Surah Al-Ma'idah: Thematic English Translation (Mustafa Çevik)

O you who believe! Fulfill what is required by the word you gave Allah by saying “La ilaha illallah” (there is no god but Allah), pledging to take Allah alone as God and to live by the order of life that is His call, and keep also to the agreements you make with people.

The meat of animals is made lawful for you, apart from the meat of those you have been told are unlawful to eat. But when you have entered the state of ihram (consecration) for Hajj or Umrah, hunting even lawful animals is forbidden to you until you leave ihram. The right to set the limits of the lawful and the unlawful belongs to Allah alone.

O you who believe! Do not treat with disrespect the symbols and places Allah has appointed for the Hajj, the sacred months, the animals garlanded for sacrifice to Allah, or those who come to the Kaaba seeking their Lord’s good pleasure. Once you have completed your Hajj worship and left ihram, you may hunt.

Do not let your anger at those who associate partners with Allah, who once barred the way to visiting the Kaaba, make you aggressive toward them and lead you to go to excess.

Help one another in goodness and taqwa (God-consciousness); do not help one another in sin and hostility. Fulfill your responsibilities toward Allah consciously, and never let it slip from your minds that Allah’s punishment is very severe.

O believers! The carcass of an animal that has died unslaughtered (carrion), blood, the flesh of swine, and the meat of animals slaughtered in the name of anyone other than Allah, killed by strangling or beating, or that die from a fall from a height, or are gored to death by another animal, and of animals mauled by wild beasts, are made unlawful for you. But the meat of those you reach before they die and slaughter pronouncing Allah’s name over them is lawful, provided they are not among those declared unlawful. The meat of every animal slaughtered in the name of idols is also unlawful for you.

Chasing after news of the future or the past through divining arrows, cast dice, and similar means of fortune-telling, and pinning hopes on them, is vain and meaningless. Moreover, these practices of associating partners with Allah are unlawful. To violate Allah’s prohibitions is to stray from the right path.

“O believers! Today those who associate partners with Allah and deny the truth have lost all hope of destroying your religion and of being able to stop it from spreading. So never let them loom large in your eyes, and do not fear them.

Fear rather losing Allah’s compassion and mercy toward you. Today I have completed and perfected for you the rulings of your religion, which is the reason for your creation, and I have completed My blessing upon you. And I have appointed Islam as the name of the religion to be lived in submission to Allah.”

Whoever finds nothing else to eat and comes to the brink of death from hunger may eat of what is unlawful as much as will save him from death. Allah is most merciful, compassionate, and forgiving toward such people.

O Prophet! The believers want to ask you and learn in detail which foods are lawful for them. Say to them: “Good, wholesome, and pure foods, other than those declared unlawful, are made lawful for you. It is also made lawful for you to eat what the hunting animals you have trained, thanks to the knowledge and abilities Allah has given you, catch and bring to you, provided you pronounce Allah’s name over it.

Fulfill your responsibilities toward Allah consciously, never letting them slip from your minds. Beware of Allah; truly Allah is swift in reckoning.”

Today all good, fine, pure foods that you find pleasing, other than those that are unlawful for you, are made lawful for you. The food slaughtered and cooked by those who were given the Book before is lawful for you, and your food is lawful for them. Just as it is lawful for you to marry believing women by contract, giving them their bridal gifts (mahr), it is also made lawful for you to marry by contract chaste women from among the People of the Book, giving them their bridal gifts, women who neither commit unlawful sexual relations (zina) nor take secret lovers.

Whoever does not abide by Allah’s rulings and rejects them, all he has done in the name of goodness, kindness, and righteousness will come to nothing, and in the Hereafter he will be among the losers.

O you who believe! When you are about to pray, wash your hands, your faces, and your arms up to the elbows, wipe your heads with your wet hands, and wash and wipe your feet up to the ankles. If you are in a state of major ritual impurity (junub), purify yourselves by taking the full ablution (ghusl) and washing your whole body. If you are sick or on a journey, or have relieved yourselves, or have had sexual relations with your spouses, and in such a state cannot find water to purify yourselves, then until you reach water you may take the dry ablution (tayammum) with clean earth, wiping your hands, your faces, and your arms up to the elbows, and perform your worship.

Allah does not wish to leave you in hardship or put you in difficulty; He wishes to cleanse you of material and spiritual filth and make you wholly pure, and wishes you to be among those who benefit from His blessings and give thanks.

O you who believe! Never let the blessing of Islam that Allah has bestowed on you slip from your minds. Never forget the word you gave by saying “We hear and we obey,” pledging to take Allah alone as God, and live by fulfilling what that word requires lovingly and consciously. Surely Allah knows also what is in hearts.

O you who believe! Conscious of the importance and supremacy of Allah’s right over you, rise up for the building of the order of life that is Allah’s call and uphold justice. This is what is nearest to taqwa (God-consciousness).

