5. Al-Ma'idah Page 108 یٰۤاَیُّهَا O you الَّذِیْنَ who اٰمَنُوْۤا believe اِذَا When قُمْتُمْ you stand up اِلَی for الصَّلٰوةِ the prayer فَاغْسِلُوْا then wash وُجُوْهَكُمْ your faces وَ اَیْدِیَكُمْ and your hands اِلَی till الْمَرَافِقِ the elbows وَ امْسَحُوْا and wipe بِرُءُوْسِكُمْ your heads وَ اَرْجُلَكُمْ and your feet اِلَی till الْكَعْبَیْنِ ؕ the ankles وَ اِنْ But if كُنْتُمْ you are جُنُبًا (in) a state of ceremonial impurity فَاطَّهَّرُوْا ؕ then purify yourselves وَ اِنْ But if كُنْتُمْ you are مَّرْضٰۤی ill اَوْ or عَلٰی on سَفَرٍ a journey اَوْ or جَآءَ has come اَحَدٌ any one مِّنْكُمْ of you مِّنَ from الْغَآىِٕطِ the toilet اَوْ or لٰمَسْتُمُ has (had) contact النِّسَآءَ (with) the women فَلَمْ and not تَجِدُوْا you find مَآءً water فَتَیَمَّمُوْا then do tayyammum صَعِیْدًا (with) earth طَیِّبًا clean فَامْسَحُوْا then wipe بِوُجُوْهِكُمْ your faces وَ اَیْدِیْكُمْ and your hands مِّنْهُ ؕ with it مَا Does not یُرِیْدُ intend اللّٰهُ Allah لِیَجْعَلَ to make عَلَیْكُمْ for you مِّنْ any حَرَجٍ difficulty وَّ لٰكِنْ but یُّرِیْدُ He intends لِیُطَهِّرَكُمْ to purify you وَ لِیُتِمَّ and to complete نِعْمَتَهٗ His Favor عَلَیْكُمْ upon you لَعَلَّكُمْ so that you may تَشْكُرُوْنَ (be) grateful وَ اذْكُرُوْا And remember نِعْمَةَ (the) Favor اللّٰهِ (of) Allah عَلَیْكُمْ upon you وَ مِیْثَاقَهُ and His covenant الَّذِیْ which وَاثَقَكُمْ He bound you بِهٖۤ ۙ with [it] اِذْ when قُلْتُمْ you said سَمِعْنَا We heared وَ اَطَعْنَا ؗ and we obeyed وَ اتَّقُوا and fear اللّٰهَ ؕ Allah اِنَّ Indeed اللّٰهَ Allah عَلِیْمٌۢ (is) All-Knower بِذَاتِ of what الصُّدُوْرِ (is in) the breasts یٰۤاَیُّهَا O you الَّذِیْنَ who اٰمَنُوْا believe كُوْنُوْا Be قَوّٰمِیْنَ steadfast لِلّٰهِ for Allah شُهَدَآءَ (as) witnesses بِالْقِسْطِ ؗ in justice وَ لَا and let not یَجْرِمَنَّكُمْ prevent you شَنَاٰنُ hatred قَوْمٍ (of) a people عَلٰۤی [upon] اَلَّا that not تَعْدِلُوْا ؕ you do justice اِعْدِلُوْا ۫ Be just هُوَ it اَقْرَبُ (is) nearer لِلتَّقْوٰی ؗ to [the] piety وَ اتَّقُوا And fear اللّٰهَ ؕ Allah اِنَّ indeed اللّٰهَ Allah خَبِیْرٌۢ (is) All-Aware بِمَا of what تَعْمَلُوْنَ you do وَعَدَ Has promised اللّٰهُ Allah الَّذِیْنَ those who اٰمَنُوْا believe وَ عَمِلُوا and do الصّٰلِحٰتِ ۙ the righteous deeds لَهُمْ for them مَّغْفِرَةٌ (is) forgiveness وَّ اَجْرٌ and a reward عَظِیْمٌ great 5. Al-Ma'idah Page 109 وَ الَّذِیْنَ And those who كَفَرُوْا disbelieve وَ كَذَّبُوْا and deny بِاٰیٰتِنَاۤ Our Signs اُولٰٓىِٕكَ those اَصْحٰبُ (are the) companions الْجَحِیْمِ (of) the Hellfire یٰۤاَیُّهَا O you الَّذِیْنَ who اٰمَنُوا believe! اذْكُرُوْا Remember نِعْمَتَ (the) Favor اللّٰهِ (of) Allah عَلَیْكُمْ upon you اِذْ when هَمَّ (were) determined قَوْمٌ a people اَنْ [to] یَّبْسُطُوْۤا stretch اِلَیْكُمْ towards you اَیْدِیَهُمْ their hands فَكَفَّ but He restrained اَیْدِیَهُمْ their hands عَنْكُمْ ۚ from you وَ اتَّقُوا And fear اللّٰهَ ؕ Allah وَ عَلَی And upon اللّٰهِ Allah فَلْیَتَوَكَّلِ so let put the trust الْمُؤْمِنُوْنَ۠ the believers
(5:6) Believers! When you stand up for Prayer wash your faces and your hands up to the elbows, and wipe your heads, and wash your feet up to the ankles.24 And if you are in the state of ritual impurity, purify yourselves (by taking a bath).25 But if you are either ill, travelling, have satisfied a want of nature or have had contact with women and find no water then have recourse to clean earth and wipe your faces and your hands therewith.26 Allah does not want to lay any hardship upon you; rather He wants to purify you and complete His favours upon you27 so that you may give thanks.
