إِنَّمَا جَزَٰٓؤُا۟ ٱلَّذِينَ يُحَارِبُونَ ٱللَّهَ وَرَسُولَهُۥ وَيَسْعَوْنَ فِى ٱلْأَرْضِ فَسَادًا أَن يُقَتَّلُوٓا۟ أَوْ يُصَلَّبُوٓا۟ أَوْ تُقَطَّعَ أَيْدِيهِمْ وَأَرْجُلُهُم مِّنْ خِلَٰفٍ أَوْ يُنفَوْا۟ مِنَ ٱلْأَرْضِ ۚ ذَٰلِكَ لَهُمْ خِزْىٌۭ فِى ٱلدُّنْيَا ۖ وَلَهُمْ فِى ٱلْءَاخِرَةِ عَذَابٌ عَظِيمٌ
Indeed, the penalty for those who wage war against Allah and His Messenger and strive upon earth [to cause] corruption is none but that they be killed or crucified or that their hands and feet be cut off from opposite sides or that they be exiled from the land. That is for them a disgrace in this world; and for them in the Hereafter is a great punishment,
Introduction
This is āyah 33 of Sūrat Al-Maaida (The Table Spread), the 112th sūrah in the traditional order of revelation. It was revealed in the Medinan period and sits within Juzʾ 6. Medinan verses often address community life, law, and the building of society.
This introduction is a starting point — the community and Bilal will enrich it over time.
Revelation & occasion
- Period
- Medinan
- Order revealed
- 112 of 114
- Surah
- Al-Maaida (5)
(The only reward of those who make war upon Allah and His messenger�) [5:33]. Abu Nasr Ahmad ibn �Ubayd Allah al-Makhladi informed us> Abu �Amr ibn Nujayd> Muslim> �Abd al-Rahman ibn Hammad> Sa�id ibn Abi �Arubah> Qatadah> Anas who related that a group of people from �Ukal and �Uraynah went to see the Messenger of Allah, Allah, bless him and give him peace. They said: �O Messenger of Allah, we were never people of agriculture, and before we settled around Medina we used to be people who looked after cattle�. The Messenger of Allah, Allah bless him and give him peace, ordered that they be given a flock of camels, a shepherd and commanded them to set off with them, with a dispensation to drink their milk and urine. When they reached the region of al-Harrah, they killed the shepherd of the Messenger of Allah, Allah bless him and give him peace, and took off with the camels. The Messenger of Allah, Allah bless him and give him peace, sent after them and when they were captured and brought to him, he cut off their hands and feet and gouged their eyes. They were left in this state in Medina until they died. Said Qatadah: �It was mentioned to us that this verse was revealed about them (The only reward of those who make war upon Allah and His messenger and strive after corruption in the land�)�. Narrated by Muslim from Muhammad ibn al-Muthanna from �Abd al-A�la from Sa�id up to the quotation of Qatadah.
Tafsir
Hafiz Ibn Kathir
Chains of transmission
Oral — isnād
- ~610–632 CERevelation & memorisation
Received by the Prophet ﷺ and preserved by the ḥuffāẓ (memorisers) among the Companions.
- 1st century AHMutawātir transmissionawaiting curation
Carried by mass-transmission through the generations of qurrāʾ.
- TodayLiving chainsawaiting curation
Continuous ijāzah chains link reciters today back to the Prophet ﷺ.
Verified isnād chains for this āyah will be added by curators.
Written — the manuscript record
- ~650 CEʿUthmānic codicesawaiting curation
The standardised muṣḥaf sent to the great cities (e.g. the Topkapı and Samarqand codices).
- 8th–10th c.Early Ḥijāzī & Kūfic foliosawaiting curation
Surviving leaves in Birmingham, Sanaa, Paris (BnF) and beyond.
- Modern printModern printawaiting curation
The 1924 Cairo edition → today: the standard printed muṣḥaf used worldwide.
A curated chain of manuscript images for this exact āyah — roughly one per century — is coming. Help us source and verify them.
And now — what do you think?
The text, its history and the classical commentary are laid out above. Share your own understanding, ask a question, or reason with others.
Community resources
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