سورة المائدة

Imam Baqir (peace be upon him): Imam Baqir (peace be upon him) said that this verse was revealed concerning a man from Banu Rabi'a called Hutam.

Imam Baqir (peace be upon him): Musa ibn Bakr narrates from someone who related to him from Imam Baqir (peace be upon him): Zayd ibn Ali came to Imam Baqir (peace be upon him) with letters from the people of Kufa in which they were calling him to themselves, informing him of their gathering and commanding him to rise up towards them. Imam Baqir (peace be upon him) said: "... Allah, Blessed and Exalted, made the lawful lawful and the unlawful unlawful, set forth parables, and established practices, and He did not place the Imam who upholds His command in any ambiguity regarding the acts of obedience He made obligatory, lest he act before its due time or begin struggle before its appointed hour has arrived. Allah the Exalted has said concerning hunting: لاَ تَقْتُلُواْ الصَّیْدَ وَأَنتُمْ حُرُمٌ [Do not kill game while you are in the state of ihram]. (Ma'ida/95). And is the killing of game worse, or the killing of a soul that Allah has forbidden? And Allah has set for each thing a place, and He says: وَإِذَا حَلَلْتُمْ فَاصْطَادُواْ [And when you are out of ihram, then hunt]; and He says: لاَ تُحِلُّواْ شَعآئِرَ اللهِ وَلاَ الشَّهْرَ الْحَرَامَ [Do not violate the signs of Allah, nor the sacred month]. And He made the months a known number, and made four of them sacred, and said: فَسِیحُوا فِی الْأَرْضِ أَرْبَعَةَ أَشْهُرٍ وَ اعْلَمُوا أَنَّکُمْ غَیْرُ مُعْجِزِی اللهِ [So travel freely in the land for four months, and know that you cannot frustrate Allah]. (Tawba/2). Then Allah the Exalted said: فَإِذَا انْسَلَخَ الْأَشْهُرُ الْحُرُمُ فَاقْتُلُوا الْمُشْرِکینَ حَیْثُ وَجَدْتُمُوهُمْ [And when the sacred months have passed, kill the polytheists wherever you find them]. (Tawba/5). So He appointed a time for this act... For every matter in the religion, there is an appointed time and place. If you truly have a proof from your Lord, and certainty in your affair, and clarity in your matter, then do as you will; but if not, do not proceed with a matter about which you are bewildered and confused, and do not attempt to remove a rule whose term has not yet ended and whose time has not yet come. If the time of its removal has truly arrived, the ties will be broken and matters will fall into order one after another, and Allah will bring humiliation and abasement upon those in power and their followers. I seek refuge in Allah from an imam who does not know the proper time of his action — for in that case his follower is more knowledgeable than himself."

Imam Ali (peace be upon him): From Ali ibn Abi Talib (peace be upon him) [it is narrated that he said]: Four instructions from Allah are not obligatory: [First] the word of Allah the Exalted: فَکاتِبُوهُمْ إِنْ عَلِمْتُمْ فِیهِمْ خَیْراً [If you find any good in them, accept their contract of manumission]. (Nur/33). And those of your slaves who seek a contract for freedom, make a contract with them if you perceive in them the capability [for independent life]; so whoever wills may make a contract with his slave for freedom, and whoever wills does not make a contract. And [second] the word of Allah the Exalted: وَ إِذا حَلَلْتُمْ فَاصْطادُوا [And when you come out of ihram, then hunt]; so when one comes out of ihram, whoever wills may hunt and whoever wills may leave off and not hunt. And [third] the word of Allah the Exalted: فَإِذا وَجَبَتْ جُنُوبُها فَکُلُوا مِنْها [And when their sides fall to the ground (and they die), eat of their flesh]. (Hajj/36); so when one has slaughtered by dhabh or nahr, whoever wills may eat from his sacrifice and whoever wills may not eat. And [fourth] the word of Allah the Exalted: فَإِذا قُضِیَتِ الصَّلاةُ فَانْتَشِرُوا فِی الْأَرْضِ [And when the prayer is ended, disperse in the land]. (Jumu'ah/10). So whoever wills may disperse and whoever wills may sit in the mosque.

Imam Sadiq (peace be upon him): It is narrated from Imam Sadiq (peace be upon him): Imam Baqir (peace be upon him), in reply to a person who had asked him, said: Do you think that Allah the Mighty and Majestic — after He made hunting lawful in His saying وَ إِذا حَلَلْتُمْ فَاصْطادُوا [And when you come out of ihram, then hunt] — makes it forbidden? And in the tafsir of the Ahl al-Sunnah [it comes]: the meaning of the verse is that when you come out of ihram, abstain from hunting.

