Surah Al-Mā'idah (The Table Spread) in English

1. أحل لكم صيد البحر وطعامه متاعا لكم وللسيارة وحرم عليكم صيد البر ما دمتم حرما واتقوا الله الذي إليه تحشرون

   96

   You are permitted the game of the sea and its food, a provision for you and for the caravans, but you are forbidden the game of the land so long as you remain in pilgrim sanctity, and be wary of Allah toward whom you will be gathered.

   ʾuḥilla lakum ṣaydu l-baḥri wa-ṭaʿāmuhū matāʿan lakum wa-li-s-sayyārati wa-ḥurrima ʿalaykum ṣaydu l-barri mā dumtum ḥuruman wa-ttaqū llāha lladhī ʾilayhi tuḥsharūna

2. جعل الله الكعبة البيت الحرام قياما للناس والشهر الحرام والهدي والقلائد ذلك لتعلموا أن الله يعلم ما في السماوات وما في الأرض وأن الله بكل شيء عليم

   97

   Allah has made the Ka‘bah, the Sacred House, a [means of] sustentation for mankind, and [also] the sacred month, the offering and the garlands, so that you may know that Allah knows whatever there is in the heavens and whatever there is in the earth, and that Allah has knowledge of all things.

   jaʿala llāhu l-kaʿbata l-bayta l-ḥarāma qiyāman li-n-nāsi wa-sh-shahra l-ḥarāma wa-l-hadya wa-l-qalāʾida dhālika li-taʿlamū ʾanna llāha yaʿlamu mā fī s-samāwāti wa-mā fī l-ʾarḍi wa-ʾanna llāha bi-kulli shayʾin ʿalīmun-i

3. اعلموا أن الله شديد العقاب وأن الله غفور رحيم

   98

   Know that Allah is severe in retribution, and that Allah is all-forgiving, all-merciful.

   iʿlamū ʾanna llāha shadīdu l-ʿiqābi wa-ʾanna llāha ghafūrun raḥīmun

4. ما على الرسول إلا البلاغ والله يعلم ما تبدون وما تكتمون

   99

   The Apostle’s duty is only to communicate and Allah knows whatever you disclose and whatever you conceal.

   mā ʿalā r-rasūli ʾillā l-balāghu wa-llāhu yaʿlamu mā tubdūna wa-mā taktumūna

5. قل لا يستوي الخبيث والطيب ولو أعجبك كثرة الخبيث فاتقوا الله يا أولي الألباب لعلكم تفلحون

   100

   Say, ‘The good and the bad are not equal, though the abundance of the bad should amaze you.’ So be wary of Allah, O you who possess intellect, so that you may be felicitous!

   qul lā yastawī l-khabīthu wa-ṭ-ṭayyibu wa-law ʾaʿjabaka kathratu l-khabīthi fa-ttaqū llāha yā-ʾulī l-ʾalbābi laʿallakum tufliḥūna

6. يا أيها الذين آمنوا لا تسألوا عن أشياء إن تبد لكم تسؤكم وإن تسألوا عنها حين ينزل القرآن تبد لكم عفا الله عنها والله غفور حليم

   101

   O you who have faith! Do not ask about things, which, if they are disclosed to you, will upset you. Yet if you ask about them while the Quran is being sent down, they shall be disclosed to you. Allah has excused it, and Allah is all-forgiving, all-forbearing.

   yā-ʾayyuhā lladhīna ʾāmanū lā tasʾalū ʿan ʾashyāʾa ʾin tubda lakum tasuʾkum wa-ʾin tasʾalū ʿanhā ḥīna yunazzalu l-qurʾānu tubda lakum ʿafā llāhu ʿanhā wa-llāhu ghafūrun ḥalīmun

7. قد سألها قوم من قبلكم ثم أصبحوا بها كافرين

   102

   Certainly some people asked about them before you and then came to disbelieve in them.

   qad saʾalahā qawmun min qablikum thumma ʾaṣbaḥū bihā kāfirīna

8. ما جعل الله من بحيرة ولا سائبة ولا وصيلة ولا حام ولكن الذين كفروا يفترون على الله الكذب وأكثرهم لا يعقلون

   103

   Allah has not prescribed any such thing as Bahirah, Sa’ibah, Waseelah, or Haam; but those who are faithless fabricate lies against Allah, and most of them do not exercise their reason.

   mā jaʿala llāhu min baḥīratin wa-lā sāʾibatin wa-lā waṣīlatin wa-lā ḥāmin wa-lākinna lladhīna kafarū yaftarūna ʿalā llāhi l-kadhiba wa-ʾaktharuhum lā yaʿqilūna