5. Al-Ma’idah /The Feast

I/We begin by the Blessed Name of Allah

The Immensely Merciful to all, The Infinitely Compassionate to everyone.

05:01
O The Faithful!
Fulfill your obligations.
The meat of all cattle of the domestic livestock is made lawful for you to consume except that have been described to you as unlawful,
except hunting of wild game is unlawful while you are in a state of sanctity/Ihram for the Hajj or Umrah.
Indeed, Allah - the One and Only God - decrees whatever HE wants.

05:02
O The Faithful!
Do not violate the sanctity of the Symbols of Allah:
the Sacred Months of Hajj, and
sacrificial offerings, and
the garlands placed around the necks of sacrificial cattle.
And do not prevent those who are going to the Sacred House of Ka’bah seeking favor from their Rabb- The Lord and HIS Grace.
Once you are out of the state of sanctity/Ihram for the Hajj, then you may hunt wild game.
Do not let your hatred of some people, who once barred you from the Grand Sacred Masjid, provoke you to violence or aggression against them.
Instead, help one another in virtue and piety,
and do not help one another in sinfulness and hostility, acts of disobedience, and overstepping the limits set by Allah.
Fear Allah!
Surely Allah is Severe in punishment.

05:03
It is unlawful for you to consume and use its products:
the meat of dead animals, and
the blood, and
the pig’s meat, and
the meat of all cattle dedicated to any entity other than Allah, and
the flesh of the animals strangled to death, and
the one beaten to death violently, and
the one strangled to death, and

the one victim of a violent blow or a fall, and
the one mauled by the wild beast - unless you can make it lawful by slaughtering it while still alive, and
what has been sacrificed to idols, and
that you should divide the meat by divination arrows –
this is a transgression for you!
Now with this code in place, the disbelievers have lost all hope of ever manipulating your religion.
So do not fear them, but fear ME alone!
This day -
I have perfected your religion for you, and
I have completed MY Favors and Blessings upon you, and
I have approved Islam for you as a religion.
Yet if someone is forced by a desperate hunger to consume any of the above unlawful items, then he may without intending to sin -
…. surely Allah will be All-Forgiving and All-Compassionate.

05:04
O The Prophet!
They are asking you what else is lawful for them to consume and use.
So tell them:
‘All clean and nutritive things are lawful for you,
and also hunting animals to catch whom you train the way Allah has trained you.
So eat of what they catch for you - but pronounce the Sacred Name of Allah over it.
And be mindful of Allah’s obedience in reverence, piety, and awe.
Surely, Allah is Swift in settling accounts.’

05:05
On this day, all clean and nutritive things of life are made lawful for you.
And ritually slaughtered food of Followers of Former Scriptures is also made lawful for your consumption and use.
And your food is made lawful for them too.
Likewise, lawful for you to take in marriage are:
the virtuous women from among the believers, and
the virtuous women from among Followers of Former Scriptures - before you.
In this situation take them in the honest and responsible bond of marriage and give them their
rightful bridal money, and,
do not take them in fornication as mistresses or as extramarital liaisons, or as girlfriends, or as concubines, etc.
Whoever turns back on one’s Faith, would have lost all reward for whatever good one may have done in the worldly life,
and he will be of the losers in the Hereafter.

05:06
O The Faithful!
Whenever you rise for the Salat/Prayers, whether in congregation or solo, then
wash your faces, and your hands up to the elbows, and
wipe with wet hands lightly the top of your heads, and your feet up to the ankles.
And if you are in a state of seminal impurity, then purify yourselves by taking a full bath.
However, if you

are ill, or
on a journey, or
have used the toilet, or
have had cohabitation with spouses,
and, you cannot find water, then,
you perform Tayammum - on some clean dry topsoil - free from impurity - shaking it, and
passing therewith lightly over your faces and your hands up to the elbow.
Allah does not wish to impose unnecessary hardship on you,
but wants you to be purified of any impurity,
and to complete HIS Blessings in full on you.
So that you can be appreciative and stay grateful to HIM.

05:07
And remember Allah’s Blessings on you,
and HIS Covenant which HE covenanted with you when you said:
O Our Rabb - The Lord!
‘We hear and we obey.’
So be mindful of Allah in HIS Covenant lest you break it.
Indeed, Allah is Fully-Aware of whatever is in your hearts - of compliance or betrayal.

05:08
O The Faithful!
Stand firmly for Allah as witnesses for the establishment of justice.
And do not let the hatred for some people provoke you to deviate from practicing justice.
Be just!
This is closer to piety, and
always act in reverence for Allah.
Indeed, Allah is Well-Aware of whatever you do.