Do not let your anger or hatred toward any person or people draw you away from justice and turn you toward injustice. Beware of remaining indifferent to Allah’s rulings. Allah is aware of everything.

Allah is most merciful, compassionate, and forgiving toward those who believe and do righteous deeds worthy of their faith.

For the ungrateful who call the call the Prophet makes in Allah’s name a lie, turn their backs on it, and persist in associating partners with Allah and denying the truth, Allah has prepared a severe punishment in Hell.

O you who believe! Do not forget those hard days of yours when, against an enemy people who moved to wipe you out, Allah helped you and saved you from their schemes and oppression. Wherever you are and whatever your situation, be mindful of Allah’s commands and prohibitions, give thanks for His blessings, and trust and rely on Him alone.

Long ago Allah took a pledge from the Children of Israel that they would take Him alone as Lord and God. And they had chosen twelve men, the heads of the twelve tribes, to see that they kept their word. Then Allah said to the Children of Israel: “If you follow the Prophet and help and support him, perform the prayer with care, give the zakat gladly, and spend of your wealth in the cause of living the order of life that is Allah’s call and the reason for your creation, I will forgive your sins and settle you in Gardens through which rivers flow.”

Though those Children of Israel gave Allah their word that they would abide by this, they went back on it; so Allah cursed them and hardened their hearts.

They also corrupted the meanings of words, tearing them from their true intent (meaning) and twisting them; they took out most of the verses in the Book sent to them and inserted their own inventions into it. They paid no heed to the truths that remained in the Book, few as they were, and did not fulfill what they required. That is why most of them were ungrateful, treacherous, and unjust. You will always meet with treachery from them, but pay them no attention and carry on with your call; Allah loves those who stand firm on the right path.

We also took a pledge from those who say they are Christians that they would take Allah alone as Lord and God, respond to His call, and follow His prophets. Sadly, they did not heed the counsel and warnings given through the Gospel; they emptied the Gospel of its substance and filled it with meaningless, empty, unreal things they had invented. So We left them to the rancor and enmity among them that will last until the Day of Resurrection. In the Hereafter too Allah will confront them with what they did and punish them with the punishment they deserve.

O People of the Book! Now there has come to you, together with Our messenger, Allah’s Book, the Quran, which makes clear the truths you removed from your books and concealed, and confirms the truths that remain, few as they are, in the Torah and the Gospel in your hands. Through the Prophet and His Book Allah will bring whoever wishes it out of darkness into light, lead them to His right path that accords with His good pleasure, and bring them to peace and happiness.

Those who say, “Allah is the Messiah, son of Mary,” are certainly deniers who have strayed into disbelief. Say to them: “If Allah wished to destroy Jesus son of Mary, his mother Mary, and all the people on earth, who could stop Him? It is Allah who created all that is in the heavens and on the earth, and who rules and governs it through the order and laws He has established. He creates what He wills in whatever way He wills, and He has power over everything.”

The Jews and the Christians say, “We are the children of Allah and His beloved servants.” Say to them: “Then why does Allah punish you for what you do? No, what you say is nothing but wishful fancies of your own invention; you are, like all people, among the servants He has created. Your made-up fancies have no worth whatever in Allah’s sight. He punishes whoever deserves punishment, and forgives whoever repents of his wrong and is worthy of forgiveness. The dominion of the heavens and the earth and the right to dispose of that dominion belong to Allah. And it is He who will hold the reckoning in the end.”

O People of the Book! So that you cannot say, after a period without prophets, “No prophet came to us to warn us and give us good news, to make known to us the reason for our creation and how we should live in keeping with it,” there has now come to you Our messenger, who invites you to the right path with counsel and warnings, and with him the Book.

Allah encompasses everything with His knowledge and has power over everything.

Moses once said to his people: “O my people! Reflect on the blessings Allah has given you. Allah sent you prophets from among you, through their call had you establish states founded on order and morality, raised kings from among you, and granted you blessings that no other people on earth had been given. O my people! Now that you have been brought out of Egypt, go and settle in the holy land that Allah has graciously given you, telling you to go and settle there and make it your homeland, and live by the order and morality that are the reason for your creation. Never turn aside onto other paths, or you will be among the losers both in this world and in the Hereafter!”

In reply to what Moses had said, his people said to him: “O Moses! A mighty and tyrannical people live in that land; as long as they are there we will never enter it, but if they leave it, then we can enter.”

At this, two brave men from among the Children of Israel who believed in Allah with all their hearts, and whom Allah had therefore emboldened, said to their people: “Let us march boldly on them from the front, through the gate. Faced with our courage, we can throw the people living there into confusion and defeat them. If you are truly believers, you must trust in Allah and obey His commands!” Thereupon the Children of Israel turned to Moses and said: “O Moses! As long as they are there, we will not go there with you, so do not waste your effort! But if you want it so much, go with your Lord and fight them; we will not take a single step beyond the place where we are.”

