يَـٰٓأَيُّهَا ٱلَّذِينَ ءَامَنُوا۟ لَيَبْلُوَنَّكُمُ ٱللَّهُ بِشَىْءٍ مِّنَ ٱلصَّيْدِ تَنَالُهُۥٓ أَيْدِيكُمْ وَرِمَاحُكُمْ لِيَعْلَمَ ٱللَّهُ مَن يَخَافُهُۥ بِٱلْغَيْبِ ۚ فَمَنِ ٱعْتَدَىٰ بَعْدَ ذَٰلِكَ فَلَهُۥ عَذَابٌ أَلِيمٌ 94
Translations
O you who have believed, Allāh will surely test you through something of the game that your hands and spears [can] reach, that Allāh may make evident those who fear Him unseen. And whoever transgresses after that - for him is a painful punishment.
Transliteration
Ya ayyuha alladhina amanu layabluwannakumu allahu bishayin mina alssaydi tanāluhu aydikum wa rimahkum liyaʿlama allahu man yakhafuhu bialghayb famani iʿtada baʿda dhālika falahu ʿadhābun alīm
Tafsir (Explanation)
This ayah addresses believers during the state of Ihram (pilgrimage sanctity), warning them that Allah will test them with game animals that come within their reach, to distinguish those who truly fear Allah even when unobserved. Ibn Kathir and Al-Qurtubi note this is a test of piety and self-restraint: hunters may find it easy to capture prey, yet the believer must refrain out of reverence for Allah's commands. Those who transgress this boundary by hunting during Ihram face severe punishment, emphasizing that true God-consciousness operates even in private moments.
Revelation Context
This ayah is part of the rulings on Ihram and hunting prohibitions revealed in Surah Al-Ma'idah, a Medinan surah that comprehensively addresses laws and permissible/impermissible acts. The immediate context follows verses about hunting and pilgrimage regulations, likely revealed to address practical violations among believers during the Hajj season.
Related Hadiths
Sahih Bukhari (1814) records that the Prophet ﷺ said hunting is forbidden during Ihram and commanded severe penalties for violations. Muslim ibn al-Hajjaj also reports in Sahih Muslim that the Prophet ﷺ warned pilgrims against killing game, emphasizing the sanctity of the Haram (sacred territory).
Themes
Key Lesson
True piety is demonstrated not when others watch us, but when we restrain ourselves from wrongdoing even when ease and opportunity present themselves—this ayah reminds us that Allah's knowledge is absolute and our hidden intentions matter as much as our public conduct. For modern believers, this emphasizes integrity in private moments and maintaining ethical boundaries regardless of surveillance or enforcement.
Related Ayahs
لَقَدْ أَخَذْنَا مِيثَـٰقَ بَنِىٓ إِسْرَٰٓءِيلَ وَأَرْسَلْنَآ إِلَيْهِمْ رُسُلًا ۖ كُلَّمَا جَآءَهُمْ رَسُولٌۢ بِمَا لَا تَهْوَىٰٓ أَنفُسُهُمْ فَرِيقًا كَذَّبُوا۟ وَفَرِيقًا يَقْتُلُونَ
We had already taken the covenant of the Children of Israel and had sent to them messengers. Whenever there came to them a messenger with what their souls did not desire, a party [of messengers] they denied, and another party they killed.
سَمَّـٰعُونَ لِلْكَذِبِ أَكَّـٰلُونَ لِلسُّحْتِ ۚ فَإِن جَآءُوكَ فَٱحْكُم بَيْنَهُمْ أَوْ أَعْرِضْ عَنْهُمْ ۖ وَإِن تُعْرِضْ عَنْهُمْ فَلَن يَضُرُّوكَ شَيْـًٔا ۖ وَإِنْ حَكَمْتَ فَٱحْكُم بَيْنَهُم بِٱلْقِسْطِ ۚ إِنَّ ٱللَّهَ يُحِبُّ ٱلْمُقْسِطِينَ
[They are] avid listeners to falsehood, devourers of [what is] unlawful. So if they come to you, [O Muḥammad], judge between them or turn away from them. And if you turn away from them - never will they harm you at all. And if you judge, judge between them with justice. Indeed, Allāh loves those who act justly.
يَـٰٓأَيُّهَا ٱلَّذِينَ ءَامَنُوٓا۟ أَوْفُوا۟ بِٱلْعُقُودِ ۚ أُحِلَّتْ لَكُم بَهِيمَةُ ٱلْأَنْعَـٰمِ إِلَّا مَا يُتْلَىٰ عَلَيْكُمْ غَيْرَ مُحِلِّى ٱلصَّيْدِ وَأَنتُمْ حُرُمٌ ۗ إِنَّ ٱللَّهَ يَحْكُمُ مَا يُرِيدُ
O you who have believed, fulfill [all] contracts. Lawful for you are the animals of grazing livestock except for that which is recited to you [in this Qur’ān] - hunting not being permitted while you are in the state of iḥrām. Indeed, Allāh ordains what He intends.
وَإِذْ قَالَ ٱللَّهُ يَـٰعِيسَى ٱبْنَ مَرْيَمَ ءَأَنتَ قُلْتَ لِلنَّاسِ ٱتَّخِذُونِى وَأُمِّىَ إِلَـٰهَيْنِ مِن دُونِ ٱللَّهِ ۖ قَالَ سُبْحَـٰنَكَ مَا يَكُونُ لِىٓ أَنْ أَقُولَ مَا لَيْسَ لِى بِحَقٍّ ۚ إِن كُنتُ قُلْتُهُۥ فَقَدْ عَلِمْتَهُۥ ۚ تَعْلَمُ مَا فِى نَفْسِى وَلَآ أَعْلَمُ مَا فِى نَفْسِكَ ۚ إِنَّكَ أَنتَ عَلَّـٰمُ ٱلْغُيُوبِ
And [beware the Day] when Allāh will say, "O Jesus, Son of Mary, did you say to the people, 'Take me and my mother as deities besides Allāh?'" He will say, "Exalted are You! It was not for me to say that to which I have no right. If I had said it, You would have known it. You know what is within myself, and I do not know what is within Yourself. Indeed, it is You who is Knower of the unseen.