05:09
Allah promises forgiveness and glorious rewards to those who:
believe, and
practice righteousness.

05:10
Whereas those who disbelieve and belie Our Messages,
they will be the People of the Raging Blaze!

05:11
O The Faithful!
Remember how Allah favored you when a group of people was determined upon stretching out their hands against you, but HE restrained their hands from ever reaching you.
So be Allah-reverent!
And the believers should therefore always trust Allah.

05:12
And so it was that Allah took a Covenant from the Descendants of Jacob.
WE raised up twelve leaders from among them.
And Allah said to them:
‘I will be with you – as long as you:
establish the Salat/Prayer, and
pay out the Zakat/annual charity, and

believe in MY Messengers and honor them, and
loan to Allah a handsome loan,
I will absolve you of your misdeeds and oversights,
and admit you to Paradise beneath which rivers/streams flow.
But whoever of you would disbelieve after this by not complying with the Covenant, would have truly wandered far from the Right Path.’

05:13
However, as a consequence of them breaking their Covenant, WE cursed them, and
hardened their hearts.
They manipulated the Revealed Words by taking them out of their context and forgot
an important part of the Message that was sent to them.
So you - O The Prophet - will keep finding betrayal and treachery from them, except for a few of them.
So ignore them and try to overlook.
Indeed, Allah loves those who seek excellence in virtue.

05:14
And WE also took a Covenant from those who say – ‘We are Nazarenes’/Christians.’
But they have forgotten the important part of the Message they were reminded about: The unshared Unity and Uniqueness of Allah, The One and Only God.
So WE have caused enmity and hatred among them to continue even into the Time of Resurrection,
when Allah will certainly apprise them of what they used to do.

05:15
O Followers of Former Scriptures!
OUR Messenger – Muhammad - has come to you to bring to light much of what you have been hiding from the Scripture and overlooking a good part of the rest.
A light and a Clear Book has now come to you from Allah – The Qur’an - explaining the lawful and the unlawful.

05:16
Through this - The Qur’an - Allah will guide whoever strives to seek HIS Pleasure, to the Path of Submission to HIM - Islam.
Furthermore, HE will bring them out from the darkness of disbelief into the light of belief
by HIS Will,
and guide them along a Straight Path.

05:17
They utter a monstrous blasphemy and incur disbelief by alleging:
‘Allah - HE is the Messiah, son of Mary.’
Ask them:
‘If it had been Allah’s Will, who could have prevented HIM from destroying the Messiah son of Mary and his mother, and everyone else in the terrestrial world – all of them together?
And for Allah is the Sovereignty of the celestial realm and the terrestrial world and everything between them.
HE creates whatever HE Wills.
And, Allah Manifests Sovereignty over all existence.

05:18
The Jews and the Christians claim:
‘We are Allah’s Children and HIS beloved’ above all others.
Ask them:
‘So why then does HE punish you for your sins?’
By no means!
You are only human beings like everyone else - part of HIS creation.
HE forgives whoever HE wants of whoever repents,
and HE punishes whoever HE wants of whoever dies unrepentant.
And to Allah is the Sovereignty of the celestial realm and the terrestrial world and everything between them.
And to HIM will return everything upon the Resurrection.

05:19
O Followers of Former Scriptures!
Now OUR Messenger Muhammad has come to you making the truth clearer to you after an interval between the Messengers, lest you should say:
‘No one came to us as a herald of good news or as a warner.’
Now Muhammad has come to you as a herald of good news and as a warner – so that you should have no excuse during the Time of Final Judgment.
And, Allah Manifests Sovereignty over all existence.

05:20
Fear the consequences of your attitude, O Followers of Former Scriptures.
And recall the time when Moses said to his people:
‘O My Community People!
Recall Allah’s Favors upon you, when
HE raised up Prophets among you for your guidance, and
HE made you kings – in charge of your own destiny after you were enslaved in Egypt, and
HE granted you what HE had not granted to anyone else in the Worlds.’

05:21
‘O My Community People!
Enter the holy land which Allah has promised for you,
and do not turn your back - for then you will be of the losers.’

05:22
They answered;
‘O Moses!
There are ferocious people already in this land.
We will not enter it unless they leave from there.
And when they leave from it, surely we will enter.’

05:23
However, two men from among those who revered Allah and whom Allah had blessed
came forward and boldly suggested:
‘Assault them through the gate of the walled city.
And once you have entered, you will overpower them.
And trust in Allah – if you are true believers.’

05:24
Yet they persisted in their cowardice and said:
‘O Moses!
We will definitely not enter it so long as they are there.
So you go ahead and your Rabb - The Lord and you both fight,
while we stay right here’ and wait.

