5. Al-Maaida

In normal circumstances, man carries out God’s commands. But under extraordinary circumstances, he becomes a different man. For example, the occasion arises when somebody’s opposition irritates him. Then one who seemed to fear God in normal circumstances, suddenly changed into one who is fearless of God. Then man forgets the limits of justice and wants to degrade and defeat his opponent in whatever way possible. But this type of revengeful, inimical action is not legitimate in the eyes of God, even if it were in retaliation for being prevented from performing the pilgrimage to the Sacred Mosque in Makkah. If others co-opearate with one who indulges in such oppressive activity this will amount to helping in the commission of a sin. Those who fear God will support others only in righteous deeds. It is the most difficult task in the present world to support those who are on the right path and ignore those who are not on the right path as they have all the wordly glories by their side. But it is by virtue of man’s success in this very task that his fate will be decided.

Some animals, due to their being harmful from the point of view of health and morality, are not fit to be consumed by human beings as food. That is the sole reason for Almighty God having forbidden pork. Similarly, there are many things in the body of an animal besides its flesh that are not fit to be eaten. Blood is one of these. Accordingly, in Islam a certain method of slaughtering an animal (dhabh) is prescribed in order to ensure that after slaughtering all of the animal’s blood oozes out. In other methods of killing an animal, except dhabh, the blood of the animal remains absorbed in its flesh and does not get fully separated. For the same reason, in the Islamic law, the consumption of all types of dead animals is also forbidden, because the blood of a dead animal immediately gets absorbed in its flesh. Similarly, meat that is somehow polluted by polytheistic belief is forbidden; for example, the meat of an animal slaughtered by invoking any name other than that of God or the meat of animals in order to attain nearness to (or to appease) anybody other than God. However, God by His special grace has made the allowance that any starving person who has to choose between death and taking forbidden food may opt for the latter. ‘Today I have perfected your religion for you’ i.e. the commandments that were to be given to you have all been given. Whatever was destined to be sent to you has all been sent. Here there is no mention about the perfection of religion in the absolute sense; it is only a declaration of the completion of the process of revelation of the Quran which was started earlier. This mentions the completion of revelation and not that of the religion. Therefore, the wording is not ‘Today I have perfected the religion,’ but rather ‘Today I have completed your religion for you.’ The fact is that the religion of God was given to man in every period in perfect form. God has never sent imperfect religion to man. God has put the people following the Quran on such a firm footing that by virtue of their latent potential they have gone beyond the reach of any external danger. Now if that community comes to any harm, it will be due to its internal weaknesses and not due to any external attacks. And the greatest guarantee of being free from internal weaknesses is that its members should have fear of God at heart.

All those things which are considered clean and perfectly formed in the eyes of nature, and all those animals whose nature is compatible with human nature, are all legitimate and permissible for human consumption. This is subject to the condition that for any external reason they have not developed any defect from the viewpoint of health or in the light of the Islamic law. However, the human mind is not capable of properly applying this principle. Therefore, the principle has been set forth along with its correct application. Hunting by a trained hunting animal is permissible because he catches the hunted animals on behalf of his master. In other words, he has learnt man’s nature. Such an animal, so to say, has become a substitute for man.

However elaborate the Law relating to forbidden and permissible things is made, it is finally man’s intention which debars him from certain things and leads him towards certain others. It is not the provisions of Law that act as a watchdog but man himself. If a man himself is not so inclined, then in spite of accepting the Law, he will try to find ways to escape its provisions. It is only the fear of God which compels a man to give proper regard to the Law in its true spirit. That is why it has been said while explaining the Law relating to prohibitions and permissions: ‘Fear God, for God is swift in taking account.’ It is not ever permissible for a Muslim woman to marry a non-Muslim man. But Muslim males have been permitted, subject to certain special conditions to marry women belonging to communities, who are in possession of the Holy scriptures. The wisdom underlying this provision is that a woman is by nature easily influenced. It may be expected of her that once she enters marital life, she may be influenced by her Muslim husband and Muslim society, and thus her marriage may become a starting point for her entry into Islam. (See also note on 2:221). ‘The deeds of anyone who rejects the faith will come to nothing’ i.e. without Faith, good deeds have no reality or value. A good deed is that which is performed for the sake of God. A deed which is not for the sake of God is actually for one’s own self. Why would God give any value to a deed done for one’s own self?

