Sūrat al-Māʾidah

Classification: Medinan, except for one verse which was revealed at ʿArafāt during the Farewell Pilgrimage.

Length: One hundred and twenty verses.

{O you who have believed, fulfill [all] contracts.}

"Fulfill the contracts" It is said: wafa bi-l-'ahd (he fulfilled the covenant) and awfa bihi (he fulfilled it). From this is: "And those who fulfill their covenant" (Al-Baqarah: 177).

Al-'Uqud (contracts) are binding covenants, likened to the knotting of a rope and the like. Al-Hutay'ah said:

A people who, when they bind a contract for their neighbor, They tighten the knot and secure it with a cord.

These are the contracts of Allah which He has bound upon His servants, obligating them with the requirements of religious duty. It is also said that they are the contracts of trusts, alliances, and commercial transactions that people make among themselves.

The apparent meaning is that they are the contracts Allah has placed upon them regarding His religion: the permitting of His lawful things and the forbidding of His unlawful things. This is a statement presented in summary, followed by the details, which is His saying:

"Lawful for you are..." And what follows it.

"The grazing livestock" Al-Bahimah (beast) refers to every four-legged animal on land or sea. Its attribution to al-an'am (livestock) is for clarification; it is an attribution of the type that carries the meaning of "from" (i.e., min), like saying "a ring of silver." Its meaning is: "The beast from among the livestock."

"Except what is recited to you" Except for what is forbidden that is recited to you from the Qur'an, such as His saying: "Forbidden to you is carrion" (Al-Ma'idah: 3), or except for what is recited to you as a verse of prohibition. Al-An'am refers to the eight pairs.

It is also said that "the beast of the livestock" refers to gazelles, wild cattle, and the like. It is as if they intended those that resemble livestock and are close to them in the category of beasts regarding rumination and the lack of canine teeth, so they were attributed to al-an'am due to the connection of resemblance.

"While you are not permitting hunting" This is in the accusative case as a state (hal) from the pronoun in "for you" (lakum). That is: "These things are made lawful for you, while you are not permitting hunting."

Al-Akhfash stated that its accusative case relates to His saying: "Fulfill the contracts."

"While you are in the state of Ihram" This is a state (hal) for those who are "permitting hunting." It is as if it were said: "We have made some livestock lawful for you while you are refraining from hunting, and while you are in the state of Ihram, so that We do not cause you hardship."

"Indeed, Allah ordains what He intends" Of rulings, and He knows that it is wisdom and benefit.

Al-Hurum is the plural of haram, which is the one in the state of Ihram.