Ali ibn Ibrahim (may Allah have mercy on him): And the word of Allah: یا أَیُّهَا الَّذِینَ آمَنُوا لا تُحِلُّوا شَعائِرَ الله وَ لَا الشَّهْرَ الْحَرامَ وَ لَا الْهَدْیَ وَ لَا الْقَلائِدَ وَ لَا آمِّینَ الْبَیْتَ الْحَرامَ [O you who believe! Do not violate the sacred rites of Allah, nor the sacred month, nor the offerings, nor the garlanded (sacrificial animals), nor those making for the Sacred House] — the sha'a'ir (sacred rites) are ihram, tawaf, prayer at the station of Ibrahim (peace be upon him), and the sa'y between Safa and Marwah, and all the rites of Hajj are among the sha'a'ir of Allah. And among the sha'a'ir is that a man brings forward a camel or cow of sacrifice and marks its hump [by cutting it], or covers it with a cloth, or hangs a collar upon it, so that people may know that it is a sacrificial offering (hady) and no one blocks its way. And they were called sha'a'ir with this name for the purpose of "ish'ar" (making known) to the people, so that they may perceive and recognize it. In the word of the Exalted لاَ الشَّهْرَ الْحَرَامَ [nor the sacred month], what is meant is Dhu al-Hijjah, which is among the sacred months. And the word of the Exalted: وَلاَ الْهَدْیَ [nor the offering] is the sacrifice which, when they enter ihram, they drive forward. And the word of the Exalted: وَلاَ الْقَلآئِد [nor the garlands]; he hangs on its neck the sandal with which he has prayed. And the word of the Exalted: وَلا آمِّینَ الْبَیْتَ الْحَرَامَ [nor those making for the Sacred House], he said: those who perform Hajj to the House of Allah. وَإِذَا حَلَلْتُمْ فَاصْطَادُواْ [And when you come out of ihram, then hunt] — He made hunting lawful for them, after having forbidden it, upon their coming out of ihram.

Imam Baqir (peace be upon him): The custom of the Arabs was that they did not regard Safa and Marwah as being among the sha'a'ir, and they did not perform tawaf between the two, and Allah forbade them from this.

Ibn Abbas (may Allah have mercy on him): وَلاَ آمِّینَ الْبَیْتَ الْحَرامَ [nor those making for the Sacred House], according to most commentators, concerns everyone who sets out with the intention of Hajj.

Imam Ali (peace be upon him): It is narrated from Imam Ali (peace be upon him): O Ibn Abbas (may Allah have mercy on him)! Oppression will gather and become complete for this ummah, and the oppression will grow long, and sin will become manifest, and the word of the oppressors will rise high and prevail. And Allah has taken a covenant from the guardians of the religion that they should not consent with His enemies. Allah commanded this in His Book upon the truthful tongue of the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him and his family) and said: تَعاوَنُوا عَلَی الْبِرِّ وَ التَّقْوی وَ لا تَعاوَنُوا عَلَی الْإِثْمِ وَ الْعُدْوانِ [Help one another in goodness and piety, and do not help one another in sin and aggression].

