By Guest Sheikh Uwais Namazi Nadwi
This surah, like the previous surah is also Medini. It contains some of the last revelations. This is why Anas and A'aisha would say: Maida is the last surah to have been revealed. Therefore regard its Hall as the final Halal and Haram as the last Haram (i.e. there is no abrogation in this surah).
The Surah focuses on Mu'amalaat i.e. social life and affairs. The previous surah titled Nisa, 'Women' indicates that its’ focus is on the inner dimensions of social life and its foundations while Ma’ida focuses more on the outer domain, such as diplomatic relations and contracts and oaths, with special references and insights to the people of the book as the Islamic movement had settled in Medina and made its mark there. Both names signify and symbolize this; the woman is the backbone of society and ma'ida, feasts are a manifestation of social life.
The surah starts with an imperative; an imperative that is the very essence of healthy social life. Allah does not want man to live in seclusion but encourages integration and socialization. But socialization without trust cannot reap anything positive. Instead Islam not only encourages socialization by this imperative but sanctifies it and shrouds it with the clothes of sacredness through laying a social-code. Read the following Ayaat with this in mind:
O you who believe, fulfil the contracts. The animals from the cattle have been made lawful for you, except that which will be read over to you, provided that you do not treat hunting as lawful while you are in IHrām. Surely, Allah ordains what He wills.
O you who believe, do not violate (the sanctity) of the Marks of Allah, nor of the sacred month, nor of the sacrificial animal, nor of the garlands, nor of those proceeding to the Sacred House, seeking the grace of their Lord and (His) Pleasure. When you are out of IHrām, you may hunt. Malice against a people for their having prevented you from Al-Masjid-ul-Harām, should not cause you to cross the limits. Help each other in righteousness and piety, and do not help each other in sin and aggression. Fear Allah. Surely, Allah is severe at punishment.
Prohibited for you are: carrion, blood, the flesh of swine, and those upon which (a name) other than that of Allah has been invoked (at the time of slaughter), animal killed by strangling, or killed by a blow, or by a fall, or by goring, or that which is eaten by a beast unless you have properly slaughtered it; and that which has been slaughtered before the idols, and that you determine shares through the arrows. (All of) this is sin. Today those who disbelieve have lost all hope of (damaging) your faith. So, do not fear them, and fear Me. Today, I have perfected your religion for you, and have completed My blessing upon you, and chosen Islam as Dīn (religion and a way of life) for you. But whoever is compelled by extreme hunger, having no inclination towards sin, then Allah is Most-Forgiving, Very-Merciful.
The following rulings are derived from these verses:
1) It is incumbent to fulfill ones promise and oblige and comply with any contract or transaction he has signed.
2) Only slaughtered meat is Halal.
3) Hunting whilst in Ihraam is not allowed although fishing, which is known as 'hunting in sea' in the quranic language, is permissible as reads verse.96 of this surah:
Made lawful for you is the hunting of the sea and eating thereof, as a benefit for you and for travellers. But the hunting of the land has been made unlawful for you as long as you are in the state of IHrām. Fear Allah (the One) towards Whom you are to be brought together.
4) It is important to maintain the sanctity of the religious symbols and manifestations. Allah says: Having said that, if one observes the sanctity of the symbols of Allah, then such things emanate from the piety of the hearts.
5) Assisting in good and condemning and doing the opposite in matters of sin and aggression.
6) The types of meat and animals that are haram e.t.c.
7) Islam is the final religion which Allah has chosen for himself.
8) Compulsion conditioned it is without the inclination of sin is forgivable.
The next verses talk about what Allah has made Halal after mentioning Haram. This "comparison" or "contrast" is a common factor in the Quranic Narrative; the Jannah is compared with Hell; believers with disbelievers and here Halal with Haram. This bears a stronger influence on the reader and helps him analyze and survey the situation for himself; does he want to be amongst the people of Heaven or Hell.
The verses are as follows:
They ask you as to what has been made lawful for them. Say, “Made lawful for you are good things, and (hunting through) birds and beasts of prey that you train, teaching them out of what Allah has taught you. So, eat of what they hold for you, and recite the name of Allah upon it.” Fear Allah. Surely, Allah is swift at reckoning
This day, good things have been made lawful for you. The food of the people of the Book is lawful for you, and your food is lawful for them, and good women from among believers, and good women from among those who were given the Book before you, provided you give them their dowers, binding yourself in marriage, neither going for lust, nor having paramours. Whoever rejects Faith, his effort will go to waste and, in the Hereafter, he will be among the losers.
They give the following rulings:
1) All good things are Halaal.
2) Guard Dogs and Birds that are used for hunting are allowed as long as they have sufficient training. Refer to the books of Fiqh for detail. Allah gives us three conditions which are the foundation of this institution:
a) The animal/bird to be trained.
b) It should not eat the animal it hunts down.
c) The dua of slaughtering an animal should be recited when the animal is sent to reach the target.
3) Food of the people of the Book is lawful.
4) So are their chaste women conditioned one pays the dowry and is serious about "binding himself in marriage, neither going for lust, nor having paramours."
The Quran then warns of the logical negative: Whoever rejects Faith, his effort will go to waste and, in the Hereafter, he will be among the losers.