05:25
So he - Moses – called out in helplessness:
‘O My Rabb - The Lord!
I have no control over them except for myself and for my brother Aaron.
So separate us from them - the rebellious people.’

05:26
Allah said:
‘Then it will be surely forbidden to them for forty years.
Until then, they will wander aimlessly over the land, bewildered.
So do not be saddened over these rebellious people.’

05:27
O The Prophet!
Now narrate to them the true narrative of the two sons of Adam:
When they both offered a sacrifice,
then it so happened that one’s sacrifice was accepted, whereas the other’s was not accepted.
The one whose offering was not accepted, in a jealous rage, said:
‘I am going to kill you!’
The other responded:
‘Allah only accepts the sacrifice from the Allah-conscious devout people.’

05:28
He tried to argue with his angry brother, saying:
‘Even if you raise your hand against me to kill me, still I am never going to raise my hand against you to kill.
For I fear Allah - Rabb - The Lord of all existence.’

05:29
‘As for me, I wish that you would incur both - my sin as well as your own sin,
so that you will be among the People of the Fire.
And that is the payback for the unjust’ – the deliberate wrongdoers.

05:30
Then his evil-commanding soul prompted him- Cain - to kill his brother - Abel.
So he killed him and became of the losers.

05:31
Then Allah raised up a raven clawing out of the earth to show him a way how to hide/bury his brother’s dead body.
So by seeing this, he said to himself:
‘Woe to me!
I am unable even to be like this raven and hide/bury my brother’s dead body?’
And then he became of the deeply remorseful.

05:32
It was for this reason that WE decreed for the Descendants of Jacob that whoever killed a life
unless it is in retaliation for another person’s killing,
or for preventing chaos in the land,
that it would be as though he had killed the entire humankind.
Whereas he who saved it - a life, it would be as though he had saved the entire humankind.
However, even though OUR Messengers came to them - one after the other - with Clear
Messages to this effect,
yet many of them continued committing excesses in the land.

05:33
The punishment for those who:
wage war against Allah and HIS Messenger Muhammad, and
strive in creating and spreading chaos and anarchy in the land,
is that they be
executed, or
hanged, or
imputed their hands and their feet on opposite sides, or
exiled from the land.
This will be a disgrace for them in this world,
while in the Hereafter there will be a great punishment for them ….

05:34
except for those who repent and reform before you - the law enforcing authority -
overpower them.
In such situations, bear in mind that Allah is All-Forgiving and All-Merciful towards those who repent and reform.

05:35
O The Faithful!
Keep away from disobedience to Allah in reverence, piety, and awe.
Seek the ways to come closer to HIM through belief and obedience, and
for that purpose strive for HIS Cause, so that you may be successful.

05:36
As for those who disbelieve, even if they were to possess everything in the world – riches, wealth, treasures, renown, social connections,
and even double as much to ransom themselves with it from the punishment during the Time of Resurrection, it will never be accepted from them:
– and for them is going to be a painful punishment.

05:37
They will wish to get out of the Fire, but they will never be able to get out of it!
For them - the punishment will be constant and perpetual.

05:38
This is Allah’s Law for the male robber and the female robber:
impute the hands of both as a punishment for what they have reaped -
- a deterrent from Allah.
And Allah is the Almighty, the All-Wise.

05:39
But whoever repents after having done wrong and reforms,
then Allah will certainly accept his repentance and forgive.
Indeed, Allah is All-Forgiving and All-Merciful.

05:40
Do you not know that Allah possesses the Sovereignty of the celestial realm and the terrestrial world?
And HE punishes whoever HE wants, and HE forgives whoever HE wants …..
for Allah Manifests Sovereignty over all existence.

05:41
O The Messenger Muhammad!
You should not be saddened by those who are quick in disbelieving.
They are among those who say with their mouths:
‘We believe’ - while their hearts do not believe;
or it be among those who have Judaized – they are listeners to lies.
Moreover, they are listeners to people who never even visited you.
They distort the meaning of the words of the Torah taking them out of their context.
They say about matters referred to you for judgment:
‘If you are given such and such judgment by Muhammad, abide by it,
but if you are not given it, then beware’ of abiding by it.
Whoever Allah wants to put to his turmoil, you will not be able to do anything for him –
against Allah’s Will.
These are the ones whose hearts Allah has no desire to purify of persistence in disbelief.
For them will be a disgrace in this world, and
for them - a severe punishment in the Hereafter.

