Surah Al-Ma'idah 5:102
ﲹ ﲺ ﲻ ﲼ ﲽ ﲾ ﲿ ﳀ ﳁ
A people asked such [questions] before you; then they became thereby disbelievers.
Tafsir of Al-Ma'idah 5:102
Tafsir
Mafatih al-Ghayb
Verse range: 5:102
Al-Ma'idah (5:102) Indeed, a people before you asked...
**The Exegetes said:** This refers to the people of Salih who asked for the she-camel and then slaughtered her, and the people of Moses who said: { "Show us Allah clearly" } (An-Nisa: 153), and this became a calamity for them. And the Children of Israel { said to their prophet, "Appoint for us a king so that we may fight in the cause of Allah." } Allah, the Exalted, said: { But when fighting was prescribed for them, they turned away, except for a few of them. } And { "How can he have sovereignty over us when we are more deserving of sovereignty than him?" } (Al-Baqarah: 246-247). So they asked for it, then disbelieved in it. And the people of Jesus asked about certain things. Perhaps if you were given what you asked for, it would harm you. **If it is said:** That the Almighty first said: { "Do not ask about things..." } (Al-Ma'idah: 101), and then said here: { "Indeed, a people before you asked..." }, and it would have been better to say: "A people asked about them," so what is the reason for this difference?
We say: The answer is twofold:
The First View: That asking about a thing (al-su'āl 'an al-shay') is an expression for asking about one of its states or one of its attributes. Asking for a thing (su'āl al-shay') is a request for that thing itself. It is said: "I asked him for a dirham" (meaning I requested the dirham from him), and it is said: "I asked him about the dirham" (meaning I asked him about the attribute and description of the dirham).
The previous nations asked Allah to bring forth the she-camel from the rock and to send down the table spread from the sky; thus, they asked for the thing itself. As for the companions of Muhammad (peace be upon him), they did not ask for that. Rather, they asked about the states and attributes of things. Since the two types of requests differed in nature, the wording also differed. However, both categories share one description: they involve delving into superfluities (al-fudūl) and embarking on what is unnecessary, which carries the risk of corruption (mafsadah). Anything unnecessary that carries the risk of corruption must be avoided by the intelligent person. Thus, the Almighty indicated that the people of Muhammad (peace be upon him) in asking about the states of things are similar to those previous people in asking for those things, as both types of inquiry are superfluous and involve delving into what yields no benefit.
The Second View: The pronoun (hā') in { "Indeed, a people before you asked it" } (qad sa'alahā) does not refer back to the things they asked about, but rather refers back to their questions about those things. The meaning is: A people before you asked those corrupt questions that you mentioned. When they were answered, they became disbelievers because of them.
{ Allah has not appointed any **Bahīrah**, nor **Sā'ibah**, nor **Wasīlah**, nor **Hām**, but those who disbelieve invent a lie against Allah, and most of them do not reason. }