Imam Ali (peace be upon him): Abu Ma'mar al-Sa'di said: A man came to Imam Ali (peace be upon him) and said, "O Commander of the Faithful (peace be upon him)! I have doubts about the revealed Book of Allah." He said, "Tell me what you have doubted about." He said, "In one place Allah says: یَوْمَ یَقُومُ الرُّوحُ وَ الْمَلائِکَةُ صَفًّا لا یَتَکَلَّمُونَ إِلَّا مَنْ أَذِنَ لَهُ الرَّحْمنُ وَ قالَ صَواباً [The day on which the Spirit and the angels stand in ranks, they will not speak except one to whom the Most Merciful gives permission, and he will say what is right] (Naba/38). And in a place where they are interrogated and made to speak, He says: وَ اللهِ رَبِّنا ما کُنَّا مُشْرِکِینَ [By Allah, our Lord, we were not polytheists] (An'am/23). And He says: یَوْمَ الْقِیامَةِ یَکْفُرُ بَعْضُکُمْ بِبَعْضٍ وَ یَلْعَنُ بَعْضُکُمْ بَعْضاً [But on the Day of Resurrection you will deny one another and curse one another] (Ankabut/25). And He says: إِنَّ ذلِکَ لَحَقٌّ تَخاصُمُ أَهْلِ النَّارِ [Indeed that is truth — the quarreling of the people of the Fire] (Sad/64). And He says: لا تَخْتَصِمُوا لَدَیَّ [Do not dispute before Me] (Qaf/28). And He says: الْیَوْمَ نَخْتِمُ عَلی أَفْواهِهِمْ وَ تُکَلِّمُنا أَیْدِیهِمْ وَ تَشْهَدُ أَرْجُلُهُمْ بِما کانُوا یَکْسِبُونَ [Today We seal their mouths, and their hands will speak to Us, and their feet will testify to what they used to earn] (Yasin/65). So at times they speak, at times they do not speak; at times their skins, hands and feet are made to speak, and at times they do not speak, except those whom the Most Merciful permits and who say what is right — لا یَتَکَلَّمُونَ إِلَّا مَنْ أَذِنَ لَهُ الرَّحْمنُ وَ قالَ صَواباً [they will not speak except one to whom the Most Merciful gives permission, and he will say what is right] (Naba/38). O Commander of the Faithful (peace be upon him)! [Is this not a contradiction]?" Imam Ali (peace be upon him) said to him, "These [matters] do not all take place in one location; their locations differ from one another, but all of them occur on that same Day whose measure is fifty thousand years. On that Day Allah gathers the creatures at a location where they come to know one another, and they speak with one another and seek forgiveness and pardon for one another. Those are the ones from whom obedience appeared — from the messengers and the followers — and who in the abode of the world helped one another in righteousness and piety. Meanwhile the people of disobedience curse one another — those from whom disobedience and rebellion appeared and who in the abode of the world helped one another in wrongdoing and aggression; and their arrogant ones and their oppressed ones curse one another and attribute disbelief to one another and pronounce takfir on one another. Then they are gathered in a location where they flee from one another, and this is His saying: یَوْمَ یَفِرُّ الْمَرْءُ مِنْ أَخِیهِ وَ أُمِّهِ وَ أَبِیهِ وَ صاحِبَتِهِ وَ بَنِیهِ [The Day a man will flee from his brother, and his mother and his father, and his wife and his children] (Abasa/34-36) — those who in the abode of the world cooperated in spreading wrongdoing and aggression; لِکُلِّ امْرِئٍ مِنْهُمْ یَوْمَئِذٍ شَأْنٌ یُغْنِیه [For every man among them, that Day, will be a matter to occupy him] (Abasa/37)."

Imam Ali (peace be upon him): Beware of hypocrisy, turning your backs on one another, cutting ties, and division; وَ تَعاوَنُوا عَلَی الْبِرِّ وَ التَّقْوی وَ لا تَعاوَنُوا عَلَی الْإِثْمِ وَ الْعُدْوانِ وَ اتَّقُوا الله إِنَّ الله شَدِیدُ الْعِقابِ [And help one another in righteousness and piety, and do not help one another in sin and aggression; and fear Allah — indeed, Allah is severe in punishment].

Imam Ali (peace be upon him): Do not anger Allah by pleasing one of His creatures, and do not seek nearness to any of the creatures by distancing yourselves from Allah, for there is no covenant between Allah and any of the creatures by virtue of which He would grant him a good or turn an evil away from him, except through obedience to Him and seeking His pleasure. Indeed, obedience to Allah, Blessed and Exalted, is the means of attaining every good that is sought, and of deliverance from every evil that is avoided. Allah, the Mighty and Majestic, protects whoever obeys Him, and whoever disobeys Him is not safeguarded from His wrath, and whoever flees from Allah finds no refuge, for the command of Allah the Exalted has gone forth to humiliate him, even if the creatures dislike it. Whatever is to come is near; whatever Allah wills comes to pass, and whatever He does not will does not come to pass; تَعاوَنُوا عَلَی الْبِرِّ وَ التَّقْوی وَ لا تَعاوَنُوا عَلَی الْإِثْمِ وَ الْعُدْوانِ وَ اتَّقُوا الله إِنَّ الله شَدِیدُ الْعِقابِ [And help one another in goodness and piety, and do not help one another in sin and aggression; and fear Allah — indeed, Allah is severe in punishment].

Imam Ali (peace be upon him): Abdullah al-Azdi narrates: Ali (peace be upon him) used to give a sermon on the day of Fitr and said: "... O servants of Allah, [always] help one another in goodness and piety, and be merciful and compassionate towards one another, and perform the obligations that Allah has enjoined upon you in the matters He has commanded you."