Tafseer of The Table · Al-Maaida · 5:87
O you who have believed, do not prohibit the good things which Allah has made lawful to you and do not transgress. Indeed, Allah does not like transgressors.
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.
The discourse on the explanation of His saying: يَا أَيُّهَا الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا لا تُحَرِّمُوا طَيِّبَاتِ مَا أَحَلَّ اللَّهُ لَكُمْ وَلا تَعْتَدُوا إِنَّ اللَّهَ لا يُحِبُّ الْمُعْتَدِينَ ("O you who believe, do not forbid the good things that Allah has made lawful for you, and do not transgress the limits. Indeed, Allah does not love the transgressors") (5:87).
Abū Jaʿfar said: He, exalted is His mention, says: O you who held Allah and His Messenger to be true, and who acknowledged that what their Prophet — peace and blessings be upon him — brought them is the truth from Allah — "do not forbid the good things that Allah has made lawful for you," whereby by "the good things" (al-ṭayyibāt) He means: the pleasant matters which the souls desire and toward which the hearts incline,
so that you would withhold them from yourselves, as the priests (al-qissīsūn) and the monks (al-ruhbān) did, who forbade to themselves the women, the good foods, and the pleasant drinks, and some of them shut themselves up in the hermits' cells (al-ṣawāmiʿ), and some of them wandered about the earth. He, exalted is His mention, says: So do not do, O believers, as these did, and do not overstep the limit of Allah which He has set for you concerning what He has made lawful for you and what He has forbidden you, so that you would overstep His limit which He has set and thereby contradict His obedience; for Allah does not love him who oversteps His limit which He has set for His creatures concerning what He has made lawful for them and what He has forbidden them.
* * *
And in accordance with what we have said about this, the exegetes spoke.
Mention of those who said that:
12336 - Abū Ḥuṣayn ʿAbd Allāh ibn Aḥmad ibn Yūnus related to me, saying: ʿAbthar Abū Zubayd related to us, saying: Ḥuṣayn related to us, on the authority of Abū Mālik concerning this verse: "O you who believe, do not forbid the good things that Allah has made lawful for you" — the verse — he said: ʿUthmān ibn Maẓʿūn and some people of the Muslims forbade to themselves the women, abstained from good food, and some of them wished to cut off their genitals; then this verse was revealed.
12337 - Ḥumayd ibn Masʿada related to us, saying: Yazīd ibn Zurayʿ related to us, saying: Khālid al-Ḥadhdhāʾ related to me, on the authority of ʿIkrima, he said: There were people of the Companions of the Prophet — peace and blessings be upon him — who intended to castrate themselves, and to leave off meat and women; then this verse was revealed: "O you who believe, do not forbid the good things that Allah has made lawful for you, and do not transgress the limits. Indeed, Allah does not love the transgressors."
12338 - Yaʿqūb related to me, saying: Ibn ʿUlayya related to us, on the authority of Khālid, on the authority of ʿIkrima: that men wished this and that, and wished this and that, and that they wished to castrate themselves; then there was revealed: "O you who believe, do not forbid the good things that Allah has made lawful for you" up to His saying الَّذِي أَنْتُمْ بِهِ مُؤْمِنُونَ ("in Whom you are believers").
12339 - Ibn Wakīʿ related to us, saying: Jarīr related to us, on the authority of Mughīra, on the authority of Ibrāhīm: "O you who believe, do not forbid the good things that Allah has made lawful for you," he said: They had declared the good food and the meat forbidden, so Allah, exalted is He, revealed this concerning them.
12340 - Ibn Wakīʿ related to us, saying: ʿAbd al-Wahhāb al-Thaqafī related to us, saying: Khālid related to us, on the authority of ʿIkrima: that people said: "We will not marry, nor eat, nor do this and that!" Then Allah, exalted is He, revealed: "O you who believe, do not forbid the good things that Allah has made lawful for you, and do not transgress the limits. Indeed, Allah does not love the transgressors."
