Transliteration:( Alyawma uhilla lakumut taiyibaatu wa ta'aamul lazeena ootul Kitaaba hillul lakum wa ta'aamukum hillul lahum wal muhsanaatu minal mu'minaati walmuhsanaatu minal lazeena ootul Kitaaba min qablikum izaaa aataitumoohunna ujoorahunna muhsineena ghaira musaafiheena wa laa muttakhizeee akhdaan; wa mai yakfur bil eemaani faqad habita 'amaluhoo wa huwa fil Aaakhirati minal khaasireen (section 1) )
31. That due to their sins some pure and wholesome things had been made forbidden for the People of the Book. From today Oh Muslims, all these things are lawful for you.
32. That animals slaughtered by the People of the Book and their women are lawful for the Muslims on condition that they are from the People of the Book. However, the present day Europeans in general display tendency of an atheist and have thus rejected Allah. Hence neither are their slaughtered animals lawful and neither are their women lawful for marriage to Muslims. In fact, now Nasara and Yahud in general do not even slaughter animals. Thus, it is forbidden for a Muslim woman to marry a person of the Book.
33. It should be done by giving their dowry to them or make a firm promise of giving it to them. It should be remembered that this hint is given to emphasise the importance of dowry. otherwise marriage can take place even without mentioning or determining dowry.
34. From this we learn that Muta (temporary marriage) is totally forbidden, because the purpose of such a marriage is to satisfy one's lust, not procure children or to keep women in marriage. Thus such a woman can neither be given revocable or irrevocable divorce nor is she entitled for any inheritance. These laws are found in detail in Shariah books as well. At the inception of Islam, temporary marriages, like alcohol, were permissible for a little while.
35. From this we learn that both temporary marriages as well as adultery with household ladies through secret means is forbidden. Sex with prostitutes publically too is a terrible criminal act. The first two become forbidden through 'not for lust', while the third becomes forbidden through 'not making love (secretly)'. Hence there is no inconsistency in the verse.
36. From this we learn that every worship of an apostate becomes null. And If he one becomes Muslim again he will have to repeat his Hajj but not his Salaah (Books of Law). Furthermore, we also learn that an apostate is worse than the person who has always been a non-believer.
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5. Made lawful to you this day are At-Tayyibat. The food of the People of the Scripture is lawful to you, and your food is lawful to them. (Lawful to you in marriage) are chaste women from the believers and chaste women from those who were given the Scripture before your time when you have given them their due, desiring chastity, not illegal sexual intercourse, nor taking them as girlfriends (or lovers). And whosoever rejects faith, then fruitless is his work; and in the Hereafter he will be among the losers.
After Allah mentioned the filthy things that He prohibited for His believing servants and the good things that He allowed for them, He said next,
(Made lawful to you this day are At-Tayyibat.) Allah then mentioned the ruling concerning the slaughtered animals of the People of the Book, the Jews and Christians,
(The food of the People of the Scripture is lawful to you..) meaning, their slaughtered animals, as Ibn `Abbas, Abu Umamah, Mujahid, Sa`id bin Jubayr, `Ikrimah, `Ata’, Al-Hasan, Makhul, Ibrahim An-Nakha`i, As-Suddi and Muqatil bin Hayyan stated. This ruling, that the slaughtered animals of the People of the Book are permissible for Muslims, is agreed on by the scholars, because the People of the Book believe that slaughtering for other than Allah is prohibited. They mention Allah’s Name upon slaughtering their animals, even though they have deviant beliefs about Allah that do not befit His majesty. It is recorded in the Sahih that `Abdullah bin Mughaffal said, “While we were attacking the fort of Khaybar, a person threw a leather bag containing fat, and I ran to take it and said, `I will not give anyone anything from this container today.’ But when I turned I saw the Prophet (standing behind) while smiling.†The scholars rely on this Hadith as evidence that we are allowed to eat what we need of foods from the booty before it is divided. The scholars of the Hanafi, the Shafi`i and the Hanbali Madhhabs rely on this Hadith to allow eating parts of the slaughtered animals of the Jews that they prohibit for themselves, such as the fat. They used this Hadith as evidence against the scholars of the Maliki Madhhab who disagreed with this ruling. A better proof is the Hadith recorded in the Sahih that the people of Khaybar gave the Prophet a gift of a roasted leg of sheep, which they poisoned. The Prophet used to like eating the leg of the sheep and he took a bite from it, but it told the Prophet that it was poisoned, so he discarded that bite. The bite that the Prophet took effected the palate of his mouth, while Bishr bin Al-Bara’ bin Ma`rur died from eating from that sheep. The Prophet had the Jewish woman, Zaynab, who poisoned the sheep, killed. Therefore, the Prophet and his Companions wanted to eat from that sheep and did not ask the Jews if they removed what the Jews believed was prohibited for them, such as its fat. Allah’s statement,
(and your food is lawful to them.) means, you are allowed to feed them from your slaughtered animals. Therefore, this part of the Ayah is not to inform the People of the Scriptures that they are allowed to eat our food — unless we consider it information for us about the ruling that they have — i. e, that they are allowed all types of foods over which Allah’s Name was mentioned, whether slaughtered according to their religion or otherwise. The first explanation is more plausible. So it means: you are allowed to feed them from your slaughtered animals just as you are allowed to eat from theirs, as equal compensation and fair treatment. The Prophet gave his robe to `Abdullah bin Ubayy bin Salul, who was wrapped with it when he died. They say that he did that because `Abdullah had given his robe to Al-`Abbas when Al-`Abbas came to Al-Madinah. As for the Hadith,
(Do not befriend but a believer, nor should other than a Taqi (pious person) eat your food.), This is to encourage such behavior, and Allah knows best.
