English Translation and Commentary of the Holy Quran (2010)

by Maulana Muhammad Ali

Chapter 5: Al-Maidah — Food (Revealed at Madinah: 16 sections, 120 verses)

Section 10 (Verses 5:67–5:77): Christian Deviation from the Truth

Translation:

یٰۤاَیُّہَا الرَّسُوۡلُ بَلِّغۡ مَاۤ اُنۡزِلَ اِلَیۡکَ مِنۡ رَّبِّکَ ؕ وَ اِنۡ لَّمۡ تَفۡعَلۡ فَمَا بَلَّغۡتَ رِسَالَتَہٗ ؕ وَ اللّٰہُ یَعۡصِمُکَ مِنَ النَّاسِ ؕ اِنَّ اللّٰہَ لَا یَہۡدِی الۡقَوۡمَ الۡکٰفِرِیۡنَ ﴿۶۷﴾

5:67 O Messenger, deliver what has been revealed to you from your Lord; and if you do not, you have not delivered His message. And Allah will protect you from people. Surely Allah does not guide the disbelieving people.1

قُلۡ یٰۤاَہۡلَ الۡکِتٰبِ لَسۡتُمۡ عَلٰی شَیۡءٍ حَتّٰی تُقِیۡمُوا التَّوۡرٰىۃَ وَ الۡاِنۡجِیۡلَ وَ مَاۤ اُنۡزِلَ اِلَیۡکُمۡ مِّنۡ رَّبِّکُمۡ ؕ وَ لَیَزِیۡدَنَّ کَثِیۡرًا مِّنۡہُمۡ مَّاۤ اُنۡزِلَ اِلَیۡکَ مِنۡ رَّبِّکَ طُغۡیَانًا وَّ کُفۡرًا ۚ فَلَا تَاۡسَ عَلَی الۡقَوۡمِ الۡکٰفِرِیۡنَ ﴿۶۸﴾

5:68 Say: O People of the Book, you follow no good till you observe the Torah and the Gospel and what is revealed to you from your Lord. And surely what has been revealed to you from your Lord will make many of them increase in inordinacy and disbelief; so do not grieve for the disbelieving people.

اِنَّ الَّذِیۡنَ اٰمَنُوۡا وَ الَّذِیۡنَ ہَادُوۡا وَ الصّٰبِـُٔوۡنَ وَ النَّصٰرٰی مَنۡ اٰمَنَ بِاللّٰہِ وَ الۡیَوۡمِ الۡاٰخِرِ وَ عَمِلَ صَالِحًا فَلَا خَوۡفٌ عَلَیۡہِمۡ وَ لَا ہُمۡ یَحۡزَنُوۡنَ ﴿۶۹﴾

5:69 Surely those who believe and those who are Jews and the Sabians and the Christians — whoever believes in Allah and the Last Day and does good — they shall have no fear nor shall they grieve.

لَقَدۡ اَخَذۡنَا مِیۡثَاقَ بَنِیۡۤ اِسۡرَآءِیۡلَ وَ اَرۡسَلۡنَاۤ اِلَیۡہِمۡ رُسُلًا ؕ کُلَّمَا جَآءَہُمۡ رَسُوۡلٌۢ بِمَا لَا تَہۡوٰۤی اَنۡفُسُہُمۡ ۙ فَرِیۡقًا کَذَّبُوۡا وَ فَرِیۡقًا یَّقۡتُلُوۡنَ ﴿٭۷۰﴾

5:70 Certainly We made a covenant with the Children of Israel and We sent to them messengers. Whenever a messenger came to them with what their souls did not desire, some (of them) they called liars and some they (even) sought to kill.

وَ حَسِبُوۡۤا اَلَّا تَکُوۡنَ فِتۡنَۃٌ فَعَمُوۡا وَ صَمُّوۡا ثُمَّ تَابَ اللّٰہُ عَلَیۡہِمۡ ثُمَّ عَمُوۡا وَ صَمُّوۡا کَثِیۡرٌ مِّنۡہُمۡ ؕ وَ اللّٰہُ بَصِیۡرٌۢ بِمَا یَعۡمَلُوۡنَ ﴿۷۱﴾

5:71 And they thought that there would be no affliction,2 so they became blind and deaf; then Allah turned to them (mercifully) but many of them (again) became blind and deaf.3 And Allah is Seer of what they do.

لَقَدۡ کَفَرَ الَّذِیۡنَ قَالُوۡۤا اِنَّ اللّٰہَ ہُوَ الۡمَسِیۡحُ ابۡنُ مَرۡیَمَ ؕ وَ قَالَ الۡمَسِیۡحُ یٰبَنِیۡۤ اِسۡرَآءِیۡلَ اعۡبُدُوا اللّٰہَ رَبِّیۡ وَ رَبَّکُمۡ ؕ اِنَّہٗ مَنۡ یُّشۡرِکۡ بِاللّٰہِ فَقَدۡ حَرَّمَ اللّٰہُ عَلَیۡہِ الۡجَنَّۃَ وَ مَاۡوٰىہُ النَّارُ ؕ وَ مَا لِلظّٰلِمِیۡنَ مِنۡ اَنۡصَارٍ ﴿۷۲﴾

5:72 Certainly they disbelieve who say: Allah, He is the Messiah, son of Mary. And the Messiah said: O Children of Israel, serve Allah, my Lord and your Lord.4 Surely whoever sets up partners with Allah, Allah has forbidden to him the Garden and his abode is the Fire. And for the wrongdoers there will be no helpers.