05:42
They are willing to be listeners to the lies and falsehoods, and consumers of what is unlawful.
If they do come to you for judgment – O The Prophet - you may either judge between them or refuse them,
for even if you refuse, they cannot harm you in the least.
But if you do judge, judge between them with justice.
Surely, Allah loves those who act and judge justly.

05:43
In any event, how can they make you - O The Prophet - a judge to settle their disputes, when they have the Torah, containing Allah’s Law?
Even then they turn away from it.
So they are not really believers.

05:44
Truly, WE sent down the Torah as a source of guidance and light.
The Prophets who had submitted to it - rendered judgments for those who had Judaized,
and so did the rabbis and the scholars with what they were entrusted of the Book of Allah.
And they were all made witnesses over it.
So do not hold the people in awe.
But stand in awe of ME!
And do not sell MY Revelations in the Torah for a small worldly benefit.

And whoever in authority would not judge by what Allah sent down,
then those – they are indeed the disbelievers.

05:45
And WE decreed for them in the Torah:
the life for the life, and
the eye for the eye, and
the nose for the nose, and
the ear for the ear, and
the tooth for the tooth, and
the injury/cut/wound to the body, reciprocation.
But whoever is charitable and forgoes retaliating voluntarily, then it will be an act of expiation for him.
And whoever in authority would not judge by what Allah sent down,
then those - they are indeed unjust.

05:46
And, later, following upon their tracks WE assigned Jesus son of Mary, confirming what
was available of the Torah.
WE granted him the Injeel/Bible as a source of guidance and light,
and confirming what was available of the Torah -
guidance and an admonition for the reverent.

05:47
So let Followers of the Injeel/Bible judge by what Allah sent down.
And whoever in authority would not judge by what Allah sent down, they are the rebellious.

05:48
And now WE have down on to you - O The Prophet - the Book of Qur’an in truth –
affirming what was available in the earlier Scriptures,
and testifying to it as well.
So judge between them by what Allah has now sent down on to you.
And do not follow their whims by side-stepping from what has been sent down on to you of the truth.
WE have assigned to each of you – Jews, Christians, and Muslims - a law and a system.
And had Allah desired, HE could surely have made all of you one single religious
community,
but HE has not done so in order to test you by what HE has given you of the respective laws and systems.
So compete with one another in righteousness by following the Divine Law.
To Allah is your ultimate return – all of you,
then HE will apprise you about which you differed.

05:49
O The Prophet!
Therefore, you judge between them by what Allah has sent down and do not follow their whims.
Beware of them!
Do not let them tempt you away from any part of what Allah has sent down onto you.
If they turn away, then let it be so, and remember it is Allah’s Will to punish them for some of the sins -
as it is, most of the people are sinful!

05:50
By ignoring Allah’s Judgment are they seeking judgment of the time of pagan ignorance?
And whose judgment could be better than Allah’s Judgment for a people who are firm in faith?

05:51
O The Faithful!
Do not take the Jews and the Christians as allies.
They are only the allies of each other.
And whoever of you would take them as allies will become one of them in misguidance.
Indeed, Allah does not guide such people who are unfair to themselves and do evil while knowing it.

05:52
O The Prophet!
So you will notice that those who have sickness in their hearts – rushing eagerly to please
them and saying:
‘We fear lest some misfortune may befall us.’
It may well be that Allah may soon bring you success or a decision from HIMSELF.
Then they will be regretful for the thoughts they had been hiding within themselves.

05:53
Then the believers will be the ones to say to one another:
‘Are these hypocrites the same ones who swore by Allah with their most solemn oaths that they were with you?’
Their good deeds have been wasted because of their hypocrisy;
and they are going to be the losers.

05:54
O The Faithful!
Be mindful that such an attitude is tantamount to abandoning the Faith, and
whoever of you should abandon/renounce his religion, Allah does not care for such people, for Allah will bring - in due course - another
people whom HE would love as they would love HIM, and
be gentle toward the believers yet stern toward the disbelievers, and
exert themselves in the Cause of Allah, and
never be fearing being blamed by any slanderer.
Such is Allah’s Grace - HE grants it to whoever HE wants or those who deserve it.
Allah is All-Encompassing, Full of Knowledge.

05:55
Your true ally is
Allah, and
HIS Messenger Muhammad, and
the Faithful –
those who
establish the Salat/Prayer, and
pay out the Zakat/annual charity, and
bow down in submission and devotional worship.

05:56
And whoever takes
Allah as an ally, and

HIS Messenger Muhammad, and
the Faithful –
are indeed the Party of Allah –
and it is they who are going to dominate!

