المائدة
The Table Spread
Explanations are simplified from tafsirs by Ibn Kathir, Mufti Muhammad Shafi, and Maulana Wahiduddin Khan. Spot an inaccuracy? Let us know.
yāqawmi ud'khulū l-arḍa l-muqadasata allatī kataba l-lahu lakum walā tartaddū ʿalā adbārikum fatanqalibū khāsirīna
O my people, enter the blessed land [i.e., Palestine] which Allāh has assigned to you and do not turn back [from fighting in Allāh's cause] and [thus] become losers."
qālū yāmūsā inna fīhā qawman jabbārīna wa-innā lan nadkhulahā ḥattā yakhrujū min'hā fa-in yakhrujū min'hā fa-innā dākhilūna
They said, "O Moses, indeed within it is a people of tyrannical strength, and indeed, we will never enter it until they leave it; but if they leave it, then we will enter."
qāla rajulāni mina alladhīna yakhāfūna anʿama l-lahu ʿalayhimā ud'khulū ʿalayhimu l-bāba fa-idhā dakhaltumūhu fa-innakum ghālibūna waʿalā l-lahi fatawakkalū in kuntum mu'minīna
Said two men from those who feared [to disobey] upon whom Allāh had bestowed favor, "Enter upon them through the gate, for when you have entered it, you will be predominant. And upon Allāh rely, if you should be believers."
qālū yāmūsā innā lan nadkhulahā abadan mā dāmū fīhā fa-idh'hab anta warabbuka faqātilā innā hāhunā qāʿidūna
They said, "O Moses, indeed we will not enter it, ever, as long as they are within it; so go, you and your Lord, and fight. Indeed, we are remaining right here."
qāla rabbi innī lā amliku illā nafsī wa-akhī fa-uf'ruq baynanā wabayna l-qawmi l-fāsiqīna
[Moses] said, "My Lord, indeed I do not possess [i.e., control] except myself and my brother, so part us from the defiantly disobedient people."
qāla fa-innahā muḥarramatun ʿalayhim arbaʿīna sanatan yatīhūna fī l-arḍi falā tasa ʿalā l-qawmi l-fāsiqīna
[Allāh] said, "Then indeed, it is forbidden to them for forty years [in which] they will wander throughout the land. So do not grieve over the defiantly disobedient people."
wa-ut'lu ʿalayhim naba-a ib'nay ādama bil-ḥaqi idh qarrabā qur'bānan fatuqubbila min aḥadihimā walam yutaqabbal mina l-ākhari qāla la-aqtulannaka qāla innamā yataqabbalu l-lahu mina l-mutaqīna
And recite to them the story of Adam's two sons, in truth, when they both made an offering [to Allāh], and it was accepted from one of them but was not accepted from the other. Said [the latter], "I will surely kill you." Said [the former], "Indeed, Allāh only accepts from the righteous [who fear Him].
la-in basaṭta ilayya yadaka litaqtulanī mā anā bibāsiṭin yadiya ilayka li-aqtulaka innī akhāfu l-laha rabba l-ʿālamīna
If you should raise your hand toward me to kill me - I shall not raise my hand toward you to kill you. Indeed, I fear Allāh, Lord of the worlds.
innī urīdu an tabūa bi-ith'mī wa-ith'mika fatakūna min aṣḥābi l-nāri wadhālika jazāu l-ẓālimīna
Indeed, I want you to obtain [thereby] my sin and your sin so you will be among the companions of the Fire. And that is the recompense of wrongdoers."
faṭawwaʿat lahu nafsuhu qatla akhīhi faqatalahu fa-aṣbaḥa mina l-khāsirīna
And his soul permitted to him the murder of his brother, so he killed him and became among the losers.
fabaʿatha l-lahu ghurāban yabḥathu fī l-arḍi liyuriyahu kayfa yuwārī sawata akhīhi qāla yāwaylatā aʿajaztu an akūna mith'la hādhā l-ghurābi fa-uwāriya sawata akhī fa-aṣbaḥa mina l-nādimīna
Then Allāh sent a crow searching [i.e., scratching] in the ground to show him how to hide the disgrace of his brother. He said, "O woe to me! Have I failed to be like this crow and hide the disgrace [i.e., body] of my brother?" And he became of the regretful.
