Tafseer of The Table · Al-Maaida · 5:42
[They are] avid listeners to falsehood, devourers of [what is] unlawful. So if they come to you, [O Muhammad], judge between them or turn away from them. And if you turn away from them - never will they harm you at all. And if you judge, judge between them with justice. Indeed, Allah loves those who act justly.
Important: The Arabic source text is always authoritative. This translation is a study aid and has not been verified by scholars — do not use it as a basis for religious proof or for deriving rulings (ahkam). When in doubt, always consult the Arabic text and a qualified scholar.
Explanation of the words of the Exalted: سَمَّاعُونَ لِلْكَذِبِ أَكَّالُونَ لِلسُّحْتِ ("They listen eagerly to lies and greedily devour the forbidden").
Abū Jaʿfar said: The Exalted, whose praise is exalted, says: These Jews, whose characteristics I have described to you, O Muhammad, listen eagerly to false and lying talk, to what one of them says to another: "Muhammad is a liar, he is not a prophet," and to what some of them say: "The prescribed punishment for the married adulterer in the Torah is flogging and the blackening of the face (taḥmīm)," and other falsehoods and slanders. They accept bribes and devour them on the basis of their lie against Allah and their fabrication concerning Him. As:
11942 - Al-Muthannā related to me, saying: Muslim ibn Ibrāhīm related to us, saying: Abū ʿAqīl related to us, saying: I heard al-Ḥasan say concerning His words: "they listen eagerly to lies and greedily devour the forbidden (suḥt)": these are the judges; they listened to lies and devoured bribes.
11943 - Bishr ibn Muʿādh related to us, saying: Yazīd ibn Zurayʿ related to us, saying: Saʿīd related to us, on the authority of Qatāda: "they listen eagerly to lies and greedily devour the forbidden," he said: This concerned the judges of the Jews who were before you; they listened to lies and accepted bribes.
11944 - Muḥammad ibn ʿAmr related to me, saying: Abū ʿĀṣim related to us, saying: ʿĪsā related to us, on the authority of Ibn Abī Najīḥ, on the authority of Mujāhid, concerning the words of Allah: "they greedily devour the forbidden," he said: The bribe in the judiciary, and they are the Jews.
11945 - Hannād related to us, saying: Wakīʿ related to us = and Sufyān ibn Wakīʿ related to us, saying: my father and Isḥāq al-Azraq related to us = on the authority of Sufyān, on the authority of ʿĀṣim, on the authority of Zirr, on the authority of ʿAbdallāh: "they greedily devour the forbidden," he said: "the forbidden (suḥt)" is the bribe.
11946 - Sufyān ibn Wakīʿ and Wāṣil ibn ʿAbd al-Aʿlā related to us, they said: Ibn Fuḍayl related to us, on the authority of al-Aʿmash, on the authority of Salama ibn Kuhayl, on the authority of Sālim ibn Abī al-Jaʿd, he said: ʿAbdallāh was asked: What is suḥt? He said: The bribe. They said: In the judiciary? He said: That is unbelief (kufr).
11947 - Sufyān related to us, saying: Ghundar and Wahb ibn Jarīr related to us, on the authority of Shuʿba, on the authority of Manṣūr, on the authority of Sālim ibn Abī al-Jaʿd, on the authority of Masrūq, on the authority of ʿAbdallāh, he said: "the forbidden (suḥt)" is the bribe.
11948 - Hannād related to us, saying: Wakīʿ related to us = and Ibn Wakīʿ related to us, saying: my father related to us = on the authority of Ḥurayth, on the authority of ʿĀmir, on the authority of Masrūq, he said: We said to ʿAbdallāh: We regarded "the forbidden (suḥt)" as nothing other than the bribe in the judiciary! ʿAbdallāh said: That is unbelief (kufr).
11949 - Muḥammad ibn al-Muthannā related to us, saying: Muḥammad ibn Jaʿfar related to us, saying: Shuʿba related to us, on the authority of Manṣūr, on the authority of Sālim ibn Abī al-Jaʿd, on the authority of Masrūq, on the authority of ʿAbdallāh, he said: "the forbidden (suḥt)" is the bribe? He said: Yes.
11950 - Ibn al-Muthannā related to us, saying: Muḥammad ibn Jaʿfar related to us, saying: Shuʿba related to us, on the authority of ʿAmmār al-Duhnī, on the authority of Sālim ibn Abī al-Jaʿd, on the authority of Masrūq, he said: I asked ʿAbdallāh about "the forbidden (suḥt)," and he said: It is the man who seeks to fulfill a need for another man and then fulfills it, after which that other man gives him a gift which he accepts.
11951 - Sawwār related to us, saying: Bishr ibn al-Mufaḍḍal related to us, saying: Shuʿba related to us, on the authority of Manṣūr and Sulaymān al-Aʿmash, on the authority of Sālim ibn Abī al-Jaʿd, on the authority of Masrūq, on the authority of ʿAbdallāh, that he said: "the forbidden (suḥt)" is the bribe.
