What does the statement "…Allah doth but make a trial of you in a little matter of game well within reach of game well within reach of your hands and your lances …" mentioned in verse 94 of the chapter of al-Maida mean?

Dear Brother / Sister,

The translation of the verses in question is as follows:

"O ye who believe! Allah doth but make a trial of you in a little matter of game well within reach of game well within reach of your hands and your lances, that He may test who feareth him unseen: any who transgress thereafter, will have a grievous penalty.

O ye who believe! Kill not game while in the sacred precincts or in pilgrim garb. If any of you doth so intentionally, the compensation is an offering, brought to the Ka´ba, of a domestic animal equivalent to the one he killed, as adjudged by two just men among you; or by way of atonement, the feeding of the indigent; or its equivalent in fasts: that he may taste of the penalty of his deed. Allah forgives what is past: for repetition Allah will exact from him the penalty. For Allah is Exalted, and Lord of Retribution." (al-Maida, 5/94, 95)

The incident mentioned as the reason for the verse to be sent down is as follows: When the Messenger of Allah and the people with him arrived at Tan’im on the way to umrah, some animals of prey appeared. They were so close that the Muslims could have hit them with their spirits and held them with their hands. However, since they were in ihram, it was haram for them to hunt. (see Ibn Kathir, the interpretation of the relevant verse) Therefore, they had difficulty in controlling their souls in the face of those worldly boons in front of them. For, the meat of hunted animals is delicious especially under the conditions of travelling. The verse states that it was a divine test to see those who believed in and surrendered heartily to Allah, whom they did not see and who was beyond man’s perception.

In the decrees like the prohibition of alcoholic drinks and gambling in the previous verses, there is a purpose of testing too. However, in those decrees, whose benefits and harms can be understood by the mind, man’s act can be based on the understanding of benefit-harm only. In that case, that act originates from man’s respect to his own evaluation, not from absolute surrendering to Allah’s wish; it means serving one’s soul. The quality of understanding the harm exists in most of the orders and prohibitions in the religion but some religious decrees aim to test a person’s religiousness by being purified from the possibility of being mixed with worldly purposes; man is ordered to do some deeds that can be done only for Allah’s sake and that cannot be explained when they are done with other purposes (except for the cases to obtain material benefits through show off).   

The decrees that are fulfilled with the understating of ”I believe in Allah’s oneness and power so much that my salvation is based on His consent and hence surrendering heartily to all of His orders” though man cannot find a logical reason to do it are called "taabbudi (requiring obedience without needing to know its reason) decrees". This characteristic of those deeds does not show that they are of no use but that they have comprehensive and limitless benefits. However, the words "comprehensive" and "limitless" will be insufficient in terms of Allah; therefore, the most appropriate way is to fulfill those decrees with a consciousness of servitude that is purified from the idea of benefit and to try to attain Allah’s consent.  

The verse teaching that ihram prohibitions are among this kind of taabbudi decrees educates us about it. For, to accept and express the necessity of acting in accordance with a rule does not always guarantee that it will be applied well. Controlling one’s soul when he can do something is more difficult than giving up doing something that is not available. A person who lives in poverty and puts up with hunger due to worshipping is not equal to a person who has a table full of delicious food in front and puts up with hunger due to worshipping.

Allah tested the first Muslims about the application of ihram prohibitions through this incident and wanted them to serve as a model; the other Muslims are also asked to show the same understanding and attitude regarding the issue. (see Elmalılı, III, 1808-1812)

The explanations like that should not be understood as it is not appropriate to think about the wisdoms behind and benefits of taabbudi decrees in general and ihram and ihram prohibitions in particular. What matters here is that the duty of worshipping should not be attributed to the condition of benefit and that one should not worship by evaluating what a deed of worshipping will make him gain and lose. Raghib al-Isfahani, the famous scholar and thinker states the following regarding the issue: "A person should not do a deed for a worldly interest or with the intention of being saved from a loss; otherwise, he will be like a merchant. According to some scholars, it is necessary not to do a deed with the intention of obtaining an otherworldly interest." (az-Zaria ila Makarimish-Shari'a, p. 126)

A similarity can be established between the test of Sons of Israel by Allah with the prohibition of fishing on Saturday (see al-Baqara 2/65-66) the test of the Muslims with the prohibition of hunting in ihram. (Ateş, III, 63)

Reference: Kur’an Yolu, Diyanet İşleri Başkanlığı Publications: II/271-275.

Questions on Islam