Tafsir of Al-Ma'idah 5:45

"And We ordained for them therein..."

In the Mushaf of Ubayy, it reads: "And Allah revealed to the Children of Israel therein..." and it contains: "And that wounds are [subject to] Qisas (retaliation)."

All the conjoined clauses were recited in both the accusative (mansūb) and nominative (marfūʿ) cases. The nominative is due to coordination with the position of anna in anna al-nafs (that the soul), because the meaning is: "And We ordained for them: the soul for the soul." This is either because "We ordained" (katabnā) is treated like "We said" (qulnā), or because the meaning of the sentence—which is your saying "the soul for the soul"—is something that the "ordaining" (kitāb) applies to, just as "reading" (qirāʾah) applies to it. You say: "I wrote 'Praise be to Allah'" and "I read 'A Surah We have sent down'."

For this reason, al-Zajjaj said: If it were recited inna al-nafs (with a kasrah), it would be correct, or it could be for the sake of starting a new sentence (istiʾnāf).

"And the meaning is: We imposed upon them therein..."

• "The soul"
  • Taken for...
• "The soul"
  • Killed by it, if one kills it without right.
• "And likewise..."
• "The eye"
  • Blinded for...
• "The eye, and the nose"
  • Mutilated for...
• "The nose, and the ear"
  • Severed for...
• "The ear, and the tooth"
  • Extracted for...
• "The tooth, and wounds are [subject to] Qisas"
  • Meaning: possessing Qisas, which is the act of retaliation. Its meaning is: that in which retaliation is possible and equality is known.

It is narrated from Ibn Abbas (may Allah be pleased with them both) that they used to not kill a man for a woman, so this was revealed.

• "But whoever gives it as charity..."
  • From the holders of the right.
• "Thereby..."
  • By [forgoing] the retaliation and pardoning it.
• "It is an expiation for him."
  • The giving of it as charity is an expiation for the one who gives it; Allah expiates from his sins what the balance requires, just like his other acts of obedience.
  • It is narrated from Abdullah ibn Amr: "It erases from his sins to the extent of what he gave as charity."
  • It is also said: It is an expiation for the perpetrator; if the holder of the right pardons him, what was incumbent upon him is dropped.
  • In the recitation of Ubayy: "It is an expiation for him," meaning: the charity is his expiation. That is, the expiation he deserves is not diminished for him. This is an exaltation of what he did, like His saying: "His reward is upon Allah" (Ash-Shura: 40), and an encouragement to pardon.