The Table (Al-Ma’idah)
Verses 7-11 GROUP_162 5.7-11
7
وَاذْكُرُواْ نِعْمَةَ اللّهِ عَلَيْكُمْ وَمِيثَاقَهُ الَّذِي وَاثَقَكُم بِهِ إِذْ قُلْتُمْ سَمِعْنَا وَأَطَعْنَا وَاتَّقُواْ اللّهَ إِنَّ اللّهَ عَلِيمٌ بِذَاتِ الصُّدُورِ
Remember God’s favour to you, and the covenant, which He made with you when you said, ‘We hear and we obey.’ Fear God. God has full knowledge of the innermost thoughts of men.
8
يَا أَيُّهَا الَّذِينَ آمَنُواْ كُونُواْ قَوَّامِينَ لِلّهِ شُهَدَاء بِالْقِسْطِ وَلاَ يَجْرِمَنَّكُمْ شَنَآنُ قَوْمٍ عَلَى أَلاَّ تَعْدِلُواْ اعْدِلُواْ هُوَ أَقْرَبُ لِلتَّقْوَى وَاتَّقُواْ اللّهَ إِنَّ اللّهَ خَبِيرٌ بِمَا تَعْمَلُونَ
Believers, be steadfast in the cause of God and bear witness with justice. Do not let your enmity for others turn you away from justice. Deal justly; that is nearer to being God-fearing. Fear God. God is aware of all that you do.
9
وَعَدَ اللّهُ الَّذِينَ آمَنُواْ وَعَمِلُواْ الصَّالِحَاتِ لَهُم مَّغْفِرَةٌ وَأَجْرٌ عَظِيمٌ
God has promised those who believe and do good deeds forgiveness and a great reward;
10
وَالَّذِينَ كَفَرُواْ وَكَذَّبُواْ بِآيَاتِنَا أُوْلَـئِكَ أَصْحَابُ الْجَحِيمِ
but those who deny the truth and deny Our signs are destined for Hell.
11
يَا أَيُّهَا الَّذِينَ آمَنُواْ اذْكُرُواْ نِعْمَتَ اللّهِ عَلَيْكُمْ إِذْ هَمَّ قَوْمٌ أَن يَبْسُطُواْ إِلَيْكُمْ أَيْدِيَهُمْ فَكَفَّ أَيْدِيَهُمْ عَنكُمْ وَاتَّقُواْ اللّهَ وَعَلَى اللّهِ فَلْيَتَوَكَّلِ الْمُؤْمِنُونَ
Believers, remember the blessings which God bestowed upon you when a certain people were about to lay hands on you and He held back their hands from you. Have fear of God and in God let the believers place their trust.
No class discussions published for this verse group yet.
Commentary
(a) Faith is the vow which binds God and His subject. The subject vows that he will remain God-fearing in his life in this world, and God guarantees that He will be His subject’s guardian in this world and in the Hereafter. God’s subject has to prove his fulfillment of his vow in two ways. First, he should become steadfast on the path of God. On every occasion his lifestyle should give the response which is expected of a subject to his Lord. When he observes the universe, his mind should be filled with the realisation of God’s glories and powers. When he looks at himself, he should realise that his existence is entirely due to God’s grace and His mercy. If his emotions erupt, they should erupt for the sake of God. If his attention is focused on anybody, it should be on God. His love should be for God. His fears should be linked with God. The remembrance of God should be uppermost in his mind. He should be given to prayer and obedience to God, and should spend his assets for the cause of God. In devoting his life to God, he should feel pleasure. The second condition for the fulfillment of the vow of God’s subject is that his dealings with his fellow-beings should be based on justice and fair play. Justice means meting out to a person that treatment which he actually deserves—no more and no less. In his dealings he should follow the dictates of justice and not his desires. He should be bound by this principle to the extent that he should adhere to justice even when dealing with his enemies; even when grievances and bitter memories are apt to divert him from the path of justice. (a) In the world, God makes His appearance felt through symbols, i.e. in the shape of such arguments as cannot be contradicted by man. When an argument of God is presented to a man and he indulges in verbal jugglery instead of accepting it, this amounts to denying the signs of God. Such people will receive severe punishment at God’s behest. And those who accept the argument will deserve a reward from God.