Allah said,
((Lawful to you in marriage) are chaste women from the believers) The Ayah states: you are allowed to marry free, chaste believing women. This Ayah is talking about women who do not commit fornication, as evident by the word `chaste’. Allah said in another Ayah,
(Desiring chastity not committing illegal sexual intercourse, nor taking them as boyfriends (lovers).) ﴿4:25﴾ `Abdullah Ibn `Umar used to advise against marrying Christian women saying, “I do not know of a worse case of Shirk than her saying that `Isa is her lord, while Allah said,
(And do not marry idolatresses till they believe.)†Ibn Abi Hatim recorded that Abu Malik Al-Ghifari said that Ibn `Abbas said that when this Ayah was revealed,
(And do not marry idolatresses till they believe,) the people did not marry the pagan women. When the following Ayah was revealed,
((Lawful to you in marriage) are chaste women from the believers and chaste women from those who were given the Scripture before your time) they married women from the People of the Book. †Some of the Companions married Christian women and did not see any problem in this, relying on the honorable Ayah,
((Lawful to you in marriage) are chaste women from those who were given the Scripture before your time) Therefore, they made this Ayah an exception to the Ayah in Surat Al-Baqarah,
(And do not marry the idolatresses till they believe,) considering the latter Ayah to include the People of the Book in its general meaning. Otherwise, there is no contradiction here, since the People of the Book were mentioned alone when mentioning the rest of the idolators. Allah said,
(Those who disbelieve from among the People of the Scripture and the idolators, were not going to leave (their disbelief) until there came to them clear evidence.) and,
(And say to those who were given the Scripture and to those who are illiterates: “Do you (also) submit yourselves†If they do, they are rightly guided.) Allah said next,
(When you have given them their due), This refers to the Mahr, so just as these women are chaste and honorable, then give them their Mahr with a good heart. We should mention here that Jabir bin `Abdullah, `Amir Ash-Sha`bi, Ibrahim An-Nakha`i and Al-Hasan Al-Basri stated that when a man marries a woman and she commits illegal sexual intercourse before the marriage is consummated, the marriage is annulled. In this case, she gives back the Mahr that he paid her. Allah said,
(Desiring chastity, not illegal sexual intercourse, nor taking them as girl-friends (or lovers).) And just as women must be chaste and avoid illegal sexual activity, such is the case with men, who must also be chaste and honorable. Therefore, Allah said,
(…not illegal sexual intercourse’) as adulterous people do, those who do not avoid sin, nor reject adultery with whomever offers it to them.
(nor taking them as girl-friends (or lovers),) meaning those who have mistresses and girlfriends who commit illegal sexual intercourse with them, as we mentioned in the explanation of Surat An-Nisa’.
21. The food of the People of the Book includes the animals slaughtered by them. The rule that ‘our food is lawful to them and theirs lawful to us’ signifies that there need be no barriers between us and the People of the Book regarding food. We may eat with them and they with us. But this general proclamation of permission is preceded by a reiteration of the statement: ‘All good things have been made lawful to you.’ This indicates that if the People of the Book either do not observe those principles of cleanliness and purity which are considered obligatory by the Law or if their food includes prohibited items, then one should abstain from eating them. If, for instance, they either slaughter an animal without pronouncing the name of God or if they slaughter it in the name of anyone else but God it is not lawful for us to eat that animal. Likewise, if intoxicating drinks, the flesh of swine, and any other prohibited thing is found on their dining table we may not justify our partaking of such items on the ground that the persons concerned are People of the Book.
The same applies to those non-Muslims who are not People of the Book, except for one difference – that whereas the animals slaughtered by the People of the Book are lawful provided they have pronounced the name of God at the time of slaughtering them, we are not permitted to eat the animals killed by non-Muslims who are not People of the Book.
22.This expression signifies the Jews and the Christians. Of non-Muslim women, Muslims may marry only Christians and Jews, and of them only those who have been characterized as muhsanat (i.e. ‘well-protected women’).
There are differences among jurists as to the detailed application of this rule. The view of Ibn ‘Abbas is that the expression ‘People of the Book’ here signifies only those People of the Book who are subjects of the Domain of Islam (Dar al-Islam). It is also unlawful to marry Jewish and Christian women who are either living in the Domain of War (Dar al-Harb) or in the Domain of Disbelief (Dar al-Kufr). The Hanafi jurists hold a slightly different opinion. Although they disapprove of marrying such women, it is not considered unlawful. Sa’id b. al-Musayyib and Hasan al-Basri are of the opinion that the verse warrants general application and hence there is no need to differentiate between those who are ahl al-Dhimmah (the non-Muslim subjects of the Islamic State) and those who are not.
There is also disagreement among the jurists about the connotation of the term muhsanat. ‘Umar considered this word to signify only those women who are chaste and possess good moral character, and hence ahl al-Kitab women who are of loose character are excluded from this permission. This is also the opinion of Hasan al-Basri, Sha’bi and Ibrahim al-Nakha’i and of the Hanafi jurists. But Shafi’i considers this expression to have been used as an antonym of ‘slave women’, and hence it signifies all those ahl al-Kitab women who are not slaves. (Cf. the commentaries of Ibn Kathir, Ibn al-‘Arabi and Qurtubi – Ed.)
23.The declaration that marriage to ahl al-Kitab women is permitted is immediately followed by this warning which, in effect, means that those who avail themselves of this permission ought to be mindful of their faith and morals. They are urged to beware of infatuation with disbelieving women lest they also become enamoured of the ideas and beliefs which they cherish, thereby allowing their faith to dissipate. They are warned against adopting social patterns and modes of conduct inconsistent with the true requirements of their faith.
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