting their religion, and so be counted among them, that is, among the wrongdoers. For the human being is the child of his belief and the offspring of the desires of his heart, not the child of the outward appearance and the tongue; and God (s.w.t.) deprives the wrongdoers of His guidance.
5:52 — Yet you see those in whose hearts is a sickness rushing to them
Yet you see those in whose hearts is a sickness rushing to them, saying, ‘We fear lest a turn of fortune should visit us.’ Maybe Allah will bring about a victory, or a command from Him, and then they will be regretful for what they kept secret in their hearts,
The Muslims whose hearts are sick (the politically sick at heart) are with the faithless in their hearts. For this reason they hurry to be present among the Jews and the Christians, so that they may benefit from them and take refuge with them when misfortunes come, heedless that misfortune may strike these Jews and Christians themselves. Since the noble Qur’an is a healing that treats moral, economic, political and other ailments, especially hypocrisy and weakness of faith, it exposed their hidden secret and counted their assumption false. So it says: it may be that the Muslims will benefit from the help and care of God, Exalted, and so gain victory; and then these simple-minded people will regret what they kept secret in their souls, for then the time for repentance will have passed and there will be no remedy; and loss and punishment will await them all.
The use of the word “may” (ʿasā) in the speech of God (the Mighty and Majestic) is only with regard to the outward act that is subject to change. Its meaning is that God (s.w.t.) will prepare the ground for it to come about, but the human being must carry out his own duty.
5:53 — and the faithful will say
and the faithful will say, ‘Are these the ones who swore by Allah with solemn oaths that they were with you?!’ Their works have failed, and they have become losers.
What this noble verse conveys is the reasoning of the true faithful toward the politically sick at heart, who swore solemn oaths and strong vows to the enemies of Islam that they were truly with them; and so their deeds came to nothing and they became among the losers.
5:54 — O you who have faith! Should any of you desert his religion
O you who have faith! Should any of you desert his religion, Allah will soon bring a people whom He loves and who love Him, [who will be] humble towards the faithful, stern towards the faithless, waging jihad in the way of Allah, not fearing the blame of any blamer. That is Allah’s grace, which He grants to whomever He wishes, and Allah is all-bounteous, all-knowing.
After warning against the apostasy of the hypocrites, this noble verse points out that if the sick at heart resolve to turn back from their religion as a result of taking the Jews and the Christians as allies, aiming to weaken Islam, God, Exalted, will bring others better than them.
These people are those who love God (s.w.t.), who are humble toward the faithful and mighty against the faithless, who strive in the way of God (the Mighty and Majestic), and who never fear the blame of anyone who blames.
Imam al-Mahdī (a.s.) and his companions are the most complete instance of this noble verse, even though it is not confined to them. For it indicates that they are a people, not a particular person, and that they will come in the future, not at the time the noble verse came down; so their qualities are everlasting, lasting, unfading and not temporary.
God (s.w.t.), who possesses great grace, favours whom He loves as His wisdom requires. He has kept them in reserve to help the oppressed; to God (s.w.t.) belong great power and ample blessing, and He knows all things; so He is able to bring such a people to help His noble religion.
5:55 — Your guardian is only Allah
Your guardian is only Allah, His Apostle, and the faithful who maintain the prayer and give the zakat while bowing down.
The guardian of believers is God, His Messenger, and some believers who give zakāt while bowing in their prayers.
On the Summary page · Read the commentary on 5:55 →
5:56 — Whoever takes for his guardians Allah
Whoever takes for his guardians Allah, His Apostle and the faithful [should know that] the confederates of Allah are indeed the victorious.
The faithful must be worthy of allegiance (tawallī). Whoever takes as guardian God (s.w.t.), His Messenger, and some of the faithful, that is, the infallible Imams (a.s.), is of the party of God, who are always the victors.
5:57 — O you who have faith! Do not take those who take your religion in derision and play
O you who have faith! Do not take those who take your religion in derision and play, from among those who were given the Book before you, and the infidels, as friends, and be wary of Allah, should you be faithful.
After forbidding allegiance with the Jews and the Christians, this noble verse stresses the prohibition of loving those among the faithless and the People of the Book who mock God’s (s.w.t.) religion and take it as play. It counts as reasons for this the faith and Godwariness of the faithful on the one hand, and the mockery of God’s religion and taking it as play on the part of the faithless and the People of the Book on the other; just as other verses mention matters such as the foolishness and rage of the faithless, their taking one another as allies, and their enmity toward the Muslims as reasons for forbidding taking them as allies and counting them as friends.
Mocking religion and the prophets (a.s.) was not particular to the time of the most noble Prophet (s.a.w.). Rather, it was the habit of the faithless in every age to mock their prophets and take God’s (s.w.t.) religion as play.
Those who mock religion, among the atheists, the polytheists, the People of the Book and the hypocrites, differ among themselves, but they are united in mocking religion, as in “unbelief is one creed”; for their hearts are alike in this respect, as He, Exalted, says of them: “their hearts are alike.”
Godwariness is a comprehensive matter that includes carrying out the obligations and leaving the forbidden. So the person of faith must be wary of God (s.w.t.) in his allegiance and his disavowal too, since these are among the basic matters of the radiant law; and a Muslim does not spend the night unconcerned with the basic matters of religion.
5:58 — When you call to prayer, they take it in derision and play
When you call to prayer, they take it in derision and play. That is because they are a people who do not exercise their reason.
One of the instances of the mockery and taking religion as play mentioned in the previous verse is mocking the call to prayer or the prayer itself.
The call to prayer is the adhān, the announcement of the time of prayer. And since the prayer is one of the pillars of religion, mocking it, or mocking the call to it, is mocking the root of religion. Mocking the adhān and the prayer springs from the foolishness and ignorance of the faithless; for whoever turns away from the upright creed of Ibrāhīm (a.s.) is a fool.
It should be clear that the faithless are of different groups in this. Some are deprived of theoretical reason, and so have not grasped the teachings of religion because of the weakness of their thinking. Some are deprived of practical reason, and fight Islam because Islam has shaken their false material interests. And a third group are deprived of both. The noble verse judges all of them to be “a people who do not reason.”
5:59 — Say, ‘O People of the Book
Say, ‘O People of the Book! Are you vindictive toward us for any reason except that we have faith in Allah and in what has been sent down to us, and in what was sent down before, and that most of you are transgressors?’
After pointing to the mockery of religion and its rulings by the People of the Book and the faithless in the previous verses, this verse commands the most noble Prophet (s.a.w.) to argue with them, disputing in the best way, and to say to them: we have faith in what was sent down to us and to those before us; is there any reason for your resentment of us other than this faith? On this basis, the reason for the resentment of the enemies, the faithless and the People of the Book, was faith in God (s.w.t.), the Qur’an and the heavenly books, as other noble verses also state plainly. And since some of the People of the Book were righteous people of faith seeking the truth, far from resentment and enmity, God, Exalted, attributed transgression to the others, who are more numerous than them; so He (s.w.t.) said: “and that most of you are transgressors.”
5:60 — Say, ‘Shall I inform you concerning something worse than that as a requital from Allah
Say, ‘Shall I inform you concerning something worse than that as a requital from Allah? Those whom Allah has cursed and with whom He is wrathful, and turned some of whom into apes and swine, and worshippers of fake deities! Such are in a worse situation and more astray from the right way.’
This is a continuation of the most noble Prophet’s (s.a.w.) argument with the Jews among the People of the Book, in the form of disputing in the best way, which made them aware of the ugliness of their deeds, so that it would become clear to them that they themselves are more deserving of what they say.
The terms “worse” and “more astray” carry a sense of designation, not comparison, though intending comparison on the basis of what the obstinate say is also not far-fetched. That is, if one supposed that the faith of the person of faith were ugly and he himself astray, then the deed of the one who is cursed and has incurred wrath is worse than that, and he himself is more astray.
Thawāb (requital) is in technical usage the opposite of punishment, but linguistically it is not confined to the recompense of good deeds.
In this noble verse God (s.w.t.) commands His Prophet to tell the faithless about evil and good, falsehood and right, so that, after the measure for testing people has been made clear, it becomes clear to them that they have become the object of the wrath and curse of God (s.w.t.), been turned into apes and swine, and worshipped al-ṭāghūt; and so by all of this they are more deserving of reproach and mockery.
These four descriptions, the wrath of God (s.w.t.), His curse, being transformed, and the worship of al-ṭāghūt, express their low standing and are a sign of the deviation of a group of the People of the Book, especially the Jews, from the path of truth that was established for them through other verses, and likewise from the path of the Torah and the Gospel.