11952 - Abū Kurayb related to us, saying: al-Muḥāribī related to us, on the authority of Sufyān, on the authority of ʿĀṣim, on the authority of Zirr, on the authority of ʿAbdallāh: "the forbidden (suḥt)," he said: The bribe in religion.
11953 - Abū al-Sāʾib related to me, saying: Abū Muʿāwiya related to us, on the authority of al-Aʿmash, on the authority of Khaythama, he said: ʿUmar said: [What belongs] to "the forbidden (suḥt)" are bribes and the bride-price of the adulterous woman (the harlot's hire).
11954 - Sufyān related to me, saying: my father related to us, on the authority of Sufyān, on the authority of Manṣūr, on the authority of Ibrāhīm, he said: "the forbidden (suḥt)" is the bribe.
11955 - Al-Ḥasan ibn Yaḥyā related to us, saying: ʿAbd al-Razzāq informed us, saying: Maʿmar informed us, on the authority of Qatāda, concerning His words: "they greedily devour the forbidden," he said: Bribes.
11956 - Hannād related to us, saying: Wakīʿ related to us = and Ibn Wakīʿ related to us, saying: my father related to me = on the authority of Ṭalḥa, on the authority of Abū Hurayra, he said: The bride-price of the harlot is suḥt, the stud fee of the stallion (the payment for letting it mount) is suḥt, the earnings of the cupper (bloodletter) are suḥt, and the price of the dog is suḥt.
11957 - Ibn Wakīʿ related to us, saying: Abū Khālid al-Aḥmar related to us, on the authority of Juwaybir, on the authority of al-Ḍaḥḥāk, he said: "the forbidden (suḥt)" is the bribe in the judiciary.
11958 - Al-Muthannā related to us, saying: Abū Ghassān related to us, saying: Isrāʾīl related to us, on the authority of Ḥakīm ibn Jubayr, on the authority of Sālim ibn Abī al-Jaʿd, on the authority of Masrūq, he said: I asked Ibn Masʿūd about "the forbidden (suḥt)," he said: Bribes. I said: In the judiciary? He said: That is unbelief (kufr).
11959 - Muḥammad ibn al-Ḥusayn related to us, saying: Aḥmad ibn al-Mufaḍḍal related to us, saying: Asbāṭ related to us, on the authority of al-Suddī: "they greedily devour the forbidden," he says: Bribes.
11960 - Al-Qāsim related to us, saying: al-Ḥusayn related to us, saying: Hushaym related to us, saying: ʿAbd al-Malik ibn Abī Sulaymān informed us, on the authority of Salama ibn Kuhayl, on the authority of Masrūq and ʿAlqama: that the two of them asked Ibn Masʿūd about the bribe, and he said: That is suḥt. They said: In the judiciary? He said: That is unbelief (kufr)! Then he recited this verse: وَمَنْ لَمْ يَحْكُمْ بِمَا أَنْزَلَ اللَّهُ فَأُولَئِكَ هُمُ الْكَافِرُونَ ("And whoever does not judge by what Allah has sent down, those are the unbelievers") [Surah Al-Ma'idah: 44].
11961 - Al-Qāsim related to us, saying: al-Ḥusayn related to us, saying: Ḥajjāj related to me, on the authority of al-Masʿūdī, on the authority of Bukayr ibn Abī Bakīr, on the authority of Muslim ibn Ṣubayḥ, he said: Masrūq mediated for a man in a need, and that man gave him a slave-girl. At this he became greatly angry and said: Had I known that you would do this, I would never have spoken on behalf of your need, nor will I speak for the rest of your need. I heard Ibn Masʿūd say: "Whoever makes an intercession to thereby restore a right or remove an injustice, and is then given a gift which he accepts, that is suḥt." It was said to him: O Abū ʿAbd al-Raḥmān, we regarded that as nothing other than the taking of money for the judiciary! He said: The taking of money for the judiciary is unbelief (kufr).
11962 - Muḥammad ibn Saʿd related to me, saying: my father related to me, saying: my uncle related to me, saying: my father related to me, on the authority of his father, on the authority of Ibn ʿAbbās: "they listen eagerly to lies and greedily devour the forbidden," and that is because they accepted bribes in the judiciary and judged by lies.
11963 - Hannād related to us, saying: ʿUbayda related to us, on the authority of ʿAmmār, on the authority of Muslim ibn Ṣubayḥ, on the authority of Masrūq, he said: I asked Ibn Masʿūd about "the forbidden (suḥt)": is that the bribe in the judiciary? He said: No, whoever does not judge by what Allah has sent down is a transgressor (fāsiq). But "the forbidden (suḥt)" is: a man asks you for help against an injustice and you help him against it, and he then gives you a gift which you accept.
