TAFSIR LESSONS AL-MAIDA (082-100)(42)

“Euzu Billahiminesheytanirracim”

“BismillahirRahmanirRahiym”

Dear Qur’an friends, as you remember in our previous lesson we had studied the verses regarding people of the book and how we should behave accordingly as this community, the community of Muhammad. Qur’an had presented us how the people of the book have gone far in their religions. Qur’an was saying, la taglu fiy diynikum gayrel Hakk.. (77) Don’t overstep the boundries that which Allah drew. Don’t overstep the lines of Hakk.

So there’s a line in all constructions. No one can say something like, “If I believe indefinitely, I believe right.” Or “What does it matter, just believe in everything. What’s the harm in that?” No, there’s a completion a constitution and there are lines which defines the boundries and limits of everything. Every addition to that construct, every raise is like a sabotage to the union. That’s why both attacking and overstepping acts do corrupt, break and harm the perfectly balanced belief.

So is it all right to glorify our prophet and give him a position more than he’s supposed to? Wouldn’t it be better? Wouldn’t it be good if we love him like Allah? No, this is the definiton of insulting. You cannot say the same for the first community, “Wouldn’t it be better if we love them like we love the prophet?” No, this is overstepping.

That’s what the christians do. They took the pure and clean Islam unity and corrupted it with their love for the prophet. Actually the belief of trinity is not specifically about believing more than one god. No, Christianism cannot allow this to happen and no christian can accept that. But they claim that Allah shows His form on earth with different images. This is the line they cross. There’s no wicked belief on earth that come forward without a reason. All humanity are capable of doing horrible things and showing some wicked sensibility to justify their actions.

So Qur’an destroys this reasoning completely. And by telling us this, it also advises us to protect out prophets legacy, ourt beliefs, our books and and previous prophets and their previous books within the limits of belief. Otherwise we may end up in the same dilemma of theirs. Today we will continue our lesson with the 82nd verse of Maida Chapter.

82-) Letecidenne eshedden Nasi ‘adaveten lilleziyne amenul yahude velleziyne eshreku* ve letecidenne akrabehum meveddeten lilleziyne amenulleziyne kalu inna nesara* zalike Bi enne minhum kissiysiyne ve ruhbanen ve ennehum la yestekbirun;

Among man, you will indeed find the Jews and the dualists (those engaged in shirq) as the most severe in animosity towards the believers… And you will find the nearest of them in affection to the believers those who say, “We are Christians”… That is because among them (Christians) are men of deep knowledge and men who have renounced the world (submitted themselves wholly to Allah), who have no arrogance. (A.Hulusi)

Strongest among men in enmity to the believers wilt thou find the Jews and Pagans; and nearest among them in love to the believers wilt thou find those who say, “We are Christians”: because amongst these are men devoted to learning and men who have renounced the world, and they are not arrogant. (A.Yusuf Ali)

Letecidenne eshedden Nasi ‘adaveten lilleziyne amenul yahude velleziyne eshreku Among man, you will indeed find the Jews and the dualists those engaged in shirq as the most severe in animosity towards the believers.

ve letecidenne akrabehum meveddeten lilleziyne amenulleziyne kalu inna nesara And right after that, this explanation is added. And you will find the nearest of them in affection to the believers those who say, “We are Christians”.

zalike Bi enne minhum kissiysiyne ve ruhbanen ve ennehum la yestekbirun If we ask the reason of it, her we have. That is because among them Christians are men of deep knowledge and men who have renounced the world submitted themselves wholly to Allah, who have no arrogance.

Dear friends, this verse has a peculiar style. The shirq of christianism is the belief of trinity. Father, son and holy spirit belief is a total shirq. But in another sense arrogance is shirq too, so is lying. Remember there are forms of shirq which has ethical concerns in it. In this sense arrogance and lying are these kinds of shirq.

Interesting though, Qur’an never takes the trinity shirq in velleziyne eshreku form. It can never be described with these words. But all heathens of Mecca or idol worshippers are described with these exact words. velleziyne eshreku. This form is an expression related to the past and the use of it includes purpose. This expression is used to create a purpose knowingly.

So Qur’an hasn’t been carrying this ideology of trinity in Christianism to this level because it hasn’t been carrying a knowingly purpose. This is a very thin line of Qur’an. It doesn’t wipe all be seeing them all the same. Even if there’s a difference by essense, it never says, “It doesn’t matter. They are not muslims, so are the others.”

It’s not only an important point but a very important lesson for us that Qur’an teaches us about humans. Don’t wipe all out. Notice the difference, don’t ignore the difference. If this belief has the essense of right purpose, you cannot ignore it. It’s not up to you. More truly, try to understand it better. Don’t try to manipulate it and inform others the way you think. Try to know it as they described themselves. First try to understand, grasp the ideology, only after that make your judgement with the measures that Allah gave you.

So here about the Christianic trinity mentality, Qur’an chooses not to count them as regular heathens. Instead Qur’an sees their path as philosophical shirq on just image, not accepting mutliple deities. That’s the reason it doesn’t use the form velleziyne eshreku. And as an addition it says, “They are the ones closest to you.” Remember 77th verse. Their behaviours was given in 77th verse. Overstepping in religion. taglu fiy diyn.

Every religion has fanaticism in it. Groups which reach this fanatic level are called Gulat-i Islam. For example there’a a saying Gulat-i Shia. Also known as extreme groups. Rajit groups, extreme sects. Shia or general mentality in this case never accepts them. They are considered as gone astray.

People of Gulat also find their place in sunnet. There were fanatic groups in first community too. Religion always attracks these elements. That’s why Qur’an puts people of the book among the groups which reach to a fanatic level. Even more consider them as Islam’s overstepping fanatic groups. Because Islam is the name of all verses brought down to humanity so in this sense christianism and jewism are Gulat-i Islam, Islam’s fanatic groups.

At this point Qur’an opens a new topic and add the people of the book in this class. It never counts them equal with heathens. They are treated as a completely different group and they are also divided into two sections too. Jews are the ones who have the utmost hatred for believers. And people who say they are christians who are the most close to the book.

When giving this difference to our attentions, we also see this pattern at the end of verse. Among them, there are men devoted to learning and men who have renounced the world, and they are not arrogant. So the basic difference between a jew and christian is this. Arrogance in religion.

We should elaborate this further. Pride in religion, arrogance in religion. Making your beliefs as a closed faith, blessing yourselves and ignore everyone else. This is vanity.

Never accepting a truth beside yours. Rejecting all truths except the ones come from you. Denying the truth whether it’s in the West or the east. Remember we are the community of a prophet who accepts. Wisdom can be lost. Wisdom is a believers eversearched quality. He takes wherever he can find. That’s why the saying, “If a knowledge surfaces in China, go get it.”

Not every explanation is counted as wisdom according to Qur’an and its prophet. Wisdom is the light of truth. Qur’an chooses to name absolute reality and its knowledge, the wisdom. If there’s a reference or a hint about the truth even all across the world, it is be the place where we should go. There’s no denying that. Because the patern of the real truth belongs to noone. The real truth is open for everyone. Only being who owns the real truth and wisdom is Hakk. El Hakk. Allah. That’s why it’s common take for humanity and that’s also why no clan, no nation, no geographical presense can claim the truth for itself. Because of it’s nature you should own the truth not just a persons entrusted belongings but your Rabb’s entrusted possessions. You should treat it as a verse and hold on to it.