5:61 — When they come to you, they say
When they come to you, they say, ‘We believe.’ Certainly, they enter with disbelief and leave with it, and Allah knows best as to what they have been concealing.
With this verse the warning about the Jews is completed; for they had set up people to have faith in Islam in the morning and disbelieve in it in the evening, so as to turn the Muslims back from their religion.
This verse is a report about a group of the Jews who came to the greatest Prophet (s.a.w.) and the faithful and said, “We have faith,” out of hypocrisy, while they were faithless. That is, they entered Islam faithless and left it the same; but they made a show of having found, after looking into it, that Islam was not worthy of faith, and so they disbelieved in it.
God (s.w.t.), who knows best what their breasts conceal, tore the masks from their faces and exposed them, so that it became clear to people that they left with unbelief just as they had entered Islam with it; and so too the strength, power and comprehensiveness of Islam became manifest.
5:62 — You see many of them actively engaged in sin and aggression
You see many of them actively engaged in sin and aggression, and consuming illicit gains. Surely, evil is what they have been doing.
After God (s.w.t.) made clear the inward unbelief of many of the Jews, in this verse He took up their hastening toward sin and aggression. For they thought sin was good and took pleasure in it, and for this reason they hastened toward it; just as the hypocrites thought their love for the faithless was good, and kept hastening to take them as allies.
So the use of “they hasten” instead of “they do” points either to the sweetness of sin in their eyes, or to sarcasm and mockery.
“Sin” (ithm) is general, and so includes “aggression” and “the unlawful” (suḥt) too; mentioning these two after it is emphasis, by way of mentioning the particular after the general. It is also possible that what is meant by “sin” is sin of the tongue, and by “aggression” and “the unlawful”, sin in action; for separating them cuts off their sharing.
5:63 — Why do not the rabbis and the scribes forbid them from sinful speech and consuming…
Why do not the rabbis and the scribes forbid them from sinful speech and consuming illicit gains? Surely, evil is what they have been working.
Sin was prevalent among the Jews, especially devouring the unlawful and aggression among them. So God, Exalted, rebuked the godly scholars and the rabbis: what keeps you from speaking out against their committing sins, when your duty is to stand against every sin and rise to forbid what is wrong?
The silence of the Jewish scholars toward the sins of the Jews is uglier and worse; so He pointed to the ugliness of their work at the end of the verse with His words: “Evil indeed is what they have been doing (yaṣnaʿūn).”
Ṣanʿah (craft) is any work accompanied by beauty and artistry, and it is more than mere work. For the conservative Jewish scholars thought this craft of theirs was artistry and cleverness, like the transgressors who were the greatest losers in their deeds: “while they suppose they are doing good work.”
5:64 — The Jews say, ‘Allah’s hand is tied up.’ Tied up be their hands
The Jews say, ‘Allah’s hand is tied up.’ Tied up be their hands, and cursed be they for what they say! No, His hands are wide open: He bestows as He wishes. Surely many of them will be increased in rebellion and unfaith by what has been sent to you from your Lord, and We have cast enmity and hatred amongst them until the Day of Resurrection. Every time they ignite the flames of war, Allah puts them out. They seek to cause corruption on the earth, and Allah does not like the agents of corruption.
After setting out the ugliness of the deeds of the Jews, this verse points to their unbelief in speech, where they said: “God’s hand is tied up.” This saying was either their explicit statement, or what appeared from their false belief in delegation (tafwīḍ) and their denial of badāʾ. That is, since they believed that God, Exalted, is not able to change the universe, nor to abrogate the law, His hand was tied; and they were heedless that the hand of God, Exalted, is open wide in creation and legislation, and that His power in every state is not bounded by any limit.
The “hand” in the noble verse indicates blessing, the bounty of God, Exalted, and His provision, by two pieces of evidence; what is meant in the verse is not the bodily limb:
His words, Exalted, “Tied up be their hands”, which look to the stinginess and greed of the Jews.
His words, Exalted, “Rather, His hands are wide open”, which point to the bounty and generosity of God (the Mighty and Majestic).
God, the All-Knowing, the All-Aware, the All-Powerful, has guaranteed the provision of every people, and He provides for them according to His wise will; that is, He provides for them in its time and in due measure, so that it does not lead to the rebellion of His servants.
The Jews attributed ugly stinginess to God (s.w.t.), while they themselves were stingy, with tied hands, as God, Exalted, described them: “Tied up be their hands”. This phrase does not convey a prayer against them, so that it would be rendered as God, Exalted, making their hands tied.
The Jews were driven far from the mercy of God, Exalted, and cursed for the unbelief they uttered: “and they are cursed for what they said.” Their ugly qualities, such as rebellion, unbelief, discord, war and corruption, were all the result of their false belief on the one hand, and the hold of arrogance over their selves on the other.
The casting of enmity among them by God (the Mighty and Majestic), “and We have cast enmity and hatred among them”, is like leading astray: it is by way of recompense, not at the outset; and it remains among them until the Day of Resurrection, since it is the result of their false beliefs and their lasting ugly character.
Among the base qualities of the Jews is waging war against Islam and the Muslims, which God, Exalted, promised to put out, saying: “Every time they ignite the fire of war, God puts it out.”
This group of the Jews, besides their corruption in character, were also workers of corruption in the land, and spent all their efforts in spreading corruption on the face of the earth; so God will never love them, for He (s.w.t.) does not love the workers of corruption.
5:65 — Had the People of the Book believed and been Godwary
Had the People of the Book believed and been Godwary, We would surely have absolved them of their misdeeds and admitted them into gardens of bliss.
If the People of the Book, especially the Jews among them, refrain from stubbornness, obstinacy and corruption, and then have faith and are Godwary, God (s.w.t.) will wipe away from them the evil deeds they did and admit them to gardens of bliss. The way of repentance is open to the Jews and the Christians to make up for what came from them before, through faith and Godwariness, on the basis of “Islam cuts off what came before it”; so they will be saved from the Fire and enter the Garden.
To be saved from the Fire and enter the Garden one needs the two wings of faith and Godwariness, and that is the reason for mentioning Godwariness beside faith here. Faith saves from unbelief and its consequences, but not from the consequences of transgression and corruption; and the transgressor will be held hostage by the Fire tomorrow.
5:66 — Had they observed the Torah and the Evangel
Had they observed the Torah and the Evangel, and what was sent down to them from their Lord, they would surely have drawn nourishment from above them and from beneath their feet. There is an upright group among them, but evil is what many of them do.
The previous verse discussed the way for the People of the Book to be saved from the fire of Hell and to enter the everlasting garden through faith and Godwariness. In this verse that universal principle is restated under another heading, namely upholding (iqāmah) the heavenly books. Upholding them is other than having faith in them; what is meant by upholding is acting on them and carrying out their commands. For acting on them brings freedom from the poverty of this world, the enjoyment of its blessings and ease in economic matters too; indeed, through it one benefits from the provisions of heaven and earth and their blessings, material and spiritual, outward and inward.
There is a close and necessary link between faith and Godwariness on the one hand, and salvation from the Fire and entry into the Garden on the other; and likewise between collective faith and Godwariness and ampleness in this world. On the basis of the first link, every person or group is saved from the Fire by faith and Godwariness and enters the Garden; while the second link is conditional on the faith of most of the members of that society, so that they may benefit from the blessings of heaven and earth. The secret of the difference between them is the difference between the individual order of the Hereafter and the collective order of this world.
Religion is only for setting this world right and building up the Hereafter. Setting this world right is not achieved except by applying the rulings of the heavenly book, and the second is not achieved except by faith and righteous deeds.
Then the noble Qur’an praised a group of the People of the Book who were Godwary and doers of good, and set them apart from most of them, who were faithless and doers of evil, saying: “Among them is a moderate community, but many of them, evil is what they do.”
5:67 — O Apostle! Communicate that which has been sent down to you from your Lord
O Apostle! Communicate that which has been sent down to you from your Lord, and if you do not, you will not have communicated His message, and Allah shall protect you from the people. Indeed Allah does not guide the faithless lot.
The Most Noble Prophet (s.a.w.) is the Messenger of God Almighty and the means by which His revelation is conveyed to the people. Every shortcoming in conveying the revelation therefore counts, to that extent, as a shortcoming in communicating the message; but a shortcoming in communicating some of the commands, especially the important ones, means that the duty of the mission goes unfulfilled at its very root. The fact that this verse gives no indication of what this revelation of God (s.w.t.) actually is, is a sign of its greatness, its lofty standing and the extent of its importance, even though two of its features are mentioned in it: 1. Not communicating it is equivalent to not communicating the religion at its root. 2. Communicating it gives rise to fear on the part of the Greatest Prophet (s.a.w.).