12341 - Al-Ḥasan ibn Yaḥyā related to us, saying: ʿAbd al-Razzāq informed us, saying: Maʿmar informed us, on the authority of Ayyūb, on the authority of Abū Qilāba, he said: People of the Companions of the Prophet — peace and blessings be upon him — wished to turn their backs on the world, to leave off the women, and to lead the hermit's life. Then the Messenger of Allah — peace and blessings be upon him — stood and spoke sternly to them, then said: Indeed, those who were before you perished through over-burdening; they made it burdensome upon themselves, so Allah made it burdensome for them, and behold, their remnants are in the dwellings and the hermits' cells! Worship Allah and associate no partners with Him, perform the pilgrimage (ḥajj) and the ʿumra, and keep to the straight path, and it will be kept straight for you. He said: And concerning them was revealed: "O you who believe, do not forbid the good things that Allah has made lawful for you," the verse.
12342 - Al-Ḥasan ibn Yaḥyā related to us, saying: ʿAbd al-Razzāq informed us, saying: Maʿmar informed us, on the authority of Qatāda concerning His saying: "do not forbid the good things that Allah has made lawful for you," he said: It was revealed concerning people of the Companions of the Prophet — peace and blessings be upon him — who wished to withdraw from the world, to leave off the women, and to devote themselves to asceticism; among them were ʿAlī ibn Abī Ṭālib and ʿUthmān ibn Maẓʿūn.
12343 - Ibn Wakīʿ related to us, saying: My father related to us, on the authority of Sufyān, on the authority of Ziyād ibn Fayyāḍ, on the authority of Abū ʿAbd al-Raḥmān, he said: The Prophet — peace and blessings be upon him — said: I do not command you to be priests (qissīsīn) and monks (ruhbān).
12344 - Bishr ibn Muʿādh related to us, saying: Jāmiʿ ibn Ḥammād related to us, saying: Yazīd ibn Zurayʿ related to us, on the authority of Saʿīd, on the authority of Qatāda concerning His saying: "O you who believe, do not forbid the good things that Allah has made lawful for you," the verse; it was related to us that men of the Companions of the Prophet — peace and blessings be upon him — renounced women and meat and wished to build themselves hermits' cells. When that reached the Messenger of Allah — peace and blessings be upon him — he said: It does not belong to my religion to leave off the women and the meat, nor the building of hermits' cells. And it was reported to us that three men in the time of the Messenger of Allah — peace and blessings be upon him — made an agreement, and one of them said: As for me, I will stand the night in prayer and not sleep! And one of them said: As for me, I will fast the day and not break it! And the other said: As for me, I will not approach the women! Then the Messenger of Allah — peace and blessings be upon him — sent to them and said: Have I not been informed that you have agreed upon this and that? They said: Yes indeed, O Messenger of Allah, and we intended only the good! He said: But I stand in prayer and I sleep, I fast and I break, and I approach the women; and whoever turns away from my example (sunna) does not belong to me. And in a certain reading there stood: (whoever turns away from your example does not belong to your community and has strayed from the straight path). And it was related to us that the Prophet of Allah — peace and blessings be upon him — said to some of his Companions: Indeed, those who were before you made it burdensome upon themselves, so Allah made it burdensome for them, and behold, here are their brethren in the dwellings and the hermits' cells! Worship Allah and associate no partners with Him, perform the ritual prayer (ṣalāh), give the obligatory alms (zakāh), fast Ramaḍān, perform the pilgrimage (ḥajj) and the ʿumra, and keep to the straight path, and it will be kept straight for you.