Thereupon Moses prayed: “O my Lord! My word holds only over myself and my brother Aaron, so now part our ways from this deviant people.”

And Allah revealed to Moses: “Then the Children of Israel will be denied that land for forty years and will wander bewildered in the wilderness. O Moses! Do not grieve for such a defiantly disobedient, ungrateful, insolent, and cowardly people.”

O Muhammad! To those who claim to be the People of the Book, who envy you because Allah graciously granted prophethood to you rather than to one of their own people, and reject your call for that reason, tell the story of Adam’s two sons, from which a lesson must be drawn.

Recall how each of them offered a sacrifice to Allah, and Allah accepted the sacrifice of one but not that of the other. Thereupon the one whose sacrifice was not accepted, envious of the other, said to him: “I swear I will kill you.” The one whose sacrifice was accepted answered him: “Allah accepts only the sacrifices of those who turn to Him wholeheartedly, hold to Him sincerely, and strive to fulfill their responsibilities toward Him consciously. If out of this envy you set out to kill me, I will defend myself, but I will not try to kill you either. For I seek refuge in Allah from killing anyone for such a reason. If you succeed in killing me because of your envy, then I ask of my Lord even now that you, bearing the sin of killing me on top of your earlier sins, be among those who enter Hell. For Hell is the place of punishment Allah has prepared for the wrongdoers.” Though he heard these words from his brother, his ego and his envy drove him to kill him, and in the end he killed him. So he became one of the losers who ruin themselves.

Then, not knowing what to do with his brother’s body, he was at a loss. Thereupon, to show him what to do, Allah sent a raven that scratched at the ground. When he saw the raven scratching at the ground, he regretted what he had done, saying, “Alas, woe is me! So I am not even as wise as this raven, which has taught me that my brother’s body must be buried.”

After this example, remind them also of this ruling of Ours that We made known to the Children of Israel in the Torah: “Whoever kills a human being unjustly, other than in return for another’s life or for spreading mischief and corruption on earth, it is as if he had killed all humanity.

And whoever, when there is no just cause for it, prevents a person from being killed and saves him, it is as if he had saved all humanity from being unjustly killed.”

Their prophets had made known to the People of the Book, through verses containing clear examples, that an unjust motive such as envy can be no justification for hostility, for spreading corruption on earth, or for rejecting the truth. Even so, most of them overstepped the limits Allah had set and went on unjustly killing people and spreading corruption on earth.

As for those who wage war against Allah and His messenger, the agents of corruption who spread mischief and corruption on earth and try to keep people from living the order of life that is Allah’s call, their punishment is to be put to death by hanging, or, as they deserve, to have their hands and feet cut off on opposite sides, or to be sent into exile. These punishments are their recompense in this world. In the Hereafter an even more terrible punishment awaits them.

But toward those who, having planned to commit these crimes, realize that it is wrong before they carry them out and before you identify and catch them, and so repent and turn to what is right, Allah is merciful and forgiving.

O you who believe! Holding fast to Allah’s call, never hold back from striving (jihad) with your lives and your wealth against those who associate partners with Allah and deny the truth who attack you in the cause of living it and keeping it alive! In this way show your reverence and love for your Lord and your mindfulness of His commands and prohibitions, so that you may attain happiness.

Those who wage war against Allah and His Messenger will be condemned to a very severe punishment in the Hereafter. Even if such people had owned all the treasures of the earth while they were in the world, and offered to give them all as ransom to escape that terrible punishment in Hell, such offers will have no meaning or weight there. They will remain there forever in the punishment of the Fire they deserve; they will want to get out of the Fire and escape, but they will never manage it.

In a society where Islamic order and morality are lived, whoever steals, man or woman, though not driven to steal and not in need, cut off their hands as a punishment from Allah for their crime. It is Allah alone who prevents corruption through the rulings He lays down and who has the authority to lay down rulings for His servants.

Allah knows the one absolute truth of everything and puts everything in its proper place. If one who has committed such a crime, when there is no prospect of his being caught and punished, or before he is caught, regrets what he did, returns what he stole and repents, turns to what is right, and mends his ways, Allah too will accept his repentance. Allah is most merciful and forgiving toward the believers.

Allah is the Creator of the heavens, the earth, and all that is between them, their one true Owner, who establishes their orders and makes their laws. The authority to forgive, punish, or reward whomever He deems fit belongs to Allah alone.

O Prophet! Do not let yourself be grieved by the hypocrites who say with their mouths that they believe though they do not believe in their hearts, or by the Jews who twist what they hear from you and invent lies! These people also carry information about you to other groups who are hostile to Allah’s call and to the believers.

