5:101 What Is Being Talked About?
يَا أَيُّهَا الَّذِينَ آمَنُواْ لاَ تَسْأَلُواْ عَنْ أَشْيَاء إِن تُبْدَ لَكُمْ تَسُؤْكُمْ وَإِن تَسْأَلُواْ عَنْهَا حِينَ يُنَزَّلُ الْقُرْآنُ تُبْدَ لَكُمْ عَفَا اللّهُ عَنْهَا وَاللّهُ غَفُورٌ حَلِيمٌ (١٠١) قَدْ سَأَلَهَا قَوْمٌ مِّن قَبْلِكُمْ ثُمَّ أَصْبَحُواْ بِهَا كَافِرِينَ (١٠٢) مَا جَعَلَ اللّهُ مِن بَحِيرَةٍ وَلاَ سَآئِبَةٍ وَلاَ وَصِيلَةٍ وَلاَ حَامٍ وَلَـكِنَّ الَّذِينَ كَفَرُواْ يَفْتَرُونَ عَلَى اللّهِ الْكَذِبَ وَأَكْثَرُهُمْ لاَ يَعْقِلُونَ (١٠٣) Believers! [17] Do not ask questions about things which, if made known to you, would only burden you and if you ask them when the Quran is being revealed to you, they shall be made evident to you. [At this time,] God has pardoned you for this; and God is forgiving and gracious. Before you a nation [18] inquired similar things , [19] then they became its very rejecters . [The answer to your question is that] God has prescribed a neither a bahirah, nor a saibah, nor a wasilah, nor a ham. [20] But these disbelievers invent falsehoods about God and most of them are those who Do not use their intellect. ( 5:101-103 ) (Excerpt from Quranic Exegesis: Javed Ahmed Ghamidi) (Translated by Dr. Shehzad Saleem) ____________________________ [17] . This is the answer to the fourth question which begins with an on the spot admonition. It is said that people should refrain from unnecessary questions. This admonition was required because such questions tighten the limits of a directive, and then people are not able to follow them and as a result invite the wrath of God. God wants that a directive be followed the way it is given. Difficulties should not be created by asking to explain what is concise and by asking to limit and restrict what is absolute. Moreover, it also should remain in consideration that the last shariah of God is till the Day of Judgement and hence the freedom of ijtihad and fiqh cannot be curtailed in it. There is a possibility that this freedom might get curtailed because of asking unnecessary questions, and the coming generations might be faced with hardships as a result. [18] . This reference serves as an example and the nation here refers to the Jews. They are mentioned as an indefinite noun in order to express disgust and indifference. An example of these questions is the incident of the heifer mentioned in verses 67-71 of Sūrah Baqarah. [19] . The actual words are: قَدْ سَأَلَهَا. The antecedent in it is meant to describe the category. It is evident from the parallels of the Qur’ān that such antecedents are also used in the Arabic language. [20] . The verb جَعَلَ is used in this sentence. I have translated it as “has prescribed”. What is implied is to prescribe something as the shariah. In other words, God has not regarded as part of shariah prohibitions of certain animals by the Idolaters under the names of bahirah, saibah, wasilah and ham. Bahirah is the name given to a she camel which has five offspring, the last of which is a male. The ears of such a camel are slit and it is left free. Saibah is the name given to a camel which is left free once some vow has been fulfilled. As for wasilah, some people would vow that if a goat would give birth to male offspring, they would offer it to their idols, and if gives birth to female offspring, they would keep it to themselves; if she would give birth to male and female offspring simultaneously, they would call it wasilah and would not offer such male offspring to their idols. Ham is the name of a bull which has given birth to many offspring. It would be left to roam free. Imam Amin Ahsan Islahi writes: All these were rituals and offerings of the Arab jahiliyyah. Such animals would be left on their own; they could drink water from any place and graze in any field; no one could stop them nor impede them. Such was the religious sanctity that they held that every one would be scared to death of obstructing them in any way. The Qur’ān made it clear that they have no religious basis in the shariah. This basis is only held by the hadi and the qalaid. The rest are mere superstitious whims. Regarding them to be a part of the shariah is a blatant falsehood on God and His shariah. People devoid of any sense have ascribed such foolish things to God . (Amin Ahsan Islahi, Tadabbur-i Quran, vol. 2, 602)