(3:91) Truly those who disbelieved and died as
unbelievers, not even an earth full of gold will
be accepted from them as ransom. For such people
there is painful chastisement; and none shall
come to their help.
لَن
تَنَالُواْ الْبِرَّ حَتَّى تُنفِقُواْ مِمَّا
تُحِبُّونَ وَمَا تُنفِقُواْ مِن شَيْءٍ فَإِنَّ
اللّهَ بِهِ عَلِيمٌ﴿3:92﴾
(3:92) You shall not attain righteousness
until you spend out of what you love (in the
way of Allah). *75
Allah knows whatever you spend.
*75. The purpose of this verse is to remove
the misconception of the Jews concerning
'righteousness'. The Jews had inherited an
elaborate legal code which had accumulated
as a result of the casuistry and
hair-splitting legalism of their jurists.
Their notion of 'righteousness' consisted of
outward, formal conformity to that code and
they evaluated all day-to-day actions,
especially the trivial ones, in terms of
conformity to that code. Narrow-mindedness,
greed, covetousness, meanness, concealment
of the Truth and readiness to barter with it
lay beneath this veneer of formal piety.
They were, nevertheless, considered pious in
the minds of the people; Jewish public
opinion condoned their conduct because it
conformed to its concept of 'righteousness'.
In order to remove this misconception they
are told that the things they considered
fundamental to righteous conduct are of
little consequence. The real spirit of
righteousness consists in the love of God -
a love which makes man value the good
pleasure of God above all worldly
acquisitions. If the love of anything seizes
a man's mind to such an extent that he is
unable to sacrifice it for the sake of the
love of God, then that thing has virtually
become an idol, and until he smashes it the
door to righteousness will remain closed to
him. If a man lacks this spirit, then his
excessively formal and legalistic approach
in religious matters can be considered no
more than glossy paint over a piece of
hollow, worm-eaten wood. It may be possible
to deceive human beings by the sheer lustre
of the outer paint, but not God.
كُلُّ الطَّعَامِ كَانَ حِـلاًّ لِّبَنِي
إِسْرَائِيلَ إِلاَّ مَا حَرَّمَ إِسْرَائِيلُ
عَلَى نَفْسِهِ مِن قَبْلِ أَن تُنَزَّلَ
التَّوْرَاةُ قُلْ فَأْتُواْ بِالتَّوْرَاةِ
فَاتْلُوهَا إِن كُنتُمْ صَادِقِينَ﴿3:93﴾
(3:93) All food (that is lawful in the Law
revealed to Muhammad) was lawful to the
Children of Israel, *76
except what Israel *77
made unlawful to themselves before the
revelation of the Torah. Tell them: 'Bring
the Torah and recite any passage of it if
you are truthful.'
*76. When the Jewish rabbis found no grounds
for criticizing the fundamental teachings of
the Prophet (there was no difference between
the teachings of the previous Prophets and
that of the Arabian Prophet on matters which
constitute the core of religion), they
raised objections about the details of
religious law. The first objection was that
the Prophet (peace be on him) had declared
lawful a number of things which had been
reckoned as unlawful since the time of the
ancient Prophets. What is said here is a
refutation of that objection.
*77. If 'Israel' is taken to mean the
'Children of Israel' then the interpretation
of this verse must be that before the
revelation of the Torah they treated a
number of things as prohibited on the
grounds of custom and usage alone. If,
however, 'Israel' signifies Jacob (Ya'qub)
then, the meaning is that he avoided the use
of certain foods, which his descendants
wrongly understood to be religiously
prohibited, as a result of either a
temperamental dislike or an ailment. This
latter version is more commonly accepted. It
becomes clear from the next verse that the
Biblical injunction regarding the
prohibition of the flesh of camels and
rabbits was not part of the original Torah
but an interpolation by Jewish doctors. (For
a detailed discussion see Surah 6, n. 122
below.)
فَمَنِ افْتَرَىَ عَلَى اللّهِ الْكَذِبَ مِن
بَعْدِ ذَلِكَ فَأُوْلَـئِكَ هُمُ
الظَّالِمُونَ﴿3:94﴾
(3:94) Those who falsely fix lies upon Allah
despite this are the wrong-doers.