12345 - Muḥammad ibn al-Ḥusayn related to me, saying: Aḥmad ibn al-Mufaḍḍal related to us, saying: Asbāṭ related to us, on the authority of al-Suddī: "O you who believe, do not forbid the good things that Allah has made lawful for you, and do not transgress the limits. Indeed, Allah does not love the transgressors" — and that was because the Messenger of Allah — peace and blessings be upon him — sat down one day and admonished the people, then rose without giving them more than the warning. Then people of the Companions of the Messenger of Allah — peace and blessings be upon him — who were ten in number, among them ʿAlī ibn Abī Ṭālib and ʿUthmān ibn Maẓʿūn, said: We fear [we do not do enough] if we do not perform some [special] deed! Indeed, the Christians have forbidden to themselves [things], so let us also forbid! Some of them forbade the eating of meat and fat, and eating during the day; some of them forbade sleep, and some of them forbade the women. ʿUthmān ibn Maẓʿūn was among those who forbade the women, and he did not approach his wife, nor did she approach him. Then his wife came to ʿĀʾisha — she was called "al-Ḥawlāʾ" — and ʿĀʾisha and the wives of the Prophet — peace and blessings be upon him — who were with her said to her: What is the matter with you, O Ḥawlāʾ, discolored of face, you neither comb your hair nor perfume yourself? She said: And how should I perfume and comb myself, while my husband has not approached me and for so long has not lifted a garment of mine! Then they began to laugh at her words. Then the Messenger of Allah — peace and blessings be upon him — entered while they were laughing, and he said: What makes you laugh? She said: O Messenger of Allah, al-Ḥawlāʾ — I asked her about her state and she said: "my husband has not lifted a garment of mine for so long"! Then he sent for him and called him and said: What is the matter with you, O ʿUthmān? He said: I have left her for the sake of Allah, that I might devote myself entirely to worship! And he related to him his affair. ʿUthmān had wished to castrate himself, so the Messenger of Allah — peace and blessings be upon him — said: I adjure you to return and have intercourse with your wife! He said: O Messenger of Allah, I am fasting! He said: Break the fast! Then he broke it and approached his wife. Thereupon al-Ḥawlāʾ returned to ʿĀʾisha, made up with antimony (koḥl), combed and perfumed. Then ʿĀʾisha laughed and said: What is the matter with you, O Ḥawlāʾ? She said: He approached her yesterday! Then the Messenger of Allah — peace and blessings be upon him — said: What is the matter with people who declare the women, the food, and the sleep forbidden? Indeed, I sleep and stand in prayer, I break and I fast, and I marry the women; and whoever turns away from my example (sunna) does not belong to me! Then there was revealed: "O you who believe, do not forbid the good things that Allah has made lawful for you, and do not transgress the limits," whereby He says to ʿUthmān: Do not castrate yourself, for that is the transgression. And He commanded them that they should make expiation (kaffāra) for their oaths, and He said: لا يُؤَاخِذُكُمُ اللَّهُ بِاللَّغْوِ فِي أَيْمَانِكُمْ وَلَكِنْ يُؤَاخِذُكُمْ بِمَا عَقَّدْتُمُ الأَيْمَانَ ("Allah will not hold you accountable for the thoughtless utterances in your oaths, but He will hold you accountable for that with which you have bound the oaths").
12346 - Al-Muthannā related to me, saying: ʿAbd Allāh ibn Ṣāliḥ related to us, saying: Muʿāwiya related to me, on the authority of ʿAlī, on the authority of Ibn ʿAbbās concerning His saying: "O you who believe, do not forbid the good things that Allah has made lawful for you," he said: It is a group of the Companions of the Prophet — peace and blessings be upon him — who said: We will cut off our genitals, leave off the desires of the world, and wander over the earth as the monks do! When that reached the Prophet — peace and blessings be upon him — he sent to them and brought that up with them, and they said: Yes! Then the Messenger of Allah — peace and blessings be upon him — said: But I fast and break, I pray and sleep, and I marry the women; whoever keeps to my example (sunna) belongs to me, and whoever does not keep to my example does not belong to me.
12347 - 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 concerning His saying: "O you who believe, do not forbid the good things that Allah has made lawful for you" — and that was because men of the Companions of Muḥammad — peace and blessings be upon him —, among them ʿUthmān ibn Maẓʿūn, forbade to themselves the women and the meat, and took up the knives to cut off their genitals, so that desire might be cut off and they might free themselves for the worship of their Lord. When the Prophet — peace and blessings be upon him — was informed of that, he said: What did you intend? They said: We wished that desire might be cut off from us, that we might free ourselves for the worship of our Lord, and turn away from the women! Then the Messenger of Allah — peace and blessings be upon him — said: That has not been commanded to me, but rather it has been commanded to me in my religion that I marry the women! They said: We obey the Messenger of Allah — peace and blessings be upon him. Then Allah, exalted is His mention, revealed: "O you who believe, do not forbid the good things that Allah has made lawful for you, and do not transgress the limits. Indeed, Allah does not love the transgressors," up to His saying الَّذِي أَنْتُمْ بِهِ مُؤْمِنُونَ ("in Whom you are believers").