On the other hand, that important revelation is neither the whole of the religion nor one of its subsidiary matters; rather, it is one of its principles, and in its application it is realised only through the wilāyah of ʿAlī ibn Abī Ṭālib (a.s.) and his imāmah. For this reason God (s.w.t.) warned with a threat should he fail to communicate [it], and then promised to protect the Most Noble Messenger (s.a.w.) from harm by the people, from the schemes of the unbelievers and from the rancour of the opponents of the religion.
On the Summary page · Read the commentary on 5:67 →
5:68 — Say, ‘O People of the Book
Say, ‘O People of the Book! You do not stand on anything until you observe the Torah and the Evangel and what was sent down to you from your Lord.’ Surely many of them will be increased in rebellion and unfaith by what has been sent down to you from your Lord. So do not grieve for the faithless lot.
Each of the Jews and the Christians saw itself as being in the right, and for this reason they said to the Muslims: you will never enter the Garden unless you are Jews or Christians. So God (s.w.t.) told His greatest Prophet (s.a.w.) to say to them: you stand on nothing until you uphold what is in the Torah, the Gospel and the noble Qur’an. Upholding the heavenly books is only standing firm on the path of action and remaining settled in it.
Many of the People of the Book deny that the Qur’an is the truth, and so they show enmity to the Muslims and bear rancour toward them. For this reason, the verses of the noble Qur’an sent down to them from God (s.w.t.) only increase them in rebellion and unbelief. Then God (s.w.t.) forbade His most noble Prophet (s.a.w.) to grieve over those who have taken unbelief as their way and path.
5:69 — Indeed the faithful, the Jews
Indeed the faithful, the Jews, the Sabaeans, and the Christians—those who have faith in Allah and the Last Day and act righteously—they will have no fear, nor will they grieve.
The success of the human being depends on his faith in God (s.w.t.) and the Last Day and on doing righteous deeds. Whoever has faith and does righteous deeds is far from fear and grief; for such people, faithful and doing righteous deeds, hope for what God, Exalted, has promised to give in the Hereafter, and they feel no loss in what they have done.
Then, faith and righteous deeds benefit only when they agree with the proof of each age. For their benefit to be realised, one must believe in the prophet of each age and act on what he brings. For this reason it is inconceivable that the Jews, the Sabians and the Christians should be free of fear of the punishment of God (s.w.t.), when they do not have faith in the prophet of their time, even if they had faith in their own prophet in his time.
5:70 — Certainly We took a pledge from the Children of Israel
Certainly We took a pledge from the Children of Israel, and We sent apostles to them. Whenever an apostle brought them that which was not to their liking, they would impugn a part of them, and a part they would slay.
After mentioning the good effects of faith and righteous deeds and the evil effects of unbelief and disobedience, God (the Mighty and Majestic) in this verse sets out the grounds for the unreliability of the People of the Book, especially the Jews among them.
What is drawn from the beginning of the noble verse and its many emphases is that God, Exalted, took a solemn covenant from the Children of Israel, especially their scholars, by way of the messengers. But they turned away from accepting the truth and submitting to the signs of God (s.w.t.) because they followed their desires; and since they were always arrogant, they set about calling some of the prophets liars and killing others.
5:71 — They supposed there would be no testing
They supposed there would be no testing, so they became blind and deaf. Thereafter Allah accepted their repentance, yet [again] many of them became blind and deaf, and Allah watches what they do.
The Jews saw themselves as better than others and supposed that there would be no trial and no punishment for them, that God, Exalted, would not punish them. Starting from this, they saw themselves as free to commit the crimes and sins they committed. The noble Qur’an has stated plainly that they, like other unjust nations, deserve punishment and chastisement. The punishment for their crimes, calling some of the prophets (a.s.) liars and killing others, is inward blindness and deafness. Then God (s.w.t.) turned to a group of them in forgiveness, but many of these who had repented were afflicted once again with inward blindness and deafness.
The repetition of “they became blind and deaf” is only to except a small group who did not go astray after their awakening and repentance.
His words, “and God sees what they do”, besides setting out the breadth of the sight of God, Exalted, establish that the love and wrath of God (s.w.t.) do not obstruct His sight; unlike the human being, who is affected by love and hatred because of his weakness and limitation, and so through them passes a judgment that is not sound.
5:72 — They are certainly faithless who say
They are certainly faithless who say, ‘Allah is the Messiah, son of Mary.’ But the Messiah had said, ‘O Children of Israel! Worship Allah, my Lord, and your Lord. Indeed whoever ascribes partners to Allah, Allah shall forbid him [entry into] paradise, and his refuge shall be the Fire, and the wrongdoers will not have any helpers.’
After refuting the false beliefs of the Jews, this verse proceeds to refute some of the vain suppositions of the Christians. First, at the beginning of the verse, it calls the belief in the divinity of Jesus son of Mary disbelief (kufr); then it points to the invalidity of this baseless notion with several arguments:
The expression “the Messiah, son of Mary” (al-Masīḥ ibn Maryam) which indicates his created nature, because the child of a created being is certainly created, and a created being can never be a deity, since divinity is inseparable from lordship (rubūbiyya) and lordship is inseparable from creatorship.
The sentence “worship God, my Lord and your Lord” (uʿbudū Allāh rabbī wa rabbakum) is Jesus’s confession of servitude, so he himself did not claim divinity.
One who believes in that personage’s partnership in divinity is deprived of Paradise and his place is the Fire.
The deprivation of the polytheist (mushrik) from Paradise and his being destined for Hell is a constitutive (takwīnī) ruling, not a legislative (tashrīʿī) one.
From the sentence “and there are no helpers for the wrongdoers” (wa mā lil-ẓālimīn min anṣār) it becomes clear that polytheism (shirk) is wrongdoing (ẓulm) and the polytheist is a wrongdoer (ẓālim), because an apparent noun has been brought instead of a pronoun.
On the Summary page · Read the commentary on 5:72 →
5:73–74 — They are certainly faithless who say
(73) They are certainly faithless who say, ‘Allah is the third [person] of a trinity,’ while there is no god except the One God. If they do not relinquish what they say, there shall befall the faithless among them a painful punishment. (74) Will they not repent to Allah and plead to Him for forgiveness? Yet Allah is all-forgiving, all-merciful.
The ultimate outcome of placing God alongside His creatures such as Jesus and inclining toward the Trinity is to disbelieve in and deny God, while there is no god other than the One God. Deliberate and conscious belief in the Trinity and not repenting and being unreceptive to the prohibition of this invites divine punishment and eternal ruin. Nevertheless, in the second verse, the path has been left open for these followers of falsehood, and they have been encouraged to repent and heed God’s prohibition.
On the Summary page · Read the commentary on 5:73–74 →
5:75 — The Messiah, son of Mary, is but an apostle
The Messiah, son of Mary, is but an apostle. Certainly, [other] apostles have passed before him, and his mother was a truthful one. Both of them would eat food. Look how We clarify the signs for them, and yet, look, how they go astray!
Jesus (ʿĪsā), son of Mary, like other messengers, had no position other than messengership (risāla) and is a contingent and perishable being. Just as he believed in divine lordship (rubūbiyyat ilāhī) and called to it, his mother also confirmed the lordship of the Truth and divine revelation (waḥy ilāhī). Jesus and his mother both needed nourishment, while God is independent of everything.
Among the characteristics of the Qur’an is establishing proof (iqāmat burhān) in a simple manner for the understanding of the masses; but Christians turn away from these proofs.
On the Summary page · Read the commentary on 5:75 →
5:76 — Say, ‘Do you worship, besides Allah
Say, ‘Do you worship, besides Allah, what has no power to bring you any benefit or harm, while Allah—He is the All-hearing, the All-knowing?!’
How can one who owns no kind of benefit or harm—such as life and death and other things—for human beings be worshipped? The miracles (muʿjizāt) of Moses and Jesus were also by God’s permission and they had no independent share in this regard, so you should worship the One who is All-Hearing and All-Knowing of everything.
On the Summary page · Read the commentary on 5:76 →
5:77 — Say, ‘O People of the Book
Say, ‘O People of the Book! Do not unduly exceed the bounds in your religion and do not follow the fancies of a people who went astray in the past, and led many astray, and [themselves] strayed from the right path.’