قُلْ صَدَقَ اللّهُ فَاتَّبِعُواْ مِلَّةَ
إِبْرَاهِيمَ حَنِيفًا وَمَا كَانَ مِنَ
الْمُشْرِكِينَ﴿3:95﴾
(3:95) Say: 'Whatever Allah has said is
true. Follow, then, the way of Abraham in
total devotion to Allah. He was not one of
those who associate others with Allah in His
divinity. *78
*78. The Jews had enmeshed themselves in
legalistic minutiae and these had become
their major concern. They had abandoned
service to the One True God and had allowed
their religious life to become corrupted by
polytheism. Instead of attending to the
fundamentals of religion they indulged in
discussions about questions that had only
arisen because of the hair-splitting
legalism of their scholars during their
centuries of decadence.
إِنَّ
أَوَّلَ بَيْتٍ وُضِعَ لِلنَّاسِ لَلَّذِي
بِبَكَّةَ مُبَارَكًا وَهُدًى لِّلْعَالَمِينَ﴿3:96﴾
(3:96) Behold, the first House (of Prayer)
established for mankind is the one at Bakkah:
it is full of blessing and a centre of
guidance for the whole world. *79
*79. The second objection raised by the Jews
was that the direction for Prayer had been
changed from Jerusalem to the Ka'bah. This
objection is answered in Surah 2 (see verses
142 ff. and nn. 142 and 147 above). The
Bible, itself, testifies that Jerusalem was
built by Solomon more than four and a half
centuries after Moses (see 1 Kings 6: 1),
and that it was during his time that the
worshippers of the One God began to pray
towards it (1 Kings 8: 29-30). It is
established by traditions from numerous
sources which are undisputed throughout
Arabia, however, that the Ka'bah was
constructed by Abraham who lived some eight
or nine centuries before Moses. That the
Ka'bah was older than the Temple of
Jerusalem was beyond dispute.
فِيهِ آيَاتٌ بَيِّـنَاتٌ مَّقَامُ
إِبْرَاهِيمَ وَمَن دَخَلَهُ كَانَ آمِنًا
وَلِلّهِ عَلَى النَّاسِ حِجُّ الْبَيْتِ مَنِ
اسْتَطَاعَ إِلَيْهِ سَبِيلاً وَمَن كَفَرَ
فَإِنَّ الله غَنِيٌّ عَنِ الْعَالَمِينَ﴿3:97﴾
(3:97) In it there are clear signs and the
station of Abraham; *80
whoever enters it becomes secure. *81
Pilgrimage to the House is a duty owed to
Allah by all who can make their way to it.
As for those who refuse to follow His
command, surely Allah does not stand in need
of anything.
*80. Here it is stressed that there are
several clear signs which prove that the
Makkan sanctuary enjoys God's blessing and
has been chosen by Him as His sanctuary.
Even though it is located in the middle of
wide expanses of desert God has seen to it
that its inhabitants enjoy a satisfactory
living. Although the rest of Arabia was
plunged into chaos and disorder for about
two and a half thousand years, peace and
tranquillity reigned in both the precincts
and the environs of the Ka'bah. Thanks to
the Ka'bah the entire Arabian peninsula
enjoyed four months of peace and order every
year. These were the sacred months when
people went on Pilgrimage. Moreover, barely
a half century before the revelation of
these verses, people had seen how Abrahah,
the Abyssinian invader, fell prey to God's
scourge when he attacked Makka with the
intention of destroying the Ka'bah. At that
time, this incident was known to everybody
in Arabia. Its memory was fresh and many
eye-witnesses were still alive at the time
of the Prophet (peace be on him).
*81. Even during the pre-Islamic era - the
Age of Ignorance in Arabia - this sanctuary
enjoyed such veneration that even those who
thirsted for each other's blood saw their
enemies in the sacred territory but dare not
attack them.
قُلْ يَا أَهْلَ الْكِتَابِ لِمَ تَكْفُرُونَ
بِآيَاتِ اللّهِ وَاللّهُ شَهِيدٌ عَلَى مَا
تَعْمَلُونَ﴿3:98﴾
(3:98) Say: 'People of the Book! Why do you
reject the signs of Allah when Allah is
witness to all that you do?'
