Tafsir of Al-Ma'idah 5:96

Surah Al-Ma'idah (The Table Spread): Verse 96

{أُحِلَّ لَكُمْ صَيْدُ الْبَحْرِ وَطَعَامُهُ مَتَاعًا لَكُمْ وَلِلسَّيَّارَةِ} It is made lawful for you to hunt the sea game and to eat its food as provision for you and for the travelers.

Issue 1: Definition of Sea Game (صيد البحر)

The term al-Sayd (game/catch) refers to what is caught. The creatures of the sea fall into three categories:

1. Fish (الحيتان): All types of fish are lawful (Halal).
2. Frogs (الضفادع): All types of frogs are unlawful (Haram).
3. Others: There is disagreement regarding creatures other than fish and frogs.
   • Abu Hanifa ruled them unlawful (Haram).
   • Ibn Abi Layla and the majority ruled them lawful (Halal), relying on the generality (عموم) of this verse.
   • The term al-Bahr (the sea) here includes all bodies of water, including rivers.

Issue 2: The Conjunction of Sea Game and Sea Food (صيد البحر وطعامه)

Allah coupled the hunting of the sea game with its food (wa ta'amuhu). This conjunction implies a difference between the two. Several interpretations are mentioned:

1. The Best View (Attributed to Abu Bakr al-Siddiq):
   • Sea Game (صيد): Refers to what is caught while alive, using a method or effort (bi-al-hila).
   • Sea Food (طعام): Refers to what the sea casts out (e.g., dead creatures washed ashore) or what is obtained when the water recedes, without any effort in capturing it. This is considered the most sound opinion.
2. Second View (Attributed to Sa'id ibn Jubayr, Sa'id ibn al-Musayyab, Muqatil, and al-Nakha'i):
   • Sea Game (صيد): Refers to fresh catch (al-Tari).
   • Sea Food (طعام): Refers to what has been preserved by salting (mumallah), as it loses the name 'game' once it becomes old. This view is weak because salted food was fresh and considered 'game' initially, leading to repetition.
3. Third View:
   • Hunting (الاصطياد): May be for consumption or for other purposes, such as hunting shells for pearls, or hunting certain sea animals for their bones or teeth.
   • Sea Food (طعام البحر): Refers specifically to consumption. This establishes a difference between the act of hunting and the act of eating what the sea provides.

Issue 3: Floating Dead Animals (السمكة الطافية)

• Al-Shafi'i ruled that a fish floating dead on the sea surface is lawful (Halal).
  • Evidence (Quran): Since it can be eaten, it falls under the category of 'food' (ta'am), which is permitted by the verse: {It is made lawful for you... its food}.
  • Evidence (Hadith): The Prophet's saying regarding the sea: "Its water is purifying, and its dead [creatures] are lawful [to eat]."
• Abu Hanifa ruled it unlawful (Haram).

Issue 4: The Purpose for Travelers (للسيارة)

The permission to hunt sea game applies to both residents (muqim) and travelers (sayyarah).

• The resident may eat the fresh catch.
• The traveler may eat the salted/preserved catch.

Issue 5: Grammatical Analysis of {مَتَاعًا لَكُمْ} (as provision for you)

There are two main analyses for the accusative case (nasb) of mata'an:

1. Al-Zajjaj's View: It is an emphatic infinitive (masdar mu'akkid). Since the preceding phrase is permissive ({It is made lawful for you}), this serves as evidence that it is a favor bestowed upon them, similar to how {It was decreed upon you} (Qur'an 4:23) implies a binding decree, as stated in {The decree of Allah is upon you} (Qur'an 4:24).
2. The Author of Al-Kashshaf's View: It is an object of cause (maf'ul li-ajlih), meaning: "He made it lawful for you for the purpose of your enjoyment/provision."

Issue 1: Repetition of Prohibition

Allah mentioned the prohibition of hunting for the pilgrim in Ihram in three places within this Surah:

1. From {Not permissible for you is the hunting of game while you are in the sacred precincts} (2:196, implied context).
2. From {Nor shall you hunt game while you are in the sacred precincts} (5:1, referring to the sacred area).
3. From {Do not kill game while you are in the state of Ihram} (5:95) up to this current statement.

Issue 2: Definition of Land Game (صيد البر)

• Sea Game: That which can only live in water.
• Land Game: That which lives only on land, OR that which can live sometimes on land and sometimes in water.
  • Therefore, the turtle, crab, frog, and water birds are all considered Land Game (Sayd al-Barr). Killing them requires compensation (jaza').

Issue 3: Eating Land Game Hunted by a Non-Pilgrim (Hallel)

Muslims agree that the pilgrim in Ihram is forbidden from hunting. They differ on whether a pilgrim may eat land game hunted by someone who is not in Ihram (a Hallel). There are four opinions:

1. Prohibition in All Cases (View of Ali, Ibn Abbas, Ibn Umar, Sa'id ibn Jubayr, Tawus; mentioned by al-Thawri and Ishaq):
   • Basis: The verse {And forbidden to you is the game of the land as long as you are in the state of Ihram}. This prohibition covers all land game, whether hunted by the pilgrim or the non-pilgrim, as it is all classified as 'land game.'
   • Evidence: Abu Dawud narrated that when a wild donkey was sent as a gift to Ali (while he was in Ihram), he refused to eat it, saying, "Feed us lawful sustenance, for we are in Ihram." He also recalled that the Prophet (PBUH) refused to eat a wild donkey gifted to him while he was in Ihram.

2. Permissibility Conditional on Not Hunting for the Pilgrim (View of Al-Shafi'i):
   • Basis: The game is lawful for the pilgrim provided the pilgrim did not hunt it, nor was it hunted for him.
   • Evidence: Abu Dawud narrated from Jabir that he heard the Messenger of Allah (PBUH) say: "The game of the land is lawful for you, unless you hunted it or it was hunted for you."

3. Permissibility Conditional on No Assistance/Signal (View of Abu Hanifa):
   • Basis: If the game was hunted for the pilgrim without his assistance or signal, it is lawful for him.
   • Evidence: It is narrated from Abu Qatadah that he hunted a wild donkey while companions were in Ihram. When they asked the Prophet (PBUH) about it, he asked: "Did you signal? Did you assist?" They replied, "No." He then asked if any meat remained, implying permission based on the absence of signaling or assistance, without further detailed distinction.
   • Scholarly Note: These last two opinions (2 and 3) are based on restricting the generality of the Qur'an by relying on a single Hadith (khabar al-wahid), which the author considers extremely weak.

• Purpose: This serves as a warning (tahdid) to ensure one remains steadfast in obedience and abstains from sin.

Verse 97

{جَعَلَ اللَّهُ الْكَعْبَةَ الْبَيْتَ الْحَرَامَ قِيَامًا لِلنَّاسِ وَالشَّهْرَ الْحَرَامَ وَالْهَدْيَ وَالْقَلَائِدَ ذَلِكَ لِتَعْلَمُوا أَنَّ اللَّهَ يَعْلَمُ مَا فِي السَّمَاوَاتِ وَمَا فِي الْأَرْضِ وَأَنَّ اللَّهَ بِكُلِّ شَيْءٍ عَلِيمٌ} Allah has made the Ka'bah, the Sacred House, a means of support (Qiyaman) for the people, and the Sacred Month, and the sacrificial animals (Hady), and the garlands (Qala'id). That is so you may know that Allah knows whatever is in the heavens and whatever is in the earth, and that Allah is Knower of all things.