The purpose of salat (prayers) is to purify a man of all evils. Ablution, or wudu, is the preparation of the body for this religious rite. When a man intends to offer prayers, he first goes in search of water. Water is a great gift of God which is the best thing for washing all the impurities out of man. Similarly, salat is a ‘divine spring’ in which a man bathes and purifies himself of evil emotions and vicious thoughts. Initiating the process of ablution (wudu) when a man puts water on his hands, he is, in effect, praying, ‘O, God! Save these hands of mine from indulging in evil, and let whatever evil deeds I have indulged in through them be washed off.’ Then he rinses his mouth and washes his face. At that time his soul prays silently, ‘O, God! Kindly remove the bad effects of any improper food I have put in my mouth; the evil words I have uttered, and the evil things I have seen.’ Thereafter, when he takes water in his hands and massages his head with his hands, his whole existence is moulded by the prayers, ‘O, God! Wash away the bad effects of the evil ideas conceived by my mind and wrong plans devised by me, and cleanse and purify my mind.’ When he washes his feet, this action of his becomes the entreaty before his Lord, that He may cleanse his feet of the dust of evil and make them (his feet) never tread any path except the path of righteousness and justice. In this way, the whole process of ablution assumes, so to say, the practical shape of the prayer, ‘O, God! Make me a person who turns away from wrongs and one who keeps himself clear of evils.’ In normal circumstances, ablution is enough to create feelings of cleanliness in man, but the state of impurity (resulting from sex) is an extraordinary condition. So, in this state, washing of the whole body (ghusl) has been prescribed. However, God does not like to cause his subjects any unnecessary hardship. Therefore, in case of any practical difficulties in taking a full bath, dry ablution (tayammum) has been declared as sufficient to revive the feeling of cleanliness. The simplicity of the methods prescribed for ablution and bathing is a great blessing of God. In this way physical cleanliness is linked with purity under the Islamic law. In case of any difficulties, permission for dry ablution is an additional blessing, because this saves one from the excesses of which many other religions suffered.

Faith is the vow which binds God and His subject. The subject vows that he will remain God-fearing in his life in this world, and God guarantees that He will be His subject’s guardian in this world and in the Hereafter. God’s subject has to prove his fulfillment of his vow in two ways. First, he should become steadfast on the path of God. On every occasion his lifestyle should give the response which is expected of a subject to his Lord. When he observes the universe, his mind should be filled with the realisation of God’s glories and powers. When he looks at himself, he should realise that his existence is entirely due to God’s grace and His mercy. If his emotions erupt, they should erupt for the sake of God. If his attention is focused on anybody, it should be on God. His love should be for God. His fears should be linked with God. The remembrance of God should be uppermost in his mind. He should be given to prayer and obedience to God, and should spend his assets for the cause of God. In devoting his life to God, he should feel pleasure. The second condition for the fulfillment of the vow of God’s subject is that his dealings with his fellow-beings should be based on justice and fair play. Justice means meting out to a person that treatment which he actually deserves—no more and no less. In his dealings he should follow the dictates of justice and not his desires. He should be bound by this principle to the extent that he should adhere to justice even when dealing with his enemies; even when grievances and bitter memories are apt to divert him from the path of justice.

Faith is the vow which binds God and His subject. The subject vows that he will remain God-fearing in his life in this world, and God guarantees that He will be His subject’s guardian in this world and in the Hereafter. God’s subject has to prove his fulfillment of his vow in two ways. First, he should become steadfast on the path of God. On every occasion his lifestyle should give the response which is expected of a subject to his Lord. When he observes the universe, his mind should be filled with the realisation of God’s glories and powers. When he looks at himself, he should realise that his existence is entirely due to God’s grace and His mercy. If his emotions erupt, they should erupt for the sake of God. If his attention is focused on anybody, it should be on God. His love should be for God. His fears should be linked with God. The remembrance of God should be uppermost in his mind. He should be given to prayer and obedience to God, and should spend his assets for the cause of God. In devoting his life to God, he should feel pleasure. The second condition for the fulfillment of the vow of God’s subject is that his dealings with his fellow-beings should be based on justice and fair play. Justice means meting out to a person that treatment which he actually deserves—no more and no less. In his dealings he should follow the dictates of justice and not his desires. He should be bound by this principle to the extent that he should adhere to justice even when dealing with his enemies; even when grievances and bitter memories are apt to divert him from the path of justice.

In the world, God makes His appearance felt through symbols, i.e. in the shape of such arguments as cannot be contradicted by man. When an argument of God appears before a man and he indulges in verbal pyrotechnics instead of accepting it, then this amounts to denying the signs of God. Such people will receive severe punishment at God’s behest. And those who accept the argument will be held deserving of God’s reward.

In the world, God makes His appearance felt through symbols, i.e. in the shape of such arguments as cannot be contradicted by man. When an argument of God appears before a man and he indulges in verbal pyrotechnics instead of accepting it, then this amounts to denying the signs of God. Such people will receive severe punishment at God’s behest. And those who accept the argument will be held deserving of God’s reward.