Some of the Jews would warn those they sent to you: “If he says things to you that accord with the Jewish creed and makes known rulings of that kind, believe them; but if he invites you to believe anything else and to abide by other rulings, never believe him.” Because they behave in this way, no one can guide to the right path those whom Allah allows to go astray. These are people whose hearts Allah did not wish to purify, people who have conditioned themselves to deny the truth. Humiliation awaits such people in this world and a severe punishment in the Hereafter. They also lend an ear to every kind of lie and believe it blindly, while turning away from the truths.

O Prophet! When they come to you to settle any dispute among them, you may either judge between them or leave them to themselves. If you leave them to themselves, they can do you no harm at all; but if you do judge, judge between them with justice. Allah loves those who judge with justice and uphold it.

Though they have with them the Torah in which they claim to believe, the Jews want to have you give rulings that suit them, to trap you and draw you away from justice; and then, objecting to the just rulings you give, they turn and walk away. In fact they do not believe even in the Torah in their own hands.

Surely it was We who sent down the Torah too, to invite people to live by the order of life that is the reason for their creation. The prophets, who had submitted themselves to Allah, would judge by it among the Children of Israel. Likewise the scholars among them who believed wholeheartedly in the Torah would give rulings holding fast to the original Torah, considered themselves charged with protecting its original text, and, believing that Allah had sent the Torah to bring people out of darkness into light, bore witness to it.

O Children of Israel! Be like those among your forefathers who in the past believed in Allah’s prophet and the Book He sent, submitted to His rulings, were not afraid to speak the truth, and feared Allah alone. Do not sell Allah’s verses for passing and petty worldly gain; turn to the call and the rulings of the Quran, which confirms the truths and the original text that remain in the Torah you have distorted.

Those who do not judge by what Allah has sent down are the very ones who deny the truth.

In the original Torah We prescribed for them these rulings: when someone is unjustly killed, the one who committed the murder is put to death in return; and likewise, provided it was done unjustly, the state will apply retribution (qisas): an eye for an eye, a nose for a nose, an ear for an ear, a tooth for a tooth, and like for like for all wounds. But if the injured party waives the right of retribution, this will count as atonement for that person’s sins. Those who do not judge by these rulings Allah has sent down are the very wrongdoers.

And to Jesus son of Mary We gave the Gospel, to confirm the truths that remained in the Torah that came before him, to make known anew what had been taken out of it, and to be a guide for people. Through the Gospel Jesus would invite people to abide by the rulings of the Islamic order and morality that are the reason for their creation.

Those who do not judge by what Allah has sent down are the very ones who are defiantly disobedient (fasiq).

O Prophet! To you too We have sent down the Quran, which sets out the truths plainly. This Quran is a divine guide that confirms the truths that remain in the Books sent down before it. So judge concerning the believers and those of the People of the Book who bring their disputes to you by the rulings Allah has sent down through the Quran, and never follow their desires and the baseless views they have invented.

Had Allah willed, He would have made you all a single community and compelled you to live by the order and morality whose limits Allah has set. Allah has brought into being different sharias (paths) to lead each people to living the order of life that is His call, and He will test them by whether they abide by it. So compete with one another in good works. In the end you will be called to account for all your conduct in this matter, and judgment will be passed among you accordingly.

O Prophet! The distorted rulings in the book in the hands of those who claim to be the People of the Book have been abolished by the Quran. Invite them too to abide by the rulings of the Quran, and never let them mislead you and keep you from applying some of these rulings. If they turn away from abiding by the rulings you give among them by the laws Allah has made known, know that Allah will punish them for it. The truth is that most people, along with those who are the People of the Book, are defiantly disobedient (fasiq) and will not give up the beliefs and habits of the Age of Ignorance.

Yet who could lay down a more perfect ruling (law) than Allah? Only those of sound mind who grasp Allah as they should, and wish to grasp Him, can understand this.

O you who believe! Do not take the Jews and the Christians as friends and walis (helpers); they are only the friends and walis of one another. Whoever among you takes them as friends and walis becomes one of them. Allah does not love those who take such people, who associate partners with Him and do wrong, as friends and walis and collaborate with them.

O Prophet! You see those who have not firmly settled faith in their hearts, the wavering, the cowardly, the sick of soul, racing one another to befriend and collaborate with those who associate partners with Allah and deny the truth, for fear that these may grow strong and gain the upper hand against the Muslims. But when Allah grants the Muslims a victory, or rewards them with some other blessing, these hypocrites with sickness in their hearts feel regret and pangs of conscience for the thoughts they hid within them and the wrongs they did.

Those who have believed with all their hearts and submitted to Allah, watching the hypocrites’ efforts to draw close to those who associate partners with Allah and deny the truth, say to one another: “Are these not the ones who came to us and swore by Allah, saying, ‘We are with you; we believe as you do’?” Allah brings to nothing what the hypocrites do in the name of goodness and kindness, and in the end they become losers.