05:57
O The Faithful!
Those who mock your religion and belittle it – never take them as good friends,
whether they are from Followers of Former Scriptures before you, or from the other
disbelievers.
Beware of Allah by refraining from affiliating with them if you are true believers.

05:58
And whenever you make a Call to the Salat /Prayer, they take it as mockery and belittle it –
it is so because they are people who do not use their intellect.

05:59
Say to them:
‘O Followers of Former Scriptures!
Are you annoyed with us for any reason other than that we believe in
Allah, and
what has been sent down on to us – The Qur’an, as well as
what was sent down before us?
Or is it just because most of you are rebellious’ against Allah?

05:60
Say to them:
‘Shall I tell you about something worse than this for which Allah punished your forefathers?
It is they whom Allah cursed and on whom HIS Wrath fell –
turning some of them into apes and swines and followers of the powers of evil.
They are in worse gradation, and
farther astray from the Middle Path’ – to the extremes.

05:61
Whenever they come to you, they declare:
‘We believe!’
Whereas they come in disbelief and leave in the same state of disbelief.
Allah is All-Aware of what they conceal of disbelief and hypocrisy.

05:62
O The Prophet!
And you can see most of them rushing into sin and transgression and consuming whatever is unlawful.
Evil indeed is what they are doing!

05:63
Why is it not that the rabbis and scholars forbid them from sinful utterances and from
consuming of what is unlawful?
Evil indeed is what they practice.

05:64
And the Jews mock:
‘Allah’s Hand is tied up!’

May their hands be tied up!
May they be cursed by Allah for what they mock!
In fact, HIS both Hands are wide open - dispensing Grace as HE Wills.
That which is being sent down on to you from your Rabb - The Lord - O The Prophet - is sure to increase rebellion and disbelief among most of them.
And WE have sown hostility and hatred among them - Followers of Former Scriptures -
which will last until the Time of Resurrection.
Every time they ignite the fires of war against the Faithful, Allah puts it out - the process continues, regardless of time and space.
Yet they strive in creating and spreading chaos in the land.
And Allah has no love for the creators and spreaders of chaos.

05:65
And only if Followers of Former Scriptures would have believed and feared Allah’s disobedience,
then, WE would certainly have absolved them of their past sinful utterances and deeds and admitted them to Paradise of Perpetual Bliss.

05:66
And only if they had upheld the Torah and the Injeel/Bible, and what is now sent down on to them of The Qur’an from their Rabb - The Lord,
then they would surely have been granted provisions from what was above them, and what was from beneath their feet – i.e., abundance of grace from heaven and earth.
Although there are some among them on the right track, most of them are sinful in their deeds and dealings.

05:67
O The Messenger!
Convey what is being sent down on to you from your Rabb - The Lord.
And if you do not do it diligently, then you will not have conveyed HIS Message in earnest.
If you fear that you may face hostility and mockery, then Allah will defend you from such
people - who may seek to harm you.
Allah does not guide the people who disbelieve in HIS Message and HIS Messenger Muhammad.

05:68
Say O The Prophet!
’ O Followers of Former Scriptures!
You have no legitimacy for your beliefs unless
you uphold the Torah and the Injeel/Bible, as also
whatever has been sent down on to you now as The Qur’an from your Rabb - The Lord.’
Yet all that has been sent down on to you by your Rabb - The Lord will surely increase many of them in violence and disbelief.
So do not worry about the people who disbelieve in your Mission and the Message.

05:69
But those who believe, as well as those who have Judaized/Jews and the Sabians and the
Christians - or of other faiths,
in fact whoever

believes in Allah, and
the Last Hour, and
practices righteousness –
they will enter Paradise where they neither have any cause to fear nor will they ever
grieve.

05:70
Indeed, WE took a covenant with the Descendants of Jacob and assigned Messengers to them - one after the other.
Whenever a Messenger brought them a Message that they did not like to follow for themselves, some of them they belied, and some of them they assassinated.

05:71
Thinking that no ordeals would befall them, they turned as if blind and deaf to the truth.
But Allah still turned to them in mercy when they repented,
yet again in spite of that many of them turned as if blind and deaf.
And Allah Watches whatever they do.

05:72
They have certainly uttered a monstrous blasphemy and disbelieved - those who allege:
‘Allah – HE is the Messiah son of Mary.’
Whereas the Messiah himself had proclaimed:
‘O Descendants of Jacob!
Submit to Allah in worship, awe, and piety - my Rabb - The Lord and your Rabb - The Lord.
Indeed, whoever ascribes any entity to Allah will have the Paradise denied to him by Allah;
and instead, his destiny will be the Fire -
and such sinners will have no one to help’ them against Allah’s Judgment.