11964 - Hannād related to us, saying: Ibn Fuḍayl related to us, on the authority of Yaḥyā ibn Saʿīd, on the authority of ʿAbdallāh ibn Hubayra al-Sabāʾī, he said: To the forbidden (suḥt) belong three things: the bride-price of the harlot, the bribe in the judiciary, and what was given to the soothsayers in the time of ignorance (al-jāhiliyya).
11965 - Hannād related to us, saying: Ibn Muṭīʿ related to us, on the authority of Ḥammād ibn Salama, on the authority of ʿAṭāʾ al-Khurāsānī, on the authority of Ḍamra, on the authority of ʿAlī ibn Abī Ṭālib: that he said concerning the earnings of the cupper (bloodletter), the bride-price of the harlot, the price of the dog, the bargaining for wages in the judiciary (al-istijʿāl), the soothsayer's fee (ḥulwān al-kāhin), the stud fee of the stallion (ʿasb al-faḥl), the bribe in the judiciary, the price of wine, and the price of the carcass (of an animal that has died): all of that belongs to the forbidden (suḥt).
11966 - Yūnus related to me, saying: Ibn Wahb informed us, saying: Ibn Zayd said concerning His words: "they greedily devour the forbidden," he said: The bribe in the judiciary.
11967 - Yūnus related to me, saying: Ibn Wahb informed us, saying: ʿAbd al-Raḥmān ibn Abī al-Mawāl informed me, on the authority of ʿUmar ibn Ḥamza ibn ʿAbdallāh ibn ʿUmar: that the Messenger of Allah ﷺ said: Any flesh that has grown up from the forbidden (suḥt): the Fire is more fitting for it. It was said: O Messenger of Allah, and what is suḥt? He said: The bribe in the judiciary.
11968 - Yūnus related to me, saying: Ibn Wahb informed us, saying: ʿAbd al-Jabbār ibn ʿUmar informed me, on the authority of al-Ḥakam ibn ʿAbdallāh, he said: Anas ibn Mālik said to me: When you return to your father, say to him: Beware of the bribe, for it is suḥt = and his father was head of the police (shurṭa) of Medina.
11969 - Ibn Ḥumayd related to us, saying: Jarīr related to us, on the authority of Manṣūr, on the authority of Sālim, on the authority of Masrūq, on the authority of ʿAbdallāh, he said: The bribe is suḥt. Masrūq said: We said to ʿAbdallāh: Does that apply in the judiciary? He said: No. Then he recited: وَمَنْ لَمْ يَحْكُمْ بِمَا أَنْزَلَ اللَّهُ فَأُولَئِكَ هُمُ الْكَافِرُونَ ("And whoever does not judge by what Allah has sent down, those are the unbelievers") [Surah Al-Ma'idah: 44], وَمَنْ لَمْ يَحْكُمْ بِمَا أَنْزَلَ اللَّهُ فَأُولَئِكَ هُمُ الظَّالِمُونَ ("And whoever does not judge by what Allah has sent down, those are the wrongdoers") [Surah Al-Ma'idah: 45], وَمَنْ لَمْ يَحْكُمْ بِمَا أَنْزَلَ اللَّهُ فَأُولَئِكَ هُمُ الْفَاسِقُونَ ("And whoever does not judge by what Allah has sent down, those are the transgressors") [Surah Al-Ma'idah: 47].
* * *
The original meaning of "al-suḥt" is ravenous hunger. One says of it: "So-and-so has a hollowed-out stomach (masḥūt al-maʿida)," when he is a glutton who is never found other than hungry. The bribe is called "al-suḥt" by way of comparison with this, as if the one who accepts the bribe in his greed to accept what is given to him of it is like the one with the hollowed-out stomach in his greed for food. One says of it: "saḥata-hu" and "asḥata-hu," two linguistic forms transmitted from the Arabs. To that belongs the verse of al-Farazdaq ibn Ghālib:
"And the bite of an age, O son of Marwān, left of wealth nothing but what is destroyed (musḥat) or swept away (mujallaf)."
By "al-musḥat" he means that which he has brought utterly to ruin through consumption and corruption. To that also belongs His word, the Exalted: فَيُسْحِتَكُمْ بِعَذَابٍ ("so that He would destroy you with a punishment") [Surah Ṭā Hā: 61]. And the Arabs say to the shaver: "asḥit the hair," that is to say: remove it down to the root.
* * *
Explanation of His words, mighty is His remembrance: فَإِنْ جَاءُوكَ فَاحْكُمْ بَيْنَهُمْ أَوْ أَعْرِضْ عَنْهُمْ وَإِنْ تُعْرِضْ عَنْهُمْ فَلَنْ يَضُرُّوكَ شَيْئًا وَإِنْ حَكَمْتَ فَاحْكُمْ بَيْنَهُمْ بِالْقِسْطِ إِنَّ اللَّهَ يُحِبُّ الْمُقْسِطِينَ (42) ("If they come to you, then judge between them or turn away from them. And if you turn away from them, they cannot harm you at all. But if you judge, then judge between them with justice. Indeed, Allah loves the just") (42).
