Translation
O People of Faith: God will certainly try you with respect to game (of hunt during pilgrimage) that comes within your reach and your weapons so that God can ascertain who is conscious of Him unseen. Whoever goes outside the boundary of this guidance will face its due consequence. O People of Faith: do not kill game when you are on pilgrimage, and whoever does this intentionally, he will compensate (such an offense) by sacrificing the cattle equivalent as judged by two persons of good faith, to be brought to Kabah, or he can expiate by feeding the poor or fasting in an equivalent manner—this is such that he can face the gravity of his conduct (despite repeated guidance). God forgives any past misdeeds on this, but whoever returns to it (after clear guidance), God will make him suffer its consequence. God is ever Mighty, an Avenger against the unjust.
Beneficial to you is the game of the sea and what it provides, a provision for you and for travelers, and the game of the land is forbidden when you are in pilgrimage. Be mindful of your responsibility to God Who will gather you all to Him. He had made the Kabah, the Inviolable House, a symbol for benefit to mankind, with its sacred month, the offerings with embellishments to make you aware that God knows all that is in the heavens and on earth; He knows all that exists. Be cognizant that God avenges all evils while at the same time He is Ever Forgiving and Merciful. The Messenger is here only to deliver messages, and God knows what you do openly and what you hide (do in secret contrary to the message). 320
Say: “Good (pure) and bad (unclean) are not the same, though the presence and abundance of bad may please you. So be mindful of your responsibilities to God (and to fellow humans) if you claim to be a person who understands, to ensure your success.” 321
Interpretation
320 Conforming to moral and ethical norms, whether you are in the Kabah in a state of pilgrimage, in your home serving your family, in a courtroom rendering judgment or witnessing judgment, in a position of leadership informing and guiding people, an educator seeking and disseminating knowledge, or an explorer looking for God’s gifts on this planet—no matter what your endeavor is and what your pursuit might be—being mindful of our responsibility and making proper choices to benefit one another and not to harm one another are fundamental tenets of human existence and the core of God’s guidance. The Kabah, its precinct, its sacred months, the specials rules about games and sacrifice are just a way to illustrate the broader consciousness and commitment we need to develop in every sphere of our activities and conduct, in public and in private, as individuals and as communities.
321 As if the example above were not adequate and explicit enough, a clear rendering is made that good and evil are never comparable or compatible. Also, the prevalence of evil or our temptation toward evil that we might experience in our lives and in our world should never be grounds to do evil and sustain evil instead of establishing good and justice. We are challenged to develop and validate our knowledge and wisdom to distinguish between good and evil and to conform to good if we wish to be successful as human beings on this planet and in the life to come (after death).
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REFLECTION
As we read these words of revelations in the Qur’an or in other books such as the Bible, the Torah, or similar books, we have to be able to extract sublime and elegant truths about our lives and our existence and make sure such truths resonate with our innate feelings and core consciousness, however we define or experience these deeper meanings of life.
ACTION
True reflections, introspections, gathering knowledge, developing wisdom, and so on should lead to establishing and restoring a sense of responsibility in each of us toward God and to our fellow human beings to do good and to do no harm.
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Key Arabic Term
98. qiyam lin nas (support or mainstay for mankind)