Jews haven’t done this like that. They shut themselves down all truth except theirs and the reason of their hatred fort his book has surfaced because of this. They had created a closed are as their religion. For them, there was only one religion existing. Nationality was a vital part for their religion that’s why there’s no missionary position is Jewism. There’s not because one cannot be a jew afterwards, or you cannot be a jew if you don’t carry the blood of sons of Israel.

What’s this? This is allocating the paradise solely to your race, solely to your religional nation. It’s basically taking Allah or in this case Yahve as your personal god of sons of Israel. He created them as first class. And the rest? Rest of humanity? You can see them in corrupted Tora of theirs. Rest of the clans shall bow down to you and kiss your feet.

With this logic they created a secret imperial order with one purpose above all, making all races, all nations, all clans and all cultures to bown down to them and serve them. This become the sole purpose of all jewish thinkers, philosophers, politicians and soldiers.

For that reason they use side organizations. Masons and Illimunati are some of them. Because there isn’t a position of recruiting. Their purpose is to recruit as many servants as they can. These side organizations are their hands on this matter. They don’t ask anyone to convert to Jewish because they had no right to become one of them. Outside their bloodline no human belong to the line of sons of Israel. Their positions outside is irrelevant to them.

Also the only reason of their disbelief in next prophet, even their book heralded his arrival, their ancient text informed them of him, many evidences proved his arrival is this. He’s not from us.

Qur’an brings a new perspective to this you and me concepts. In this sense the real truth doesn’t belong to you or us, the real wisdom is a common property, everyone can benefit from it and it should be taken wherever it may be found.

83-) Ve iza semi’u ma unzile iler Rasuli tera a’yunehum tefiydu mined dem’i mimma arefu minel Hakk* yekulune Rabbena amenna fektubna me’ashahidiyn;

And when they listen to that which has been revealed to the Rasul you will see their eyes overflowing with tears, for they recognize the knowledge revealed in the Truth… They say, “Our Rabb, we have believed… Write us down among the witnesses.” (A.Hulusi)

And when they listen to the revelation received by the Messenger, thou wilt see their eyes overflowing with tears, for they recognize the truth: they pray: “Our Lord! we believe; write us down among the witnesses. (A.Yusuf Ali)

Ve iza semi’u ma unzile iler Rasuli Topic continues here. When they listen to revelations received by Rasul, who are they? That group who call themselves Christians. People who recognize Hakk and bow down to Him, submit to Hakk rule, people who haven’t fallen into their desires in religion, who haven’t tried to take belief into their domain, people who haven’t claimed that they are the only ones that are saved.

tera a’yunehum tefiydu mined dem’i mimma arefu minel Hakk you will see their eyes overflowing with tears, for they recognize the knowledge revealed in the Truth. You see them crying.

Why crying? mimma arefu minel Hakk because they recognize the knowledge revealed in the Truth. Interesting is it not? Recognizing the truth. This is one of the greatest blessing that Allah has given to humanity. Recognizing the truth, Hakk when it is seen. What is the first condition of using this blessing then? Never closing your hearts and minds to the truth and wisdom at first place. yekulune Rabbena amenna fektubna me’ashahidiyn; They say, “Our Rabb, we have believed… Write us down among the witnesses.

There are many rumors on the reason of arrival of this passage and without any alliance as well. But it reeks a historical incident. There must be an event occured those days to be the main subject of this verse. Of course Qur’an never limits itself with a specific incident in history. But the first reason is always the starting point to start the arrival. By doing research I came across a specific event, most consistent fort his situation. Our true believer brother, great king of Ethiopia, Necashi; he sent a group of religion experts to Madina. Arrival of these 12 men to meet Rasulallah can be the reason of arrival of this verse. Taberi and some others also delivers this record from Suddi and not many argues of this incident too.

These religion figures came to answer Rasulallah’s call openly. Necashi, who sent them and gave his reference was also a believer and follower of Rasulallah. So a group of Christian religion experts arrived and came to Rasulallah openly but they returned back as christians. But don’t forget this. They returned back as Muslim Christians who give their faiths to Prophet Jesus.

I’m not going to make speculations over this matter further. There are many verses on this subject whether it can be possible or not. Even this chapter we have been studying, 40 to 52 verses of Al-Maida give us many clues on this. Remember the 48th verse ..li kullin cealna minkum shir’aten ve minhaca.. (48) “To each of you We prescribed a law and a method…” and following message is this. “So hasten to do good.” Allah wants us to race to do good deeds.

Arrival of this group is specific with date and time. And when they came to Rasulallah and heard the truths he was assigned to deliver, they bursted into tears. Because they recognize the truth, their faiths were witnessed with their tears in front of Rasulallah.

I don’t really know about becoming witnesses among the verses that were read though. Is there a verse regarding this communities becoming withesses. Hence the sentence, “Count us among the witnesses.” Like 143rd verse of Al-Baqarah.

Ve kezalike cealnakum ummeten vesetan.. (Baqarah/143) That’s how Allah makes you a balanced community. Balance. litekunu shuhedae alenNas so that you bear witness to humanity ve yekunerRasulu aleykum shehiyda and so that Rasulallah be witness to you, be an example to you. I wonder this verse was read in this meeting, considering the timeline, I have no reason to object this. My humble opinion, there were some passages were read from Qur’an and this verse was among them that’s why when they heard it, they said “O Rabb, write us down among the witnesses. We shall be witnesses too so that Rasulallah be witness to us.”

This was the attitude of that Christian group when they visited Rasulallah in Madina as guests, we see how they are close to the truth and their actions indicates that they are almost there to accept it completely. There are many jewish groups in that area where they witnessed many verses arrival, witnessed many incindent and events. But despite all those truths and all those years of becoming the center of many things, they came nowhere close to accept it. They constantly raised their heads and denied the truth.

So this difference is taken under consideration here. Qur’an makes its seperation based on this historical experience. People of different religions are seperated here based on their attitude in front of the truth. Naturally this seperation is justified like this.

84-) Ve ma lena la nu’minu Billahi ve ma caena minel Hakki ve natme’u en yudhilena Rabbuna me’al kavmisSalihiyn;

“Why should we not believe in that which has come to us from Allah, our essence with His Names, and the Truth, when we have been longing for Him to admit us to the company of the righteous!” (A.Hulusi)

“What cause can we have not to believe in Allah and the truth which has come to us, seeing that we long for our Lord to admit us to the company of the righteous?” (A.Yusuf Ali)

Ve ma lena la nu’minu Billahi ve ma caena minel Hakk again from their speech, Qur’an gives us these words. ““Why should we not believe in that which has come to us from Allah?” And their intentions follow this sentence. “Why shouldn’t we believe?

ve natme’u en yudhilena Rabbuna me’al kavmisSalihiyn seeing that we long for our Lord to admit us to the company of the righteous. This is the intention. We have no insistance over to be counted amont a specific group. Why we convert to christianism in the first place, because hakk is here. So if Hakk is here now, we also want to be among the believers and righteous. We believe this happenings purpose is this. If it’s not, if for any reason the purpose of Hakk is gone, we begin out search for Hakk and be there. As in we don’t claim “Hakk is with us.” We say, “We are with Hakk, we adjust ourselves accordingly. Wherever we see the truth we follow it there. Our membership is at Hakk, not to a name, not to a pattern, not the a title, not to a cliche, not to a label. Our purpose is only and only Hakk.