O you who believe! Whoever among you turns back from his religion, let him know this: Allah will bring in their place a people whom He loves and who love Allah. They are most compassionate, merciful, and humble toward the believers, and toward the deniers heads held high, dignified, uncompromising, and strong. They strive (jihad) with their wealth and their lives in the cause of living Allah’s call and keeping it alive, and on this path they neither fear nor pay heed to those who blame them.

These are the qualities Allah graciously grants to those who believe wholeheartedly and submit. He strengthens these qualities in those He deems worthy. Allah alone knows the one absolute truth of everything.

O you who believe! Your true wali and friend is Allah alone, His messenger, and those who have believed in Him wholeheartedly and submitted to Him, who perform the prayer consciously and with care and give the zakat gladly. Whoever thus takes Allah, His messenger, and the believers as friends, these are the ones on Allah’s side, and it is they who will surely prevail.

O you who believe! Never take as friends and walis those who mock and make light of your order and morality, whether from among those who claim to be of the People of the Book before you or from others; if you have truly believed, pay heed to this and do not forget that you are responsible to Allah.

When you call such people to follow the right path, or when they are called to the prayer by the adhan, they mock and make your call a subject of amusement, for they are ingrates who do not use their minds rightly.

Say: “O you to whom the Book was sent before us! Is it because we believe in the Quran and the Books sent down before it, and strive to live by the order and morality to which we are invited, that you resent us and treat us with hatred? This is a result of your defiant disobedience (fasiq) and your straying, as you will not give up living as those who associate partners with Allah.”

O Prophet! Say to them also: “Do not forget that, for these reasons, they are the ones whom Allah cursed and, in His wrath, likened to apes and swine. They were condemned to humiliation because they followed the whisperings of Satan, mocked the Islamic order of life, and followed taghut (false authority) orders.”

O Prophet! When some of the People of the Book come to you together with the hypocrites, they say, “We too are believers like you.” Yet just as they did not come as true believers, neither do they leave as believers. Allah knows full well the intentions they conceal and their rancor and hatred toward the believers.

You see many of them racing one another in disregarding right and law, consuming what is unlawful, slandering, lying, and oppressing the weak.

Should not the rabbis and priests of the People of the Book, who appear so devout, have turned their own followers away from these evil habits? How evil it is that they did not do so.

Some of the Jews say, “Allah is tight-fisted; He is stingy.” It is they who are tight-fisted and stingy. Allah has cursed them for these words. Allah’s generosity is boundless, and both His hands are wide open; He bestows on whom He wills as much as He wills.

O Prophet! The Quran sent down to you from your Lord increases the rebellion, insolence, and ingratitude of many of them, and their rancor and hatred toward the believers. So We have increased the rancor and hatred among them toward one another until the Day of Resurrection. Whenever they kindle a fire of war against the believers, Allah has put it out. For they are striving to stoke and spread decay and degeneration on earth. Allah does not love such defiantly disobedient people.

If those who say they are of the People of the Book had believed wholeheartedly in the call made in Allah’s name through the Quran and fulfilled what it requires, We would have forgiven their sins and rewarded them with the blessings of Paradise. Had they abided by what they were invited to in the past through the Torah and the Gospel, and today by what is made known through the Quran, Allah would also have rewarded them with countless blessings from the sky and the earth. Few of them follow the right path to which they are invited. Most of them have taken shirk and disbelief as their way.

O Prophet! Keep on steadfastly conveying what has been sent down to you from your Lord; if you do not do so with all your strength, you will not have carried out the messengership Allah has entrusted to you. And in carrying out your task fear no one; Allah will protect you from the harm those who associate partners with Allah and deny the truth would do you. Allah does not guide the people who deny the truth.

Say: “O People of the Book! Unless you turn to and abide by the life to which you are invited through this Quran, sent down by your Lord and confirming the original Torah and Gospel, your saying ‘We too are People of the Book’ has no importance or worth whatever in Allah’s sight.”

O Prophet! The verses sent down to you from your Lord will increase the insolence, ingratitude, shirk, and disbelief of many of them. Do not grieve for these people who reject the call you make in Allah’s name through the Quran.

The hypocrites, who say they believe in the Prophet, the Quran, and the Last Day but do not refrain from acting two-faced, the Jews, the Sabians, and the Christians: if they believe wholeheartedly in Allah and the Last Day, take Allah alone as God, strive to live by the order of life to which they are invited, and do righteous deeds, Allah will reward them too with Paradise. For such people there will be no fear, nor will they grieve.

