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Believers, be true to your contracts. Lawful to you are the quadrupeds of the class of cattle, except that which is announced to you herein. But you are not allowed to hunt while you are in the state of consecration. Allah decrees what he wills.
Believers do not offend against the rites of Allah, or the sacred month, or the offerings or the garlands, or against those who flock to the Sacred House, seeking Allah’s grace and pleasure. Only when you have released yourselves from consecration you may hunt.
Do not let ill-will toward people who would debar you from the Sacred Mosque lead you into transgression; but rather help one another in furthering piety and righteousness, and do not help one another in furthering evil and transgression. Have fear of Allah, for Allah is severe in retribution.(The Repast, “Al-Ma’idah”: 5:1-2)
Allah has given a special sanctity to those who flock to the sacred House, seeking a share of His bounty and grace and aiming to please Him. They come to the House to do some legitimate business and to seek Allah’s pleasure, whether at pilgrimage time or not. When they come to Allah’s Sacred House, they are given security.
The verses we are discussing are the first two in the fifth Surah which derives its title, “The repast”, or “Al Ma’idah”, from the story reported at its conclusion when the disciples of Jesus requested him to pray Allah to give them a heavenly repast. The first contract or covenant human beings make with Allah is that of faith. All other contracts are based on it and derive their enforceability from it. As we read on in the Surah, we find plenty of statements either prohibiting or making lawful certain slaughtered animals, or certain species and restricting certain places and times. All this is part of the “contracts” which the believers must fulfill. It is part of the contract of faith that those who are party to it, i.e. the believers, must receive their instructions regarding what is lawful and what is unlawful only from Allah. In this respect they recognize no authority other than His. Hence, they are addressed as believers at the outset of this detailed explanation of what they may have and what is forbidden to them.
“Lawful to you are the quadrupeds of the class of cattle, except that which is announced to you herein.” Only because of this permission by Allah, not through any other authority, it is lawful and permissible to you to eat the flesh of whatever is included under the term” quadrupeds or the class of cattle” whether slaughtered or hunted, with the exception of the prohibitions that will follow. Such prohibitions can either be temporary, or restricted to certain places, or total and applicable at all times and places. Quadruped cattle include camels, cows and sheep and added to these are the undomesticated types like the zebra, deer, bull and buffalo.
After this, exceptions are detailed. The first is hunting when believers are in the state of consecration (Ihram) “But you are not allowed to hunt while you are in the state of consecration.” The prohibition here applies to the whole business of hunting.
When one enters into the state of consecration (Ihram) as one starts pilgrimage or Umrah, one turns to Allah with one’s whole being, turning his back to familiar life practices which are a source of entertainment. He finds himself in the Sacred House which Allah has endowed with a feeling of security which applies to all those who enter it. Hence, it is necessary that when we are there, we do not stretch our hands to kill any living thing. Thus man experiences in this period a necessary feeling which enhances the bond of life between all living things created by Allah, the giver of life. All creatures are thus safe from aggression. The necessities of life, for which game and hunting has been allowed for eating, are thus reduced in order to impart to man a sense of elevation above what is familiar to him in ordinary days.
Before proceeding to add more details of what has been excepted from the initial ruling of general permission, this contract is linked to the overall contract of faith. The believers are also reminded of the source of that covenant: “Allah decrees what He wills.” His will is absolute and He gives His commandments as He wishes No one may have a say in what He decrees and no one can abrogate or overrule His judgment. What He outlines in this Surah is His verdict on what is lawful and what is forbidden to us.
The address is again made to the believers to emphasize that they are not allowed to violate what Allah has restricted: “Believers do not offend against the rites of Allah or the sacred month, or the offering or the garlands.” The first thing that springs to mind regarding the meaning of “the rites of Allah” is that it is reference to “the rites of Allah” is that it is a reference to the restrictions that apply to everyone who enters into the state of consecration when he starts his pilgrimage or Umrah and remain in force until the main part of the pilgrimage is over when animals intended for sacrifice area slaughtered. During the state of consecration, a pilgrim does not offend against these restrictions, because such an offense represents a desecration of the sanctity imparted to them by Allah. The surah describes these rites as “the rites of Allah” in order to emphasize their sanctity and to warn against their desecration.
The term “the sacred month” as it occurs in the Qur’anic verse refers to the four months of sanctity in the lunar calendar which are: Rajab, Thul-Qa’dah, Thul-Hajjah and Al-muharram. Allah has forbidden fighting in these four months, which used to be given special sanctity by Arabian tribes prior to Islam. However, they manipulated them as they wished, delaying certain months according to a ruling given by certain monks or decrees issued by the chiefs of powerful tribes. When Islam was revealed, their sanctity is based on a divine order made when Allah created heavens and earth, as mentioned in surah 9, entitled “Repentance”: “In Allah’s view the number of months has been twelve months by Allah’s ordinance since the day He created the heavens and the earth. Of these four are sacred.” (9:36) The Qur’an also states that delaying the sacred months and manipulating them is an indication of compounded disbelief. Thus the correct order has been re-established according to Allah’s ordinance. These months remain Allah’s ordinance. These months remain sacred unless aggression is waged during them against the Muslims, when they are permitted to repel such aggression, with escape, making use of the sanctity of these months which they do not recognize. The Islamic view of fighting in these months is mentioned in surah 2, entitled “The lier in these columns.
The offering mentioned in the surah is a reference to the sacrificial animals which pilgrims slaughter during pilgrimage as part of its rites. This may be camel, or a cow or a sheep. To offend against these is to slaughter them for any reason other than the one for which they have been consecrated. Nor are they slaughtered until the day of sacrifice during pilgrimage or after the end of Umrah. The major part of sacrificial animals is distributed to the poor of the Haram area. Those who offer it are discouraged to partake of it.
The term “the garlands” mentioned in the surah refers to cattle which are adorned with garlands to denote that they have been pledged for sacrifice. They are then left alone to graze as they wish until the day when the pledge falls due when they are sacrificed. Included among these are the cattle intended for sacrifice during pilgrimage and which are given a special sign to indicate the purpose for which they have been pledged. Once such cattle is adorned with garlands, they are slaughtered only for the purpose for which they have been pledged.
Similarly Allah has given a special sanctity to those who flock to the Sacred House, seeking a share of Allah’s bounty and grace and aiming to please Him. They come to the House to do some legitimate business and to seek Allah’s pleasure, whether at pilgrimage time or not. When they come to Allah’s Sacred House, they are given security.
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