Tafseer of The Evidence · Al-Bayyina · 98:5
And they were not commanded except to worship Allah, [being] sincere to Him in religion, inclining to truth, and to establish prayer and to give zakah. And that is the correct religion.
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 explanation of His statement, the Exalted: وَمَا أُمِرُوا إِلا لِيَعْبُدُوا اللَّهَ مُخْلِصِينَ لَهُ الدِّينَ حُنَفَاءَ وَيُقِيمُوا الصَّلاةَ وَيُؤْتُوا الزَّكَاةَ وَذَلِكَ دِينُ الْقَيِّمَةِ ("And they were ordered nothing other than that they should worship Allah, sincere to Him in religion, turning away from idolatry (ḥunafāʾ), and that they should maintain the prayer and give the zakāh; and that is the religion of the right teaching") (98:5).
He, exalted be His mention, says: And Allah ordered these Jews and Christians, who are the People of the Book (ahl al-kitāb), nothing other than that they should worship Allah, sincere to Him in religion — He says: devoting obedience exclusively to Him, without mixing their obedience to their Lord with the ascription of partners to Allah (shirk). But the Jews ascribed partners to their Lord by their statement that ʿUzayr is the son of Allah, and the Christians by their similar statement about the Messiah, and by their denial of the prophethood of Muḥammad ﷺ.
His statement: حُنَفَاءَ ("turning away from idolatry, ḥunafāʾ") — our exposition of the meaning of being ḥanīf (al-ḥanīfiyya) has already passed earlier, with its proofs that make it unnecessary to repeat it; except that we mention some reports about it which we did not mention earlier.
Mention of who said that:
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 statement: مُخْلِصِينَ لَهُ الدِّينَ حُنَفَاءَ ("sincere to Him in religion, turning away from idolatry") — he says: as pilgrims, Muslims, not polytheists; he says: and that they maintain the prayer and give the zakāh and perform the pilgrimage (ḥajj), and that is the religion of the right teaching.
Bishr related to us, saying: Yazīd related to us, saying: Saʿīd related to us, on the authority of Qatāda, concerning His statement: وَمَا أُمِرُوا إِلا لِيَعْبُدُوا اللَّهَ مُخْلِصِينَ لَهُ الدِّينَ حُنَفَاءَ ("And they were ordered nothing other than that they should worship Allah, sincere to Him in religion, turning away from idolatry") — and the ḥanīfiyya is: circumcision, and the prohibition of the mothers, the daughters, the sisters, the paternal aunts and the maternal aunts, and the rites (al-manāsik).
His statement: وَيُقِيمُوا الصَّلاةَ وَيُؤْتُوا الزَّكَاةَ ("and that they should maintain the prayer and give the zakāh") — He says: and that they maintain the prayer and that they give the zakāh.
His statement: وَذَلِكَ دِينُ الْقَيِّمَةِ ("and that is the religion of the right teaching") — He means that this which He mentioned as that which these who became disbelievers among the People of the Book and the polytheists were ordered to do, is the upright religion (al-dīn al-qayyima). And by al-qayyima He means: the straight, the just. The religion (al-dīn) is annexed to al-qayyima, while the religion itself is al-qayyim and is a quality of it, because of the difference between the two wordings. And in the reading of ʿAbdallāh, according to what I think regarding what has been mentioned to us, it is: وَذَلِكَ دِينُ الْقَيِّمَةِ ("and that is the religion of the right teaching"). And al-qayyima was made feminine, because it was made a quality of the religious community (al-milla), as if it were said: and that is the straight religious community, not Judaism and not Christianity.
And in accordance with what we have said about it, the exegetes have spoken.
Mention of who said that:
Bishr related to us, saying: Yazīd related to us, saying: Saʿīd related to us, on the authority of Qatāda, concerning His statement: وَذَلِكَ دِينُ الْقَيِّمَةِ ("and that is the religion of the right teaching") — it is the religion with which Allah sent His Messenger, and which He prescribed for Himself and with which He is pleased.
Yūnus related to me, saying: Ibn Wahb informed us, saying: Ibn Zayd said, concerning His statement: كُتُبٌ قَيِّمَةٌ ("upright writings") and وَذَلِكَ دِينُ الْقَيِّمَةِ ("and that is the religion of the right teaching") — he said: it is one and the same; qayyima: straight, balanced.
