Al-Ma'idah (The Table Spread): Verse 97

The verse:

{Allah has made the Ka'bah, the Sacred House, a means of support for the people, and [likewise] the Sacred Month, the sacrificial animals, and the garlands.}

The connection of this verse to the preceding one is that Allah, having prohibited hunting in the sacred precinct in the previous verse, here explains that the Sanctuary (Haram) is not only a cause for the safety of wild beasts and birds but also a cause for the safety of people from calamities and fears, and a source of blessings and happiness in this world and the Hereafter.

The First Issue: Recitation of Qiyāman

1. Ibn 'Amir's Recitation: He recited it as {قِيَمًا} (Qiyaman) without an alif (long 'a'). This implies intensification, meaning it is supremely established for rectifying people's affairs, similar to the verse: {a straight path} (Al-An'am: 161).
2. The Majority Recitation: The rest recited it as {قِيَامًا} (Qiyāman) with an alif. (This point was elaborated upon in Surah An-Nisa.)

The Second Issue: The Meaning of Ja'ala (Made)

There are two interpretations for the verb Ja'ala (made):

1. To Define and Decree: Allah defined and decreed it as such.
2. To Cause to Become: Allah created the inclinations in people's hearts to revere it and draw near to it.

The Third Issue: The Naming of the Ka'bah

The Ka'bah (Cube) is named so because of its elevation.

• The term ka'b is used for a young woman whose breasts have begun to protrude (kā'ib or ka'āb).
• A person's ankle bone is also called a ka'b due to its prominence.
• Similarly, when the Ka'bah's status became elevated in the world and its affair famous, it received this name. This is why people say, "So-and-so's ka'b has risen" (meaning his status has been exalted).

The Fourth Issue: The Meaning of {A Means of Support for the People} (Qiyāman lil-Nās)

The original word is Qiwāman (from qāma, yaqūmu), meaning that by which affairs are straightened and rectified. Scholars mention four aspects regarding how the Ka'bah serves as the means of support for people's welfare:

1. Economic Sustenance for Mecca: The people of Mecca needed the arrival of people from distant regions to trade with them for necessities throughout the year, as Mecca is a narrow land with no pasture or agriculture, rarely possessing what they need. Allah made the Ka'bah so revered in hearts that people from all deep ravines desired to visit it for trade, bringing all desired provisions. This became a means for showering blessings upon the Meccans.
2. Security and Safety: The Arabs used to fight and raid in all months except during the Sacred Months. Thus, the people of the Sanctuary were safe in person and property. Even if a man met the killer of his father or son in the Sanctuary, he would not be harmed. If someone committed the gravest crime and sought refuge in the Sanctuary, he would not be touched. This is supported by the verse: {Have they not seen that We have made a sacred, safe precinct, while people are snatched away from around them?} (Al-'Ankabut: 67).
3. Honor and Prestige: Because of the Ka'bah, the people of Mecca became the people of Allah, His chosen ones, and the masters of creation until the Day of Judgment. Everyone approaches and honors them.
4. Religious Support: Allah made the Ka'bah a means of support for people in their religion due to the great rituals and noble acts of worship established there. These rituals became a means for the expiation of sins, the raising of ranks, and an increase in divine favors.

Conclusion on the Four Aspects: It is not unlikely that the verse encompasses all these meanings. The support for livelihood (Qiwām al-Ma'ishah) is either through:

• Acquiring benefits (Aspect 1).
• Averting harm (Aspect 2).
• Attaining honor and leadership (Aspect 3).
• Achieving religion (Aspect 4). Since the Ka'bah is the cause for all four categories, and livelihood is not sustained except by these four, it is established that the Ka'bah is the means of support for the people.

The Fifth Issue: The Scope of "The People" (Lil-Nās)

The phrase {for the people} means for some of the people, specifically the Arabs. This usage is permissible metaphorically because when people of a specific region say "the people did such-and-such," they usually mean only the inhabitants of their own region. Thus, the address was made according to their custom.

The Sixth Issue: The Four Pillars of Support

The verse indicates that Allah made four things a means of support and sustenance for the people:

1. The Ka'bah: Its meaning as a support has already been explained.
2. The Sacred Month (Ash-Shahr al-Harām): Its meaning as support is that while Arabs killed each other in other months and raided one another, when the Sacred Month entered, fear ceased, allowing them to travel and trade safely in person and property. They would gather provisions in the Sacred Month sufficient for the entire year. Without the sanctity of the Sacred Month, they would perish from hunger and hardship, making it a means of sustenance in this world. It is also a means for acquiring great reward through performing the Hajj rituals.
   • Note: Allah intended the four Sacred Months, but used the singular form as a generic term (madhhab al-jins).
3. The Sacrificial Animals (Al-Hadī): This was a means of support because the Hadī is what is dedicated to the House, slaughtered there, and its meat distributed to the poor. This serves as a ritual for the one offering it and sustenance for the poor.
4. The Garlands (Al-Qalā'id): The reason these were a support is that anyone who intended the House during the Sacred Month would not be attacked. Furthermore, anyone traveling outside the Sacred Month who had a Hadī and had garlanded himself and the animal (using bark from the Sanctuary trees) would also be safe. Even if a man carrying a garlanded Hadī died of hunger, no one would touch it, nor would its owner be harmed. All this occurred because Allah instilled in their hearts the reverence for the Sacred House, making anyone approaching or drawing near to it safe from all calamities and fears.

Significance of the Three Items: When Allah mentioned the Ka'bah as support, He immediately followed it with the Sacred Month, the Hadī, and the Garlands because these three became means of livelihood only through their relation to the Sacred House. This serves as proof of the greatness and supreme honor of the Ka'bah.

Meaning and Inference:

Allah knew from eternity that the nature of the Arabs was intense greed for killing and raiding. If this continued, they would be unable to secure the necessities of life, leading to their complete annihilation. Therefore, He devised a subtle plan: He cast a strong belief in their hearts regarding the reverence of the Sacred House and its rituals. This reverence became the cause of security in the Sacred Land and during the Sacred Month. With this security established in time and place, they were able to acquire what they needed, and their worldly affairs became stable.

Such a perfect arrangement could only be achieved if Allah, from eternity, knew all things—universals and particulars. He knew that evil was dominant in their nature, that it would lead to their extinction, and that the only way to avert this was this subtle method: instilling reverence for the Ka'bah to ensure security in certain places and times, thereby enabling them to secure their livelihoods.

This very arrangement is the proof that theologians use to affirm Allah's omniscience: His actions are precise, well-ordered, and conform to what is beneficial. Whoever acts thus must be All-Knowing.

The verse states: {That is so you may know}—meaning, reflect upon this subtle arrangement and precise action—{that Allah knows whatever is in the heavens and whatever is in the earth.} Once you know this, you realize that His knowledge is an eternal, necessary attribute. Such knowledge cannot be restricted to some things while excluding others; therefore, it must encompass all things. Thus, {and that Allah is All-Knower of everything.} What an excellent sequence in this planning and decree! Praise be to Allah who guided us to this, and we would not have been guided had Allah not guided us.