سورة المائدة

Imam Sajjad (peace be upon him): There is no verse in the Quran with the phrase: يَا أَیُّهَا الَّذِینَ آمَنُوا [O you who believe] except that in the Torah, opposite it, stands: يا أیهَا المَسَاکِین [O you poor ones].

Imam Rida (peace be upon him): No verse in the Quran has come with يَا أَیُّهَا الَّذِینَ آمَنُوا [O you who believe] except that it is concerning us.

Ibn Abbas (may Allah have mercy on him): Allah the Exalted did not reveal any verse in the Quran in which He says يَا أَیُّهَا الَّذِینَ آمَنُوا [O you who believe] except that Ali ibn Abi Talib (peace be upon him) is the noble one and the commander of that verse.

Ibn Abbas (may Allah have mercy on him): Abdullah ibn Sinan said: I asked Imam Sadiq (peace be upon him) about the saying of Allah the Exalted: يا أَیُّهَا الَّذِینَ آمَنُوا أَوْفُوا بِالْعُقُودِ [O you who believe! Fulfill the obligations]. He said: "What is meant is the covenants."

Ibn Abbas (may Allah have mercy on him): The 'uqud (contracts) are what Allah made lawful and unlawful, and what He made obligatory, and the limits (hudud) He set in the Quran. So أَوْفُوا بِالْعُقُودِ [fulfill the obligations] means: do not transgress the limits of the Quran and do not break them.

Ibn Abbas (may Allah have mercy on him): أَوْفُوا بِالْعُقُودِ [fulfill the obligations] means: [fulfill] the covenants. And that is the meaning of the oath.

The Prophet (peace be upon him and his family): A promise is a debt. Allah the Glorified praised Ismail (peace be upon him) and said: "Indeed, he was true to his promise." (Maryam/54). And the Glorified said: يَا أَیُّهَا الَّذِینَ آمَنُوا أَوْفُوا بِالْعُقُودِ [O you who believe! fulfill the obligations].

Imam Ali (peace be upon him): Woe to you! Shall we turn back after having declared consent [and covenant] and pledge? Has not Allah the Exalted said: أَوْفُوا بِالْعُقُودِ [fulfill the obligations], and said: "And when you have made a covenant with Allah, fulfill His covenant, and do not break your oaths after their confirmation, while you have made Allah a surety over yourselves." (Nahl/91). In this way, Ali refused to break the pledge, and the Khawarij deemed the acceptance of arbitration to be misguidance and reviled it, and they dissociated themselves from Ali (peace be upon him), and Ali (peace be upon him) also dissociated himself from them.

Imam Ali (peace be upon him): The verses of the Quran whose ta'wil (interpretation) and tanzil (revelation) are one are every clear (muhkam) verse which concerns the prohibition of some well-known thing that existed in the time of the Arabs, whose ta'wil and tanzil are one and need no explanation or elucidation beyond its ta'wil. Like the words of Allah regarding prohibition: "Your mothers and daughters and sisters are forbidden to you." (Nisa/23). And the words of Allah regarding lawful things: أُحِلَّ لَکُمْ صَیْدُ الْبَحْرِ وَ طَعامُهُ مَتاعاً لَکُمْ وَ لِلسَّیَّارَةِ [The game of the sea and its food is made lawful for you, a provision for you and for the travellers]; and the words of Allah: وَ إِذا حَلَلْتُمْ فَاصْطادُوا [And when you are out of ihram, then hunt]; and the words of Allah the Exalted: یَسْئَلُونَکَ مَا ذَا أُحِلَّ لهُمْ قُلْ أُحِلَّ لَکُمُ الطَّیِّبَاتُ وَ مَا عَلَّمْتُم مِّنَ الجَوَارِحِ مُکلِّبِینَ تُعَلِّمُونهُنَّ ممِّا عَلَّمَکُمُ الله [They ask you as to what is allowed to them. Say: the good things are allowed to you, and what you have taught of beasts and birds of prey, training them to hunt — you teach them of what Allah has taught you]. And the words of Allah: وَطَعامُکُمْ حِلٌّ لَهُمْ [And your food is lawful for them]; and His words: أَوْفُوا بِالْعُقُودِ أُحِلَّتْ لَکُمْ بَهِیمَةُ الْأَنْعامِ إِلَّا ما یُتْلی عَلَیْکُمْ غَیْرَ مُحِلِّی الصَّیْدِ وَ أَنْتُمْ حُرُمٌ [Fulfill the obligations. The cattle quadrupeds are made lawful for you except that which is recited to you, not violating the prohibition against game while you are in ihram]; and also the verse: "Intimacy with your wives is made lawful for you on the night of the fast." (Baqarah/187). And the words of Allah: لاتُحَرِّمُوا طَیِّباتِ ما أَحَلَّ الله لَکُمْ [Do not forbid the good things which Allah has made lawful for you]; and the like of it is much.