It is also a fact that, through the prophets We sent to the Children of Israel in the past, We took a pledge from them that they would follow Allah’s call; but whenever their prophets brought a ruling that did not suit their empty, meaningless desires and whims, they accused some of the prophets who brought it of lying and killed others. They supposed that no calamity, no punishment would befall them for what they had done; it was as if their eyes had gone blind and their ears deaf to the truths. After a while some of them came to their senses, repented of what they had done, and turned to what was right. Allah accepted the repentance of such people, but later they went back again to their old orders of shirk and disbelief. Allah certainly saw what they did.

The truth is that those who say, “Allah is the Messiah, son of Mary,” are deniers sunk in disbelief.

Yet the Messiah, Jesus son of Mary, always said to them: “O Children of Israel! Serve Allah, who is my Lord and your Lord. Whoever takes other gods alongside Allah has associated partners with Allah. The place of such people will be Hell. And those who associate partners with Allah will have no helpers at all.”

Those who say, “Allah is the third of three,” are also deniers who have strayed into disbelief. Yet there is no god but the One Allah. Those who will not give up these baseless, unreal, meaningless claims will be punished with a severe punishment. So will those who say such things not repent of it, take Allah alone as Lord and God, turn to what is right, and ask for forgiveness?

Allah is merciful, compassionate, and forgiving toward those who repent of their shirk and disbelief, turn to His call, and fulfill what it requires.

The Messiah, Jesus son of Mary, was a prophet like the messengers who came and went before him. His mother was a most chaste woman; they were mortals who ate and drank like other people. Though We make these truths plain, some people still turn away from them.

O Prophet! Say to them: “Jesus too is a servant whom Allah created as a human being and appointed as a prophet. Even so, will you take him as a god alongside Allah and worship him? Yet without Allah’s leave no one can bring you any benefit or do you any harm. It is Allah alone who knows the one absolute truth of everything, who is aware of everything, and who has power over everything.”

O Prophet! Say this too to those who take Jesus son of Mary as a god alongside Allah: “Do not become the playthings of Satan and of those who, having nothing to do with the truths Allah has made known, have believed lies and become devils themselves.”

Those of the Children of Israel who turned away from Allah’s call were cursed by the tongue of David and of Jesus son of Mary. Such people refused to recognize the limits Allah set, took it upon themselves to set limits and lay down rulings, and became ungrateful and insolent. Nor do they try to turn one another away from shirk, disbelief, and sin; and you see many of these Children of Israel collaborating with the enemies of the believers.

Yet had they believed in Allah’s Prophet and the Book He sent down to him, and turned to the order of life to which they are invited, they would not take anyone but Allah as a friend or expect help from anyone but Him.

Of all people, those most hostile to the believers are the Jews and those who associate partners with Allah. And of all people, you see that those who say, “We are Nasara (Christians),” bear love and respect toward the believers. For among them are monks, priests, and their followers who wonder about the reason for their creation and seek to live in keeping with it, who are not arrogant and do not put on airs, and who beware of ingratitude toward Allah.

When the verses of the Book Allah sent down to His Prophet begin to be recited to them, you see them grasp the truths and be unable to hold back their tears, and you hear them pray: “Our Lord! We have believed in Your call, so make us among those who bear witness to the truth and count us among the believers.” Then they call out to the people around them: “When our Lord, who created us and endowed us with so many blessings, calls those who respond to His call to enter His Paradise and to join the virtuous, excellent, and righteous, why should we not believe in His Prophet and His Book?”

If they fulfill what faith requires after believing, Allah will reward these people with Gardens through which rivers flow, where they will remain forever.

But those who refuse to live by the Islamic order of life that is Allah’s call, who are ungrateful and call Allah’s verses lies, will be condemned to Hell, where they will remain forever.

O you who believe! Do not deprive yourselves of the pure and good blessings Allah has made lawful for you; give thanks to Allah, fulfill your responsibilities consciously, and do not overstep the limits Allah has set.

O you who believe! Allah does not hold you responsible for the oaths you swear thoughtlessly, out of habit of speech, on some matter, but He does hold you responsible for the oaths you swear deliberately and consciously. When you break such an oath, as its atonement feed ten poor people with food equal to what you feed your families, or clothe them, or set a slave free. Whoever cannot afford these, let him fast three days in a row; this is the atonement for broken oaths.

O believers! Beware of swearing oaths too often and of breaking your oaths. Allah makes clear His verses and rulings to you so that you may reflect and give thanks.

O you who believe! Everything that intoxicates, games of chance, fortune-telling, soothsaying, sacrificing in the name of anyone other than Allah, and all idolatrous customs are snares set by Satan, filthy and abhorrent deeds; stay well away from them.

Through intoxicants, games of chance, and the snares of soothsaying about the future, Satan and those who have become devils sow hostility among you and plant the seeds of rancor; they make you put Allah out of your minds and your lives, and keep you from trusting in Him and seeking His help through prayer. Stay away from such filth, draw near to Allah, trust in Him alone, and take refuge in Him.

