Translation of the Meanings of the Noble Qur'an - English Translation - Dr. Waleed Bleyhesh Omary (in progress) * - Translations’ Index
Translation of the meanings
Ayah: (33) Surah: Al-Mā’idah
إِنَّمَا جَزَٰٓؤُاْ ٱلَّذِينَ يُحَارِبُونَ ٱللَّهَ وَرَسُولَهُۥ وَيَسۡعَوۡنَ فِي ٱلۡأَرۡضِ فَسَادًا أَن يُقَتَّلُوٓاْ أَوۡ يُصَلَّبُوٓاْ أَوۡ تُقَطَّعَ أَيۡدِيهِمۡ وَأَرۡجُلُهُم مِّنۡ خِلَٰفٍ أَوۡ يُنفَوۡاْ مِنَ ٱلۡأَرۡضِۚ ذَٰلِكَ لَهُمۡ خِزۡيٞ فِي ٱلدُّنۡيَاۖ وَلَهُمۡ فِي ٱلۡأٓخِرَةِ عَذَابٌ عَظِيمٌ
(33) [1167]Indeed the ˹only just˺ recompense for those who wage war against Allah and His Messenger and walk the land spreading corruption is that they should be relentlessly[1168] killed, crucified[1169], their hands and feet be cut off on alternate sides[1170] or they should be exiled from the land[1171]. That is disgrace for them in the worldly life, and in the Hereafter theirs is a great Punishment.
[1167] This passage, which legalizes and regulates judicious killing, deals especially with those who disrupt peace in society and willingly and wastefully destroy the lives and livelihoods of others. It is well known that this aya details the penal code for such acts as highway robbery and banditry (cf. al-Saʿdī), known in Islamic law as ḥadd al-ḥirābah (lit. the penal code of waging war). Such heinous violations of God’s laws and the rights of others are taken as waging war against God and His Messenger, because they brazenly breach religious teachings.
The particle aw (or) denotes that those in charge of the rule of law may choose from these detailed forms of punishment whatever they deem befitting, given the seriousness of the crime and the circumstances surrounding it, to make an example of the perpetrators so that no one will think of following their example (cf. al-Ṭabarī, al-Saʿdī, al-Shinqīṭī).
[1168] This word, ‘relentlessly’, is used to compensate for the hyperbolic form (ṣīghat al-mubālaghah) in which these types of punishment come, i.e. yuqattalū (killed), yuṣallabū (crucified), tuqaṭṭaʿa (cut off). The form employed here underlines the sternness with which these punishments are to be carried out (cf. Ibn ʿĀshūr).
[1169] Yuṣallabū means crucified either prior to their killing or after their killing. It is a corrective measure that displays them as examples for others. (Ibn ʿAṭiyyah, Ibn ʿĀshūr, al-Shinqīṭī)
[1170] Min khilāf that is the culprit’s right hand along with his left foot or vice versa; but not two limbs on the same side. (al-Ṭabarī, Ibn ʿUthaymīn)
[1171] Yunfaw min al-arḍ is to be expelled from his country of residence to another (cf. al-Ṭabarī, Ibn ʿĀshūr, al-Shinqīṭī); or expelled from the country where he committed his crime (cf. Ibn ʿAṭiyyah, al-Qurṭubī, Ibn ʿUthaymīn); or that he be incarcerated (cf. al-Ṭabarī).
The particle aw (or) denotes that those in charge of the rule of law may choose from these detailed forms of punishment whatever they deem befitting, given the seriousness of the crime and the circumstances surrounding it, to make an example of the perpetrators so that no one will think of following their example (cf. al-Ṭabarī, al-Saʿdī, al-Shinqīṭī).
[1168] This word, ‘relentlessly’, is used to compensate for the hyperbolic form (ṣīghat al-mubālaghah) in which these types of punishment come, i.e. yuqattalū (killed), yuṣallabū (crucified), tuqaṭṭaʿa (cut off). The form employed here underlines the sternness with which these punishments are to be carried out (cf. Ibn ʿĀshūr).
[1169] Yuṣallabū means crucified either prior to their killing or after their killing. It is a corrective measure that displays them as examples for others. (Ibn ʿAṭiyyah, Ibn ʿĀshūr, al-Shinqīṭī)
[1170] Min khilāf that is the culprit’s right hand along with his left foot or vice versa; but not two limbs on the same side. (al-Ṭabarī, Ibn ʿUthaymīn)
[1171] Yunfaw min al-arḍ is to be expelled from his country of residence to another (cf. al-Ṭabarī, Ibn ʿĀshūr, al-Shinqīṭī); or expelled from the country where he committed his crime (cf. Ibn ʿAṭiyyah, al-Qurṭubī, Ibn ʿUthaymīn); or that he be incarcerated (cf. al-Ṭabarī).
Arabic explanations of the Qur’an:
Translation of the meanings
Ayah: (33) Surah: Al-Mā’idah
Translation of the Meanings of the Noble Qur'an - English Translation - Dr. Waleed Bleyhesh Omary (in progress) - Translations’ Index
Translated by Dr. Waleed Bleyhesh Omary