This is important. Here Qur’an informs us with these verses, only membership of believers, only lead we should follow is hakk, the truth.

85-) Fe esabehumullahu Bi ma kalu cennatin tecriy min tahtihel enharu halidiyne fiyha* ve zalike cezaul muhsiniyn;

 And for this Allah rewarded them with Paradises underneath which rivers flow, where they will abide eternally… Such is the recompense for the doers of good! (The recompense/result/consequence of good is good). (A.Hulusi)

And for this their prayer hath Allah rewarded them with Gardens, with rivers flowing underneath,- their eternal home. Such is the recompense of those who do good. (A.Yusuf Ali)

Fe esabehumullahu Bi ma kalu cennatin tecriy min tahtihel enharu halidiyne fiyha Their words, their speech of being among the Hakk believers, this mentality that liked by Allah, Allah promise them this. What is Allah’s promise? And for this Allah rewarded them with Paradises underneath which rivers flow, where they will abide eternally. They have been rewarded, Qur’an says. Fe esabehumullahu Bi ma kalu verse is clear as day in its words. They are rewarded. halidiyne fiyha where they will abide eternally.

ve zalike cezaul muhsiniyn Such is the recompense of those who do good. It can also be translated as recompense of the good. Only good people in nature can do good deeds. So, such is the recompense of the good.

86-) Velleziyne keferu ve kezzebu Bi ayatina ulaike ashabul cehiym;

But those who deny the knowledge of the reality and Our signs (the manifestations of the Names), they are the companions of hell! (A.Hulusi)

But those who reject Faith and belive Our Signs,- they shall be companions of Hell-fire. (A.Yusuf Ali)

Velleziyne keferu ve kezzebu Bi ayatina But those who reject Faith and belive Our Signs,

Qur’an works on both angles. Muspet and menfi come one after each other. Good example following the bad or vice versa, blessing and wrath, heaven and hell; they can all be seen from a single frame. That’s how you can make a sound decision, this double angled vision is for our decision. Qur’an works like this. That’s why the frame shows us the second scenario here, we gaze upon the bad now.

Velleziyne keferu ve kezzebu Bi ayatina But those who reject Faith and belive Our Signs, ulaike ashabul cehiym they shall be companions of Hellfire.

Here the passage ends. A new passage opens in front of us. But a new passage doesn’t necessarily means a new topic, unrelated altogether. Qur’ans miracle is in its presentation. It’s knowledge carries a perfect balance in its style. All sentences, all verses, all passages and chapters have perfect balance within. There are countless cross references, direct references, parallel references in all kinds of intricate forms. That’s why it’s a miracle speech. And now we continue this miracle speech with this verse.

87-) Ya eyyuhelleziyne amenu la tuharrimu tayyibati ma ehallAllahu lekum ve la ta’tedu* innAllahe le yuhibbul mu’tediyn;

O believers!… Do not forbid the pure provisions, which Allah made lawful to you, and do not transgress (by making unlawful what has been made lawful)! Indeed, Allah does not like the transgressors. (A.Hulusi)

O ye who believe! make not unlawful the good things which Allah hath made lawful for you, but commit no excess: for Allah loveth not those given to excess. (A.Yusuf Ali)

Ya eyyuhelleziyne amenu O believers!… Or like I mentioned in my previous translations, O you have the claims of being a believer, if you are honest in your claims and wish to prove it la tuharrimu tayyibati ma ehallAllahu lekum ve la ta’tedu Do not forbid the pure provisions, which Allah made lawful to you, and do not transgress.

At first glance, it may seem irrelevant with the previous passage. But look closely and focus. There’s a subtle but obvious connection. Previous passage was mentioning the christians who follow the Hakk and submit themselves the truth. Of course this also carries the reference of history from those days to here. But a contradiction also here for us to notice. Because these groups also belong to christianic agonism.

In Christianism mostly, religion experts, monks, priest and nuns; they own a specific class in society and they choose a path of agony, restricting themselves from several things Allah give permission of is a way to reach Allah. They thing the path of pain is a way to reach enlightenment. By banning themselves from licensed pleasures they try to reach the creator. More painfully they advice these to humanity as well, sometimes by force. For example, don’t get married if you want to get close to Allah. Don’t drink, eat, sleep if you want to reach Allah. Don’t talk to anyone, find a cave and live within.

In Anatolia you may find countless deserted caves that were used by these Christian self-agonizers. First christians were following this path in many occasions. So many cities had marks. From Alexandia to Amasia, you may still come across a deserted cave or buildings used as agonyhouses by these individuals.

So naturally Qur’an objects this. Qur’an says this. O believers; la tuharrimu tayyibati ma ehallAllahu lekum Do not forbid the pure provisions, which Allah made lawful to you. Don’t pull yourselves back from the things that Allah made lawful to you. Don’t forbid yourselves from clean and beautiful things.

We may see similar trends in Islam history especially in Rasulallah’s life in Madina. Many records show similar incidents. Groups including Osman bin Maznun, Caliph Ali, Abu Zer-i Gifari, Selam-ı Farisi and some others.

They also envied a lifestyle like this. One day they promised themselves, without consulting Rasulallah. They thought they know better and swore an oath not to eat meat anymore. More than that, they swore to leave their families, g oto a cave outside the city and try to get close to Allah by making prays and fastings day and night. Of course this news reached to Rasulallah and he summoned them, scolded them harshly and said;

– Innemen kablekum sheddedu ala en fusihim ve sheddedallahu aleyhim.

“Many communities before you tried to make things harder for themselves. Allah looked at them and make things even harder for them.” So don’t do anything unnecessary, so to speak.

“I do fasting, but sometimes I also may not. There are times I choose not to. I pray to Allah, worship Allah but I’m also with my family. I am close to my children. I too eat meat. So you consider me not a good example then? Whom do you take as your example? I am in front of you with my life yet you try to do things I wouldn’t do. You try to do things Allah hasn’t ordered.”

I mentioned above, overstepping the unity, as in “What harm could come from believing more, isn’t this better?” You cannot say that. You cannot say, “More is good.” on this matter. Hulul in actions, overstepping in actions. Don’t undermine your faiths with actions you cannot handle.

What happens then? You stuck in a terrible destruction. At first you feel like these actions make you closer to Allah. After a while you reach to a point where you cannot handle all these but you cannot give up either. Because it may seem disrespectful. You show yourself to public or seen by them as you are now so you cannot back up. Since the things in your past cannot be done in your future, this leads you to act with hypocracy. You then entitle yourself as hypocrite unintentionally. At last you begin to do things you won’t normally do and go beyond that and do worse, you fall into sin territory.