Following the separate refutation of the false beliefs of each of the Jews and Christians, this verse refers to their common false beliefs, one of which is excess (ghuluww) in religion, which is of two types:
Extremism (ifrāṭ): The Jews considered Ezra and the Christians considered the Messiah to be the son of God.
Negligence (tafrīṭ): The Jews, due to their enmity toward the Messiah (a.s.), referred to him as the son of an unchaste woman - God forbid
Thus the People of the Scripture, influenced by the disbelief and atheism of the polytheists, were caught up in wrongful extremism and negligence in religion.
If excess (ghuluww) means transgressing the necessary limit, it will have two divisions: right and wrong; in this case, the qualification “beyond the truth” (ghayr al-ḥaqq) is restrictive and the prohibition of the verse does not include going to excess in truth. However, if it means transgressing the permissible measure - apparently this is what the verse means - it will not have a right division; in this case, the qualification “beyond the truth” is certainly explanatory and emphatic, rather than restrictive.
A person should be independent minded (muḥaqqiq) when accepting beliefs. Even if he is a follower of others (muqallid), he should be independent minded in who he chooses to follow and he should not blindly follow the desires of those who worship their desires and the misguided hedonists (rabbis and monks or disbelievers and polytheists), because following the carnal desires (hawā nafsānī) of others is a cause of misguidance.
The misguidance of the soul (ḍalālat al-nafs) and the misleading of those who worship their desires becomes a cause of their misguidance and separation from the straight path.
On the Summary page · Read the commentary on 5:77 →
5:78–79 — The faithless among the Children of Israel were cursed on the tongue of David and Jesus…
(78) The faithless among the Children of Israel were cursed on the tongue of David and Jesus son of Mary. That, because they would disobey and they used to commit transgression. (79) They would not forbid one another from the wrongs that they committed. Surely, evil is what they had been doing.
After forbidding the People of the Book to go to excess and to follow the desires of a people misguided and misguiding, such as the rabbis, the monks and the polytheists, in these verses God (s.w.t.) cursed the Children of Israel for their disobedience, their transgression and their not refraining from wrongdoing. God’s (s.w.t.) curse means being deprived of His special mercy.
In these verses the Children of Israel were cursed on the tongue of Dāwūd and of ʿĪsā son of Maryam (a.s.). These verses, and the four verses after them, point to the causes of the curse falling on them: disobedience, transgression, not refraining, persisting in corruption, inclining to the polytheists and taking them as allies.
The deviation of the rabbis and monks and their abandoning of forbidding wrong, together with most people not refraining, caused corruption to spread through their society. Their end was to enter God’s (s.w.t.) punishment, abiding in it forever.
5:80 — You see many of them fraternizing with the faithless
You see many of them fraternizing with the faithless. Surely evil is what they have sent ahead for their souls, as Allah is displeased with them and they shall remain in punishment [forever].
One of the causes of the curse on the Children of Israel is their taking the faithless as allies (tawallī) and accepting their guardianship (wilāyah) in its various senses: help, love and control. Instead of allying themselves with the Christians or with the Muslims who held to the Oneness of God, the Jews allied themselves with the faithless. Their allegiance in love is real within the soul and the heart, and their allegiance in help and control appears outwardly. The recompense for both is the displeasure of God (the Mighty and Majestic) and abiding forever in the fire of Hell.
5:81 — Had they believed in Allah and the Prophet and what has been sent down to him
Had they believed in Allah and the Prophet and what has been sent down to him, they would not have taken them for allies. But most of them are transgressors.
The previous verse pointed to the painful punishment of those of the Children of Israel whom God, Exalted, cursed on the tongue of His prophets (a.s.). This noble verse makes clear that they had no faith in God, Exalted, in the greatest Prophet (s.a.w.) or in the revelation of the Exalted Lord, and likewise that their hearts resembled those of the faithless and that they took them as allies. It does this by way of an exceptive syllogism (qiyās istithnāʾī). It says: had they been people of faith, they would never have taken the faithless as allies in love, help and control; but many of them did take them as allies, so they are the transgressors, that is, they are not people of faith. What is meant by transgression (fisq) in the noble verse is faithlessness, as shown by its being set against faith.
The expression “taking as allies” (ittikhādh al-walī) in the noble verse is stronger than the expression “allegiance” (tawallī), because taking rests on actually making them so.
God, Blessed and Exalted, honoured the small faithful group among the People of the Book and excepted them from the rest. That is why He (s.w.t.) said: “but many of them are transgressors”.
5:82 — Surely You will find the most hostile of all people towards the faithful to be the Jews…
Surely You will find the most hostile of all people towards the faithful to be the Jews and the polytheists, and surely you will find the nearest of them in affection to the faithful to be those who say ‘We are Christians.’ That is because there are priests and monks among them, and because they are not arrogant.
After the vices of the People of the Book were mentioned, both those they share and those particular to each, this noble verse mentions how far or near they stand towards the faithful, in hatred and in love.
The shared roots should have meant a warm relationship between the followers of the heavenly religions. But two things caused the ties and bonds to fall apart: on the one hand, the deliberate alteration of the Torah and the Gospel by the rabbis and the monks; and on the other, the trait of arrogance and backwardness in some peoples. In the end they drew away from one another, wholly and in part.
The shared hostility of the polytheists, the Christians and the Jews towards Islam and against the Muslims is a settled fact. But the hostility of the Jews and the polytheists towards the Muslims was in some cases fiercer, while the affection of the Christians towards them was greater in other cases.
The reasons for the hostility of the Jews and the polytheists towards the faithful are, on the one hand, the arrogance and boastfulness in their souls, the hardness of their hearts, their love of the world and other vices; and, on the other, their lack of Godwary scholars and guides. On the basis of these qualities they fought their Prophet Mūsā (a.s.), the one who spoke with God, altered their Book, the Torah that was sent down to them, and then later killed their prophets without right.
The whole set of the Jews’ moral, social, economic, political and cultural vices led the noble Qur’an to present them as the fiercest of people in hostility to Islam and its faithful people.
As for the Christians, they benefited from their priests and monks, that is, their Godwary scholars, and they lacked arrogance and hardness of heart. For that reason they were more submissive and more humble before the truth, and so they were the nearest of people in affection and love to the faithful.
Yes, the deviation of the Christians in beliefs and outlooks, such as their deviation in the Oneness of God, was greater than that of the Jews: they spoke of the divinity of ʿĪsā the Messiah (a.s.), of his being the son of God, and of the trinity. But the moral, cultural, economic and social deviation of the Jews was greater than that of the Christians. That is why they were the fiercest of people in hostility and rancour towards the faithful.
5:83–84 — When they hear what has been revealed to the Apostle
(83) When they hear what has been revealed to the Apostle, you see their eyes fill with tears because of the truth that they recognize. They say, ‘Our Lord, we believe; so write us down among the witnesses. (84) Why should we not believe in Allah and the truth that has come to us, eager as we are that our Lord should admit us among the righteous people?’
This verse continues the preceding proofs and sets out the evidence for what was claimed in them, namely the nearness of the Christians to the faithful.
When the Christians hear the verses of God, Exalted, as they are revealed to the most noble Prophet (s.a.w.), their eyes overflow with tears. After coming to faith, they ask God, Exalted, the Bestower, to write them down among the witnesses.
The overflowing of tears is a sign of the Christians’ humility, which rests on the effect of the priests and monks among them, and on their not being arrogant. From this one learns the role of the scholar who acts on his knowledge in the culture and conduct of society.
Then this group of Christians say: Why should we not have faith in God, Exalted, and in what has been sent down to us, which is the truth? So they hold to the three roots of belief, the Oneness of God, prophethood and the Return, and they also hope to enter among the righteous.
5:85–86 — So, for what they said, Allah requited them with gardens with streams running in them
(85) So, for what they said, Allah requited them with gardens with streams running in them, to remain in them [forever], and that is the reward of the virtuous. (86) But those who are faithless and deny Our signs—they shall be the inmates of hell.
God, Exalted, made the Garden the recompense of the Christians who had faith in Him and in His greatest Messenger (s.a.w.), to abide in it forever, because they were among those who do good, and the recompense of those who do good is the Garden. In the second verse He made Hell the recompense of the faithless and the deniers, whether they are polytheists or People of the Book, that is, Jews and Christians. This is on the basis of joining promise and threat together.
5:87–88 — O you who have faith! Do not prohibit the good things that Allah has made lawful to you
(87) O you who have faith! Do not prohibit the good things that Allah has made lawful to you, and do not transgress. Indeed Allah does not like the transgressors. (88) Eat the lawful and good things Allah has provided you, and be wary of Allah in whom you have faith.