12348 - Al-Qāsim related to us, saying: Al-Ḥusayn related to us, saying: Ḥajjāj related to me, on the authority of Ibn Jurayj, on the authority of Mujāhid, he said: Men wished — among them ʿUthmān ibn Maẓʿūn and ʿAbd Allāh ibn ʿAmr — to withdraw into abstinence (yatabattalū), to castrate themselves, and to wear the hair-cloth of penance (al-musūḥ); then this verse was revealed up to His saying وَاتَّقُوا اللَّهَ الَّذِي أَنْتُمْ بِهِ مُؤْمِنُونَ ("and fear Allah, in Whom you are believers"). Ibn Jurayj said, on the authority of ʿIkrima: that ʿUthmān ibn Maẓʿūn, ʿAlī ibn Abī Ṭālib, Ibn Masʿūd, al-Miqdād ibn al-Aswad, and Sālim the freedman of Abū Ḥudhayfa, with [some other] Companions, withdrew into abstinence: they sat in the houses, secluded themselves from the women, wore the hair-cloth of penance, and forbade the good things of food and clothing, except for what the wanderers (ahl al-siyāḥa) of the Banū Isrāʾīl ate and wore; and they intended to castrate themselves, and agreed to stand the night in prayer and to fast the day. Then there was revealed: "O you who believe, do not forbid the good things that Allah has made lawful for you, and do not transgress the limits. Indeed, Allah does not love the transgressors," whereby He says: Do not walk according to anything other than the example (sunna) of the Muslims — He means: that which they forbade of the women, the food, and the clothing, and that upon which they agreed of fasting the day and standing in prayer the night, and that which they intended of castration. When it was revealed concerning them, the Messenger of Allah — peace and blessings be upon him — sent to them and said: Indeed, your souls have a right over you, and your eyes have a right over you! Fast and break, pray and sleep, for he does not belong to us who leaves off our example (sunna)! Then they said: O Allah, we have submitted, and we follow what You have revealed!
12349 - Yūnus ibn ʿAbd al-Aʿlā related to me, saying: Ibn Wahb informed us, on the authority of Ibn Zayd concerning His saying: "O you who believe, do not forbid the good things that Allah has made lawful for you," he said: My father said: A guest lodged with ʿAbd Allāh ibn Rawāḥa, and Ibn Rawāḥa returned [home] without having eaten, and he said to his wife: What did you give him to eat? She said: The food was little, and I waited until you would come! He said: Did you withhold my guest [from the food] on my account? Then your food is forbidden to me if I taste it! Then she said: And it is forbidden to me if I taste it, if you do not taste it! And the guest said: It is forbidden to me if I taste it, if you both do not taste it! When Ibn Rawāḥa saw that, he said: Bring your food, eat in the name of Allah! And the next morning he went to the Prophet — peace and blessings be upon him — and informed him of it, and the Messenger of Allah — peace and blessings be upon him — said: You have done well! Then this verse was revealed: "O you who believe, do not forbid the good things that Allah has made lawful for you," and he read on until he reached: لا يُؤَاخِذُكُمُ اللَّهُ بِاللَّغْوِ فِي أَيْمَانِكُمْ وَلَكِنْ يُؤَاخِذُكُمْ بِمَا عَقَّدْتُمُ الأَيْمَانَ ("Allah will not hold you accountable for the thoughtless utterances in your oaths, but He will hold you accountable for that with which you have bound the oaths"). [He said:] When you say: "By Allah, I will not taste it," then that is the binding (al-ʿaqd).