قُلْ يَا أَهْلَ الْكِتَابِ لِمَ تَصُدُّونَ
عَن سَبِيلِ اللّهِ مَنْ آمَنَ تَبْغُونَهَا
عِوَجًا وَأَنتُمْ شُهَدَاء وَمَا اللّهُ
بِغَافِلٍ عَمَّا تَعْمَلُونَ﴿3:99﴾
(3:99) Say: 'People of the Book! Why do you
hinder one who believes from the way of
Allah, seeking that he follow a crooked way,
even though you yourselves are witness to
its being the right way?' Allah is not
heedless of what you do.
يَا
أَيُّهَا الَّذِينَ آمَنُوَاْ إِن تُطِيعُواْ
فَرِيقًا مِّنَ الَّذِينَ أُوتُواْ الْكِتَابَ
يَرُدُّوكُم بَعْدَ إِيمَانِكُمْ كَافِرِينَ﴿3:100﴾
(3:100) Believers! Were you to obey a party
of those who were given the Book, they might
cause you to renounce the Truth after you
have attained to faith.
وَكَيْفَ تَكْفُرُونَ وَأَنتُمْ تُتْلَى
عَلَيْكُمْ آيَاتُ اللّهِ وَفِيكُمْ رَسُولُهُ
وَمَن يَعْتَصِم بِاللّهِ فَقَدْ هُدِيَ إِلَى
صِرَاطٍ مُّسْتَقِيمٍ﴿3:101﴾
(3:101) How can you disbelieve when you are
the ones to whom the signs of Allah are
recited and amidst you is His Messenger?
Whoever holds fast to Allah will certainly
be guided to the straight way.
يَا أَيُّهَا الَّذِينَ آمَنُواْ اتَّقُواْ
اللّهَ حَقَّ تُقَاتِهِ وَلاَ تَمُوتُنَّ
إِلاَّ وَأَنتُم مُّسْلِمُونَ﴿3:102﴾
(3:102) Believers! Fear Allah as He
should be feared, and see that you do
not die save in the state of submission
to Allah. *82
*82. They should remain steadfast in
their obedience and loyalty to God.
وَاعْتَصِمُواْ بِحَبْلِ اللّهِ جَمِيعًا
وَلاَ تَفَرَّقُواْ وَاذْكُرُواْ نِعْمَةَ
اللّهِ عَلَيْكُمْ إِذْ كُنتُمْ أَعْدَاء
فَأَلَّفَ بَيْنَ قُلُوبِكُمْ
فَأَصْبَحْتُم بِنِعْمَتِهِ إِخْوَانًا
وَكُنتُمْ عَلَىَ شَفَا حُفْرَةٍ مِّنَ
النَّارِ فَأَنقَذَكُم مِّنْهَ ا كَذَلِكَ
يُبَيِّنُ اللّهُ لَكُمْ آيَاتِهِ
لَعَلَّكُمْ تَهْتَدُونَ﴿3:103﴾
(3:103) Hold fast together to the cable
of Allah *83
and be not divided. Remember the
blessing that Allah bestowed upon you:
you were once enemies then He brought
your hearts together, so that through
His blessing you became brothers. You
stood on the brink of a pit of fire and
He delivered you from it. *84
Thus Allah makes His signs clear to you
that you may be guided to the right way. *85
*83. The expression 'cable of Allah', in
this verse, refers to the 'religion of
God'. The reason for use of the word
'cable' (habl) is that it both
establishes a bond between man and God
and joins all believers together. To
take a firm hold on this cable means
that the believers should attach
profound importance to their religion:
this should always be the centre of
their concerns; they should continually
strive to establish it; and the common
desire to serve it should make them
co-operate with each other.
As soon as Muslims turn their attentions
away from the fundamental teachings of
their religion and lose sight of
establishing its hegemony in life they
begin to concern themselves with matters
of secondary importance. And, just as
they rent the communities of the former
Prophets, enticing people away from
their true objective in life, so schisms
and dissensions are bound to plague
their lives. If Muslims do this they are
bound to suffer indignity and disgrace
both in this world and the Next as
happened with the followers of the
previous Prophets.
*84. This refers to the state of the
Arabs on the eve of the advent of Islam.
There were animosities among the tribes
which regularly broke out into fighting;
every now and then there was much
bloodshed. Things had reached a point
that the entire Arabian nation seemed to
be on the verge of destroying itself. It
was due to the blessings of Islam alone
that it was saved from being consumed by
the fire to which this verse alludes.