After pointing to some of the jurisprudential branches of Islam, these verses warn the faithful against the blameworthy monasticism of the Christians and against forbidding good things to themselves.
Forbidding good things may be done in law, by forbidding to oneself what God (s.w.t.) has made lawful; or in practice, by committing oneself to abandoning the lawful; or, thirdly, by forbidding others to partake of good things. Forbidding good things, in all its kinds, is a stand against the religion of God, Exalted, and does not fit with the faith of a person of faith either.
The two qualities “good” and “lawful” are the reasons for the prohibition in His words “do not forbid”. This is because forbidding things that are good, lawful, allowed and permitted by the holy Lawgiver is a transgression of the bounds of God, Exalted. Transgressing the bounds of God (s.w.t.) is of two kinds, both of them blameworthy:
First: going beyond the bounds of the lawful and committing the forbidden; this is going too far (ifrāṭ).
Second: excess in avoiding good things and going beyond moderation; this is falling short (tafrīṭ).
What is meant by “eat” in the second verse is every kind of use, not eating alone. This is because this group of Muslims who fell short had forbidden to themselves, besides eating good things, other things such as drinking, marriage (intercourse) and sleep. This is also what the general relative pronoun in His (s.w.t.) words “of what God has provided you” indicates.
His words “And eat of what God has provided you” convey permission to use, not obligation, because it is a command that follows a prohibition.
5:89 — Allah shall not take you to task for what is frivolous in your oaths
Allah shall not take you to task for what is frivolous in your oaths; but He shall take you to task for what you pledge in earnest. The atonement for it is to feed ten needy persons with the average food you give to your families, or their clothing, or the freeing of a slave. He who cannot afford [any of these] shall fast for three days. That is the atonement for your oaths when you vow. But keep your oaths. Thus does Allah clarify His signs for you so that you may give thanks.
Al-aymān (with fatḥah) is the plural of yamīn, meaning an oath. What counts in an oath is that it comes from conviction and will, so that its legal effects follow from it, both the defining rulings (taklīfī) and the declaratory rulings (waḍʿī). An oath without conviction and will is idle (laghw), and no ruling, defining or declaratory (expiation), arises from it. Besides, it is established in jurisprudence and law that the oath must be by God, Exalted, using the name of Majesty, that is, the word for God, or another of His beautiful names; otherwise an oath by anything else has no legal effect, defining or declaratory.
If the oath concerns the present or the future, and is made with conviction about a matter that is preferable, then breaking it makes expiation due.
Expiation (kaffārah) in law is a financial or non-financial penalty that the one who disobeyed pays to make up for his disobedience, in obedience to the command of God (s.w.t.). The expiation for an oath has two levels:
The first level is by choice: the one charged may choose between feeding ten poor people, clothing them, or freeing a slave who has faith.
The second level is fixed: the one charged must fast for three days if he is unable to carry out any of the three previous expiations.
Then, the faithful must avoid idle oaths, and also avoid breaking true oaths, so that the duty of paying the expiation for an oath does not fall on them.
5:90 — O you who have faith! Indeed wine
O you who have faith! Indeed wine, gambling, idols, and the divining arrows are abominations of Satan’s doing, so avoid them, so that you may be felicitous.
In this verse, after forbidding the prohibition of good things that He, Blessed and Exalted, made lawful, God (s.w.t.) forbade several things and counted them as filth from the work of Satan: wine, gambling, idols (anṣāb) and divining arrows (azlām). He forbade coming near them with an emphatic prohibition, so that the Jews and the Christians would not make them lawful and the Muslims would not do any of them. But it is the Muslims who benefit from the content of this verse, and for that reason the address in it is directed to them.
In this verse the prohibition of wine, gambling and the rest is set out with emphatic indications:
The nominal sentence at the start of the noble verse, especially with the particle of restriction, the word innamā.
Mentioning wine and gambling alongside idols and their worship, whose falsity and prohibition are beyond doubt.
Calling them filth (rijs), which shows the impurity and foulness of these things.
Their being the work of Satan, which he uses to lead people astray.
The command to avoid them, in His (s.w.t.) words “so avoid it”, which shows prohibition more strongly than a plain prohibition does.
Describing the outcome of obeying God’s (s.w.t.) commands and prohibitions in the noble verse as success: He, Exalted, said, “that you may succeed”. This is a theological ruling, but it can serve as an indication of the prohibition of these things.
5:91 — Indeed Satan seeks to cast enmity and hatred among you through wine and gambling
Indeed Satan seeks to cast enmity and hatred among you through wine and gambling, and to hinder you from the remembrance of Allah and from prayer. Will you, then, relinquish?
After setting out the ruling on drinking wine and gambling, jurisprudentially and theologically, this noble verse makes clear their evil effects, especially the social and moral ones, and mentions them among the aims of Satan. He, Exalted, said: Satan wants nothing by this except to cast enmity and hatred among people through wine and gambling, and he has no aim except to turn them away from the remembrance of God (the Mighty and Majestic) and to block His way to them. So people must obey the prohibitions of God, Exalted, and turn away from wine and gambling, because man is always charged with keeping his ties, his love and his unity with others, and with being forever attached to the most holy divine Essence.
5:92 — And obey Allah and obey the Apostle
And obey Allah and obey the Apostle, and beware; but if you turn your backs, then know that Our Apostle’s duty is only to communicate in clear terms.
To stress the duty of avoiding wine, gambling and the like, God (the Mighty and Majestic) commanded the faithful to obey God (s.w.t.) and His Messenger, and to avoid falling short in obeying them. Then He warned those who fall short in this that punishment and penalty await them, and that His Messenger has no duty but to convey clearly what was sent down to him.
His words “then know that only the clear conveying is incumbent upon Our Messenger” carry emphasis and threat. Besides this, they point to the fact that falling short in obeying the Messenger of God (s.a.w.) and his commands is falling short in obeying God (s.w.t.) and His commands, because the greatest Prophet (s.a.w.) has no mission but to convey what was sent down to him from God, Exalted.
The conveying is described as “clear” either to show that the conveying itself is clear and plain, or to show that his conveying makes the rulings of God, Exalted, clear and unveils them.
5:93 — There will be no sin upon those who have faith and do righteous deeds in regard to what…
There will be no sin upon those who have faith and do righteous deeds in regard to what they have eaten [in the past] so long as they are Godwary and faithful and do righteous deeds, and are further Godwary and faithful, and are further Godwary and virtuous. And Allah loves the virtuous.
Some people drank wine and gambled before the ruling forbidding these was revealed. God (s.w.t.) wished to make clear the position of these people, and that the law does not cover what they had done before. So He said: those who had faith and did righteous deeds bear no blame for the drinking of wine and the gambling they did before the ruling forbidding them was revealed, that is, before the proof against them was complete. If they were Godwary, had faith and did righteous deeds before this, then they must continue in this Godwariness, faith and righteous action, so that Godwariness becomes a settled trait in them, and on that basis they become doers of good.
The repetition of Godwariness in the noble verse, with each of the three levels mentioned, refers to the degrees of Godwariness and the necessity of its being firm. Doing good (iḥsān), in His words “then they were Godwary and did good”, necessarily means doing deeds in the best way. For the due of Godwariness is not fulfilled by mere faith in God, Exalted, and acknowledging that religion is true; rather, it needs faith in all the rulings in detail, and also doing good deeds on that basis.
5:94 — O you who have faith! Allah will surely test you with some of the game within the reach…
O you who have faith! Allah will surely test you with some of the game within the reach of your hands and spears, so that Allah may know those who fear Him in secret. So whoever transgresses after that, there is a painful punishment for him.
The prohibition of hunting for the one in iḥrām was made known briefly at the beginning of this sura. In these verses, that is, from the ninety-fourth to the ninety-ninth, its rulings are set out in detail, in the course of the stories of the Jews and the Christians.
God, the Exalted, certainly tests those in iḥrām with certain things: He puts before them much game, or many traps, to make clear who fears Him in the unseen and has faith in Him and in the Resurrection. Whoever transgresses in this test and hunts will have a painful punishment.
The knowledge in His words, Exalted, “that God may know who fears Him in the unseen” is God’s knowledge in action. It is drawn from the station of His (the Mighty and Majestic) action, not from the station of His Essence. So it is outside His Essence, Blessed and Exalted, and it is originated and has the other properties of what is created.
