The Holy Quran with Five Volume Commentary (Vol 2) — Page 373
PT. 7 R. 13. AL-MĀ'IDAH CH. 5 will surely try you in a little يَا يُّهَا الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا لَيَبْلُوَنَّكُمُ اللهُ بِشَيْءٍ O ye who believe! Allah. 95 مِنَ الصَّيْدِ تَنَالُةُ أَيْدِيكُمْ وَ رِمَا حُكُمْ لِيَعْلَمَ اللَّهُ مَنْ يَخَافُهُ بِالْغَيْبِ ۚ فَمَنِ اعْتَدَى بَعْدَ ذَلِكَ فَلَهُ عَذَابٌ أَلِيمٌ matter: the which your game hands and your lances can reach, SO that "Allah may distinguish those who fear Him in secret. Whoso, therefore, will transgress after this shall have a grievous punishment. 722 a57:26. eat anything, if his partaking of it leads to his becoming pious and God fearing; and it is clear that such food, the eating of which makes a person pious and God-fearing, cannot but be pure and clean, for it is only clean food which can bring about such a result. Two important principles emerge from this verse: (a) that the things of this world having been made for the use and benefit of man are, as a rule, pure and clean; the forbidden things being only exceptions; (b) that clean and pure food exercises a beneficial influence on man's spiritual development, while unclean and impure food produces an adverse effect upon it. Moreover, the verse lays down three stages of spiritual progress for believers. In the first stage, believers fear God and believe and do good works, while in the second stage they fear God and believe, their belief being at this stage so strong as to become a natural and constant source of good works which become, as it were, part and parcel of their belief, and in the third and final stage they 813 fear God and do good to others which is not possible without perfect belief and good works, the mention of both of which has consequently been here left out as being understood. Thus, the words "and do good works" have been omitted in the description of the second stage, while the words "and believe" have been replaced with the words "and do good" in the description of the third stage. It should be noted that the expression (fear God), which has been repeated three times in the verse under comment, is peculiar to the Arabic language and gives a very vast meaning, the root idea underlying the word being "to be ever watchful and to be ever taking God for shelter" (see 2:3). Similarly, the expression || very vast (do good) is significance, for which see 2:113. 722. Commentary: in its As hunting is ordinarily done in a jungle where one is generally alone and where there is none beside God to observe one's breaking Divine commandments, the verse fittingly mentions hunting to illustrate or