So why would anyone wants to take the title of hypocrite knowingly when the legit and licenced is already there for the taking?

Allah who knows human nature better than anything, cuts the line withot it begins. That’s why Qur’an says, “We haven’t ordered a spiritual class.” Remember the verse, “They invented their rules and they didn’t follow them.” This is the best explanation for this situation, isn’t it? They create first, invent some rules. Then; they choose not to follow them. You are the ones who invent it, at least follow your own rules. But they cannot.

They can’t because human nature is not suited for that. Allah put veins to human nature. Desire is a vein, lust is a vein, pleasure, sustenance is a vein. So these are the reactions, conclusions of these veins. You cannot deny them.

Religion, puts them in a line. It channels you to do these in legitimate borders. It never orders you to give them up completely. There’s a desire in life for life. This is a vein. If joy of life hasn’t been put in human nature, earth would have been a dungeon for people. People can never be attracted to other people. That’s why you shouldn’t try to cut these veins. What should you do then? Keep them open and flowing but rightfully. Without getting them infected. This verse which deny agonism also catches this contraversy.

Tayyibat. It includes everything clean and healthy according to verse. Habisat as the opposite includes all things bad and filthy.

That reminds me an interesting example. From Islamic records, prophethood times, this incident clarifies everything for us.

A clan came to Rasulallah to declare their submission, their faiths to Allah. An arabic tribe. But that tribe had a feature. They weren’t eating the hearts of the animal they cut. They declared them forbidden among themselves. They thought it may bring bad luck and consider this a situation of faith.

Do you know what did Rasulallah say to them? “As long as you don’t eat hearts, your faiths won’t be valid.” Very interesting, some might ask what is the connection of eating hearts and faith. In practical ways; none, nothing, there’s no connection. They are the ones who mix these two different concepts to each other to begin with. Rasulallah’s words set the terms to fix this false assumption altogether. It’s to remind them who is the real right to say the last word, is it you or Allah. This is important. Allah hasn’t said a filthy or dirty about a specific thing, so what gives you the right to say otherwise? Who gives you the power to declare this thing ugly, bad or forbidden? Only Allah has the final decision about a creation. Classification of material is Allah’s territory so one shouldn’t use this power of Allah unjustly. This is a form of shirq.

..men harrame ziynetellahilletiy ahrece li ibadiHI.. Araf/32 says this in Qur’an. Who banishes the blessings Allah created for His worshippers? An interesting expression, right? Who has the authority to put restrictions on blessings, sustenances, provisions which Allah gave to humanity? Forbidding good and clean things to people. Who has this right? Qur’an classifies these people as self claimed Rabbs beside Allah. That’s why Adiy Bin Hatem had objected it.

-But o Rasulallah, we didn’t bow down to our priests, we didn’t take them as Rabb, we didn’t worshipped them.”

Rasulallah answered, “No, it’s not like that. You haven’t understood it. The verse says this. ..ahbarehum ve ruhbanehum erbaben min dunillah… Tevbe/31 Yes, they took their rabbis, priests, their religion experts as Rabbs beside Allah.

This dialogue happened for this verse, between Adiy Bin Hatem and Rasulallah. Rasulallah says, “Haven’t you accept what they called good, good and what they call sin, bad? Weren’t those people the ones who set the right and wrong for you? This is the exact definition of taking them as Rabbs. This is a balanced approach which we mostly ignore or forget.

ve la ta’tedu. innAllahe le yuhibbul mu’tediyn; It’s only natural the verse ends with this sentence. but commit no excess: for Allah doesn’t love transgressors.

88-) Ve kulu mimma razekakumullahu halalen tayyiba* vettekullahelleziy entum Bihi mu’minun;

Eat of the lawful and good things Allah has provided for you… Protect yourselves from Allah, whom you believe is the essential reality of your being with His Names. (A.Hulusi)

Eat of the things which Allah hath provided for you, lawful and good; but fear Allah, in Whom ye believe. (A.Yusuf Ali)

Ve kulu mimma razekakumullahu halalen tayyiba* Eat of the things which Allah has provided for you, lawful and good; vettekullahelleziy entum Bihi mu’minun; but fear Allah, in Whom you believe.

In my earlier explanation I mentioned transgressing or outright rejecting Allah’s authority of setting and classification. So here we see the words, “Fear Allah, be respectful to Allah.” If you want to be respectful to Allah whom you show faith, then don’t transgress the boundries and don’t try to take over Allah’s classification authority. Because if you do, you become one of those transgressors.

89-) La yuahizukumullahu Billagvi fiy eymanikum ve lakin yuahizukum Bima ‘akkadtumul eyman* fekeffaratuhu it’amu ashereti mesakiyne min evseti ma tut’imune ehliykum ev kisvetuhum ev tahriyru rakabetin, femen lem yecid fesiyamu selaseti eyyam* zalike keffaretu eymanikum iza haleftum* vahfezu eymanekum* kezalike yubeyyinullahu lekum ayatiHI leallekum teshkurun;

Allah will not hold you responsible for oaths you make thoughtlessly! But you are responsible for the oaths you make intentionally and consciously! The expiation for breaking an oath made consciously is feeding or clothing ten needy people, or freeing one slave! Whoever lacks the means to do this should fast for three days. This is the expiation for breaking your oaths! Keep your oaths… Thus does Allah explain His signs to you, so that you evaluate. (A.Hulusi)

Allah will not call you to account for what is void in your oaths, but He will call you to account for your deliberate oaths: for expiation, feed ten indigent persons, on a scale of the average for the food of your families; or clothe them; or give a slave his freedom. If that is beyond your means, fast for three days. That is the expiation for the oaths ye have sworn. But keep to your oaths. Thus doth Allah make clear to you His signs, that ye may be grateful. (A.Yusuf Ali)

La yuahizukumullahu Billagvi fiy eymanikum A new passage has been entered by Qur’an. A passage about oaths and it says this Allah will not hold you responsible for oaths you make thoughtlessly! ve lakin yuahizukum Bima ‘akkadtumul eyman But you are responsible for the oaths you make intentionally and consciously!

Explanation comes with translation on this one. There’s also a close connection between this passage and the previous one. People cannot turn good to sin by giving oath. As I mentioned before Osman bin Maz’un and his friends had sweared on not to eat meat, to seperate from their family and to live on mountain. So even with an oath you don’t have the power to turn something clean and good for you to sin. You have to break that oath. So if you ask how can we break this oath, Qur’an explains it here.

This verse has two sides, in special it’s the way to break an oath but in general perspective it’s that all oaths, all promises given to Allah shall put a responsibility over people. You swear in the name of Allah, and you expect not to be counted responsible. That won’t happen. Because giving and oath is like talking for Allah; talking for Allah is a bone chilling situation. Qur’an warns us to stop there. You speak for Allah, you give Allah as your witness. That shouldn’t be so simple.

Why? To maintain the sensitivity between Allah and that person. This is the problem. This is all about maintaining the seriousness of this relation. Our Rabb doesn’t want us to break this line.

