Surah 5. Al-Maida, Ayah 97
| ۞ جَعَلَ اللَّهُ الْكَعْبَةَ الْبَيْتَ الْحَرَامَ قِيَامًا لِلنَّاسِ وَالشَّهْرَ الْحَرَامَ وَالْهَدْيَ وَالْقَلَائِدَ ۚ ذَٰلِكَ لِتَعْلَمُوا أَنَّ اللَّهَ يَعْلَمُ مَا فِي السَّمَاوَاتِ وَمَا فِي الْأَرْضِ وَأَنَّ اللَّهَ بِكُلِّ شَيْءٍ عَلِيمٌ |
| Transliteration | : | yaa 'ayyuhaa 'alladhena 'aamano la- yabluwanna -kum 'allaah bi- shay' min as.- s.ayd tanaal -hu ayde -kum wa- rimaah. -kum li- yaclam 'allaah man yakhaaf -hu bi- al- ghayb fa- man ictadaa bacda dhaalika fa- la- -hu cadhaab 'alem |
| Pickthall | : | Allah hath appointed the Ka'bah, the Sacred House, a standard for mankind, and the Sacred Month and the offerings and the garlands. That is so that ye may know that Allah knoweth whatsoever is in the heavens and whatsoever is in the earth, and that Allah is Knower of all things. |
| Asad | : | God has laid down that the Ka'bah, the Inviolable Temple, shall be a symbol for all mankind;117 and [so, too,] the sacred month [of pilgrimage] and the garlanded offerings [are symbols] meant to make you aware118 that God is aware of all that is in the heavens and all that is on earth, and that God has full knowledge of everything. |
| Malik | : | Allah has made the Ka'bah of the Sacred House an eternal value for mankind, and so are the Sacred Months, the animal offerings, and the animals which are collared as a mark of dedication; so you must know that Allah has knowledge of what is in the heavens and in the earth and that Allah is well aware of everything. |
| Yusuf Ali | : | Allah made the Ka'ba the Sacred House an asylum of security for men as also the Sacred Months the animals for offerings and the garlands that mark them: that ye may know that Allah hath knowledge of what is in the heavens and on earth and that Allah is well acquainted with all things. 803 804 805 |
Note - 117All hunting, whether by pilgrims or non-pilgrims, is
prohibited in the vicinity of the Ka'bah - i.e., within
the precincts of Mecca and its environs - because it is a
sanctuary (amn, see 2:125) for all living beings. For
its association with Abraham, see 2:125 ff., and the
corresponding notes. The noun ka'bah, by which, owing to
its shape, the sanctuary has always been known, denotes
any "cubical building". It would seem that he who first
built the Ka'bah (for, since the time of Abraham, it has
been rebuilt several times, always in the same shape)
consciously chose the simplest three-dimensional form
imaginable - a cube - as a parable of man's humility and
awe before the idea of God, whose glory is beyond
anything that man could conceive by way of architectural
beauty. This symbolism is clearly expressed in the term
qiyam (lit., "support" or "mainstay"), which - in its
abstract sense - signifies "a standard by which [men's]
affairs are made sound or improved" (Razi): hence my
rendering of qiyam li'n-nas as "a symbol for all
mankind".
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Note - 118Lit., "this, so that you may know". The "garlanded
offerings" (lit., "offerings and garlands") are a
reference to the sacrificial animals (see note [4] of
this surah). Thus, the pilgrimage and the rites connected
with it are stated to be symbols of man's self-surrender
to God.
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Note - 803The Sacred or Prohibited Months are explained in n. 209.
ii. 194, and n. 687, v. 2.
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Note - 804See v. 2 and n. 688.
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Note - 805All sorts of people from all parts of the earth gather
during the Pilgrimage. They must not think that they are
strangers, that nobody knows them, and that they may
behave as they like. It is the House of Allah, and He has
supreme knowledge of all things, of all thoughts, and all
motives. As the next verse says, while He is
Oft-forgiving, Most Merciful. He is also strict in
enforcing respect for His ordinances.
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All hunting, whether by pilgrims or non-pilgrims, is prohibited in the vicinity of the Ka'bah - i.e., within the precincts of Mecca and its environs - because it is a sanctuary (amn, see 2:125) for all living beings. For its association with Abraham, see 2:125 ff., and the corresponding notes. The noun ka'bah, by which, owing to its shape, the sanctuary has always been known, denotes any "cubical building". It would seem that he who first built the Ka'bah (for, since the time of Abraham, it has been rebuilt several times, always in the same shape) consciously chose the simplest three-dimensional form imaginable - a cube - as a parable of man's humility and awe before the idea of God, whose glory is beyond anything that man could conceive by way of architectural beauty. This symbolism is clearly expressed in the term qiyam (lit., "support" or "mainstay"), which - in its abstract sense - signifies "a standard by which [men's] affairs are made sound or improved" (Razi): hence my rendering of qiyam li'n-nas as "a symbol for all mankind". |
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Lit., "this, so that you may know". The "garlanded offerings" (lit., "offerings and garlands") are a reference to the sacrificial animals (see note [4] of this surah). Thus, the pilgrimage and the rites connected with it are stated to be symbols of man's self-surrender to God. |
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The Sacred or Prohibited Months are explained in n. 209. ii. 194, and n. 687, v. 2. |
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All sorts of people from all parts of the earth gather during the Pilgrimage. They must not think that they are strangers, that nobody knows them, and that they may behave as they like. It is the House of Allah, and He has supreme knowledge of all things, of all thoughts, and all motives. As the next verse says, while He is Oft-forgiving, Most Merciful. He is also strict in enforcing respect for His ordinances. |