12350 - ʿAmr ibn ʿAlī related to us, saying: Abū ʿĀṣim related to us, saying: ʿUthmān ibn Saʿd related to us, saying: ʿIkrima related to us, on the authority of Ibn ʿAbbās: that a man came to the Prophet — peace and blessings be upon him — and said: O Messenger of Allah, when I eat of the meat, I become aroused and my desire overcomes me, so I have forbidden the meat [to myself]? Then Allah, exalted is His mention, revealed: "O you who believe, do not forbid the good things that Allah has made lawful for you, and do not transgress the limits. Indeed, Allah does not love the transgressors."
12351 - ʿAmr ibn ʿAlī related to us, saying: Yazīd ibn Zurayʿ related to us, saying: Khālid al-Ḥadhdhāʾ related to us, on the authority of ʿIkrima, he said: People of the Companions of the Messenger of Allah — peace and blessings be upon him — intended to leave off the women and to castrate themselves; then Allah, exalted is He, revealed: "O you who believe, do not forbid the good things that Allah has made lawful for you," the verse.
* * *
And they differed concerning the meaning of "the transgression" (al-iʿtidāʾ) of which He, exalted is His mention, said: "and do not transgress the limits. Indeed, Allah does not love the transgressors."
Some of them said: "The transgression" which Allah forbade in this place is what ʿUthmān ibn Maẓʿūn intended, namely the castrating of himself; from that he was restrained and it was said to him: "This is the transgression."
And among those who said that is al-Suddī.
12352 - Muḥammad ibn al-Ḥusayn related to us, saying: Aḥmad ibn al-Mufaḍḍal related to me, saying: Asbāṭ related to us, on his authority [al-Suddī].
* * *
And others said: Rather, that is what the group of the Companions of the Messenger of Allah — peace and blessings be upon him — intended, namely the forbidding of the women, the food, the clothing, and the sleep; they were forbidden to do that and to conduct themselves according to anything other than the example (sunna) of their Prophet Muḥammad — peace and blessings be upon him. And among those who said that is ʿIkrima.
12353 - Al-Qāsim related to us, saying: Al-Ḥusayn related to us, saying: Ḥajjāj related to me, on the authority of Ibn Jurayj, on his authority [ʿIkrima].
* * *
And some of them said: Rather, that is a prohibition from Allah, exalted is His mention, against overstepping the lawful (al-ḥalāl) into the forbidden (al-ḥarām).
Mention of those who said that:
12354 - Ibn Wakīʿ related to us, saying: Al-Muḥāribī related to us, on the authority of ʿĀṣim, on the authority of al-Ḥasan: "O you who believe, do not forbid the good things that Allah has made lawful for you, and do not transgress the limits," he said: Do not transgress toward that which is forbidden to you.
* * *
And we have already expounded that the meaning of "the transgression" (al-iʿtidāʾ) is: that man oversteps what is his into that which is not his, in every matter — as has already preceded, in a manner that makes it needless to repeat.
Abū Jaʿfar said: And since that is so — and since Allah, exalted is His mention, by His saying "do not transgress the limits" made general the prohibition of all transgression — it was necessary that judgment be made according to that which He made general, in its generality, until something particularizes it for which one ought to submit. And it is permitted to no one to overstep the limit of Allah, exalted is He, in any matter, of what He has made lawful or forbidden; and whoever oversteps it falls under the generality of those of whom He, exalted is His mention, said: "Indeed, Allah does not love the transgressors."
And it is not impossible that the verse was revealed concerning the affair of ʿUthmān ibn Maẓʿūn and the group of the Companions of the Messenger of Allah — peace and blessings be upon him — who intended what they intended, namely the forbidding to themselves of a portion of what Allah had made lawful for them, while by its ruling everyone is nonetheless intended who is in a like state as they, of whoever forbids to himself what Allah has made lawful for him, or makes lawful what Allah has forbidden him, or oversteps a limit that Allah has set for him. And that is because those who intended what they intended, namely the forbidding to themselves of a portion of what was made lawful for them, were censured only for what they intended, namely their overstepping of that which He had instituted and bounded for them, into something else.
