Quran Speaks to you

In the name of Allah the Merciful, the Beneficent.


Forbidden to you are carrion, blood, the flesh of swine; and that on which the name of any other than Allah has been invoked; the animals that have been strangled, beaten to death, killed by a fall, gored to death or savaged by a beast of prey, save that which you may have slaughtered when alive. (Also forbidden to you are) animals that have been slaughtered on idolatrous altars.


And (you are also forbidden) to resort to the divining arrows; for all is sinful. The disbelievers have this day despaired of vanquishing your religion. Have no fear of them, then, but fear Me alone.


This day I have perfected your religion for you and bestowed on you the full measure of My blessing and chosen Islam as a religion for you.


He who is constrained by extreme hunger (to eat what is forbidden), not intending to commit sin, will find Allah much forgiving, merciful.


The divine law is a single and complete whole which cannot be split into separate parts. Its provision which concerns the concept of faith, or acts of worship, or permissions and prohibitions, or social regulations and international relations are all of equal value. In their total sum they constitute the religion which Allah describes in the Qur’an as having been perfected. To reject any part of this code is to reject it all, and to reject religion or faith altogether.
(The Repast, “Al-Maidah”:5:3)
Commentary by Sayyid Qutb Translated by Adil Salahi


We commented earlier on the detailed account of the types of meat which are forbidden to eat, given in this verse. We have not spoken on the statement which comes in the middle of this detailed account which may be rendered in translation as follows: “The disbelievers have this day despaired of vanquishing your religion. Have no fear of them, then, but fear Me alone. This day I have perfected your religion for you and bestowed on you the full measure of My blessings and chosen Islam as a religion for you.”


This was the last statement of the Qur’an to be revealed. It declares the completion of the message of Islam and that its blessings have been brought to their full. Umar, the Prophet’s companion endowed with the keenest insight, felt that the Prophet’s remaining days on earth were numbered. He had discharged his duty and conveyed his message. He was certain to be called to his appointment with Allah. Umar’s eyes were tearful as he felt the approach of the departure.


These great words come within a verse which has as its subject matter the prohibition of certain types of animal food, and within a surah which has the detailed purposes we have already mentioned. What we understand from this is that the divine law is a single and complete whole which cannot be split up into separate parts. Its provisions which concern the concept of faith, or acts of worship, or permissions and prohibitions, or social regulations and international relations are all of equal value. In their total sum they constitute the religion which Allah describes in this verse as having been perfected, Moreover, it is the blessing of which He has bestowed a full measure on the believers. They represent the code of living which Allah has chosen to be implemented by His servants. To reject any part of this code is to reject it all, and to reject religion or faith altogether.


We have previously stated that to reject any part of this code which Allah has been pleased to vouchsafe to the community of believers and to substitute for it something made by man has only one clear meaning, namely, that godhead is denied to Allah and its attributes are given to human beings. This is a rebellion against Allah’s authority on earth and a claim of godhead, since its main quality, i.e. the authority to legislate, is given to someone other than Allah. That means a rejection of Islam altogether.


“The disbelievers have this day despaired of vanquishing your religion.” They have reached a point of despair and realised that they cannot distort or detract from this religion or invalidate it when Allah had made it perfect and guaranteed to preserve it for all timem, but they can never vanquish this religion. It is the only religion that has been preserved against all factors of corruption and distortion. Its enemies have tried hard to distort and to scheme against it, and its people were at times totally ignorant of its truth. But Allah never allows the earth its advocacy. Islam remains with them fully understood and preserved until they hand it over to the next generation of true believers. Allah’s promise that the disbelievers despair of vanquishing this religion will always come true. Therefore, the believers are addressed, “have no fear of them, then, but fear Me alone.” The disbelievers can never detract from the essence of this religion. Nor can they gain the upper hand against its advocates, unless they deviate from it and no longer give through their action and behaviour a practical translation of its method of living. They abandon the duties it assigns to them and neglect to fulfill its provisions in their way of life.


This divine directive to the Muslim community in Madinah does not apply to their generation. It is a directive to the believers who willingly accept the religion Allah has chosen for them, in its totality, and implemented as a constitution which applies to all aspects of life. It is these who are the true believers.


“This day I have perfected your religion for you and bestowed on you the measure of My blessings and chosen Islam as a religion for you.” The day on which Allah revealed this verse during the Prophet’s pilgrimage of farewell was the day when this religion attained its perfection and no room was left for any improvement. The greatest divine blessings were bestowed on the believers in full measure by giving them this, all comprehensive code. Islam as a faith and religion was chosen for them by Allah. Therefore, anyone who finds it unacceptable as a way of life actually rejects what Allah has determined to be the proper faith.

Our target should be to observe every decree of the Qur’an as much as possible.


The aim of life for a believer is solely that of being a servant of Allah. People are not created to fulfill their vain desires and greed, or to pursue their passions; the one and only reason for our creation is to serve Allah.


The way to achieve this is by taking the Qur’an as our unique guide. We should give all our attention to applying every decree of the Qur’an. Our target should be to observe every decree of the Qur’an as much as possible.


We can see from the Qur’an that the responsibility of the believers rests not only on decisive verses, such as those on regular prayers, fasting or hajj, but also on prayers that require interpretation. For instance, in one verse believers are urged to “invite (all) to the Way of their Lord with wisdom and beautiful preaching; and argue with them in ways that are best and most gracious” (Surah-Nahl, 16:125). The believers can understand this “wisdom and beautiful preaching” by both applying the Qur’an’s general logic and manner, and also their own wisdom and understanding.


There are many other responsibilities that require wisdom and understanding. For example, the Qur’an describes various models of communities, and informs us of the way we should treat those different kind of people. The verses that advise believers how to behave are clearly described in the Qur’an. But if these precepts are to be applied to daily life, instant recognition of their true significance is a must. At this point, it is the wisdom and understanding of the believers that help.


The Qur’an describes various kinds of people, such as believers, Christians, Jews, hypocrites and pagans. We must learn the concerned verses very well, because what actually should be done is to identify those kinds of people in our society and act towards them as the Qur’an commands. This is inevitable for being a “living Qur’an”.


Moreover, believers should realize that all the people around us undoubtedly belong to one or more of the categories of people described in the Qur’an. All the people exist to form the society described in the Qur’an and none is created in vain: “However, it is not only the people around us that are described in the Qur’an. In fact, everything that we see and everything that happens are indeed reflections of what is written in the Qur’an.


The whole universe consists of signs of Allah. Just like a painting presents its painter to the on-lookers, just like every detail on this painting shows the brush prints of the painter, all the universe and every detail of this universe exist to present Allah, the Creator of all things.


Everything takes place in accordance with the destiny Allah has determined and therefore, everything has a purpose. What believers should do is interpret each event in the light of the Qur’an and react in the way the Qur’an prescribes. For example when encountered with something “vain” and idle, the believer should pay no heed to it. But the fact is; this vain thing is already created so that the believer pays no heed to it. The believers should interpret every happening according to the perspective of the Qur’an. So, they actually must develop their culture and characteristics in conformity to the Qur’an. In order to achieve this, they must leave all they have attained from their ignorant past and society. They should decide what to do in every circumstance by depending on the interpretation and logic of the Qur’an, because, the words of Allah show them the way to handle each situation.