Abū Jaʿfar said: The Exalted, whose remembrance is exalted, means by His words: "If they come to you, then judge between them or turn away from them": if that other people who have not yet come to you — namely the people of the adulterous woman — come to you to seek judgment from you, then judge between them, if you wish, according to the truth that Allah has established as the ruling concerning whoever among them commits the act of the adulterous woman = or turn away from them and leave off judging between them, if you wish; the choice in that lies with you.
* * *
A group of the exegetes have said what corresponds to what we have said concerning that.
Mention of who said that:
11970 - Muḥammad ibn ʿAmr related to me, saying: Abū ʿĀṣim related to us, saying: ʿĪsā related to us, on the authority of Ibn Abī Najīḥ, on the authority of Mujāhid: "or turn away from them": [it concerns] the Jews; a man of theirs of lowly origin committed adultery and they stoned him; then a man of high standing among them committed adultery and they blackened his face (taḥmīm) and paraded him around. Then they asked the Messenger of Allah ﷺ for a ruling, so that he might agree with them. He said: Thereupon he gave them the ruling of stoning concerning that, but they rejected it. Then he commanded them to summon their rabbis and scholars, and he adjured them by Allah: Do you find this in the Torah? But they concealed it, except for one man, a one-eyed man, one of the youngest among them, who said: They have lied to you, O Messenger of Allah, it is indeed in the Torah!
11971 - Al-Muthannā related to me, saying: ʿAbdallāh ibn Ṣāliḥ related to us, saying: al-Layth related to me, on the authority of Ibn Shihāb: that the verse that is in "Surah Al-Ma'idah," "If they come to you, then judge between them," was revealed concerning the matter of the stoning.
11972 - Muḥammad ibn Saʿd related to me, saying: my father related to me, saying: my uncle related to me, saying: my father related to me, on the authority of his father, on the authority of Ibn ʿAbbās, he said: They — namely the Jews — came to him in the matter of a woman of theirs who had committed adultery, and they asked him about her punishment. The Messenger of Allah ﷺ said to them: How do you find it written among you in the Torah? They said: We are commanded to stone the adulterous woman! Thereupon the Messenger of Allah ﷺ commanded that she be stoned, and she was stoned. And Allah, blessed and exalted, said: "And if you turn away from them, they cannot harm you at all. But if you judge, then judge between them with justice. Indeed, Allah loves the just."
11973 - Al-Qāsim related to us, saying: al-Ḥusayn related to us, saying: Ḥajjāj related to us, on the authority of Ibn Jurayj, on the authority of ʿAbdallāh ibn Kathīr, concerning His words: "If they come to you, then judge between them or turn away from them," he said: They used to carry out the prescribed punishment (ḥadd) for adultery, until a young man of theirs, a man of standing, committed adultery. Then some of them said to others: His tribe will not let you stone him; but flog him and disgrace him! So they flogged him, set him on a donkey with a saddle, and turned his face toward the tail of the donkey = until another, a man of low standing without rank, committed adultery. Then they said: Stone him! Then they said: But how is it that you did not stone the one before him? Do with this one the same as what you did with that one! When the Prophet ﷺ was present, they said: Ask him, perhaps you will find with him a leniency! Thereupon was revealed: "If they come to you, then judge between them or turn away from them," up to His words: "Indeed, Allah loves the just."
* * *
And others have said: No, this verse was rather revealed concerning a slain person who was killed among the Jews, killed by one of themselves.
Mention of who said that:
11974 - Hannād ibn al-Sarī and Abū Kurayb related to us, they said: Yūnus ibn Bukayr related to us, on the authority of Muḥammad ibn Isḥāq, he said: Dāwūd ibn al-Ḥuṣayn related to me, on the authority of ʿIkrima, on the authority of Ibn ʿAbbās: that the verses in "Al-Ma'idah," His words: "judge between them or turn away from them," up to His words: "the just," were revealed solely concerning the blood-money (diya) involving the Banū al-Naḍīr and the Banū Qurayẓa. That was because for the slain of the Banū al-Naḍīr — who had standing — the full blood-money was paid, while the Qurayẓa paid half the blood-money. They laid that dispute before the Messenger of Allah ﷺ, and Allah revealed that concerning them. The Messenger of Allah ﷺ bound them to the truth in that, and made the blood-money equal in it = and Allah knows best what the case was.