From the end of the noble verse it is understood that hunting on land is forbidden if a person does it deliberately, not if he does it through oversight or forgetfulness, because transgression happens only in that case.
5:95 — O you who have faith! Do not kill any game when you are in pilgrim sanctity
O you who have faith! Do not kill any game when you are in pilgrim sanctity. Should any of you kill it intentionally, its atonement, the counterpart from cattle of what he has killed, as judged by two fair men among you, will be an offering brought to the Ka‘bah, or an atonement by feeding needy persons, or its equivalent in fasting, that he may taste the untoward consequences of his conduct. Allah has excused what is already past; but should anyone resume, Allah shall take vengeance on him, for Allah is all-mighty, avenger.
After setting out the rulings on hunting while in iḥrām, in this verse He points, to complete them, to its expiation. If someone kills game deliberately, he must pay the expiation with an animal like the one he killed. If there is a dispute over what is like it, or over its value, the matter is then referred to the judgement of two just men among the Muslims.
The expiation for killing game has three options, if they are taken as a matter of choice and not of order. The duty is either to deliver an offering to Mecca, or (according to what is set out in detail in the narrations) to give its equivalent to the poor, or to fast if all of that is impossible.
The word “expiation” is mentioned between the first two options, in His words, Exalted, “or an expiation: feeding the poor”, to show that these options were ordained as punishment and rebuke. Those who killed game in iḥrām before the ruling forbidding it was revealed bear no sin and no expiation, because “God has pardoned what is past”. These words refer to the fact that hunting before the revelation of this verse was pardoned. They do not mean that one who hunts deliberately after its revelation is pardoned by God, Exalted, and freed from the duty to pay the expiation.
In any case, if one in iḥrām kills game deliberately after the revelation of this verse, he is one of those on whom God, Blessed and Exalted, takes vengeance. As for whether the expiation is due from him, the reference for that is the narrations transmitted on this subject.
5:96 — You are permitted the game of the sea and its food
You are permitted the game of the sea and its food, a provision for you and for the caravans, but you are forbidden the game of the land so long as you remain in pilgrim sanctity, and be wary of Allah toward whom you will be gathered.
After setting out the ruling on killing game in iḥrām, both the defining ruling (the prohibition) and the declaratory ruling (the duty of expiation), this noble verse mentions that the game that is forbidden is game of the land, not game of the sea. On this basis, game of the sea, and what is taken from it as food, are lawful for the one in iḥrām and for travellers. But game of the land is forbidden to the one in iḥrām in any form, with no difference between his doing it himself and his causing it.
What is meant by the game of the sea in His words “The game of the sea is made lawful to you” is a sea creature freshly caught. What is meant by “its food” in the noble verse is a sea creature caught earlier and salted, which was counted as a kind of food, that is, provision for the one in iḥrām and for travellers not in iḥrām.
What guarantees that these jurisprudential rulings are carried out is Godwariness against opposing the command of God (s.w.t.), to whom all people will be gathered.
5:97 — Allah has made the Ka‘bah
Allah has made the Ka‘bah, the Sacred House, a [means of] sustentation for mankind, and [also] the sacred month, the offering and the garlands, so that you may know that Allah knows whatever there is in the heavens and whatever there is in the earth, and that Allah has knowledge of all things.
God, Blessed and Exalted, made the Kaʿbah, the Sacred House, a strong and secure support for the uprightness and the standing of human society. He likewise made the sacred months, and the offering with garlands and the offering without them, causes and motives for people’s standing and their security. He named certain places as places of security, like the sanctuary (ḥaram) and the honoured Kaʿbah; certain times, like the sacred months; certain things, like the offering and the garlands; and He set certain precise rulings. All of this is only so that people may know that God, Exalted, knows all that is in the heavens and the earth, and that He knows best when to set security in time, place and thing, and when to make one thing lawful and another forbidden.
5:98–99 — Know that Allah is severe in retribution
(98) Know that Allah is severe in retribution, and that Allah is all-forgiving, all-merciful. (99) The Apostle’s duty is only to communicate and Allah knows whatever you disclose and whatever you conceal.
After mentioning the rulings of the sanctuary and of iḥrām, in these verses God, Exalted, brings encouragement and threat, to stress the duties that came before. He warns people against opposing them, since God, Exalted, is severe in retribution and at the same time forgiving and merciful. Then He mentions that the Prophet has no duty except to convey, conveying the revelation from God, Exalted. In this there is further emphasis and a sterner threat: he is not responsible for people and their deeds, and every soul is held in pledge for what it has earned. And God (s.w.t.) knows what they show and what they hide.
5:100 — Say, ‘The good and the bad are not equal
Say, ‘The good and the bad are not equal, though the abundance of the bad should amaze you.’ So be wary of Allah, O you who possess intellect, so that you may be felicitous!
In the age of ignorance the standard rested on falsehood, and on the abundant glitter that came at times from it and at other times from inheritance. That is, things revolved around purely material quantity and abundance, such that the standard was wealth, riches, owning many tools and a fine outward appearance that pleased the eye. They boasted of these and saw them as reasons for their arrogance over others.
God, Blessed and Exalted, mentions this standard in this noble verse, saying: the forbidden and the foul are never equal to the lawful and the good, and the first can in no way surpass the second, even if the foul is more pleasing than the good. For abundance does not bring merit. Rather, if the little has a special distinction, then it is the standard for merit and for what falls short of it. So, O people of understanding, be Godwary of God (s.w.t.), so that you do not hold the abundance of the foul and the abundance of the good to be equal; that is, understanding requires preferring the good over the foul.
5:101–102 — O you who have faith! Do not ask about things
(101) O you who have faith! Do not ask about things, which, if they are disclosed to you, will upset you. Yet if you ask about them while the Quran is being sent down, they shall be disclosed to you. Allah has excused it, and Allah is all-forgiving, all-forbearing. (102) Certainly some people asked about them before you and then came to disbelieve in them.
God, Exalted, created the order of the universe in such a way that He made some matters in it apparent and clear and others hidden and veiled. The best interest required setting out the rulings for some things and keeping silent about others, so that if the hidden were uncovered and the apparent concealed, the order would be thrown into disorder. On this basis the Creator, Exalted, forbade the faithful to ask about the things He had kept silent about, since uncovering them might harm them and at times bring them disgrace and faithlessness. This is although some matters connected with the occasion of revelation, exegesis, application, the inner interpretation (taʾwīl) of the outer and the inner, the divine teachings and the legal rulings would become clear to you if you asked about them while the Qur’an was being revealed. The meaning is: do not ask about what God (s.w.t.) has kept silent about and has not revealed to you. In any case, God (s.w.t.) will pardon asking about those things, for He is the Forgiving, the Forbearing.
Then God, Exalted, points out that what threatens the faithful is that some earlier peoples asked similar questions and then became faithless when it came to having faith in the answers or acting on them; so beware of being afflicted with their fate.
5:103–104 — Allah has not prescribed any such thing as Bahirah
(103) Allah has not prescribed any such thing as Bahirah, Sa’ibah, Waseelah, or Haam; but those who are faithless fabricate lies against Allah, and most of them do not exercise their reason. (104) When they are told, ‘Come to what Allah has sent down and [come] to the Apostle,’ they say, ‘Sufficient for us is what we have found our fathers following.’ What, even if their fathers did not know anything and were not guided?!
This verse points to some of the innovations and customs of the age of ignorance. The people of that age held that certain kinds of livestock (the baḥīrah, the sāʾibah and the ḥām among camels, and the waṣīlah among sheep) had rulings based on respect and on setting them free, in particular states and circumstances. Such an animal was not kept from pasture nor driven away from water, and every form of using it or benefiting from it was forbidden. That is, no one had the right to ride it, to load it, to slaughter it to eat its meat, to use its hide, and the like.
The people of innovation had attributed the prohibition of these animals to God, Exalted, lying and inventing against Him. The polytheists followed the innovators and did not know that these matters were customs of the age of ignorance and superstitions for which God (s.w.t.) had sent down no authority. So when they were called to follow the Prophet (s.a.w.) and what the revelation brought, they thought it enough to follow their fathers and forefathers and imitate them, even if these were innovating scholars or ignorant polytheists. In censuring this, the Creator, Exalted, stressed the falsity of imitating fathers who know nothing and are not guided.
5:105 — O you who have faith! Take care of your own souls
O you who have faith! Take care of your own souls. He who strays cannot hurt you if you are guided. To Allah will be the return of you all, whereat He will inform you concerning what you used to do.