05:73
They have certainly uttered a monstrous blasphemy and disbelieved - those who allege:
‘Allah is the third of three’ -
for there is no entity of worship apart from Allah, The One.
Unless they desist from alleging this, and profess HIS Unshared Unity and Uniqueness, then those who disbelieve among them are going to be afflicted with a painful retribution.

05:74
Will they not repent to Allah and seek HIS forgiveness?
For Allah is Ever-Forgiving to whoever repents, and Ever-Merciful to whoever is repentant.

05:75
The Messiah son of Mary was only a Messenger.
Many other Messengers like him had come and gone before him -
and his mother was a pious lady - devoted to Allah.
They both ate the same food as the other people.
See how clear WE make these messages for them,
yet see how they are perverted from the truth!

05:76
Ask them:
‘How do you submit in worship, awe, and piety to an entity, other than Allah - like Jesus and his mother - that in itself and of itself has no power to harm or benefit you?

While Allah – it is HE WHO is All-Listening to your pleas, and All-Knowing’ your desires and needs.

05:77
Say to them:
‘O Followers of Former Scriptures!
Do not overstep the limits of Truth in your religion.
And do not follow the whims of a people who strayed before you,
and led many others astray too, and
they continue to stray from the Middle Path’ – to the extremes.

05:78
Those of the Descendants of Jacob who disbelieved were cursed by David’s own tongue/
words,
and also by Jesus son of Mary -
just because they rebelled and willfully overstepped the limits of Truth in their religion.

05:79
They did not even stop each other from the sinfulness of overstepping -
awful and woeful were the things they were doing!

05:80
O The Prophet!
You can see many of them aligning with those who disbelieve.
By doing so evil indeed is their conduct, and what they are sending forward for themselves.
In that Allah’s Wrath will befall them and thus they will remain in the eternal state of
punishment.

05:81
Yet only if they would have believed in:
Allah, and
the Prophet Muhammad, and
what is being sent down on to him – The Qur’an,
then they would have never taken them - those who disbelieve – as allies.
However, most of them are evildoers.

05:82
O The Prophet and The Faithful!
You are surely going to find that people with greatest animosity and hostility towards the believers are the Jews and the polytheists/idol-worshipers.
However, those whom you will find closest in affection towards the believers are those who
say: ‘We are Nazarenes’/Christians.
That is because among them are hermits and monks, and they are not arrogant.

05:83
And when they - Christians - listen to and understand what has been sent down on to The Messenger – Muhammad - you can see their eyes overflowing with tears for they recognize the truth of it.
Then they pray:
‘O Our Rabb - The Lord!
We believe!
So write us down among the witnesses’ who affirm their acceptance of the Truth.

05:84
And they continue praying:
‘And how could we not believe in Allah and in the Truth - the Qur’an - that has come to us
since we have always been eager that our Rabb - The Lord will admit us with the righteous people?’

05:85
Consequently, Allah will reward them for saying this with Paradise by which rivers/streams flow - there to live forever – never to die, never to leave.
That will be the reward for those who seek excellence in virtue.

05:86
Whereas, those who disbelieve and belie OUR Messages in The Qur’an,
they will be People of the Raging Blaze.

05:87
O The Faithful!
Do not make unlawful for yourselves of clean and nutritive things which Allah has made lawful to you,
but even then do not over-indulge in lawful things.
Surely Allah has no love for the over-indulgent.

05:88
And eat of whatever Allah has provided for you as lawful and clean,
and be mindful of Allah in due reverence and piety for HIM –
Allah - the ONE in WHOM you believe.

05:89
Allah will not hold you to account for oaths thoughtlessly sworn,
but HE will hold you to account for oaths earnestly sworn.
So atonement for breaking an oath will be by:
feeding ten poor persons with the same food as you normally feed your family, or
clothing them, or
freeing a person from captivity.
Whoever cannot find the means to do either of these, will then fast from dawn to dusk
for three consecutive days.
This will be the atonement for your oaths whenever you have sworn and broken them.
So honor your oaths!
Thus Allah clarifies HIS Commands for you so that you may be grateful to HIM for the Guidance.

05:90
O The Faithful!
The intoxicants and gambling and stone alter dedicated to idols and divining arrows are nothing but an abomination - part of the disgraceful acts of Satan.
So keep away from them.
Thus you may be successful.

05:91
Satan only seeks to stir up hostility and hatred among you with intoxicants and gambling, and

keep you away from the Remembrance of Allah and from the Salat/Prayer.
So will you not then refrain!?

