Translation
In the name of God, the most Merciful and the Instiller of Mercy (to His creatures).
O People of Faith, be faithful to your covenants. Lawful to you are all beasts similar to cattle, except any specific mentions (as unacceptable), and do not hunt when you are in the state of pilgrimage. God prescribes according to His will. Do not violate the symbols set up by God (or of God), or the Sacred Month, or the offerings for sacrifice marked as such, or those who flocks to the Sacred Mosque seeking God’s pleasure and grace. Only after your pilgrimage, you can hunt.
Never let your hatred of a people who may hinder you from the Inviolable House of Worship lead you to act of aggression. Rather, help one another to advance virtue and increase your (collective) sense of responsibility (to God and to fellow humans). And do not help one another to further evil and enmity. Be conscious of God and know that God is severe in retribution (of evils)! 295
Forbidden to you is carrion, blood, flesh of swine, one on which any name other than God’s has been invoked, a strangled animal, an animal beaten to death, one killed due to a fall, one gored to death or savaged by beast of prey but not what you have slaughtered. Forbidden also is anything sacrificed on altars for idols. (You are also forbidden to) seek to learn by divination about the future—this is sinful.
On this day, those who have persisted in denying the truth have lost all hope (of destroying) your way of life. So fear them no longer, but continue to be conscious of Me (God). On this day, I have perfected your Guidance (Way of Life) and completed My blessings on you and willed wholesome submission to Me [Islam] as your way of life. Now, if anyone is driven by dire necessity (to what is forbidden) and not inclined to sin, then he will find God to be much Forgiving and a Dispenser of Grace. 296
Interpretation
295 The dietary rules are laid out here with respect to lawful meat to be eaten and what is unlawful. The exceptions are minimal and kept very simple compared to dietary rules in other religions, which have been made more complicated by their followers, such as dietary rules in Jewish and Orthodox Hindu traditions. Respecting symbols of God such as the house of worship or the Sacred Month is described in the same vein as how to lawfully partake of meat from cattle and other animals, since all creatures of God are also His symbols, and we have to mindful of His blessing that we derive benefits from such animals (e.g., cattle).
296 This is the last revelation that was given to the Prophet on his last pilgrimage during his stay at Mount Arafat, after which he lived for less than three months. By this time the Qur’an had been fully revealed; all laws and regulations of the Islamic way of life had been enunciated, communicated, and firmly established in the lives of the followers; and the last remaining threat from the people of Makkah had been eliminated. Now the first generation of followers of the Prophet was fully established. The show of their unparalleled dedication to the Message and the Messenger and their subsequent success in attracting people throughout the world to Islam and its way of life is nothing short of spectacular in the history of mankind.
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REFLECTION
Islam and the Qur’an are the culmination of all the messages and the messengers who contributed to the reality of One God and One Message of universal goodness. The focus of people of faith has to be to unite under this common framework of belief in One God and our common yearning for human dignity, well-being, and unity.
ACTION
The key challenge for Muslims, as we understand from the Qur’anic teaching and the legacy of the Prophet, is to unite all human beings to advance the cause of peace, prosperity, and happiness for all of humanity. In this regard, we need to work closely with people of other faiths, build a shared vison, and work toward a common outcome.
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Key Arabic Term
91. aqd (covenant)