Essence of the Holy Qur’an — Page 15
15 Chapter 5 Al-M a ’idah ة (Revealed after Hijrah) Date of Revelation According to Commentators of the Qur’ a n this S u rah belongs to the Medinite period. ‘ A ’ishah is reported by Ha kim and Im a m Ahmad to have said that this is the last S u rah which was revealed to the Holy Prophet. Taking into consideration all the relevant data one is inevitably led to the conclusion that the S u rah was revealed in the last years of the Holy Prophet’s ministry and some of its verses were actually among the last to be revealed. Though Im a m Ahmad says on the authority of ‘Asm a ’, daughter of Yaz i d, that the whole of this S u rah was revealed together, it seems that because a major portion of it was revealed at one time, the whole of it came to be regarded as having been revealed at the same time. This is why perhaps Rodwell has assigned the S u rah the last place in order of revelation. Subject-Matter The S u rah , like S u rahs A l-e-‘Imr a n and An-Nis a ’, deals mainly with Christian doctrines and particularly denounces the doctrine that the Law is a curse. It opens with the injunction that all covenants must be fulfilled and that it was necessary to lay down laws as to what is lawful and what is unlawful. It further claims that the Qur’ a n has laid down ordinances bearing upon man’s complete moral and spiritual development, and it is in this respect that the Qur’ a n constitutes the final and irrevocable Divine Law for all mankind. This claim of the Qur’ a n is embodied in the fourth verse of the S u rah , which also implies that because the Law is most essential for the spiritual guidance of man and his moral development, it is wrong to regard it as a curse. The verse further hints that when the eating of meat offered to idols and of blood and of strangled animals was forbidden to Christians and this commandment constituted an ordinance of the Law (The Acts, 15:20, 29), they could not take exception to the Law and condemn it as a curse. The S u rah proceeds to lay down Islamic commandments with regard to eatables and enjoins that they should be H al a l , i. e. allowed by the Law and T ayyib (pure), i. e. their use should in no way contravene or offend against medical or hygienic regulations. Islam, alone of all religions, while laying down ordinances regarding lawful and unlawful things, has pointed out the nice distinction between what is only lawful and what is both lawful and pure. Next, it is stated that the Jews and the Christians broke God’s covenants and disregarded and defied Divine commandments which led to their moral and spiritual ruin and brought disgrace and humiliation on them. But they could now rehabilitate themselves into Divine favour by accepting the Holy Prophet. Christians are further