Tafsir of Al-Ma'idah 5:94

Surah Al-Ma'idah (5): Verse 94

The Verse:

{O you who have believed, Allah will surely test you with something from the game that your hands and your spears can reach, that Allah may know who fears Him unseen.}

This verse introduces another category of rulings. Its connection to the preceding verse (5:87), where Allah said, {O you who have believed, do not forbid the good things which Allah has made lawful for you}, is that just as Allah subsequently exempted wine and gambling from those lawful things, He is now exempting this type of hunting from what is generally permissible, clarifying its prohibition during the state of Iḥrām (consecration for Hajj/Umrah).

Issue 1: The Lam (ل) in {لِيَبْلُوَنَّكُمُ اللَّهُ} (Allah will surely test you) This Lām is the Lām al-Qasam (the Lām of the oath). When the oath itself is omitted, this Lām and the Nūn (of emphasis) serve as evidence that an oath has been implied.

Issue 2: The Wāw (و) in {لِيَبْلُوَنَّكُمُ} (test you) The Wāw is vocalized with a fatḥah due to the meeting of two silent letters (iltiqā’ al-sākinayn).

Issue 3: Meaning of {لِيَبْلُوَنَّكُمُ} (test you) It means Allah will test your obedience versus your disobedience, or He will deal with you as one deals with someone undergoing a test.

Issue 4: The Nature of the Test (Hunting)

• Qatādah ibn Ḥayyān reported that Allah tested them with game while they were in the state of Iḥrām during the Treaty of Hudaybiyyah. Wild animals and birds approached their encampments so closely that they could catch them by hand or spear them—a sight they had never witnessed before. Allah then forbade them from this as a test.
• Al-Wāḥidī explained that what the hands can reach includes chicks, eggs, and small game, while what the spears reach are the larger animals.
• Some scholars argued this interpretation is flawed because the term Ṣayd (game/hunting) generally refers to wild, elusive animals, not those that do not flee.

Issue 5: The Meaning of {بِشَيْءٍ مِّنَ الصَّيْدِ} (with something from the game) The use of bi-shay’in (with something) implies minimization or reduction. It signifies that this is not one of the great trials (like risking life or wealth), but rather an easy test. Allah tested the Ummah of Muhammad (PBUH) with land game, just as He tested the Children of Israel with sea game (fish).

Issue 6: The Mīn (مِنْ) in {مِّنَ الصَّيْدِ} (from the game) The Mīn here carries two possible meanings of specification (tab'īḍ):

1. It refers specifically to land game, excluding sea game.
2. It refers to game hunted during Iḥrām, excluding game hunted during lawful times (Iḥlāl).

• Al-Zajjāj suggested it could be for clarification (tabyīn), similar to His saying: {So shun the impurity of idols} (22:30).

Issue 7: The Object of Hunting The term al-Ṣayd here refers to the object hunted (the prey), not the act of hunting (the verbal noun/masdar). This is evident from the description: {that your hands and your spears can reach}. If it meant the act, it would be an event (ḥadath), whereas only a physical entity ('ayn) can be reached by hands and spears.

Issue 1: The Meaning of "Allah may know" Since Allah is eternally knowing, this statement is metaphorical (majāz). Scholars offered several interpretations:

1. He deals with you as one who seeks knowledge (i.e., He acts as if He is seeking to know).
2. It means to make manifest what is already known (i.e., to reveal the fear of the fearful).
3. It implies an omission (ḥadhf): "So that the allies of Allah may know who fears Him unseen."

Issue 2: The Meaning of {بِالْغَيْبِ} (unseen) There are two main views:

1. It refers to one who fears Him while believing in the unseen, as mentioned at the beginning of the Book: {who believe in the unseen} (2:3).
2. It means one who fears Him with sincerity and truthfulness, such that their state does not change whether someone is present or absent (unlike hypocrites who say they believe when meeting the believers, but retreat to their devils when alone).

Issue 3: Grammatical Status of {بِالْغَيْبِ} The Bā’ (ب) is in the position of being accusative (naṣb) as a circumstantial adverb (ḥāl). The meaning is: who fears Him while He is unseen by them (i.e., they do not see Him). This is similar to {who fear their Lord unseen} (21:49) and {who fear the Most Merciful unseen} (50:33). The meaning of al-Ghayb (the unseen) has already been explained in relation to {who believe in the unseen} (2:3).

This refers to the punishment of the Hereafter, as well as disciplinary punishment (ta'zīr) in this world.

• Ibn 'Abbās stated that this worldly punishment involves beating the transgressor painfully on the stomach and back and stripping off his clothes.
• Al-Qaffāl deemed this permissible because the term ‘Adhāb (punishment) can be applied to physical striking. He cited examples where the lashing of adulterers was called ‘adhāb (e.g., 24:2), and the punishment for free women who commit adultery was specified as half the punishment of married women (4:25). He also cited Prophet Sulaymān’s vow regarding the hoopoe: {I will surely punish him with a severe punishment} (27:21).

Surah Al-Ma'idah (5): Verse 95

The Verse:

{O you who have believed, do not kill game while you are in the state of Iḥrām. And whoever kills it intentionally, then its recompense is the equivalent of what he killed of livestock, as judged by two just men among you as an offering brought to the Ka'bah, or expiation by feeding poor people, or the equivalent of that in fasting, that he may taste the consequence of his deed. Allah has pardoned what has already passed; but whoever repeats [such a thing], then Allah will inflict retribution upon him. And Allah is Exalted in Might, Owner of Retribution.}