Truths beyond Human Range

5. Surah Al-Ma'idah

The Quranic Text & Ali’s Version:

يَا أَيُّهَا الَّذِينَ آمَنُواْ لاَ تَسْأَلُواْ عَنْ أَشْيَاء إِن تُبْدَ لَكُمْ تَسُؤْكُمْ ...

5: 101. O ye who believe!

ask not questions about things which, if made plain to you, may cause you trouble.

... وَإِن تَسْأَلُواْ عَنْهَا حِينَ يُنَزَّلُ الْقُرْآنُ تُبْدَ لَكُمْ ...

But if ye ask about things when the Qur'án is being revealed, they will be made plain to you:

C807. Many secrets are wisely hidden from us. If the future were known to us, we need not necessarily be happy.

In many cases we should be miserable. If the inner meaning of some of the things we see before our eyes were disclosed to us, it might cause a lot of mischief.

Allah's Message, in so far as it is necessary for shaping our conduct, is plain and open to us. But there are many things too deep for us to understand, either individually or collectively. It would be foolish to pry into them, as some people tried to do in the time of the Prophet.

Where a matter is mentioned in the Quran, we can reverently ask for its meaning. That is not forbidden. But we should never pass the bounds of

- our own capacity to understand,

- the time and occasion when we ask questions, and

- the part of the Universal Plan which it is Allah's purpose to reveal to us.

... عَفَا اللّهُ عَنْهَا وَاللّهُ غَفُورٌ حَلِيمٌ ﴿١٠١﴾

Allah will forgive those: for Allah is Oft-Forgiving, Most Forbearing.

قَدْ سَأَلَهَا قَوْمٌ مِّن قَبْلِكُمْ ثُمَّ أَصْبَحُواْ بِهَا كَافِرِينَ ﴿١٠٢﴾

5: 102. Some people before you did ask such questions, and on that account lost their faith.

C808. For example, the merely fractious questions asked of Moses by the Jews: 2:68-71.

They showed that they had no faith. When foolish questions are asked, and there is no answer, it also shakes the faith of the foolish ones.

يَوْمَ يَجْمَعُ اللّهُ الرُّسُلَ فَيَقُولُ مَاذَا أُجِبْتُمْ...

5: 109. One day will Allah gather the Messengers together, and ask:

"What was the response ye received (from men to your teaching)?

... قَالُواْ لاَ عِلْمَ لَنَا إِنَّكَ أَنتَ عَلاَّمُ الْغُيُوبِ ﴿١٠٩﴾

They will say:

"We have no knowledge: it is Thou who knowest in full all that is hidden."

C814. A scene of the Day of Reckoning is put before us in graphic words, showing the responsibility and the limitations of the Prophets of Allah, sent to preach His Message to men, with special reference to the Message of Jesus.

The Messengers are sent to preach the Truth. What fantastic forms the Message takes in men's reactions to it was beyond their knowledge, at the time, and beyond their responsibility. (R).

وَإِذْ قَالَ اللّهُ يَا عِيسَى ابْنَ مَرْيَمَ ...

5: 116. And behold! Allah will say

"O Jesus the son of Mary!

... أَأَنتَ قُلتَ لِلنَّاسِ اتَّخِذُونِي وَأُمِّيَ إِلَـهَيْنِ مِن دُونِ اللّهِ...

didst thou say unto men, 'worship me and my mother as gods in derogation of Allah'?"

... قَالَ سُبْحَانَكَ مَا يَكُونُ لِي أَنْ أَقُولَ مَا لَيْسَ لِي بِحَقٍّ...

He will say:

"Glory to Thee! never could I say what I had no right (to say).

... إِن كُنتُ قُلْتُهُ فَقَدْ عَلِمْتَهُ ...

Had I said such a thing, Thou wouldst indeed have known it.

... تَعْلَمُ مَا فِي نَفْسِي وَلاَ أَعْلَمُ مَا فِي نَفْسِكَ...

Thou knowest what is in my heart, though I know not what is in Thine.

... إِنَّكَ أَنتَ عَلاَّمُ الْغُيُوبِ ﴿١١٦﴾

For Thou knowest in full all that is hidden.

C829. Jesus disclaims here any knowledge of the sort of things that are attributed to him by those who take his name.

The worship of Mary, though repudiated by the Protestants, was widely spread in the earlier churches, both in the East and the West.

Asad’s Version:

5: 101 O you who have attained to faith! Do not ask about matters, if they were to be made manifest to you [in terms of law], might cause you hardship; for, if you should ask about them while the Quran is being revealed, they might [indeed] be made manifest to you [as laws]. God has absolved [you from any obligation ] in this respect: for God is much-forgiving, forbearing. See Asad notes

5: 102 People before your time have indeed asked such questions – and in result thereof have come to deny the truth.

5: 109 On the Day when God shall assemble all the apostles and shall ask, “what response did you receive?” – they will answer, “We have no knowledge; verily, it is Thou alone who fully knwoest all the things that are beyond the reach of a created being’s perception.”

See Asad note’ “.........nor can he know what is in their hearts.”

5: 116 And Lo! God said: “O Jesus, son of Mary! Did you say unto men, ‘Worship me and my mother as deities beside God’?”

[Jesus] answered: “Limitless are You in your Glory! It would not have been possible for me to say what I had no right to [say]! Had I said this, You would indeed have known it! You know all that is within myself, whereas I know not what is in You. Verily, it is You alone who fully know all the things that are beyond the reach of a created being’s perception.