I.e., all that has been dedicated or offered in sacrifice to an idol or a saint or a person considered to be "divine". For a more comprehensive enumeration of the forbidden kinds of flesh, see 5:3.

This term is used here in its generic sense,. comprising both the Qur'an and the earlier revelations.

Lit., "has been bestowing". Since the form nazzala implies gradualness and continuity in the process of revelation, it can best be rendered by the use of the present tense.

Lit., "who hold discordant views about the divine writ"- i.e., either suppressing or rejecting parts of it, or denying its divine origin altogether (Razi).

Thus, the Qur'an stresses the principle that mere compliance with outward forms does not fulfil the requirements of piety. The reference to the turning of one's face in prayer in this or that direction flows from the passages which dealt, a short while ago, with the question of the qiblah.

In this context, the term "revelation" (al-kitab) carries, according to most of the commentators, a generic significance: it refers to the fact of divine revelation as such. As regards belief in angels, it is postulated here because it is through these spiritual beings or force's (belonging to the realm of al-ghayb, i.e., the reality which is beyond the reach of human perception) that God reveals His will to the prophets and, thus, to mankind at large.

The expression ibn as-sabil (lit., "son of the road") denotes any person who is far from his home, and especially one who, because of this circumstance, does not have sufficient means of livelihood at his disposal (cf. Lane IV, 1302). In its wider sense it describes a person who, for any reason whatsoever, is unable to return home either temporarily or permanently: for instance, a political exile or refugee.

Ar-raqabah (of which ar-riqab is the plural) denotes, literally, "the neck", and signifies also the whole of a human person. Metonymically, the expression fi 'r-riqab denotes "in the cause of freeing human beings from bondage", and applies to both the ransoming of captives and the freeing of slaves. By including this kind of expenditure within the essential acts of piety, the Qur'an implies that the freeing of people from bondage - and, thus, the abolition of slavery - is one of the social objectives of Islam. At the time of the revelation of the Qur'an, slavery was an established institution throughout the world, and its sudden abolition would have been economically impossible. In order to obviate this difficulty, and at the same time to bring about an eventual abolition of all slavery, the Qur'an ordains in 8:67 that henceforth only captives taken in a just war (jihad) may be kept as slaves. But even with regard to persons enslaved in this or-before the revelation of 8 : 67-in any other way, the Qur'an stresses the great merit inherent in the freeing of slaves, and stipulates it as a means of atonement for various transgressions (see, e.g., 4:92, 5:89, 58:3). In addition, the Prophet emphatically stated on many occasions that, in the sight of God, the unconditional freeing of a human being from bondage is among the most praiseworthy acts which a Muslim could perform. (For a critical discussion and analysis of all the authentic Traditions bearing on this problem, see Nayl al-Awtar VI, 199 ff.)