Imam Baqir (peace be upon him) and Imam Sadiq (peace be upon him): Muhammad ibn Muslim said: I asked one of the two Imams, Imam Baqir (peace be upon him) or Imam Sadiq (peace be upon him), about the verse: أُحِلَّتْ لَکُم بَهِیمَةُ الأَنْعامِ [The cattle quadrupeds are allowed to you]. He said: "The fetus in its mother's womb, when it has grown hair and fur, its purification (by proper slaughter) is the purification of its mother, and this is the meaning that Allah intended."

Imam Sadiq (peace be upon him): Ahmad ibn Muhammad ibn Abi Nasr narrates from one of his companions: Imam Sadiq (peace be upon him) was asked about this word of Allah the Mighty and Majestic: أُحِلَّتْ لَکُمْ بَهِیمَةُ الْأَنْعامِ [The cattle quadrupeds are allowed to you]. He said: "The lamb in the mother's womb, whenever its body has grown hair and fur, its slaughter is the slaughter of its mother. And if it has not grown hair and fur, it is forbidden [and is not eaten]."

Imam Baqir (peace be upon him) and Imam Sadiq (peace be upon him): The meaning is the fetuses of the cattle which, once they have grown hair, come out of the mother's womb, while the purification (proper slaughter) of the mother was accomplished when she was alive; and now the purification of this newborn fetus is the very purification of its mother.

Imam Baqir (peace be upon him) and Imam Sadiq (peace be upon him): Muhammad ibn Muslim narrates: Imam Baqir (peace be upon him) said about the verse: أُحِلَّتْ لَکُم بَهِیمَةُ الأَنْعامِ [The cattle quadrupeds are allowed to you]: "That which is in the womb and its mother is slaughtered, and it is found in the womb."

Imam Baqir (peace be upon him): Zurarah narrates: Imam Baqir (peace be upon him) said about the verse: أُحِلَّتْ لَکُم بَهِیمَةُ الأَنْعامِ [The cattle quadrupeds are allowed to you]: "The meaning is the fetuses that are in the wombs of the cattle, and Amir al-Mu'minin (peace be upon him) used to command that the fetuses be sold."

Imam Ali (peace be upon him): Imam Sadiq (peace be upon him) narrated from his father that Ali, the Commander of the Faithful (peace be upon him), was asked about eating the flesh of the elephant, the bear, and the monkey. He said: "These are not among the domestic quadrupeds that are eaten."

Imam Jawad (peace be upon him): The Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him and his family) took a pledge from them in ten places for the caliphate of Ali (peace be upon him), and then Allah revealed this verse: یَا أَیُّهَا الَّذِینَ آمَنُواْ أَوْفُواْ بِالْعقُودِ [O you who believe! Fulfill the obligations] — the covenants and pledges that I bound upon you for Amir al-Mu'minin (peace be upon him).

The Prophet (peace be upon him and his family): It is narrated from Imam Baqir (peace be upon him) that he said: The Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him and his family) took allegiance from his companions for Ali (peace be upon him), and in ten places took a pledge from them upon his caliphate. Then the verse: یا أَیُّهَا الَّذِینَ آمَنُوا أَوْفُوا بِالْعُقُودِ [O you who believe! Fulfill the obligations] was revealed to him — meaning: fulfill the covenants that I bound upon you concerning Ali, Amir al-Mu'minin (peace be upon him).

Imam Sadiq (peace be upon him): Mufaddal narrates: I asked Imam Sadiq (peace be upon him) about the verse: أُحِلَّتْ لَکُم بَهِیمَةُ الأَنْعامِ [The cattle quadrupeds are made lawful to you]. He said: بَهِیمَةُ here means the wali (guardian), and الأَنْعامِ means the believers.