The Majestic Quran

5. Al-Ma’idah The Feast This chapter was revealed in Madinah in 628 ce, after the Treaty of Hudaibiyah. This marked a new era for Muslims; now they were free to propagate Islam in the Arabian Peninsula, as agreed in the treaty. By now the economic prowess of the Jewish tribes had faded, while the Muslims were confident and upbeat. This chapter lays out the basis of God’s contract with Muslims as the final law revealed. It puts it in the context of the contracts the Jews and Christians had made with God, but who unfortunately broke the law, invented false beliefs, and changed some laws of the Torah and Gospel. Consequently, they lost the privilege of being the favourite people of God. Cautioning Muslims: if you don’t abide by the Shariah, then you too will fall out of favour, God has no special preference for any people except those who obey and submit to Him. The new Muslim state needed laws to function as a well-ordered civil society. In this chapter, eighteen new laws are announced on: contracts; testimony and the importance of honest witnesses; respecting sacred months; slaughtering animals; the lawfulness of seafood; rules of entering into a state of ihram for pilgrimage; intermarriage with Jewish and Christian women; apostasy; rules for cleanliness; the penalty for stealing; the penalty for sedition; prohibition of intoxicants and gambling; atonement for breaking an oath; hunting whilst in a state of ihram ; making a will at the time of death; and the penalty for those who violate divine laws. These laws are set in the context of various historical events. An example of this is the story of the Israelites’ refusal to obey Moses