If you do not heed the warnings of Allah and the Prophet, do not keep away from the evils made known to you, and turn away from the warnings, you will surely come to harm; never let this slip from your minds. Do not forget that the Prophet’s task is to convey Allah’s verses clearly.

Those who believe wholeheartedly in Allah, follow gladly what the Prophet has made known in Allah’s name, and fulfill their responsibilities will not be held responsible for what they did before Allah’s rulings were made known to them. Let them, taking Allah alone as God, go on doing their utmost and doing righteous deeds in the cause of living and keeping alive the order and morality that are the reason for their creation, to which they are invited.

O you who believe! When you have entered ihram for Hajj or Umrah, Allah has forbidden you to hunt during these acts of worship. To test you by your attitude toward this prohibition, He will bring some game animals near you, close enough to catch with your hands or to hunt with a spear; whoever does not abide by this prohibition, let him know that a very severe punishment awaits him in the Hereafter.

O you who believe! Since Allah has forbidden you to kill game while in ihram, if any of you does not abide by this prohibition and deliberately kills a game animal, the penalty for the one who killed it is to slaughter at the Kaaba, as a sacrifice, an animal that two just persons testify is the equivalent of the one he killed, and distribute it to the needy, or to feed poor people to an amount equal to the value of the sacrifice. Those who cannot afford these, let them pay the atonement for this sin by fasting as many days as the number of poor people that an amount equal to the value of the sacrifice would suffice to feed. Allah does not hold you responsible for what was done before these rulings were made known, but He will make those who violate the prohibitions after these rulings were made known pay for what they did.

Allah lets no one get away with what he has done; He surely exacts retribution. He is just, mighty, and supreme.

While you are in ihram, both the hunting and the eating of animals that live in water are made lawful for you. The game forbidden to you when you are in ihram is only that which lives on land.

O you who believe! Live with awareness of your responsibilities toward Allah, and do not forget that in the end you will be gathered before Him and give account for what you did.

Allah has made the Kaaba a school, the symbol of rising up (qiyam) for taking Allah alone as Lord and God and for living by the order and morality that are His call. The sacred months and the sacrificial animals brought there for the Hajj and slaughtered are also among the symbols that none but Allah can be taken as god. Through these Allah reminds you of the reason for your creation, sets you in motion, and stresses the importance of the pledges given to Him.

Allah created nothing in the heavens and on the earth without purpose. He knows what is most right in everything, has power over everything, and is aware of everything.

Allah is most compassionate, merciful, and forgiving toward those who follow His call and fulfill what it requires. But He will punish with a very severe punishment those who are ungrateful and turn away from His call. The task of the prophets is to invite people, through Allah’s verses, to live the life that is the reason for their creation. Allah knows both what you hide and what you disclose.

O Prophet! Say: “Even if the things Allah has made unlawful please you, they are harmful to you and can never be as pure and good as the lawful. So, O believers! Be very careful and mindful about the things Allah has forbidden, so that you may be worthy of rewards and happiness.”

O believers! Do not ask idle, meaningless questions about things over and done with, questions that are of no benefit to you and that, if answered, would not please you. Allah has made known to you what you need to know and your responsibilities; what has not been made known does not concern your life in this world or in the Hereafter, and Allah does not hold you responsible for what He has not made known.

Allah is most merciful, compassionate, and forgiving toward the believers.

Before you, some people asked their prophets questions that Allah had not made clear because they did not concern them; and when they could not carry out the rulings in the answers they received, they strayed into denial and disbelief.

That those who associate partners with Allah give names such as Bahira, Saiba, Wasila, and Ham to some animals Allah has made lawful, but which they regard as unlawful for themselves to slaughter, eat, or use in any other way, stems from their superstitions. Allah has made known no ruling that it is unlawful to use those animals. Those who associate partners with Allah slander Allah with the lies they invent in His name. Such people do not use their minds anyway!

When such people are told, “Come, give up these false, meaningless beliefs of yours and turn to the truths that are Allah’s call,” they say, “We are content with the way of life that has come down to us from our forefathers.” But what if their forefathers lived as people who knew nothing and were not on the right path either; will they still go on following them?

O you who believe! You are responsible for yourselves; if you are on the right path, those who are in error cannot harm you. In the end the return of you all is to Allah, and every person will receive the recompense of the way he lived.

O you who believe! If you sense that death is approaching you, have two just witnesses from among your own people present for the will you are going to make. If you sense this while on a journey, you may also make two persons who are not of your own your witnesses. O believers! If you doubt whether those who witness your will are going to tell the truth, have them swear this oath after the prayer you perform: “By Allah, we will not bear false witness in return for any material or moral advantage, not even for the sake of a relative, and we will not conceal what Allah knows; otherwise we would be burdened with sin.”

