5:103

Salaam all,


Ma jaAAala Allahu min baheeratin wala saibatin wala waseelatin wala hamin walakinna allatheena kafaroo yaftaroona AAala Allahi alkathiba waaktharuhum la yaAAqiloona

The Aya says:
Allah did not make of fertile female animal nor left alone nor connected nor stud male, but instead the rejecters concoct upon Allah the untruth and the majority of them do not contemplate.

My personal note:
The Aya mentions several categories of animals that are associated with particular ritual or prohibition from eating or slaughtering them. This includes the fertile females and the stud males which impregnate many females and others. The Aya says that the rituals associated with those categories are not of Allah’s ordinances, but concoctions from the people who rejected His message. Those rituals may include certain things to be done to the animals but also prohibiting their meat and so on. The Aya concludes that many or most of the rejecters do not contemplate. The Aya then asks people to question the basis of rituals when there is no text from Allah that delineates those rituals or prohibitions in direct or indirect ways.

This Aya is also an important message to the people who follow the Qur’an. It is a message that we should not make up rituals and make them mandatory when there is no clear ruling from Allah or His messenger. It also says that we should not prohibit something unless there is an order from Allah or His messenger that can be understood clearly towards a prohibition.

Muslim scholars of today are generally steadfast against making up new rituals and this comes from their generally strong attitude against Bid’a = innovation in religion. However, in my opinion, many scholars may be a little too lenient or accepting of prohibitions that are not clearly or strongly prohibited by Allah or His messenger in a direct or indirect manner. And Allah knows best


Translation of the transliterated words:
Ma jaAAala: He did not make/ form/transform
Note: MA is a negation of the action that is coming next. JaAAaLA is derived from the root J-Ain-L and it means making, forming or transforming something that already exists. Conceptually, it takes the meaning of transformation more often than formation. JaAAaLA is an action that is completed. It means: the action of making the object (Baheeratun) by the subject (first person singular pointing to Allah) happened. MA JAAaLA means that the making or forming or transforming the baheera did not happen by God.

Allahu: Allah
Min: of/ from
Baheeratin: slit eared animal/ she animal with lots of pregnancies/ fertile female animal
Note: the root is B-Ha-R and it means big water. It is used to mean the sea or any big body of water. Conceptually it is used for anything that is big or has lots of knowledge or has lots of kids. BAHEERATUN in this context is the she animal who got pregnant many times so the Arabs will mark her by slitting her ears and making her forbidden to be eaten.

Wala: nor
Saibatin: let be/ leave alone
Note: the root is S-Y-B and it means when the water is let flow on it’s own without interruption or something. It is conceptually used also for giving as in letting the water be given to wherever it goes. In this context, it is used for the animal that was let go on it’s own without eating it and using it’s milk and so on as part of a ritual of the Pre-Islamic religion.
Wala: and not/ nor
Waseelatin: connected/ connecting
Note: the root is W-Sad-L means a connection. Some of the derivatives WOOSOOL mean arrival somewhere (since by arriving, you conceptually connected between two places or two entities). WASEELATIN in this context is the animal who had male and female at the same pregnancy or other forms of connections and that makes it under some regulation of the Pre-Islamic religion.

Wala: and not/ nor
Hamin: going in circles/ a stud which impregnates many female animals
Note: the root is HA-W-M and it means going in circles around an entity and it also means the great number of animals, great water and so on. HAMIN in this context is the male animal who impregnates his grand kids and so on or what would be called a stud because he impregnates many females, also with particular ruling in the pre Islamic religion.
Walakinna: but/ instead
Allatheena: those who
Kafaroo: rejected (Allah and His message)/ discarded
Note: the root is K-F-R and it means cover or bury in the ground, as in put the seed in the ground and cover it. This is then used conceptually for many purposes as in discarding and rejecting as well as burying. KAFARO is an action that is completed. It means: the action of rejection or discarding of the object (not declared, but understood from the context to point to God and/or the message) happened by the subject (third person plural).

Yaftaroona: they concoct/ they make up
Note: the root is F-R-W and it means the furr or the animal or the skin that is normally covered with hair. This word is used when people are concocting things and making things up that are not true. It could be related to the action of cutting the skin apart or making things up as in making a dress out of the skin and so forth. YAFTAROONA is an action that is being completed or will be completed. It means: the action of concocting or making up untruths is being made to happen or will be made to happen by the subject (third person plural) for themselves.
AAala: upon
Allahi: Allah
Alkathiba: the untruth
Note: the root is K-TH-B and it means a untrue. Conceptually, it can be extended at times to mean a lie, although the core of the meaning is untruth, whether it is a lie or not, conscious or not. ALKATHIBA means the untruth.

Waaktharuhum: while their majority/ while most of them
Note: WA is a letter that links what is before with what is after. This link is through inclusion, either one is included in the other or they are all included in the bigger sentence or bigger picture. WA is often translated as an addition (and), but inclusion probably covers the meaning a little better. AKTHARUHUM is derived from the root K-TH-R and it means many or numerous in all the planes of thought. AKTHARUHUM means: the bigger number of them and that means the majority of them or most of them.
La yaAAqiloona: they do not contemplate/ they do not think
Note: LA is a negation of the action that is coming next. YaAAQILOONA is derived from the root Ain-Qaf-L and it means tying the animal so that it does not go away. This is the concrete word, but it is also used for any restraint or tying. The word is used for brain or thinking appropriately. That could be because either that one who thinks appropriately is restraining his thoughts from going astray, or that he is tying things together or both. YaAAQILOONA is an action that is being completed or will be completed and that is derived from the root. It means: the action of thinking/ contemplating appropriately or with restraint, is happening or will be happening by the subject (third person plural).

Salam all and have a great day.

Hussein