The Creator, Exalted, had forbidden all people, and the polytheists in particular, to ask troublesome questions and to act on innovations concerning certain animals, and they did not obey His word. After this, He addressed the faithful about the need to obey the divine commands and to be guided, and reassured them that the misguidance and ignorance of these polytheists would not harm them at all. Since only the faithful and those who call to the truth take good advice and fine exhortation, He directed His address to them, so that they would work to refine their souls and attend to them, and not neglect the Oneness of God, the Return and choosing the right path.
The expression “ʿalaykum anfusakum” (take care of your own selves), which is a verbal interjection (ism fiʿl) meaning “hold fast to”, is used only because of the importance of the question of purifying the soul.
The sense of the phrase “he who goes astray cannot harm you when you are guided” is this: if the faithful carry out their legal duty, especially enjoining good and forbidding wrong, they will be guided, and the misguidance of the polytheists will not harm them (with no difference in this respect between the individual and society). So it is a mistake to say that the duty of enjoining good and forbidding wrong is not obligatory. First, the guided person is the one who keeps to all the duties, among them enjoining good and forbidding wrong. Second, enjoining and forbidding are instances of purifying the soul, even though guiding exhortation and preaching are instances of teaching the Book and wisdom.
In the inward journey and wayfaring, the human soul is both the one who moves and the road, and the destination and goal is God’s (s.w.t.) reward; that is why all people return to Him. Man will be told of his deeds on the Day of Resurrection, and so man remains in motion until meeting the Real, Exalted.
5:106 — O you who have faith! The witness between you
O you who have faith! The witness between you, when death approaches any of you, while making a bequest, shall be two fair men from among yourselves—or two from among others, if you are journeying in the land and the affliction of death visits you. You shall detain the two of them after the prayer, and, if you have any doubt, they shall vow by Allah, ‘We will not sell it for any gain, even if it were a relative, nor will we conceal the testimony of Allah, for then we would indeed be among the sinners.’
After the Creator, Exalted, reminded people that their return is to Him and that He will tell them what they did in the world, in this verse He urges them on the need to write a will before death and sets out its rulings.
The divine command concerning the will, which one should hasten to make when the signs of death appear, includes calling two just witnesses to that will, to avoid dispute and quarrel after death.
If, after the death of the one who made the will, the heirs are satisfied with the testimony of the two witnesses, they must act on it. If they doubt the words or the actions of the two witnesses, and do not feel safe from their altering the will, they must detain them after the prayer and ask them to swear to the truth of their testimony: that they will not use it for their own interests or for the benefit of their relatives, and that otherwise, that is, if they are treacherous in giving the testimony, they admit that they are among the sinners.
5:107 — But if it is found that both of them were guilty of a sin
But if it is found that both of them were guilty of a sin, then two others shall stand up in their place from among those nearest in kinship to the claimants and swear by Allah: ‘Our testimony is surely truer than their testimony, and we have not transgressed, for then we would indeed be among the wrongdoers.’
To complete the previous verse, the Creator, Exalted, mentions what happens if it becomes clear that what the two witnesses to the will said was otherwise, in a way that harms the family of the deceased Muslim and loses one of their rights. Then two other witnesses from the family of the deceased must be chosen in their place. They should swear by God that their testimony (their oath) is more true than the testimony of the previous two witnesses, and say: We have not wronged anyone in this testimony; otherwise we would be among the wrongdoers.
5:108 — That makes it likelier that they give the testimony in its genuine form
That makes it likelier that they give the testimony in its genuine form, or fear that other oaths will be taken after their oaths. Be wary of Allah and listen, and Allah does not guide the transgressing lot.
To complete the previous verses, this verse points to the wisdom in ordaining the rulings on witnessing a will. It mentions that asking the two witnesses to the will to take an oath, and then returning the oath to the heirs when the contrary is uncovered and lying and treachery in the testimony appear, is the nearest way to securing the truthfulness of the two witnesses, and a cause of their fearing disgrace if the contrary is uncovered. At its end the verse also urges everyone to follow Godwariness in giving testimony, stressing that treachery in testimony and lying in an oath are transgression and cause deprivation of divine guidance.
5:109 — The day Allah will gather the apostles and say
The day Allah will gather the apostles and say, ‘What was the response to you?’ They will say, ‘We have no knowledge. Indeed You are knower of all that is Unseen.’
After the previous verses set out some jurisprudential and legal rulings, this verse turns to the question of the Return, in order to guarantee that the divine rulings are carried out.
God (s.w.t.) will gather all the messengers on the Day of Resurrection and ask them about their nations and peoples: how did they answer the call of the divine leaders? The messengers reply: We have no knowledge of that, and You are the Knower of the unseen.
God’s (s.w.t.) question to the messengers (a.s.) about the duties of their nations, “What answer were you given?”, carries a kind of rebuke, reproach and censure.
What is meant by the phrase “We have no knowledge” is the denial of absolute knowledge of the unseen in itself (essential, eternal knowledge of the unseen), because absolute and essential knowledge of the unseen belongs to God alone. It is not a denial of knowledge as such, or of relative knowledge of the unseen.
Any other possible meaning of this phrase in the verse must be framed so that it does not affect the knowledge of the unseen of the perfect human being (the prophets), because the perfect human being undoubtedly knows the unseen. But according to the explanation of Imam al-Ṣādiq (a.s.) of His words, Exalted, “We have no knowledge”, these messengers say: “We have no knowledge of anything other than You.” That is, on the Day of Resurrection they pay attention to nothing but God; so they deny knowledge of themselves and refer the answer to God’s question to His knowledge, Majestic and Exalted, for He is the Knower of the unseen.
5:110 — When Allah will say, O Jesus son of Mary
When Allah will say, O Jesus son of Mary, remember My blessing upon you and upon your mother, when I strengthened you with the Holy Spirit, so you would speak to the people in the cradle and in adulthood, and when I taught you the Book and wisdom, the Torah and the Evangel, and when you would create from clay the form of a bird, with My leave, and you would breathe into it and it would become a bird, with My leave; and you would heal the blind and the leper, with My leave, and you would raise the dead, with My leave; and when I held off [the evil of] the Children of Israel from you when you brought them manifest proofs, whereat the faithless among them said, ‘This is nothing but plain magic.’
The context of address in this verse is the scene of the Day of Resurrection. God says to Jesus (a.s.): “Remember My blessing upon you and upon your mother...”
The sentences following the phrase “when I strengthened you with the Holy Spirit” (idh ayyadtuka bi-rūḥ al-qudus) serve as explanation and commentary (sharḥ wa tafsīr) and express the instances of divine support regarding Jesus (a.s.):
His speaking in childhood and adulthood equally; in terms of truthful and authentic preaching and invitation.
Learning the Book (kitāb), wisdom (ḥikma), the Torah (tawrāt) and the Gospel (injīl) through God’s teaching.
Making the form of a bird from clay and breathing into it and its coming to life by divine permission (idhn).
Healing the man who was blind from birth and the leper by God’s permission.
Bringing the dead back to life by divine permission.
Protecting Jesus (a.s.) from the conspiracy and harm of the Jews who did not believe in him.
The unbelievers (kuffār), since they did not possess sufficient understanding or awareness, considered the manifest miracles of Jesus (a.s.) to be nothing more than sorcery and magic. This negligent delusion (tawahhum tafrīṭī), like the excessive delusion (tawahhum ifrāṭī) of attributing divinity (ulūhiyyat) and being the Son of God to him, is false, because all those blessings and miracles were from divine supports (taʾyīdāt ilāhī) and only occurred by God’s permission.
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5:111 — And when I inspired the Disciples
And when I inspired the Disciples, [saying], ‘Have faith in Me and My apostle,’ they said, ‘We have faith. Bear witness that we are Muslims.’
A group of Jews not only did not accept the miracles and divine signs of Jesus, and accused them of being manifest sorcery, but they also intended to conspire and fight against Jesus. At this time, God made his Disciples (ḥawāriyyīn) understood through divine inspiration (ilhām) that they should renew their covenant with God and His messenger to protect the divine religion and assist His messenger. They accepted and called God as witness that we are Muslims (muslimūn - those who submit) and we obey His commands with heart and soul.
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5:112 — When the Disciples said, ‘O Jesus son of Mary
When the Disciples said, ‘O Jesus son of Mary! Can your Lord send down to us a table from the sky?’ Said he, ‘Be wary of Allah, should you be faithful.’
The Disciples (ḥawāriyyūn), after renewing their covenant and strengthening their faith, requested from Jesus the descent of a table (māʾida), and God bestowed favor upon them in the subsequent verses and, by answering the prayer of that sacred persona, sent down a heavenly table to them.