If it comes to light that these people who swore to bear true witness have concealed the truth, lied, and sinned, then put two persons from the side whose rights in the inheritance have been lost in place of those who bore false witness, and let them swear by Allah that they will tell the truth, saying: “We swear by Allah that our testimony will be truer than the testimony of the former ones. For we will not depart from right and truth; if we do not act so, we too will be among the wrongdoers.”

In this way let the witnesses, wary of falling into the position of untrustworthy people like those before them, stay true to their oaths and bear their witness with justice.

Stay true to the oaths you swear in Allah’s name, hold fast to Allah’s verses consciously, and never let your responsibilities slip from your minds. Allah does not guide those who are indifferent to His rulings and turn their backs on them (the fasiqs).

On the Day of Reckoning Allah will gather the prophets too before Him and ask them: “When you called people to the right path that is the reason for their creation, how did they answer you?” And they will say: “Our Lord! While we were among them we knew only the face they showed us, but You know both their conduct after us and what they hid within them; we do not know what came to pass after us.”

Then Allah will say to Jesus: “O Jesus son of Mary! Remember the blessings I gave you and your mother: We supported you with the Holy Spirit (Gabriel), appointed you as a prophet, and sent you revelation. We made you speak like a grown man while you were in the cradle, and had you say that your mother was a chaste woman and that Allah had given you prophethood. Then We taught you the original Torah and the Gospel, and had you invite people to live by the order and morality that are the reason for their creation. As proof of your prophethood you would, by Our leave, shape a bird out of clay and, praying to Us, breathe into it and ask that it come to life. And We would bring it to life; then you would pray for the blind and the lepers to be healed, and in answer to your prayer We would heal them; what is more, so that you might show them that the dead will be raised, in answer to your prayer We also brought certain people who had died back to life. Though the truth of your prophethood and your call was made plain by so many proofs, those of the Children of Israel who persisted in associating partners with Allah and denying the truth not only said, ‘This is plainly sorcery, and you are a sorcerer,’ but also set out to harm you. And then We prevented them from harming you and saved you from them.”

O Jesus! I inspired the disciples, who were clad in white and seeking the truth, “Believe in and trust Me and My messenger,” and directed them to you. And they said, “Our Lord! We have believed; so You be witness. We will strive heart and soul to be Muslims who live in submission to the order and morality to which Jesus invites in Your name.” Later the disciples, to set their hearts at rest about a proof that their faith had been accepted by Allah and about the rewards they hoped for from Allah, said to Jesus: “O Jesus son of Mary! Will you ask your Lord to send down to us a table spread from the sky?”

At this Jesus said to them, “If you are truly people who have believed in Allah with all your hearts and trust in Him, act with reverence toward Allah and do not presume to test His knowledge and power with such requests.”

The disciples answered Jesus: “We wish to eat of the food that will be offered to us from the heavens and so set our hearts at rest. Let it also be proof that the order and morality to which you invite us and everyone are Allah’s call, and let us be witnesses to it.”

Thereupon Jesus prayed: “O Allah! Our Lord! Send down to us a table spread from the sky, so that this table may bring the joy of a festival to us and to those who come after us as proof of the truth of Your call, and be a sign of Your knowledge and power.”

And Allah revealed to Jesus: “I will send down this table to you; but whoever among you turns away from My call after that, I will punish him with a punishment such as I have never made anyone in the world suffer.”

On the Day of Reckoning, after reminding Jesus of the blessings He gave him, Allah will ask him: “O Jesus son of Mary! Did you say to people in the life of this world, ‘Take me and my mother as gods alongside Allah’?”

And Jesus will answer this question: “Never, my Lord! How could I say something I had no right to say! You are the absolute, exalted, and only God! Had I said anything to the contrary, You would surely have known it. You know what I think, what I say, and what I do, but I cannot know anything beyond what You have made known to me.

As Your command required, and with what You revealed to me and taught me, I invited them to live the Allah-centered life that is the reason for their creation, taking You alone as Lord and God, and I made known that only by living so can one serve Allah. As long as I lived among them I saw, knew, and bore witness to what they did. What came after You took my soul I do not know. It is You alone who watch over them, who are aware of everything, and who know the essence of everything. It is You who know what they deserve and what they are worthy of, and You who will decide. O my Lord! They are Your servants; the right over them, and the authority to reward whom You will, punish whom You will, and forgive whom You will, belong to You alone; it is You who are the Possessor of judgment, wisdom, and power.”

On that Day Allah will say: “Today is the day when those who kept the word they gave Allah, to take Allah alone as Lord and God and live the life whose limits Allah has set, to which they were invited, will be rewarded with Gardens, the home of blessings, where they will remain forever. Allah is pleased with them, and they are pleased with Allah.”

Truly, the fact is that sovereignty over the heavens, the earth, and all that is between them belongs to Allah alone. He has power over everything.