The next ruku' begins with the code of purity. It describes the method of ablution and then gives guidance to 1) purify ourselves if impure [by sexual relations e.t.c] 2) using soil in case water in unavailable which is known as "tayaamum". It also gives us the method of Tayammum which is to wipe both the face and hands.
The verse is as follows:
O you who believe, when you rise for Salāh, (prayer) wash your faces and your hands up to the elbows, and make MasH (wiping by hands) of your heads and (wash) your feet up to the ankles. If you are in a state of major impurity, cleanse yourselves well (by taking bath). If you are sick, or on a journey, or if one of you has come after relieving himself, or you have had sexual contact with women, and you find no water, then, go for some clean dust and wipe your faces and hands with it. Allah does not like to impose a problem on you; He, rather likes to cleanse you and to complete His favour upon you, so that you may be grateful.
Then the surah goes into describing the fallacies People of the Book and debating with them. This takes up most of the remaining Surah. However since a full-detailed commentary of all the verses is beyond my ability at this moment, a brief summary of the themes in the verses are given in bullet points below. Some detail has been given where it has been felt.
7: A reminder is given to reflect over the covenant which believers have given to Allah. By this two covenants are implied; a general one and a specific one. The specific one is the baya' the sahabas gave to the Prophet. And the general one is the one where all Mankind testified to Allah that he is the Lord all-Mighty. Lings recalls that covenant with the following words:
"According to an ancient and still recognized legal principal, an accused cannot plead, in his defence, ignorance of the law. And since in the older civilisations, the temporal and the spiritual were organically connected, this principal may well have originated as a prolongation from the dogma that on the day of Judgement it may not be possible for man to plead ignorance of the basic truths of religion."
8: testify and always support the truth even if it goes against you. Worship justice. It is quite interesting to see one of the ninety-nine names of Allah is Just[ice].
9-14: Allah took a covenant from the Jews and the Christians but they broke it and the consequences for the Jews were, in the words of the Quran: We cursed them and made their hearts hardened. As for the Christians: "We had them stuck with enmity and malice among them right through the Day of Doom" for breaking their covenant.
The Jews are also recalled for their betrayal and distorting of holy texts.
15-16: The Jews are invited to join the Prophet which settles your arguments, exposes your fallacies and guarantees your saviour if one chooses to follow him.
16-19: Some of the Christian fallacies are refuted:
1) God is Christ
2) The Jews and Christians are Gods chosen people. (Allah forbid)
And thus are invited again to believe in the truth once again.
20-26: The Jews show their love for the world and disobedience to Allah and his messenger, Moses. They show cowardice. Allah simply asked them to enter the holy lands and victory was theirs. In fact they were so scared and negligent that they told Moses: “O Mūsā, we shall never enter it, in any case, so long as they are there. So go, you and your Lord, and fight. As for us, we are sitting right here.”
27-34: The Story of Habil and Qabil and its morals and lessons.
35-37: The path to success and the outcome of negligence in the narrative of the Kuffar.
38-40: The ruling for a stealer and thief.
41-82: The Prophet is introduced to the Christians and Jews. The Quran deals with their attitudes towards him. The causes for their deprivation of Allah’s mercy should hold much relevance to us all, therefore, in the light of these verses a list of their characteristics are produced so that all of us can be fully aware of them:
1) Listeners of False
2) Hearty consumers of prohibited things (Suht)
3) Distorting sacred texts
4) Fearing their enemies more than Allah.
5) Failing to apply the teachings of the Torah properly
6) Preferring their desires over the teachings of the Bible
7) Seeking for judgements and law elsewhere than the divine source
8) Taking religion lightly and making into a game.
9) Rushing towards sin, evil and transgression.
10) Their Scholars would not prevent the public from sin, especially if they were engaged in the very sin themselves.
11) Accusing and disparaging God.
12) Causing fights and corruption on earth
13) Shirk and trinity
14) Extremism in religion
15) Assisting and advocating Kufr
Although the list above may leave the impression that the Quran is aggressive and negative in all its aspects, especially when it comes to religious discrimination. But that is not true. The Quran through the above verses stresses the fact that not all of them are the same and manages to make distinctions and exceptions. Read the following for example:
If the People of the Book had believed and feared Allah, We would have written off their evil deeds and would have surely admitted them to the Gardens of Bliss. (65)
If they had upheld the Torah and the Injīl and what had been sent down to them from their Lord, they would surely have had plenty to eat from above them and from beneath them. Among them are moderate people. As for most of them, evil is what they do. (66)
Surely, those who believe, and those who are Jews, and the Sabians, and the Christians - whoever believes in Allah and the Last Day, and acts righteously, shall have no fear, nor shall such people grieve. (69)
And lastly:
And you will certainly find that the people most hostile against the believers are the Jews and the ones who ascribe partners to Allah. You will certainly find that the closest of them in friendship with the believers are those who say, “We are Christians.” That is because among them there are priests and monks, and because they are not arrogant. (82)
Lastly, the surah ends with the story of the Feast, the title of this Surah. This insha Allah shall be dealt with separately in a fresh post.
Allah knows best
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
No comments:
Post a Comment