At this point the speech comes to oaths, as we studied 224 and 225th verses of Al-Baqarah we saw the depths of giving oaths. That’s why I don’t need to go deep on law aspect here. But I want to make a clear picture with this passage and the situation of Osman Bin Maz’un that I mentioned before. This is a reference for all true believers that they should maintatin their relations with Allah and not to carry this connection to some tinier and flimsy platform.

fekeffaratuhu it’amu ashereti mesakiyne min evseti ma tut’imune ehliykum The expiation for breaking an oath made consciously is feeding or clothing ten needy people. With the measures of what you give to your own family of course. That’s why all penances in Qur’an, all penances regarding feding or clothing poors, also fitre alms in Ramadan and all other alms, what is the mesaure of all these, this is the answer to all true believers, the measure is what you eat.

What you eat… Because it’s relative. Everyone eat by their live standards. So, you should give your alms and penances based on your life standards. If you live first class but when it comes to giving alms and helping poors suddenly you turn into third class, that won’t be right. It’s not ethical. That’s why it is said the average of what your family eat. Qur’an offers here to establish an average alms for you in case of a need arises to break a vow.

ev kisvetuhum Or clothing. It’s not just feeding the poor, we have an alternative here. Clothing the poor. ev tahriyru rakabetin or set a person free. This part is about the slavery institution which Qur’an hadn’t cut right awayon its arrival but widen the process through time. This is one of many ways to finish slavery. Qur’an spreads the process through years, centuries even, but it also prevents it to turn into a social scar.

I should also talk about vow situation. Vows and oaths are two parts.

1-Vows make in the name of Allah.

2-Vows make in other names beside Allah.

Vows make to something beside Allah has no place in our religion. It’s not valid or admissible whatever that name may be. Your honor, your pride something else, by religion it isn’t counted as an oath. But by ethical or traditions, it may be a part of that community so it might have a place in society. But by faith, a vow without counting Allah in isn’t a vow. It’s not true or right either. And since oaths are problems about faith, giving an oath to bind you to an earthly situation isn’t true altogether.

Vow means right. Figuratively it can also be used as right hand. Using the right hand for greeting has a weight here. Every vow is a contract. That’s why when you vow, you make a contract with Allah. So naturally you cannot give an oath or say a vow in the name of something else. It’s like you cannot give sacrifice to someone beside Allah, vows fall into the same territory. If it is, it has no value in religion.

So, what about the  vows made in the name of Allah. They divided into 3 parts within themselves.

1-Oaths that don’t require anything as penance which we mentioned at the beginning of this verse. There are some oaths that can be used figuratively, as speeches of habit. You may tell things like, “I swear, it was just like that.” “I swear, this happened.” These are the types of oath that don’t hold any weight.

2- Oaths that require penance. Certain vows which bound the people in future. If an oath is given to Allah verbally regarding something in future, this oath needs a penance in case of breaking it. Naturally if you fulfill the oath to its goal, no penance is required. But it should be legit in first place, as in you cannot swear on restricting yourself from good. In this case you must break it immediately and give penance. Otherwise there might be oaths to encourage yourselves which there’s no harm from them.

A sacrificial promise is an oath in this sense. Sacrificial promise is literally a vow so like all vows it should be fulfilled. Not because it’s a worshipping act, but because it’s a promise in nature. Since you give this promise to Allah, you should definitely fulfill it. If you promise Allah for a sacrifice, you should give that sacrifice in order to maintain a healthy connection with Allah.

3-Last oath type is the one we call false oaths. In Islamic law it’s called yemin-i gamus. There’s no penance for that. It’s a sin so heavy, you cannot save yourselves by just penance. Perjury is a sin and crime. That’s why just penance and repetance are not ways to ease this situation.

Of course like all sins, the door of repetance is open. But like all things every repetances have conditions. If there’s a gain from that false oath or perjury, that gain should be given away, if a harm happens by it, that harm should be eliminated. This is the condition of it, otherwise repetance is not an option to relieve your weight of sin.

femen lem yecid fesiyamu selaseti eyyamin Those who cannot find it shall fast for three days. It was counted above, you feed, you cloth or you set free. But there might be people who haven’t got that kind of power, they should do fasting for three days for penance. Ibn Mesut read this expression with this foot note, fesiyamu selaseti eyyamin…

selaseti eyyamin mutetabiatin as in three days in a row. This is an explanation for translation. And this translation is Ibn Mesut’s own Mushaf. There are people who accepts both the translation and the explanation of Ibn Mesut’s Mushaf, but there are some other who read the translation but think differently for the explanation. But many exprerts like Imam Azam Abu Caniph accepted this particular explanation and support this three days of fasting in one.

zalike keffaretu eymanikum iza haleftum there are the penances of those oaths you break. Penalties of broken vows. vahfezu eymanekum so fullfill your oaths, and if you swear an oath that you cannot keep, you should do these penances in return. Do this so you have an integrity at Allah’s floor. Don’t start a thing by counting Allah in and then pull yourselves back because of your laziness or fears, don’t use Allah’s name as a mere tool.

kezalike yubeyyinullahu lekum ayatiHI leallekum teshkurun; Thus does Allah explain His signs to you, so that you evaluate. Like I said, you cannot swear an oath on a name other than Allah. You shouldn’t forget that. The binding of an oath both morally and religiously is the name of Allah. And now Qur’an continues to a new passage.

90-) Ya eyyuhelleziyne amenu innemel hamru vel meysiru vel’ensabu vel’ezlamu ricsun min amelisheytani fectenibuhu leallekum tuflihun;

O believers… Intoxicants, gambling, objects of idolatry and divining arrows (fortune telling) are things of satanic abomination! Avoid them so that you may attain emancipation. (A.Hulusi)

O ye who believe! Intoxicants and gambling, (dedication of) stones, and (divination by) arrows, are an abomination,- of Satan’s handwork: Eschew such (abomination), that ye may prosper. (A.Yusuf Ali)

Ya eyyuhelleziyne amenu O believers.. innemel hamru vel meysiru vel’ensabu vel’ezlamu ricsun min amelisheytani Intoxicants, gambling, objects of idolatry and divining arrows of fortune telling are things of satanic abomination!

Yes, dear friends. What is the connection of this passage with previous one? Previous passage had a different topic, a group among christians; Qur’an wanted us to pay attention to their conflictions. They were forbidding themselves from good things like sins but they were also drinking wine like it’s an act of worshipping. That’s not going to work, Qur’an presents a basic logic here, it’s this. If you make something good as sin for yourselves, you may also make a sin like it’s a good thing for you too. That’s how someone mix the lines. That’s how Christians go astray.

Marriage one of the most clean and good things of life, and they put restrictions on that, they forbid themselves from marriage but then you will go and drink alcohol which is forbidden by Allah and you will do that as an act of worshipping. You will make that as an act of faith. This is the mixed lines. Forbidden goods and blessed sins.

Here the verse mentions meysir or gamble as we know it. All kinds of luck games where you may gain or lose something. It’s not the game itself though. It’s the consequence that makes a game, gamble. If a game leads to an end where lies a sin, that game is gambling and it’s forbidden. If not, then it’s not gambling, it’s just a game. It may be put some restrictions if it may lead to a similar end but forbidding directly is out of question here.