11975 - Abū Kurayb related to us, saying: ʿUbaydallāh ibn Mūsā related to us, on the authority of ʿAlī ibn Ṣāliḥ, on the authority of Simāk, on the authority of ʿIkrima, on the authority of Ibn ʿAbbās, he said: There were the Qurayẓa and the Naḍīr, and the Naḍīr were of higher standing than the Qurayẓa. So when a man of the Qurayẓa killed a man of the Naḍīr, he was killed in retaliation (qiṣāṣ). But when a man of the Naḍīr killed a man of the Qurayẓa, he paid a hundred wasq of dates. When the Messenger of Allah ﷺ was sent, a man of the Naḍīr killed a man of the Qurayẓa. They (the Qurayẓa) said: Hand him over to us! But they (the Naḍīr) said: Between us and you stands the Messenger of Allah ﷺ! Thereupon was revealed: "But if you judge, then judge between them with justice."
11976 - Yūnus related to me, saying: Ibn Wahb informed us, saying: Ibn Zayd said: In the judgment of Ḥuyayy ibn Akhṭab it held: for the Naḍīrī two blood-monies, and for the Quraẓī one blood-money = because he was of the Naḍīr. He said: And Allah instructed His prophet ﷺ about what is in the Torah. He said: وَكَتَبْنَا عَلَيْهِمْ فِيهَا أَنَّ النَّفْسَ بِالنَّفْسِ ("And We prescribed for them therein: a life for a life") [Surah Al-Ma'idah: 45], to the end of the verse. He said: When the Qurayẓa saw that, they were not content with the judgment of Ibn Akhṭab and said: We submit it for adjudication to Muhammad! Thereupon Allah, blessed and exalted, said: "If they come to you, then judge between them or turn away from them," and thus He gave him the choice = وَكَيْفَ يُحَكِّمُونَكَ وَعِنْدَهُمُ التَّوْرَاةُ فِيهَا حُكْمُ اللَّهِ ("And how can they make you their judge while they have the Torah, in which is the ruling of Allah"), the whole verse. And when a man of standing committed adultery with a woman of low standing, they stoned her, but blackened the face of the man of standing, set him on a camel and turned his face toward the tail of the camel. And when a man of low standing committed adultery with a woman of standing, they stoned him and did the same with her. They submitted it for adjudication to the Prophet ﷺ, and he stoned her. He said: The Prophet ﷺ had said to them: Which of you knows the Torah best? They said: So-and-so, the one-eyed one! Thereupon he had him brought and he came to him. He said: Are you the most learned of them in the Torah? He said: So the Jews claim! Then the Prophet ﷺ said to him: I adjure you by Allah and by the Torah which He sent down to Moses on the day of Mount Sinai: what do you find in the Torah concerning the two adulterers? He said: O Abū al-Qāsim, they stone the woman of low standing, and the man of standing they carry on a camel, blacken his face and turn his face toward the tail of the camel; and they stone the man of low standing when he commits adultery with a woman of standing, and with her they do the same. Then the Prophet ﷺ said to him: I adjure you by Allah and by the Torah which He sent down to Moses on the day of Mount Sinai: what do you find in the Torah? He began to evade, while the Prophet ﷺ kept adjuring him by Allah and by the Torah which He sent down to Moses on the day of Mount Sinai, until he said: O Abū al-Qāsim, the old man and the old woman, when they commit adultery, stone them without exception. Thereupon the Messenger of Allah ﷺ said: That is it, then; take them away and stone them both. ʿAbdallāh said: I was among those who stoned them, and he (the man) kept bending over her and shielding her with his own body against the stones, until he died.
* * *
Then the exegetes differed concerning the ruling of this verse: is it still in force today? And do the judges have the choice in judging and deciding between the people of dhimma-status (ahl al-dhimma) and treaty-status when they seek judgment from them — equal to what Allah established for His prophet ﷺ in this verse — or is that abrogated (mansūkh)?
Some of them said: That is still in force today, nothing has abrogated it, and the judges in every age have, on the basis of this verse, the choice, equal to what Allah established for His Messenger ﷺ.
Mention of who said that:
11977 - Ibn Ḥumayd related to us, saying: Salama ibn al-Faḍl related to us, on the authority of ʿAmr ibn Abī Qays, on the authority of Mughīra, on the authority of Ibrāhīm and al-Shaʿbī: If one of the polytheists (mushrikīn) brings a lawsuit before you, judge between them according to what Allah has sent down, if you wish, and turn away from them, if you wish.
11978 - Ibn Ḥumayd related to us, saying: Jarīr related to us, on the authority of Mughīra, on the authority of al-Shaʿbī and Ibrāhīm, they said: When the polytheists (mushrikīn) come to you and have you judge, judge between them or turn away from them. And if you judge, judge according to the judgment of the Muslims and do not deviate from it to anything else.
11979 - Ibn Wakīʿ related to us, saying: my father related to us = and Hannād related to us, saying: Wakīʿ related to us = on the authority of Sufyān, on the authority of Mughīra, on the authority of Ibrāhīm and al-Shaʿbī: "If they come to you, then judge between them or turn away from them," he said: If he wishes, he judges, and if he wishes, he does not judge.