The people of Madina had embraced Islam
some three or four years before these
verses were revealed. They had witnessed
the blessing of Islam as it unified into
one brotherhood the Aws and Khazraj, two
tribes which had long been sworn
enemies. Moreover, both tribes treated
the migrants from Makka in a spirit of
sacrifice and love seldom seen even
among members of the same family.
*85. If they had eyes to see they could
conclude for themselves whether their
salvation lay in adhering firmly to this
religion or in abandoning it and
reverting to their former state; i.e.
decide whether their true well-wishers
were God and His Messenger or those
Jews, polytheists and hypocrites who
strove to plunge them back into their
former state.
وَلْتَكُن مِّنكُمْ أُمَّةٌ يَدْعُونَ
إِلَى الْخَيْرِ وَيَأْمُرُونَ
بِالْمَعْرُوفِ وَيَنْهَوْنَ عَنِ
الْمُنكَرِ وَأُوْلَـئِكَ هُمُ
الْمُفْلِحُونَ﴿3:104﴾
(3:104) And from among you there must be
a party who invite people to all that is
good and enjoin the doing of all that is
right and forbid the doing of all that
is wrong. It is they who will attain
true success.
وَلاَ تَكُونُواْ كَالَّذِينَ
تَفَرَّقُواْ وَاخْتَلَفُواْ مِن بَعْدِ
مَا جَاءهُمُ الْبَيِّنَاتُ وَأُوْلَـئِكَ
لَهُمْ عَذَابٌ عَظِيمٌ﴿3:105﴾
(3:105) Do not be like those who fell
into factions and differed among
themselves *86
after clear signs had come to them. A
mighty chastisement awaits them on the
Day when some faces will turn bright and
ther faces will turn dark. Those whose
faces have turned dark will be told:
'Did you fall into unbelief after you
had been blessed with belief? Taste,
then, chastise- ment for your unbelief.'
And those whose faces have turned
bright, they will be in the mercy of
Allah, and therein they shall abide.
These are the mes sages of Allah which
We recite to you in truth, and Allah
desires no wrong *87
to the people of the world. To Allah
belongs all that is in the heavens and
the earth, and to Allah are all matters
referred for decision.
*86. The reference is to those
communities which received clear and
straightforward teachings of the true
religion but who had abandoned the
fundamentals, forming separate sects
around trivial and subsidiary questions;
they became so engrossed in quarrelling
over superfluous and insignificant
questions that they lost sight of the
mission God had entrusted to them, and
even lost interest in those fundamentals
of belief and righteous conduct which
are essential for man's salvation and
felicity.
يَوْمَ تَبْيَضُّ وُجُوهٌ وَتَسْوَدُّ
وُجُوهٌ فَأَمَّا الَّذِينَ اسْوَدَّتْ
وُجُوهُهُمْ أَكْفَرْتُم بَعْدَ
إِيمَانِكُمْ فَذُوقُواْ الْعَذَابَ بِمَا
كُنْتُمْ تَكْفُرُونَ﴿3:106﴾
(3:106) On the Day when some faces will
turn bright and ther faces will turn
dark. Those whose faces have turned dark
will be told: 'Did you fall into
unbelief after you had been blessed with
belief? Taste, then, chastisement for
your unbelief.
وَأَمَّا الَّذِينَ ابْيَضَّتْ وُجُوهُهُمْ
فَفِي رَحْمَةِ اللّهِ هُمْ فِيهَا
خَالِدُونَ﴿3:107﴾
(3:107) And those whose faces have
turned bright, they will be in the mercy
of Allah, and therein they shall abide.
تِلْكَ آيَاتُ اللّهِ نَتْلُوهَا عَلَيْكَ
بِالْحَقِّ وَمَا اللّهُ يُرِيدُ ظُلْمًا
لِّلْعَالَمِينَ﴿3:108﴾
(3:108) These are the mes sages of Allah
which We recite to you in truth, and
Allah desires no wrong
to the people of the world.
*87. Since God does not want to subject
people to any wrong He illuminates the
straight path of their salvation, and
forewarns them of the matters for which
they will be asked to render an account
in the Hereafter. It is clear that if
people abandon the path of rectitude
they wrong no one but themselves.
وَلِلّهِ مَا فِي السَّمَاوَاتِ وَمَا فِي
الأَرْضِ وَإِلَى اللّهِ تُرْجَعُ
الأُمُورُ﴿3:109﴾
(3:109)To Allah belongs all that is in
the heavens and the earth, and to Allah
are all matters referred for decision.