We also see ensab in verse. What is ensab, it’s actually an altar. The stone where the sacrifices been made for idols. The stone where the sacrificial rituals been made. But here we should take this meaning more figurative than literal. It’s making a sacrifice something or someone other than Allah. Forbidden naturally.

So you might say, we make sacrifices when we start building homes or when we finally get together with people we love, what about them? If these sacrifices have been made in the name of Allah, it’s legit. Because it has the nature of shukr, a thank you. But if the sacrifice has been made in the name of that building or person, this officialy enters the acts of heathens for sure. All those sacrifices we see around have been made as a gratitude to Allah.

I mentioned alcohols restriction process before in various verses. This verse is the last of that restriction process. It was a three verses situation as you remember. First restriction came by the form of Al-Baqarah/219. What was it saying?

Yes’eluneke anil hamri vel meysir* kul fiyhima ismun kebiyrun ve menafi’u linNas Baqarah/219

“They ask you about booze, things that intoxicate them, and gambling. Say; “Both things carry benefits for humans.” It’s true. Alcohol business was a strong one in those era many families were gaining a lot of money from it. There were benefits for sure. But the verse also continues “ But there are evils for them too.” Qur’an chose a delicate path here and the restriction process progressed step by step. This is the proof of Qur’ans caring for humanities inner and social situations. This is also the proof of Allah’s compassion.

Second restriction came by the form of Nisa/43. ..la takrebusSalate ve entum sukara.. This verse arrived to make a point for a situation. An imam had lead a pray while intoxicated and that’s when the restriction was widened.

Third and last verse on this subject is this. That’s why Mother Aisha says;

“If alcohol was restricted by the first verse, the community of Muhammad wouldn’t be able to handle it.” That’s why we see Allah’s compassion and understanding to humanity. It also sheds some light on our behaviours and how we should handle a similar situation.

fectenibuhu leallekum tuflihun; Avoid them so that you may attain emancipation. Permanent happiness. Not just a temporary joy of earthly life. Felah is the name of happiness both in this world and the next.

 91-) Innema yuriydusheytanu en yuki’a beynekumul adavete vel bagdae fiyl hamri vel meysiri ve yesuddekum an zikrillahi ve anisSalati, fehel entum muntehun;

 Satan seeks to sow animosity and hatred among you by means of intoxicants and gambling, and to keep you from the remembrance of Allah and from salat… Will you then desist? (A.Hulusi)

Satan’s plan is (but) to excite enmity and hatred between you, with intoxicants and gambling, and hinder you from the remembrance of Allah, and from prayer: will ye not then abstain? (A.Yusuf Ali)

Innema yuriydusheytanu en yuki’a beynekumul adavete vel bagdae fiyl hamri vel meysir As we see here again, Qur’an is a book of persuation. Allah doesn’t order people, Allah persuades the true path. We see it in this verse too. The reason of previous restriction is explained here.

Satan seeks to sow animosity and hatred among you by means of intoxicants and gambling, ve yesuddekum an zikrillahi ve anisSalati and to keep you from the remembrance of Allah and from salat.

You see it, aren’t you? Allah convinces you. Qur’ans history is a persuation history. Even Allah chooses this path to persuade people, we should also follow this path when we deliver Qur’an to other people. This is the way of Allah. Here we see examples of those harmful things we have been restricted with. The message is sent to peoples reasons, minds. Allah doesn’t say, “I forbid them, so they are forbidden.” He says, “I forbid them because of these things, I don’t have anything to gain from that, it’s forbidden because of you. If you use your heads, you forbid them to yourselves as well.”

But if you do this because you bow down to your desires, I should restrict them for your own protection. This order should be a veil in front of your weaknesses so that you won’t work to harm yourself, humanity. Don’t act against yourselves. Don’t sign your own execution. Qur’an says this here. The problem is explained.

fehel entum muntehun Will you then desist?

After the arrival of this verse, first community declared their final decisions. They said, “We gave up.” That’s that. It is said that after this decision the streets of Madina was like a river made byh alcohol. All kegs were broken. It was like, they were carrying all those big containers and broke them with joy. Because they were prepared they were convinced. This was the final hit of a long preparation process.

92-) Ve etiy’ullahe ve etiy’ur Rasule vahzeru* fein tevelleytum fa’lemu ennema ala Rasulinel belagul mubiyn;

Obey Allah, obey the Rasul and beware! If you turn away, know well (the responsibility) upon Our Rasul is only clear notification. (A.Hulusi)

Obey Allah, and obey the Messenger, and beware (of evil): if ye do turn back, know ye that it is Our Messenger’s duty to proclaim (the message) in the clearest manner. (A.Yusuf Ali)

Ve etiy’ullahe ve etiy’ur Rasule vahzeru Obey Allah, obey the Rasul and beware! fein tevelleytum fa’lemu ennema ala Rasulinel belagul mubiyn If you turn away, know well the responsibility upon Our Rasul is only clear notification.

From this verses speech style we understand that these advises aren’t just for Muslims but Christians as well. It’s a possibility. Verses indicates that Rasulallah cannot or should not force anyone to declare his faith. inel belag Only declaration. That’s why we should take this message like this. Rasulallah had no right or obligation to force anyone to faith, his only responsibility was notification, so we should follow the same path. Because you cannot force faith to anyone. That’s hypocracy. You cannot be a believer by force, but you can very well be a hypocrite. That’s the reason why Qur’an chooses the path of persuation.

93-) Leyse alelleziyne amenu ve amilus salihati cunahun fiyma ta’imu iza mettekav ve amenu ve amilus salihati summettekav ve amenu summettekav ve ahsenu* vAllahu yuhibbul muhsiniyn;

 If those who believe and practice the requirements of their faith continue to protect themselves, they will reach (a higher state of) faith and engage in practices pertaining to it… Then, protecting themselves with this understanding they will reach an even higher understanding of faith… With this understanding and as a result of their faith they will protect themselves accordingly… Continuing to protect themselves at this level of understanding will enable them to attain goodness (the station of observation)… Allah loves the doers of good. (A.Hulusi)

On those who believe and do deeds of righteousness there is no blame for what they ate (in the past), when they guard themselves from evil, and believe, and do deeds of righteousness,- then again, guard themselves from evil and believe,- then again, guard themselves from evil and do good. For Allah loveth those who do good. (A.Yusuf Ali)

Leyse alelleziyne amenu ve amilus salihati cunahun fiyma ta’imu iza mettekav ve amenu ve amilus salihati On those who believe and do deeds of righteousness there is no blame for what they ate (in the past), when they guard themselves from evil, and believe, and do deeds of righteousness.

This is an excellent explanation indeed. As long as you keep doing good deeds and believe. So this is the way of proving your faith. Good deeds. As long as you keep doing good deeds in the name of Allah, you won’t be hold responsible for your past actions.

summettekav ve amenu summettekav ve ahsenu* vAllahu yuhibbul muhsiniyn Continuing to protect themselves at this level of understanding will enable them to attain goodness.  vAllahu yuhibbul muhsiniyn; Allah loves the doers of good.