05:92
And obey Allah and obey the Messenger Muhammad.
And beware of even coming near intoxicants and gambling!
Then, if you turn away, then bear in mind that OUR Messenger’s only duty is to convey this Message clearly.

05:93
There is no blame on those who now believe and practice righteousness -
for what they may have consumed and indulged in the past, so long as they are now
conscious of Allah’s Injunctions,
and
believe in the unlawfulness of brewed drinks and gambling, and
practice righteousness and ward off brewed drinks and gambling, and
keep away from disobedience to Allah’s Injunctions in reverence, piety, and awe, and
then
believe more profoundly in keeping away from these prohibitions, and
grow ever more conscious in obeying Allah in greater reverence, piety, and awe, and
always strive to attain excellence in virtue.
Allah loves those who are devoted to doing good by avoiding intoxicants and indulging in gambling and other prohibitions.

05:94
O The Faithful!
Allah is surely going to test you with some of the wild game that may come within the reach of your hands and your spears/lances while you are in the state of sanctity/Ihram during the Hajj or Umrah,
so that Allah may distinguish those among you who fear HIM though HE is Unseen.
Whoever oversteps the limits set by the Divine Decree after this, for him will be a woeful
and awful punishment.

05:95
O The Faithful!
Do not hunt the wild game while you are in the state of sanctity/Ihram during the Hajj or Umrah.
Whoever hunts the wild game on purpose, there is a penalty equivalent in value to what he has hunted:
the domestic livestock - as the two just men among you will determine it - its equivalent in value - as an offering to be brought into the Holy Ka’bah,
or he may atone for his sin by feeding the poor,
or by fasting an equivalent number of the persons to be fed,
so in this way, he may feel the gravity of his action.
Allah has forgiven whatever is past,
but whoever returns to do it again, Allah will exact vengeance on him.
Allah is Almighty in HIS retribution, and Possessor of Vengeance on those willfully violating the Divine Injunction.

05:96
Lawful has been made for you to catch and eat of the water game - as a provision for you as well as for the travelers.

And it has been made unlawful for you to hunt the wild game on the land while you are in
the state of sanctity/Ihram during the Hajj or Umrah.
Guard yourselves against Allah’s disobedience before Whom you will be gathered and held to account.

05:97
Allah has made:
the Ka’bah, the Sacred House, a support for people,
and also the Sacred Months,
and the cattle for sacrifice, and their garlands,
all this is to make you aware that Allah knows whatever is within the celestial realm and the terrestrial world.
And that Allah has full knowledge about everything.

05:98
You should also know that Allah is Severe in punishment,
and yet Allah is Forgiving to anyone who is repentant, as well as Merciful to all who die repentant.

05:99
The duty of the Messenger is nothing except to convey the Divine Message on behalf of Allah.
And Allah Knows well whatever you reveal and whatever you conceal.

05:100
Tell them:
‘The bad and the good are never equal, even though the abundance of the bad may greatly impress you.
So fear Allah’s disobedience – O People of Understanding!
Thus you may succeed by being saved from Allah’s wrath and torment.

05:101
O The Faithful!
Do not ask questions about trivial matters, which if explained to you, would be difficult for
you to implement.
However, if you do ask about them, while the Qur’an is being sent down, then these will
be clarified to you in the course of its revelation.
Allah has forgiven that kind of questioning in this respect -
for Allah is All-Forgiving, All-Forbearing.

05:102
Even some people before you asked such questions from their respective Messengers,
and eventually, they came to disbelieve.

05:103
Allah has not set up any cattle consecrated to idols, such as:
- cleft-eared she-camel – bahirah, or
she-camel left to roam – sa’ibah, or
she-camel forbidden to be slaughtered - waseelah, or
he-camel forbidden to be ridden - hami.
It is only those who disbelieve that fabricate such falsehood against Allah.
And, in fact, most of them do not use their intellect.

05:104
And whenever they are told:
‘Come to accept what Allah has sent down of the Qur’an, and come to the Messenger’ -
Muhammad.
They retort:
‘Whatever we found our forefathers doing is good enough for us’ -
however, their forefathers had no knowledge and were not even guided aright.

05:105
O The Faithful!
You are only responsible for yourselves -
for those who are misguided cannot harm you if you are guided aright.
You are all going to be returned to Allah – all together - and then
HE will apprise you of what you used to do.

05:106
O The Faithful!
Appoint witnesses among yourselves when death draws near to anyone of you in order to witness the writing of your bequest.
It may either be two men of just character from among you or two others from outside.
In case pangs of death befall you while you are traveling far from home, then let two men of just character from among another people act as witnesses to the writing of your bequest.
Retain the two in the Masjid after the Salat and, if you have any doubt about their integrity
in your mind, then let them both swear by Allah, saying:
‘We will not sell our testimony for any benefit, even if it were for a family member,
and
we will not conceal any testimony before Allah -
for then we will certainly be of the sinful.’