After having pointed out that true piety does not consist in mere adherence to outward forms and rites, -the Qur'an opens, as it were, a new chapter relating to the problem of man's behaviour. Just as piety cannot become effective without righteous action, individual righteousness cannot become really effective in the social sense unless there is agreement within the community as to the social rights and obligations of its members: in other words, as to the practical laws which should govern the behaviour of the individual within the society and the society's attitude towards the individual and his actions. This is the innermost reason why legislation plays so great a role within the ideology of Islam, and why the Qur'an consistently intertwines its moral and spiritual exhortation with ordinances relating to practical aspects of social life. Now one of the main problems facing any society is the safeguarding of the lives and the individual security of its members: and so it is understandable that laws relating to homicide and its punishment are dealt with prominently at this place. (It should be borne in mind that "The Cow" was the first surah revealed in Medina , that is, at the time when the Muslim community had just become established as an independent social entity.) As for the term qisas occurring at the beginning of the above passage, it must be pointed out that-according to all the classical commentators-it is almost synonymous with musawah, i.e., "making a thing equal [to another thing]": in this instance, making the punishment equal (or appropriate) to the crime -a meaning which is best rendered as "just retribution" and not (as has been often, and erroneously, done) as "retaliation". Seeing that the Qur'an speaks here of "cases of killing" (fi 'I-qatla, lit., "in the matter of the killed") in general, and taking into account that this expression covers all possible cases of homicide -premeditated murder, murder under extreme provocation, culpable homicide, accidental manslaughter, and so forth-it is obvious that the taking of a life for a life (implied in the term "retaliation") would not in every case correspond to the demands of equity. (This has been made clear, for instance, in 4:92, where legal restitution for unintentional homicide is dealt with.) Read in conjunction with the term "just retribution" which introduces this passage, it is clear that the stipulation "the free for the free, the slave for the slave, the woman for the woman" cannot - and has not been intended to - be taken in its literal, restrictive sense: for this would preclude its application to many cases of homicide, e.g., the killing of a free man by a slave, or of a woman by a man, or vice-versa. Thus, the above stipulation must be regarded as an example of the elliptical mode of expression (ijaz) so frequently employed in the Qur'an, and can have but one meaning, namely: "if a free man has committed the crime, the free man must be punished; if a slave has committed the crime. ..", etc.-in other words, whatever the status of the guilty person, he or she (and he or she alone) is to be punished in a manner appropriate to the crime.

Lit., "and he to whom [something] is remitted by his brother". There is no linguistic justification whatever for attributing-as some of the commentators have done-the pronoun "his" to the victim and, thus, for assuming that the expression "brother" stands for the victim's "family" or "blood relations". The pronoun "his" refers, unquestionably, to the guilty person; and since there is no reason for assuming that by "his brother" a real brother is meant, we cannot escape the conclusion that it denotes here "his brother in faith" of "his fellow-man" -in either of which terms the whole community is included. Thus, the expression "if something is remitted to a guilty person by his brother" (i.e., by the community or its legal organs) may refer either to the establishment of mitigating circumstances in a case of murder, or to the finding that the case under trial falls within the categories of culpable homicide or manslaughter - in which cases no capital punishment is to be exacted and restitution is to be made by the payment of an indemnity called diyyah (see 4:92) to the relatives of the victim. In consonance with the oft-recurring Qur'anic exhortation to forgiveness and forbearance, the "remission" mentioned above may also (and especially in cases of accidental manslaughter) relate to a partial or even total waiving of any claim to indemnification.

Lit., "and restitution to him in a goodly manner", it being understood that the pronoun in ilayhi ("to him") refers to the "brother in faith" or "fellow-man" mentioned earlier in this sentence. The word ada (here translated as "restitution") denotes an act of acquitting oneself of a duty or a debt (cf. Lane I, 38), and stands here for the act of legal reparation imposed on the guilty person. This reparation or restitution is to be made "in a goodly manner" -by taking into account the situation of the accused and, on the latter's part, by acquitting himself of his obligation willingly and sincerely (cf. ManarII, 129).

Lit., "after this"- i.e., after the meaning of what constitutes "just retribution" (qisas) has been made clear in the above ordinance (Razi).

I.e., "there is a safeguard for you, as a community, so that you might be able to live in security, as God wants you to live". Thus, the objective of qisas is the protection of the society, and not "revenge".

The word khayr occurring in this sentence denotes "much wealth" and not simply "property": and this explains the injunction that one who leaves much wealth behind should make bequests to particularly deserving members of his family in addition to - and preceding the distribution of-the legally-fixed shares mentioned in 4:11-12. This interpretation of khayr is supported by sayings of `a'ishah and `Ali ibn Abi Talib, both of them referring to this particular verse (cf. Zamakhshari and Baydawi).

Lit., "and as for him who alters it" -i.e., after the testator's death- "after having heard it, the sin thereof is only upon those who alter it": that is, not on anyone who may have unwittingly benefited by this alteration. It is to be noted that the verb sami'a (lit., "he heard") has also the connotation of "he came to know".