This is the reference for people who commit those crimes and sins we read above. It is said that what’s past is past. Allah won’t hold your responsible if you keep believing and doing good deeds. But if you deliberately do something to rebel against Allah, you will indeeds be responsible, we also understand this expression from this verse.

94-) Ya eyyuhelleziyne amenu le yebluvennekumullahu Bishey’in minas saydi tenaluhu eydiykum ve rimahukum liya’lemAllahu men yehafuHU Bil gayb* femeni’teda ba’de zalike felehu azabun eliym;

 O believers… Allah will try you with something of the game that you hunt with your spears so that it may become evident who fears Him, their unknown (which is unperceivable by them)! And whoever transgresses after this, there is a painful suffering for him. (A.Hulusi)

O ye who believe! Allah doth but make a trial of you in a little matter of game well within reach of your hands and your lances, that He may test who feareth Him unseen: any who transgress thereafter, will have a grievous penalty. (A.Yusuf Ali)

Ya eyyuhelleziyne amenu le yebluvennekumullahu Bishey’in minas saydi tenaluhu eydiykum ve rimahukum liya’lemAllahu men yehafuHU Bil gayb O you who believe! Allah does but make a trial of you in a little matter of game well within reach of your hands and your lances, that He may test who fears Him unseen:

We now entered a new passage. This passage is about hunting. Allah will test you by hunting restrictions. What is the relevance with the passage above? Interesting. A person cannot evaluate every restriction based on its benefit or harm. There are some restrictions that are here to test you. If you come across a restriction which you cannot comprehend or understand its reason-consequence relation, put that on the restriction class of testing you. That’s how I do most of things too.

This is the connection between this passage and previous one. Allah puts restrictions many of them are for a reason but there’s another category among them. That class is testing restrictions. A restriction type which doesn’t have any seen connection to a harm, no reason whatsoever but there to test humans, it’s to evaluate humans faiths. This is the peak of Allah-human relations. If your respect to Allah is at its high point, you might say, “I don’t like what you don’t like, my Rabb.” Or something like, “You don’t like this act, O Rabb. So I don’t like it either then. Why? Because of my love to you. Because I fear of upsetting you. I don’t like that thing because I don’t want to harm your love.” That’s it. We are tested to see if we can say this. Or the verse says we are tested for this. Moving on.

Actually this shows all restrictions are based on some legit reasons. It may not seem an act of forbidden at first. But Allah puts it there to test you. These type is mostly limited though. Like hunting restrictions. We will see it now.

femeni’teda ba’de zalike felehu azabun eliym; And whoever transgresses after this, there is a painful suffering for him.

95-) Ya eyyuhelleziyne amenu la taktulus sayde ve entum hurum* ve men katelehu minkum muteammiden fecezaun mislu ma katele minen ne’ami yahkumu Bihi zeva adlin minkum hedyen baligal ka’beti ev keffaretun ta’amu mesakiyne ev adlu zalike siyamen liyezuka vebale emrih* afAllahu amma selef* ve men ade feyentekimullahu minh* vAllahu Aziyzun zuntikam;

O believers… Do not hunt while you are in ihram (attire worn by the pilgrim to represent a state he enters, where he refrains from worldly activities and turns wholeheartedly to Allah)… Whoever intentionally kills game, the compensation is a sacrifice to be delivered to the Kaba, equivalent to the game that is killed, judged by two just men among you… Or in expiation, to feed the needy, or do the equivalent of that in fasting, so he may taste the consequence of his deeds… Allah has forgiven what is past… But whoever relapses, Allah will enforce the consequences of his deeds! Allah is the Aziz, the Zuntaqim (severely enforces the consequences of an action). (A.Hulusi)

O ye who believe! Kill not game while in the sacred precincts or in state of pilgrimage. If any of you doth so intentionally, the compensation is an offering, brought to the Kaaba, of a domestic animal equivalent to the one he killed, as adjudged by two just men among you; or by way of atonement, the feeding of the indigent; or its equivalent in fasts: that he may taste of the penalty of his deed. Allah forgives what is past: for repetition Allah will punish him. For Allah is Exalted, and Lord of Retribution. (A.Yusuf Ali)

Ya eyyuhelleziyne amenu O believers… Passage continues la taktulus sayde ve entum hurum Don’t kill any game while in the sacred precincts or in state of pilgrimage.

Content of this restriction is understood here. This restriction is for Mecca and its vicinity declared natural grounds and this restriction is put to honor the land. As you know, you call millions of people on earth to Abraham’s call. That’s your message to those millions. Be respectful to these lands you arrived. Don’t destroy any living being, its natural plant life. This is a natural call. But also carries enough motive.

Verse takes attention to land-human connecntion. Don’t destroy the lands you are on. Use it humanely. Don’t disrupt the nature of the land.

This land is dedicated to Prophet Abraham the father of unity faith. It’s not some common land. You are on the lands of Abraham. You are in Mecca. Abraham’s farm. You are his guest. Can you destroy the lands of your host? Would you kill the animals of a farm you are invited?

No, don’t do that. You are a guest of Abraham, a guest of Allah. Because Abraham’s call is Allah’s call. Allah had ordered him to do this call. So in fact you are a guest of Allah and these lands are under the protection of Allah. Abraham might be dead but Allah is eternal. Don’t insult Abraham’s legacy. Don’t destroy or kill here. Be respectful to it. This restriction is for game animals only, for hunting. It’s not about insects as the verse clearly say.

ve men katelehu minkum muteammiden Whoever intentionally kills game, fecezaun mislu ma katele minen ne’ami yahkumu Bihi zeva adlin minkum hedyen baligal ka’beti the compensation is a sacrifice to be delivered to the Kaba, equivalent to the game that is killed, judged by two just men among you. So this is the penance of action. You should deliver an animal in equal valueand two fair witnesses should see and decide for you. This penance is set to prevent further actions.

But even with this penance, the living beings there is totally destroyed. Think about it, what would it look like if this penance hadn’t been set? Back then, removing a stone in haram district to somewhere outside the zone hadn’t been lookes well, let alone touching it. Because these stones witnessed the arrival of revelations. So let the stones be there as witnesses.

This gives the person a sense of curiosity but also gives you a great sensation of sacrecy. This is the gift of this land for people. In this sense, it’s all about opportunities and consciences of believers. The amount in the verse, it isn’t mentioned, the amount of animal you should bring to Kaaba. Not a single explanation of this situation both in Qur’an and in any hadiths.

ev keffaretun ta’amu mesakiyne ev adlu zalike siyamen or by way of atonement, the feeding of the indigent, the poor; or fasting.

liyezuka vebale emrih* Why it is ordered to do so? The explanation for persuation arrived here. So that the person shall feel the weight of his actions. People should feel it in their hearts. afAllahu amma selef Allah erases history.

I remembered Halit bin Velid’s story here. After a long period of hostility, Halid comes to Rasulallah with his friends Abr Ibnul As and Osman bin Talha. He enters the place of Rasulallah and converts to Islam. He converted but his concerns didn’t go away. He was still anxious.

After Rasulallah helped him on his conversion and congratulated him, he asked of his sadness.