(5:7) Remember Allah's favour upon you28 and His covenant which He made with you when you said: 'We have heard and we obey.' So do fear Allah. Allah has full knowledge even of that which is hidden in the breasts of people.
(5:8) Believers! Be upright bearers of witness for Allah,29 and do not let the enmity of any people move you to deviate from justice. Act justly, that is nearer to God-fearing. And fear Allah. Surely Allah is well aware of what you do.
(5:9) Allah has promised those who believe and do righteous deeds forgiveness from sins and a great reward.
(5:10) As for those who disbelieve and give the lie to Our signs, they are destined for the Blazing Flame.
(5:11) Believers! Remember Allah's favour upon you. When a certain people decided to stretch their hands against you, He restrained their hands from you.30 Do fear Allah. Men of faith should put their trust in Allah alone.
24. The explanation of this injunction by the Prophet (peace be on him) indicates that washing of the face includes rinsing one's mouth and inhaling water into the nostrils. Unless this is done the washing of the face is not considered complete. Likewise, since the ears are part of the head, 'wiping the head' includes wiping one's hands over the external and internal parts of the ears as well. Moreover, before starting to wash the other parts one should first wash one's hands so that the instruments of washing are themselves clean.
25. Janabah (the state of major ritual impurity) - whether caused by the sexual act or merely by seminal discharge - renders it unlawful to perform the ritual Prayer and to touch the Qur'an for further details see (Surah 4, nn. 67-9 )above.
26. For explanation see (Surah 4, nn. 69-70 )above.
27. Just as purity of the soul is a blessing, so is cleanliness of the body. God's favour to man can be completed only when he has received comprehensive direction in respect of both spiritual purity and physical cleanliness.
28. The 'favour' mentioned here denotes illuminating the Straight Way, and entrusting to the believers the task of guidance and leadership of the whole world.
29. See (Surah 4, nn. 164-5 )above.
30. This alludes to the incident reported by Ibn 'Abbas when a group of Jews invited the Prophet (peace be on him) and a number of his close Companions to dinner. They had in fact hatched a plot to pounce upon the guests and thus undermine the very foundation of Islam. But by the grace of God the Prophet (peace be on him) came to know of the plot at the eleventh hour and did not go. Since the following section is addressed to the Children of Israel, this incident is alluded to here in order to mark the transition to a new subject.
The discourse which begins here has two purposes. The first is to warn the Muslims against following the ways of their predecessors, the People of the Book. The Muslims are told, therefore, that the Israelites and the followers of Jesus had made a covenant with God in the past, in the manner that the Muslims had recently done so. The Muslims should, therefore, take heed lest they also break their covenant and fall a prey to error and misguidance as their predecessors had done.
The second is to sensitize the Jews and Christians to the errors they have committed and invite them to the true religion.