Texts of Islam

The Meaning of the Glorious Qur'ân,: 5. al-Ma'idah:...

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This is an English translation of Surah 5 (al-Ma'idah, "The Food") from the Qur'an, rendered by M.M. Pickthall in his 1930 translation notable for its archaic English register and fidelity to classical Islamic exegetical tradition. The surah covers a wide range of legal and theological content: dietary laws (forbidden meats, lawful game, food of People of the Scripture), ritual purity requirements for prayer, rules of justice and covenant-keeping, and prescribed punishments for theft and banditry. A recurring theological argument is that Jews and Christians have corrupted or forgotten their own covenants with God, and that Muhammad's prophethood fulfills and supersedes those earlier revelations — making Islam the completed and perfected religion. The surah includes the Qur'an's famous declaration that killing one innocent person is as grave as killing all mankind, alongside narratives of Moses leading Israel toward the Holy Land and the story of Cain and Abel used to ground that principle. Distinctively, the text frames itself as addressing multiple audiences simultaneously — believers, skeptics, and People of the Scripture — issuing direct commands, warnings, and theological corrections to each. Pickthall's translation maintains formal equivalence with the Arabic source text while using "thee/thou" constructions that give it a scriptural solemnity comparable to the King James Bible.

The Meaning of the Glorious Qur'ân,: 5. al-Ma'idah:...

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