 “O Rasulallah, I had done many bad things against Islam. I caused a lot of trouble. (The reason of defeat in Uhud Battle was Halid’s leadership) How can I repay all that?”

This was Rasulallah’s answer there. “El Islam yecib bima kablehe”

Islam wipes clean all things before it.

After Halid heard that, his eyes shined brightly. I remembered that story here when I read the expression afAllahu amma selef Allah erases history.

ve men ade feyentekimullahu minh But whoever relapses, Allah will enforce the consequences of his deeds! vAllahu Aziyzun zuntikam; For Allah is the Aziz, Most Honorable and the Zuntaqim, Lord of Retribution.

96-) Uhille lekum saydul bahri ve ta’amuhu meta’an lekum ve lisseyyareti, ve hurrime aleykum saydul berri ma dumtum huruma* vettekullahelleziy ileyHI tuhsherun;

It has been made lawful for you to hunt and eat the fish of the sea as benefit for you and travelers… But forbidden to you is hunting on land while you are in ihram! Protect yourselves from Allah; unto Him you will be gathered. (A.Hulusi)

Lawful to you is the pursuit of water-game and its use for food,- for the benefit of yourselves and those who travel; but forbidden is the pursuit of land-game;- as long as ye are in the sacred precincts or in state of pilgrimage. And fear Allah, to Whom ye shall be gathered back. (A.Yusuf Ali)

Uhille lekum saydul bahri ve ta’amuhu It has been made lawful for you to hunt and eat the fish of the sea as benefit for you and travelers.

Zemahsheri translates this section as sustaining yourselves. This ve ta’amuhu has this meaning in literal form. But there’s a second opinion. Taberi, Razi, Kurtubi and many other translators choose this second form. Food of the sea. By that it contains all lives above and below water, even the ones on shore. Both opinions are valid and verse supports all forms for this.

meta’an lekum ve lisseyyareti, for the benefit of yourselves and those who travel ve hurrime aleykum saydul berri ma dumtum huruma* But forbidden to you is hunting on land while you are in ihram! So even in state of pilgrimage Qur’an doesn’t forbid you from sea hunts. vettekullahelleziy ileyHI tuhsherun Protect yourselves from Allah; unto Him you will be gathered.

97-) Ce’alellahul Ka’betel Beytel Harame kiyamen lin Nasi veshehrel Harame vel Hedye vel Kalaid* zalike li ta’lemu ennAllahe ya’lemu ma fiys Semavati ve ma fiyl Ardi ve ennAllahe Bi kulli shey’in ‘aliym;

Allah made the Kaba, the Sacred House, the Sacred Month, sacrificial animals and the garlands, a standing place for the people (for the endurance and continuation of people’s faith)… This is so you know that Allah knows what is in the heavens (the station of thought) and the earth (your body), and that Allah is Aleem over all things. (A.Hulusi)

Allah made the Kaaba, the Sacred House, an asylum of security for men, as also the Sacred Months, the animals for offerings, and the garlands that mark them: That ye may know that Allah hath knowledge of what is in the heavens and on earth and that Allah is well acquainted with all things. (A.Yusuf Ali)

Ce’alellahul Ka’betel Beytel Harame kiyamen lin Nasi So a follow up question, why these restrictions? Why forbid normal things in a specific place? Why somethings are forbidden in Hacc? Let’s learn the answer with its motives.

Allah made the Kaba, the Sacred House, the Sacred Month, sacrificial animals and the garlands, a standing place for the people. Ce’alellahul Ka’betel Beytel Harame kiyamen lin Nasi A symbol of stand.

How’s this a symbol of stand? Kaaba is a symbol of judgement days rehearsal. A cubic structure as your know. Most plain and simple building of earth. So what does it symbolize? It represents Abraham’s submission to Allah. “O Rabb. I wanted to build a memorial of my weakness to your grandeur. I dedicated my weakness to stone, my submission to you and my gratitude like this.” You should see it when you look at Kaaba.

Kaaba is also the certificate of submission for Abraham who jump into fire. It’s the signature of Abraham’s unconditional faith written on stone. That’s why every pilgrim when they do their pilgrimage, they write that signature themselves and say, “I too am joining Abraham’s cry that let loose to heavens and I too am crying to you o Rabb.”

veshehrel Harame vel Hedye vel Kalaid* zalike li ta’lemu ennAllahe ya’lemu ma fiys Semavati ve ma fiyl Ardi This is so you know that Allah knows what is in the heavens the station of thought and the earth, ve ennAllahe Bi kulli shey’in ‘aliym and that Allah has knowledge over all things.

98-) I’lemu ennAllahe Shediydul ikabi ve ennAllahe Gafurun Rahiym;

Know that Allah will most certainly enforce the consequences of bad deeds, yet Allah is the Ghafur, the Rahim. (A.Hulusi)

Know ye that Allah is strict in punishment and that Allah is Oft-forgiving, Most Merciful. (A.Yusuf Ali)

I’lemu ennAllahe Shediydul ikabi Know that Allah will most certainly enforce the consequences of bad deeds ve ennAllahe Gafurun Rahiym and that Allah is Oft-forgiving, Most Merciful.

99-) Ma aler Rasuli illel belag* vAllahu ya’lemu ma tubdune ve ma tektumun;

No more is the Rasul bound to do except provide the knowledge (of the reality and its requisites). Allah is aware of both that which you display and that which you conceal. (A.Hulusi)

The Messenger’s duty is but to proclaim (the message). But Allah knoweth all that ye reveal and ye conceal. (A.Yusuf Ali)

Ma aler Rasuli illel belag* There it is again. The Messenger’s duty is but to proclaim the message. vAllahu ya’lemu ma tubdune ve ma tektumun; But Allah knows all that you reveal and you conceal.

100-) Kul la yestevil habiysu vattayyibu velev a’cebeke kesretul habiys* fettekullahe ya ulil elbabi leallekum tuflihun;

Say, “The impure and the pure are not equal in worth… Even though the majority of the impure may appear pleasing to you”… So then, o intelligent ones of deep contemplation who have attained the essence, protect yourselves from Allah so that you may attain emancipation. (A.Hulusi)

Say: “Not equal are things that are bad and things that are good, even though the abundance of the bad may dazzle thee; so fear Allah, O ye that understand; that (so) ye may prosper.” (A.Yusuf Ali)

Kul la yestevil habiysu vattayyibu Say: “Not equal are things that are bad and things that are good, You cannot say good people and bad people are equal in life. There’s no similarities between an good faith and bad faith. Not in both lives velev a’cebeke kesretul habiys* Even though the majority of the impure may appear pleasing to you” Because wicked always finds a way to reproduce but good cannot improve its quantity that easily. fettekullahe ya ulil elbabi leallekum tuflihun; so fear Allah, O you that understand; so that you may prosper.”

May Allah surround us with a faith that lead us to eternal happiness.

“Ve ahiru davana velil hamdulillahi rabbil alemiyn” (Jonah/10) “Praise be to Allah, the Cherisher and Sustainer of the Worlds!” All products of our claims, causes and lives are for Allah and our last word to our Allah is “Hamd”.

“Esselamu aleykum.”