لَقَدۡ کَفَرَ الَّذِیۡنَ قَالُوۡۤا اِنَّ اللّٰہَ ثَالِثُ ثَلٰثَۃٍ ۘ وَ مَا مِنۡ اِلٰہٍ اِلَّاۤ اِلٰہٌ وَّاحِدٌ ؕ وَ اِنۡ لَّمۡ یَنۡتَہُوۡا عَمَّا یَقُوۡلُوۡنَ لَیَمَسَّنَّ الَّذِیۡنَ کَفَرُوۡا مِنۡہُمۡ عَذَابٌ اَلِیۡمٌ ﴿۷۳﴾

5:73 Certainly they disbelieve who say: Allah is the third of the three.5 And there is no God but One God. And if they do not refrain from what they say, a painful punishment will surely befall such of them as disbelieve.6

اَفَلَا یَتُوۡبُوۡنَ اِلَی اللّٰہِ وَ یَسۡتَغۡفِرُوۡنَہٗ ؕ وَ اللّٰہُ غَفُوۡرٌ رَّحِیۡمٌ ﴿۷۴﴾

5:74 Will they not then turn to Allah and ask His forgiveness? And Allah is Forgiving, Merciful.

مَا الۡمَسِیۡحُ ابۡنُ مَرۡیَمَ اِلَّا رَسُوۡلٌ ۚ قَدۡ خَلَتۡ مِنۡ قَبۡلِہِ الرُّسُلُ ؕ وَ اُمُّہٗ صِدِّیۡقَۃٌ ؕ کَانَا یَاۡکُلٰنِ الطَّعَامَ ؕ اُنۡظُرۡ کَیۡفَ نُبَیِّنُ لَہُمُ الۡاٰیٰتِ ثُمَّ انۡظُرۡ اَنّٰی یُؤۡفَکُوۡنَ ﴿۷۵﴾

5:75 The Messiah, son of Mary, was only a messenger — messengers had indeed passed away before him. And his mother was a truthful woman. They both used to eat food.7 See how We make the messages clear to them, then see how they are turned away (from truth)!

قُلۡ اَتَعۡبُدُوۡنَ مِنۡ دُوۡنِ اللّٰہِ مَا لَا یَمۡلِکُ لَکُمۡ ضَرًّا وَّ لَا نَفۡعًا ؕ وَ اللّٰہُ ہُوَ السَّمِیۡعُ الۡعَلِیۡمُ ﴿۷۶﴾

5:76 Say: Do you serve besides Allah that which controls for you neither harm nor benefit? And Allah — He is the Hearing, the Knowing.

قُلۡ یٰۤاَہۡلَ الۡکِتٰبِ لَا تَغۡلُوۡا فِیۡ دِیۡنِکُمۡ غَیۡرَ الۡحَقِّ وَ لَا تَتَّبِعُوۡۤا اَہۡوَآءَ قَوۡمٍ قَدۡ ضَلُّوۡا مِنۡ قَبۡلُ وَ اَضَلُّوۡا کَثِیۡرًا وَّ ضَلُّوۡا عَنۡ سَوَآءِ السَّبِیۡلِ ﴿٪۷۷﴾

5:77 Say: O People of the Book, do not exaggerate in the matter of your religion unjustly, nor follow the low desires of people who went astray before and led many astray, and went astray from the right path.8

Commentary:

  1. The promise is given here that the Holy Prophet will remain under Divine protection as against the innumerable dangers that threatened him from all quarters and the numerous plots against his life. But it also refers to the Prophet’s spiritual protection. God protects prophets by creating them pure from every sin in their very nature, keeping them firm in trials, sending down tranquillity upon them and protecting their hearts against evil. ↩
  2. Although they had been repeatedly warned of the afflictions which would befall them, they still thought that, being a favoured nation, they would not suffer punishment for their evil deeds. They had been subjected to great sufferings at the hands of Nebuchadnezzar and the Babylonian rulers who followed him, large numbers having been slain and the rest taken prisoners. And again they suf­fered at the hands of Titus. See v. 78 where this affliction is spoken of as coming after David and Jesus. ↩
  3. Allah’s turning mercifully to them signifies the advent of Jesus, and their becoming blind and deaf a second time refers to their rejection of him. ↩
  4. “You shall worship the Lord your God, and Him only you shall serve” (Matthew, 4:10). ↩
  5. The well-known Christian doctrine of the Trinity is here plainly referred to. It should be noted that the name of Mary is never mentioned in connection with the doctrine of the Trinity. But as the Christians, especially the Roman Catholics, invested Mary with Divine character, as being the mother of God, the Quran often mentions her along with Jesus as being an ordinary mortal. ↩
  6. The doctrine of the Atonement has slowly and gradually made the Christian world forget God altogether, and material advancement and the acquisition of worldly power has become their only concern. They first sought to subju­gate the whole world, and, having done that, they are now seeking to overpower each other. Their mutual hatred and enmity as a punishment for their violation of the covenant of God has been already clearly spoken of in v. 14, and again in v. 64, as also in an earlier revelation: “And on that day We shall let some of them surge against others” (18:99). ↩
  7. Feeling hungry and partaking of food shows that both Jesus and his mother were ordinary mortals. Every living thing needs food; it is only the Supreme Being Who has no need of it. As Jesus is clearly spoken of as eating food while alive, he could not remain alive without food, and this verse thus negatives the allegation that Jesus is still alive. ↩
  8. The exaggeration spoken of here refers to the Christian doctrine raising a mortal to the dignity of Godhead. The Christians are here told that in making this doctrine the basis of their religion they have only followed an erro­neous doctrine preached by people before them. Recent criticism has shown that the Christians have only followed previous idolatrous nations in ascribing a son to God. This subject has been fully discussed in The Sources of Christianity by the late Khwaja Kamal-ud-Din. ↩

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