05:107
However, if it gets known that they both were guilty of sinning/perjury,
then let two others take their place, from those who have a better right to bear witness against the two former witnesses.
Let them both swear by Allah, saying:
‘Our testimony is more truthful than the testimony of the other two, and
that we have not transgressed the bounds of what is right,
for then we will certainly be of the unjust people.’

05:108
This would make it more likely that they will offer the truth in their testimony -
or at least they will fear that their oaths will be refuted by the oaths of others.
Be then, mindful of Allah’s Presence, Power, and Fear which helps avoid sinful trespassing and overindulgence, and listen to Him.
Indeed, Allah does not guide the people of transgression - those who break His laws

05:109
Beware of the Time when Allah will assemble the Messengers, and ask:
‘What response did you receive to your Proclamations of MY Message?’
They will answer:
‘We have no knowledge.
Surely YOU – YOU alone are the All-Knowing of the All-Unknown’ to us.

05:110
And when Allah will address Jesus, and say:
‘O Jesus son of Mary!
Remember MY extraordinary Blessings upon you and on your mother?
As ….
as I strengthened you with the Spirit of Holiness so you could speak to the people from your cradle, as well as in adulthood;
as I taught you the Scripture, and gave you the Wisdom along with the Torah and the Injeel,
when, by MY Permission, you would fashion the shape of a bird out of clay, you would breathe into it, and it would become, by MY Permission, like a real bird,
when, by MY Permission, you would heal the blind and the leper,
when, by MY Permission, you would revive the dead back to life.
when I restrained the Descendants of Jacob from harming you while you were showing them the clear miracles, and
those who disbelieved among them said:
‘This is nothing more than some kind of magic.’

05:111
‘And when I also inspired the apostles to believe in ME and in MY Messenger’ Jesus.
They answered:
‘We believe.
And bear witness that we are Muslims.’

05:112
‘And recall when the apostles said in a moment of doubt:
O Jesus son of Mary!
Is your Rabb - The Lord able to send down for us a feast table full of meals from heaven?’
Thereupon Jesus answered:
Be mindful of Allah’s Presence and Power if you are true believers.’

05:113
They said:
‘We only wish to eat from it so that our hearts are reassured,
and we know with conviction that you speak truthfully to us,
and so that we be witnesses to it to the people.’

05:114
Jesus son of Mary, prayed:
‘O Allah, our Rabb - The Lord!
Send down to us a feast table full of meals from the heaven –
so that it will become a cause of recurring celebration for us - for the first of us and the last
of us,
and also a sign of my truthfulness from YOU.
And provide for us - YOU are the Best of providers.’

05:115
Allah responded:
‘Surely I will send it down to you.
But whoever of you would disbelieve even after this – then I shall definitely punish him
with a punishment that I have never punished anyone else in the world’ of jinn and humans.

05:116
And when Allah will say:
‘O Jesus son of Mary!
Did you really tell people:
‘Take me and my mother as the two entities of worship apart from Allah?’
Jesus will humbly submit by answering:
O Allah, my Rabb - The Lord!
‘YOU are Exalted!
I could never have said what I had no right to say.
And if I ever said something like that, then YOU would have certainly known it.
YOU know all that is within me whereas I do not know what is within YOU.
For it is YOU – YOU alone are Best-Knower of the Unknown’ to me.

05:117
Jesus will continue:
‘I never said anything to them except what YOU commanded me to say:
‘Submit in worship to Allah alone - my Rabb - The Lord and your Rabb - The Lord.’
And I was a witness to them as long as I was among them.
But when you took me in death, it was YOU WHO became Watching over them - their beliefs and faith-based deeds.
And YOU are a Witness over all things.’

05:118
‘If you choose to punish them, surely they are YOUR servants,
but if YOU choose to forgive them –
then, of course, YOU can, because it is YOU WHO are the All-Powerful, the All-Wise.’

05:119
Allah will declare:
‘This is the Time when the truthful will benefit from their truthfulness.
They shall be rewarded with Paradise by which rivers/streams flow -
therein to remain forever – never to leave, never to die.
Allah has been pleased with them for their truthfulness, and
they have been pleased with HIM for HIS generous reward.
And that will be the greatest of triumphs!’

05:120
To Allah belongs the Sovereignty of the celestial realm and the terrestrial world and whatever is within them.
And HE Manifests Sovereignty over all existence.