11980 - Ibn Wakīʿ related to us, saying: my father related to us, saying: Sufyān related to us, on the authority of Ibn Jurayj, on the authority of ʿAṭāʾ, he said: If he wishes, he judges, and if he wishes, he does not judge.
11981 - Ibn Ḥumayd related to us, saying: Jarīr related to us, on the authority of Muḥammad ibn Sālim, on the authority of al-Shaʿbī, he said: When the People of the Book (ahl al-kitāb) come to you with a matter that is between them, judge between them according to the judgment of the Muslims, or let them and the people of their religion judge among them, except in the case of theft or homicide.
11982 - Al-Muthannā related to us, saying: Isḥāq related to us, saying: ʿAbd al-Razzāq related to us, on the authority of Ibn Jurayj, he said: ʿAṭāʾ said to me: We have the choice; if we wish, we judge between the People of the Book, and if we wish, we turn away and do not judge between them. And if we judge between them, we judge according to our own judgment among us, or we leave them with their own judgment among themselves. Ibn Jurayj said: And ʿAmr ibn Shuʿayb said something similar. And those are His words: "judge between them or turn away from them."
11983 - Yaʿqūb related to us, saying: Hushaym related to us, saying: Mughīra informed us = and al-Muthannā related to me, saying: ʿAmr ibn ʿAwn related to us, saying: Hushaym informed us, on the authority of Mughīra = on the authority of Ibrāhīm and al-Shaʿbī, concerning His words: "If they come to you, then judge between them or turn away from them," they said: When they come to a judge of the Muslims, he judges between them if he wishes, and turns away from them if he wishes. And if he judges between them, he judges between them according to what is in the Book of Allah.
11984 - Bishr ibn Muʿādh related to us, saying: Yazīd ibn Zurayʿ related to us, saying: Saʿīd related to us, on the authority of Qatāda, concerning His words: "If they come to you, then judge between them," he says: If they come to you, judge between them according to what Allah has sent down, or turn away from them. Thus Allah gave him a leniency in that: if he wishes he judges between them, and if he wishes he turns away from them.
11985 - Hannād related to us, saying: Jarīr related to us, on the authority of Mughīra, on the authority of Ibrāhīm and al-Shaʿbī, they said: When the polytheists (mushrikīn) come to you and have you judge concerning what is between them, judge between them according to the judgment of the Muslims and do not deviate from it to anything else, or turn away from them and leave them with the people of their religion.
* * *
And others have said: No, the freedom of choice is abrogated, and the judge is obligated, when the people of dhimma-status (ahl al-dhimma) seek judgment from him, to judge between them according to the truth; it is not permitted for him to leave off deciding between them.
Mention of who said that:
11986 - Ibn Ḥumayd related to us, saying: Yaḥyā ibn Wāḍiḥ related to us, saying: al-Ḥusayn ibn Wāqid related to us, on the authority of Yazīd al-Naḥwī, on the authority of ʿIkrima and al-Ḥasan al-Baṣrī: "If they come to you, then judge between them or turn away from them," was abrogated by His words: وَأَنِ احْكُمْ بَيْنَهُمْ بِمَا أَنْزَلَ اللَّهُ ("And judge between them according to what Allah has sent down") [Surah Al-Ma'idah: 49].
11987 - Ibn Wakīʿ related to us, saying: my father related to us, on the authority of Sufyān, on the authority of al-Suddī, he said: I heard ʿIkrima say: It was abrogated by: وَأَنِ احْكُمْ بَيْنَهُمْ بِمَا أَنْزَلَ اللَّهُ ("And judge between them according to what Allah has sent down").
11988 - Ibn Wakīʿ and Muḥammad ibn Bashshār related to us, they said: Ibn Mahdī related to us, on the authority of Sufyān, on the authority of al-Suddī, he said: I heard ʿIkrima say: It was abrogated by: وَأَنِ احْكُمْ بَيْنَهُمْ بِمَا أَنْزَلَ اللَّهُ ("And judge between them according to what Allah has sent down").
11989 - Ibn Wakīʿ related to us, saying: Yazīd ibn Hārūn related to us, on the authority of Sufyān ibn Ḥusayn, on the authority of al-Ḥakam, on the authority of Mujāhid: Of "Al-Ma'idah" only these two verses were abrogated: "If they come to you, then judge between them or turn away from them," which was abrogated by: وَأَنِ احْكُمْ بَيْنَهُمْ بِمَا أَنْزَلَ اللَّهُ وَلَا تَتَّبِعْ أَهْوَاءَهُمْ ("And judge between them according to what Allah has sent down and do not follow their desires") [Surah Al-Ma'idah: 49], and His words: يَا أَيُّهَا الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا لَا تُحِلُّوا شَعَائِرَ اللَّهِ وَلَا الشَّهْرَ الْحَرَامَ وَلَا الْهَدْيَ وَلَا الْقَلَائِدَ ("O you who believe, do not violate the sacred rites of Allah, nor the sacred month, nor the sacrificial animals, nor the garlanded animals") [Surah Al-Ma'idah: 2], which was abrogated by: فَاقْتُلُوا الْمُشْرِكِينَ حَيْثُ وَجَدْتُمُوهُمْ ("Then kill the polytheists wherever you find them") [Surah At-Tawba: 5].
