5. Al-Ma'idah (The Repast)

The Quranic Text & Ali’s Version:

يَا أَهْلَ الْكِتَابِ قَدْ جَاءكُمْ رَسُولُنَا...

5: 15. O People of the Book!

there hath come to you Our Messenger,

... يُبَيِّنُ لَكُمْ كَثِيرًا مِّمَّا كُنتُمْ تُخْفُونَ مِنَ الْكِتَابِ وَيَعْفُو عَن كَثِيرٍ...

revealing to you much that ye used to hide in the Book, and passing over much (that is now unnecessary):

... قَدْ جَاءكُم مِّنَ اللّهِ نُورٌ وَكِتَابٌ مُّبِينٌ ﴿١٥﴾

There hath come to you from Allah a (new) Light and a perspicuous Book.

C716. Mubin: I wish I could translate by a simpler word than "perspicuous". But "plain" may mean unadorned, the opposite of beautiful, and this Book is among the most beautiful that it is the privilege of mankind to read.

"Clear" would be right as far as it means "unambiguous, self-evident, not involved in mysteries of origin, history, or meaning, one which every one can understand as to the essentials necessary for him, without the intervention of priests or privileged persons".

Mubin has all these meanings, but it suggests, besides, some quality of a shining light, by which we are able to make things clear, to distinguish the true from the false. This I think is suggested better by "perspicuous" than by the word "clear". Besides it is hardly good idiom to speak of "a clear Book."

يَهْدِي بِهِ اللّهُ مَنِ اتَّبَعَ رِضْوَانَهُ سُبُلَ السَّلاَمِ ...

5: 16. Wherewith Allah guideth all who seek His good pleasure to ways of peace and safety,

... وَيُخْرِجُهُم مِّنِ الظُّلُمَاتِ إِلَى النُّورِ بِإِذْنِهِ وَيَهْدِيهِمْ إِلَى صِرَاطٍ مُّسْتَقِيمٍ ﴿١٦﴾

and leadeth them out of darkness, by His Will,

unto the light, guideth them to a Path that is Straight.

Asad’s Version:

5: 14 And [likewise] from those who say, “Behold, we are Christians,” We have accepted a solemn pledge : and they, too have forgotten much of what had been told to bear in mind – wherefore We have given rise among them to enmity and hatred, until Resurrection Day: and in time God will cause them to understand what they have contrived.

(5:15) O followers of the Bible! Now there has come unto you Our Apostle, to make clear unto you much of what you have been concealing [from yourselves] of the Bible,²⁸ and to pardon much. Now
there has come unto you from God a light, and a clear divine writ,

(5:16) through which God shows unto all that seek His goodly acceptance the paths leading to salvation²⁹ and, by His grace, brings them out of the depths of darkness into the light and guides them onto a straight way.

[[ Asad’s version - 26 Thus the Qur'an elliptically rejects their claim of being true followers of Jesus: for, by wrongfully elevating him to the status of divinity they have denied the very essence of his message.

27 I.e., their going astray from the genuine teachings of Jesus - and thus from true faith
in God - is the innermost cause of the enmity and hatred which has so often set the
so-called Christian nations against one another and led to unceasing wars and mutual persecution.

28 Inasmuch as verses 15-19 are addressed to the Jews and the Christians, the term al-kitab
may suitably be rendered here as "the Bible". It is to be borne in mind that the primary meaning of the verb khafiya is "it became imperceptible" or "not apparent" or "obscure" and that the same significance attaches to the transitive form akhfa. There is of course, no doubt that in its transitive form the verb also denotes "he concealed [something]".

i.e., from others: but in view of the preceding phrase, "there has come unto you Our Apostle to make clear unto you", it is obvious that what is alluded to in this context is the
concealing of something from oneself: in other words, it is a reference to the gradual
obscuring, by the followers of the Bible, of its original verities which they are now
unwilling to admit even to themselves.

29 The word salam, here rendered as "salvation", has no proper equivalent in the English

language. It denotes inner peace, soundness and security from evil of any kind, both physical
and spiritual, and the achievement of what, in Christian terminology, is described as
"salvation": with the difference, however, that the Christian concept of salvation presupposes
the existence of an a-priori state of sinfulness, which is justified in Christianity by the
doctrine of "original sin", but is not justified in Islam, which does not subscribe to this
doctrine. Consequently, the term "salvation" - which I am using here for want of a better word -
does not adequately convey the full meaning of salam. Its nearest equivalents in Western
languages would be the German Heil or the French salut, both of which express the idea of
spiritual peace and fulfilment without being necessarily (i.e., linguistically) connected

with the Christian doctrine of salvation. ]]