The question of the Disciples (ḥawāriyyūn): “Can your Lord…” - who were students of knowledge and gnosis (maʿrifa) of Jesus - could mean the requirement of divine expediency and wisdom; not that they had doubt in God’s power.
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5:113 — They said, ‘We desire to eat from it
They said, ‘We desire to eat from it, and our hearts will be at rest: we shall know that you have told us the truth, and we shall be among the witnesses to it.’
The Disciples who desired the descent of the table, regarding their request, responded to Jesus (a.s.) in this manner that we have four reasonable objectives: we want to benefit from the heavenly table; to reach tranquility of heart; to know that you have spoken truthfully to us; to be witnesses to it for others.
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5:114 — Said Jesus son of Mary, ‘O Allah
Said Jesus son of Mary, ‘O Allah! Our Lord! Send down to us a table from the sky, to be a festival for us, for the first ones and the last ones among us and as a sign from You, and provide for us; for You are the best of providers.’
When it was established that the Disciples had noble intentions in requesting that a table be sent down for them, Jesus corrected their request, which had several defects, and then requested it from God: Jesus enumerated the purpose of the descent of the heavenly table as the day of the table’s descent being a festival (ʿīd) for contemporary people and future generations; he also requested that it be a sign of divine power, and at the end he requested sustenance from God and praised Him with the attribute “the best of providers” (khayr al-rāziqīn).
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5:115 — Allah said, ‘I will indeed send it down to you
Allah said, ‘I will indeed send it down to you. But should any of you disbelieve after this, I will indeed punish him with a punishment such as I do not punish anyone in all creation.’
Jesus (a.s.) requested what the Disciples wanted, namely the heavenly table, from God; then God promised them the sending down of the table; but He gave a warning that if anyone disbelieves after the descent of the heavenly table and seeing it, He will punish him in an unparalleled manner.
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5:116 — And when Allah will say, ‘O Jesus son of Mary
And when Allah will say, ‘O Jesus son of Mary! Was it you who said to the people, ‘‘Take me and my mother for gods besides Allah’’?’ He will say, ‘Immaculate are You! It does not behoove me to say what I have no right to [say]. Had I said it, You would certainly have known it: You know whatever is in my self, and I do not know what is in Your Self. Indeed, You are knower of all that is Unseen.
After the account of the descent of the heavenly table, this verse addresses God’s conversation with Jesus about the polytheistic claims of the Christians. God will say to Jesus son of Mary on the Day of Resurrection: Did you tell people to take you and your mother as their gods, or did they commit such polytheism (shirk) on their own? This reproachful question is a rhetorical interrogative and is in reality a rebuke of the community (umma) of Christ.
Jesus (a.s.) first glorifies God: “He will say, ‘Immaculate are You”; meaning it is impossible for me to utter such inappropriate and unreasonable words, because it is incompatible with my station of infallibility (ʿiṣma) and prophethood (risāla); then regarding the occurrence itself, he states that he never spoke such polytheistic (shirk) words, otherwise God, who is aware of all things (hidden and manifest), would have known; since God does not know it, it becomes clear that I (Jesus) never said such a thing.
According to the principle that “conditioning a ruling on a quality indicates causality” (mushʿir bi-ʿilliyyat taʿlīq al-ḥukm ʿalā l-waṣf), the words “son” (ibn) and “mother” (umm) in this verse allude to the negation of the divinity of Jesus and his mother.
“Taking as god” (ittikhādh ilāh) is the same as divine submission (khuḍūʿ ilāhī) before something or someone whom one has made a god, in such a way that one considers him to have independent influence and obeys him unconditionally.
God is the imperishable reality whose essence is necessary (wājib) and undeniable, and if there is any disagreement, it concerns His attributes. For this reason, the Qur’an in most cases has taken the existence of God as accepted, as the qualification “besides Allah” (min dūn Allāh) also indicates.
Jesus (a.s.) at the end of the conversation states: [O God!] You know what is in my self (nafs), but I do not know what is in Your Self; then he bases his words on this universal principle that only God has knowledge of all the unseen (ghayb), and since he does not have knowledge of the absolute unseen (ghayb muṭlaq), he is also not aware of God’s essence (dhāt). Therefore, the word “self” (nafs) in this content means essence (dhāt), not soul, spirit, or the like, so that it might be said that its application to God is metaphorical (majāz) and by way of correspondence.
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5:117 — I did not say to them [anything] except what You had commanded me [to say]
I did not say to them [anything] except what You had commanded me [to say]: ‘‘Worship Allah, my Lord and your Lord.’’ And I was a witness to them so long as I was among them. But when You had taken me away, You Yourself were watchful over them, and You are witness to all things.
Jesus (a.s.) continues his previous responses by adding that he said nothing to them except what You had commanded him to say; not only did he not invite people to polytheism (shirk), but he called them to monotheism (tawḥīd) and by Your command said to them: worship God, for He is my Lord and your Lord. Then, so that this invitation would have executive guarantee, he himself was a witness (watchful guardian) over their deeds, and after him, You were the watchful guardian and also the absolute witness over them.
The phrase “when You had taken me away” (fa-lammā tawaffaytanī) indicates the death of Jesus (a.s.); not his departure from this world, because firstly, tawaffī means the complete taking of the soul, which is also compatible with sleep; secondly, assuming tawaffī indicates death, since this question and answer takes place on the Day of Resurrection, it is not clear at what time that personage’s departure and death occurred.
“Witness” (shahīd) in the sentence “You are witness to all things” (anta ʿalā kulli shayʾin shahīd) means observer, not the observed, otherwise it would not be compatible with the proof that Jesus (a.s.) established in his fourth response.
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5:118 — If You punish them, they are indeed Your creatures
If You punish them, they are indeed Your creatures; but if You forgive them, You are indeed the All-mighty, the All-wise.’
Jesus (a.s.), through his previous responses, made clear that he bears no responsibility for the polytheism (shirk) that Christians fell into, and that he only undertook the duty of conveying the message (risāla) and establishing witness (shahāda). Therefore, in this verse he says to God that if You punish them, they are Your servants (ʿibād); and if You forgive them, You are the All-mighty (ʿazīz) and All-wise (ḥakīm), and in any case, there is no objection to Your action.
Jesus (a.s.), with these words “If You punish them, they are indeed Your creatures” (ʿibāduka), is in the position of expressing divine care (ʿināya ilāhī) - not in the position of complaint, because the mentioned expression is compassionate - nor in the position of intercession (shafāʿa).
From the fact that Jesus Christ (a.s.) respectfully said: “they are indeed Your creatures” (ʿibāduka) and did not say “If You punish them, they have disobeyed You,” it becomes clear that divine action is not subject to justification (taʿlīl), because divine laws arise from the essence of God’s action, and God’s action is His creation, and never does action - that is, law derived from creation - rule over its own agent.
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5:119 — Allah will say, ‘This day truthfulness shall benefit the truthful
Allah will say, ‘This day truthfulness shall benefit the truthful. For them there will be gardens with streams running in them, to remain in them forever. Allah is pleased with them and they are pleased with Him. That is the great success.’
After Jesus (a.s.) expressed divine grace regarding the wicked and polytheists, God in this verse speaks about the reward of the truthful (ṣādiqīn): The Day of Resurrection is a day when the truthfulness (ṣidq) of the truthful will benefit them. Truth and falsehood (kadhib) are not exclusive to speech, but also encompass human belief, ethics, and behavior.
The divine benefit and reward for the truthful is of two types:
Physical and sensual pleasures, such as benefiting from gardens of Paradise.
The station of divine pleasure (riḍwān). They have attained the station of divine pleasure because not only their ethics and behavior, but their essential nature (jawhar dhātī) is pleasing to God (marḍī).
“Great success” (fawz ʿaẓīm) has degrees that differ from one another. The combination of the station of Paradise and the station of divine pleasure (riḍwān) is “great success” in absolute terms.
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5:120 — To Allah belongs the kingdom of the heavens and the earth and whatever there is in them
To Allah belongs the kingdom of the heavens and the earth and whatever there is in them, and He has power over all things.
God (s.w.t.) is the absolute ruler whose authority covers the heavens and the earth and what is in them. The secret behind the absoluteness of the Creator’s rule, Exalted, and its freedom from limits and restrictions, is His absolute power, which holds sway over all beings. In the light of this absolute sovereignty and power, He is worthy of divinity and worship, and able to fulfil the promise of entry into the Garden.