11990 - Al-Muthannā related to me, saying: ʿAmr ibn ʿAwn related to us, saying: Hushaym informed us, on the authority of Manṣūr, on the authority of al-Ḥakam, on the authority of Mujāhid, he said: It was abrogated by: وَأَنِ احْكُمْ بَيْنَهُمْ بِمَا أَنْزَلَ اللَّهُ ("And judge between them according to what Allah has sent down").
11991 - Al-Muthannā related to me, saying: Ḥajjāj ibn Minhāl related to us, saying: Hammām related to us, on the authority of Qatāda, concerning His words: "If they come to you, then judge between them or turn away from them," he means the Jews. Allah commanded His prophet ﷺ to judge between them, and gave him permission to turn away from them if he wished. Then Allah, the Exalted whose remembrance is exalted, revealed the verse that comes after it: وَأَنْزَلْنَا إِلَيْكَ الْكِتَابَ ("And We have sent down to you the Book"), up to His words: فَاحْكُمْ بَيْنَهُمْ بِمَا أَنْزَلَ اللَّهُ وَلَا تَتَّبِعْ أَهْوَاءَهُمْ ("then judge between them according to what Allah has sent down and do not follow their desires") [Surah Al-Ma'idah: 48]. Thus Allah commanded His prophet ﷺ to judge between them according to what Allah has sent down, after He had given him permission, if he wished, to turn away from them.
11992 - Al-Ḥasan ibn Yaḥyā related to us, saying: ʿAbd al-Razzāq informed us, saying: Maʿmar informed us, on the authority of ʿAbd al-Karīm al-Jazarī: that ʿUmar ibn ʿAbd al-ʿAzīz wrote to ʿAdī ibn ʿAdī: "When the People of the Book come to you, judge between them."
11993 - Al-Ḥasan ibn Yaḥyā related to us, saying: ʿAbd al-Razzāq informed us, saying: al-Thawrī informed us, on the authority of al-Suddī, on the authority of ʿIkrima, he said: It was abrogated by His words: فَاحْكُمْ بَيْنَهُمْ بِمَا أَنْزَلَ اللَّهُ ("then judge between them according to what Allah has sent down") [Surah Al-Ma'idah: 48].
11994 - Al-Qāsim related to us, saying: al-Ḥusayn related to us, saying: Abū Sufyān related to us, on the authority of Maʿmar, on the authority of al-Zuhrī, concerning His words: "If they come to you, then judge between them or turn away from them," he said: It has become the transmitted practice (sunna) that in their rights and their inheritances they are referred to the people of their own religion, except when they come of their own accord in a matter of a prescribed punishment (ḥadd); then it is judged between them according to the Book of Allah.
11995 - Muḥammad ibn al-Ḥusayn related to us, saying: Aḥmad ibn Mufaḍḍal related to us, saying: Asbāṭ related to us, on the authority of al-Suddī, he said: When was revealed: "judge between them or turn away from them," the Prophet ﷺ was free: if he wished he judged between them, and if he wished he turned away from them. Then He abrogated it and said: فَاحْكُمْ بَيْنَهُمْ بِمَا أَنْزَلَ اللَّهُ وَلَا تَتَّبِعْ أَهْوَاءَهُمْ ("then judge between them according to what Allah has sent down and do not follow their desires"), and he was obligated to judge between them.
11996 - Muḥammad ibn ʿAmmār related to us, saying: Saʿīd ibn Sulaymān related to us, saying: ʿAbbād ibn al-ʿAwwām related to us, on the authority of Sufyān ibn Ḥusayn, on the authority of al-Ḥakam, on the authority of Mujāhid, he said: Two verses were abrogated from this surah — namely "Al-Ma'idah": the verse of the garlanded animals (al-qalāʾid), and His words: "judge between them or turn away from them." For the Prophet ﷺ had the choice: if he wished he judged, and if he wished he turned away from them, and referred them back to their own adjudication; [later he was commanded] to judge between them according to what is in our Book.
* * *
Abū Jaʿfar said: The most correct of the two opinions concerning that, in my view, is the opinion of whoever says: The ruling of this verse is in force and not abrogated, and the judges have the choice in judging between the people of treaty-status (ahl al-ʿahd) when they come to them and seek judgment, and in leaving off judging and deciding between them — equal to what Allah established of that for His Messenger ﷺ in this verse.