min ajli dhālika katabnā ʿalā banī is'rāīla annahu man qatala nafsan bighayri nafsin aw fasādin fī l-arḍi faka-annamā qatala l-nāsa jamīʿan waman aḥyāhā faka-annamā aḥyā l-nāsa jamīʿan walaqad jāathum rusulunā bil-bayināti thumma inna kathīran min'hum baʿda dhālika fī l-arḍi lamus'rifūna
Because of that, We decreed upon the Children of Israel that whoever kills a soul unless for a soul or for corruption [done] in the land - it is as if he had slain mankind entirely. And whoever saves one - it is as if he had saved mankind entirely. And Our messengers had certainly come to them with clear proofs. Then indeed many of them, [even] after that, throughout the land, were transgressors.
innamā jazāu alladhīna yuḥāribūna l-laha warasūlahu wayasʿawna fī l-arḍi fasādan an yuqattalū aw yuṣallabū aw tuqaṭṭaʿa aydīhim wa-arjuluhum min khilāfin aw yunfaw mina l-arḍi dhālika lahum khiz'yun fī l-dun'yā walahum fī l-ākhirati ʿadhābun ʿaẓīmun
Indeed, the penalty for those who wage war against Allāh and His Messenger and strive upon earth [to cause] corruption is none but that they be killed or crucified or that their hands and feet be cut off from opposite sides or that they be exiled from the land. That is for them a disgrace in this world; and for them in the Hereafter is a great punishment,
illā alladhīna tābū min qabli an taqdirū ʿalayhim fa-iʿ'lamū anna l-laha ghafūrun raḥīmun
Except for those who return [repenting] before you overcome [i.e., apprehend] them. And know that Allāh is Forgiving and Merciful.
yāayyuhā alladhīna āmanū ittaqū l-laha wa-ib'taghū ilayhi l-wasīlata wajāhidū fī sabīlihi laʿallakum tuf'liḥūna
O you who have believed, fear Allāh and seek the means [of nearness] to Him and strive in His cause that you may succeed.
inna alladhīna kafarū law anna lahum mā fī l-arḍi jamīʿan wamith'lahu maʿahu liyaftadū bihi min ʿadhābi yawmi l-qiyāmati mā tuqubbila min'hum walahum ʿadhābun alīmun
Indeed, those who disbelieve - if they should have all that is in the earth and the like of it with it by which to ransom themselves from the punishment of the Day of Resurrection, it will not be accepted from them, and for them is a painful punishment.
yurīdūna an yakhrujū mina l-nāri wamā hum bikhārijīna min'hā walahum ʿadhābun muqīmun
They will wish to get out of the Fire, but never are they to emerge therefrom, and for them is an enduring punishment.
wal-sāriqu wal-sāriqatu fa-iq'ṭaʿū aydiyahumā jazāan bimā kasabā nakālan mina l-lahi wal-lahu ʿazīzun ḥakīmun
[As for] the thief, the male and the female, amputate their hands in recompense for what they earned [i.e., committed] as a deterrent [punishment] from Allāh. And Allāh is Exalted in Might and Wise.
faman tāba min baʿdi ẓul'mihi wa-aṣlaḥa fa-inna l-laha yatūbu ʿalayhi inna l-laha ghafūrun raḥīmun
But whoever repents after his wrongdoing and reforms, indeed, Allāh will turn to him in forgiveness. Indeed, Allāh is Forgiving and Merciful.
alam taʿlam anna l-laha lahu mul'ku l-samāwāti wal-arḍi yuʿadhibu man yashāu wayaghfiru liman yashāu wal-lahu ʿalā kulli shayin qadīrun
Do you not know that to Allāh belongs the dominion of the heavens and the earth? He punishes whom He wills and forgives whom He wills, and Allāh is over all things competent.