Lit., "between them" - i.e., a settlement overriding the testamentary provisions which, by common consent of the parties concerned, are considered unjust.

6:121, 6:145. Ithm = A violation that drags down the 'self' = An act that hurts the human 'self' = Anything that makes it difficult to rise up = An impediment to activity = Any action that depletes individual or communal energy. Ghafarah = Helmet and armor. Forgiveness involves protection from the detrimental effects of faults

Those who conceal the Book = The ones who start making their own lists of the lawful and unlawful, and thus, usurp the Divine Right of lawmaking. Also note that this verse clearly mentions the ongoing growth and evolution of the 'self' in the Hereafter. Tazkiah from Zaku = Growth = Purity from vice = Development of the 'self' = Self-actualization

4:82, 25:30. Shaqq and derivatives = To split = Fall apart = Schism = Fall into disputes = Opposition = Oppose one another = Splitting of personality = Break apart the unity = Enmity

2:4, 3:91-92 Yateem, Miskeen, Ibn-is-Sabeel, Fir-Riqaab, carry all the meanings rendered above. Please also note that the Qur'an has named above the well-known five "Articles of faith." But belief in Taqdeer = Predetermined destiny, has been interjected in the fabricated Ajami accounts as the sixth article of faith by 'Imams', making Muslims fatalistic in their thought and behavior. The Qur'an nowhere mentions Taqdeer or the predestined fates of individuals. Qadar or Taqdeer always denote the law, the due measure of all things appointed by God. And man determines his own destiny by following or defying those laws

Equitable compensation takes into account the financial situation of the accused. See 4:92-93, 5:32, 17:33, 42:40. Color, creed, race, status or gender of the victim or the offender will have no bearing before the Justice System

So, Qisaas is a deterrent and not revenge

Any oversight or leftover from the will shall be distributed according to portions Divinely assigned in 4:11-12. Please remember that most Muslims forget this point, and some 'authorities' even revoke 4:11-12! How can a father will to impart equal portions to two of his sons when one of them might be righteous and needy, and the other one wicked and prodigal? 'When death approaches any of you' carries the reminder that it is always close and unpredictable. At the same time, it takes into account the final assets of a person

A will shall be attested by two trustworthy witnesses. 5:106

Ithm = A violation that drags down human potential or harms the 'self'

The religious scholars who are trying to hide the miraculous mathematical structure of the Quran and its message demonstrate the attitude criticized by these verses.

The Quran does not encourage the death penalty. Various rules are put in place to save lives, including the lives of murderers. The family of the victim might be satisfied with monetary compensation, which is encouraged by the Quran. Furthermore, the death penalty is not applicable to every murder case. For instance, if a woman kills a man or vice versa, the murderer cannot be sentenced to death; instead, the convict will be punished by society with a lighter punishment. If the murderer is not deemed a danger to society, monetary compensation or mandatory work might be more useful, productive, and rehabilitative than a prison sentence. The death penalty, like all criminal penalties, is not imposed and carried out by individuals, but by society and in accordance with accepted procedural rules. The so-called "honor killing" is a practice of ignorant and dishonorable people, and has nothing to do with islam.

The sectarian teachings claim that this verse was abrogated by hadith stating, "there is no more leaving inheritance through will for relatives." Prophet Muhammad will complain about those who have traded the Quran with fabricated hadith (25:30).

Despite their recognition of God's mathematical miracle in the Quran, the corrupted religious leaders tried for many years to conceal thisawesome miracle. Many of them admitted that they resented the fact that RashadKhalifa, not them, was blessed with the miracle.

The Quran clearly discourages capital punishment. Every kind of excuse is provided to spare lives, including the life of the murderer. Thevictim's kin may find it better, under certain circumstances, to spare thelife of the murderer in exchange for an equitable compensation. Also capitalpunishment is not applicable if, for example, a woman kills a man, or viceversa.