We have said that this is the most correct of the two, because those who claim that the ruling of this verse is abrogated claimed that it was abrogated by His words: وَأَنِ احْكُمْ بَيْنَهُمْ بِمَا أَنْزَلَ اللَّهُ ("And judge between them according to what Allah has sent down") [Surah Al-Ma'idah: 49]. We have, however, shown in our book "Kitāb al-bayān ʿan uṣūl al-aḥkām" that abrogation (naskh) cannot be an abrogation unless it is a removal of another ruling in all its meanings, such that the combining of the ruling according to both matters is in no way validly possible — with an exposition that makes it unnecessary to repeat it here.
Since that is so = and since it is not absurd in the language to say: وَأَنِ احْكُمْ بَيْنَهُمْ بِمَا أَنْزَلَ اللَّهُ, with the meaning: "and judge between them according to what Allah has sent down, when you judge between them, by choosing to judge between them, if you prefer that and do not choose to turn away from them," since the one to whom that was said had already been made to understand by his speaker that he has the choice between judging and leaving off judging = thus it became known thereby that in His words وَأَنِ احْكُمْ بَيْنَهُمْ بِمَا أَنْزَلَ اللَّهُ there is no indication that it abrogates His words: "If they come to you, then judge between them or turn away from them, and if you turn away from them, they cannot harm you at all, but if you judge, then judge between them with justice" — because of the possibility thereof which we have indicated and expounded. It is rather an indication of the same as that to which His words point: "But if you judge, then judge between them with justice."
Since there was in the outward wording of the revelation no indication for the abrogation of one verse by the other, nor a removal by the one command of the ruling of the other = and since there is from the Messenger of Allah ﷺ no authentic report that the one abrogates the other = nor does there exist among the Muslims consensus (ijmāʿ) concerning that = thus what we have said has proven correct, namely that both commands mutually confirm one another, that the ruling of the one corresponds with the ruling of the other, and that there is no abrogation of the one by the other.
* * *
As for His words: "And if you turn away from them, they cannot harm you at all," the meaning of it is: And if you, O Muhammad, turn away from the People of the Book who seek judgment from you, and leave off deciding between them in that concerning which they seek judgment from you, so that you do not judge between them in it = "they cannot harm you at all," he says: then they will not be able to inflict any harm upon you, neither in religion nor in worldly matters; so leave off deciding between them when you choose to leave off deciding between them.
* * *
As for His words: "But if you judge, then judge between them with justice," the meaning of it is: And if you, O Muhammad, choose to judge and decide between the people of treaty-status when they come to you = "judge between them with justice (al-qisṭ)," and that is equity (al-ʿadl); and that is judging according to what Allah has established as the ruling in such a case for all His creation from the community of our prophet ﷺ.
* * *
And in accordance with what we have said concerning that, the group of the exegetes has spoken.
Mention of who said that:
11997 - Yaʿqūb ibn Ibrāhīm related to me, saying: Hushaym related to us, saying: Mughīra informed us, on the authority of Ibrāhīm and al-Shaʿbī: "But if you judge, then judge between them with justice," they said: If he judges between them, he judges according to what is in the Book of Allah.
11998 - Sufyān related to us, saying: Yazīd ibn Hārūn related to us, on the authority of al-ʿAwwām ibn Ḥawshab, on the authority of Ibrāhīm: "But if you judge, then judge between them with justice," he said: He was commanded to judge among them with stoning (rajm).
11999 - Al-Muthannā related to me, saying: ʿAmr ibn ʿAwn related to us, saying: Hushaym informed us, on the authority of al-ʿAwwām, on the authority of Ibrāhīm al-Taymī, concerning His words: "But if you judge, then judge between them with justice," he said: With stoning (rajm).
21000 - Al-Muthannā related to us, saying: Abū Ḥudhayfa related to us, saying: Shibl related to us, on the authority of Ibn Abī Najīḥ, on the authority of Mujāhid: "with justice (bi-l-qisṭ)" means: with equity.
12001 - Hannād related to us, saying: Hushaym related to us, on the authority of al-ʿAwwām ibn Ḥawshab, on the authority of Ibrāhīm al-Taymī, concerning His words: "judge between them with justice," he said: He was commanded to judge between them with stoning (rajm).
* * *
As for His words: "Indeed, Allah loves the just," the meaning of it is: Indeed, Allah loves those who are just in their judgment between people, who decide between them according to the judgment of Allah which He has sent down in His Book and entrusted to His prophets — the blessings of Allah be upon them.
* * *
One says of it: "aqsaṭa al-ḥākim fī ḥukmihi" (the judge acted justly in his judgment), when he was equitable and judged according to the truth, "yuqsiṭu iqsāṭan" = and as for "qasaṭa," the meaning of it is: to commit injustice, to deviate (from the truth); and to that belongs the word of Allah, the Exalted whose remembrance is exalted: وَأَمَّا الْقَاسِطُونَ فَكَانُوا لِجَهَنَّمَ حَطَبًا ("And as for the unjust (al-qāsiṭūn), they are firewood for hell (jahannam)") [Surah Al-Jinn: 15], by which He means: those who deviate from the truth.
