Surah Al-Maaida (5) — Ayah 2

2. O you who believe! Do not violate the symbols of Allah [6], nor the sacred month, nor the sacrificial animals, nor the animals marked with garlands [7], nor those coming to the Sacred House seeking the bounty and pleasure of their Lord. And when you come out of Ihram, then you may hunt [8]. And do not let the hatred of a people who barred you from the Sacred Mosque [9] lead you to transgress. And cooperate with one another in righteousness and piety, but do not cooperate in sin [10] and aggression. And fear Allah; surely, the punishment of Allah is severe.

[6]
The Meaning of Sha'air (Symbols):

Sha'air is the plural of sha'irah, meaning a distinguishing sign. The distinguishing signs of every religion and every system are called sha'air. For example, the adhan, congregational prayer, and mosques are the distinguishing signs of Muslims; churches and the cross for Christians; tilak, sacred thread, tuft of hair, and temples for Hindus; uncut hair, bracelet, and sword for Sikhs; hammer and sickle for communism; and official flags, national anthems, uniforms of the army and police, etc., are the distinguishing signs of governments. Their respect is considered necessary. Similarly, there are also many sha'air of Allah Almighty.

[7]
The Sacred Months:

The sha'air of Allah Almighty are countless, among which a few are mentioned in this verse. Disrespect or desecration of them makes a person sinful. Foremost among them is the mention of the sacred months. There are four sacred months: Dhu al-Qa'dah, Dhu al-Hijjah, Muharram, and Rajab. The sanctity of these months means that during these months, the Arabs would refrain from looting and fighting, etc. In the era of ignorance, the tribal system prevailed throughout Arabia, and these tribes would constantly fight among themselves. They had mutually agreed that during these months, no tribe would attack another tribe. Other Arab tribes would also loot each other and the trade caravans. During these sacred months, they would refrain from this as well. The reason for declaring Dhu al-Qa'dah, Dhu al-Hijjah, and Muharram as sacred months was that during these days, people would come from far and wide to perform Hajj and then return. Rajab was declared sacred because, in this month, people would bring offerings for the House of Allah, and the custodians of the Ka'bah would receive these offerings. If looked at closely, all this was due to the honor of the Sacred Ka'bah, and the custodians of the Ka'bah were reaping various political, economic, and social benefits because of the Ka'bah. The caravans of the Quraysh of Makkah could travel safely throughout the year; no one would even dare look at them.

The Sha'air of Allah:

Since all this was due to the honor of the Ka'bah, Islam maintained this pre-Islamic custom, also because it was a mutual peace agreement, which Islam favors. When zakat was made obligatory in Islam, officials would be sent in the month of Rajab to collect it. The likely reason for this was that people were already accustomed to giving offerings for the Ka'bah in this month. Secondly, the mention of hadi (sacrificial animals) is made, i.e., those animals sent to the Ka'bah for sacrifice. Thirdly, the mention of qala'id (collars) is made. All these are among the sha'air of Allah. Qala'id refers to the collars that were put around the necks of the sacrificial animals sent to the Ka'bah. Besides these, all the rites of Hajj are also included among the sha'air of Allah. In particular, due to the mention of sacrificial animals, a few hadith are presented here:

1. Sayyidah Aisha ؓ narrates that she herself plaited the collars of the sacrificial camels of the Messenger of Allah ﷺ, then he ﷺ put those collars around the camels' necks and drew blood from their humps. Then he sent them to the House of Allah.
[بخاری۔ کتاب المناسک۔ من اشعر وقلد بذی الحلیفۃ ثم احرم۔ مسلم۔ کتاب الحج۔ باب استحباب بعث الھدی الی الحرم]

2. Sayyiduna Zubayb ؓ says that the Prophet ﷺ would send sacrificial camels with me and say: If any of these camels cannot walk and there is a danger of its death, then slaughter it, then dip your shoe in its blood and strike its side with it. Then neither you nor any of your companions should eat from it.
[مسلم۔ کتاب الحج۔ باب مایفعل بالہدی اذاعطب فی الطریق]

And in Tirmidhi, there is an addition that other people may eat the meat of such a slaughtered sacrificial animal.
[ترمذی۔ ابواب الحج۔ باب ماجاء اذا عطب بالھدی]

3.
Permission to Ride the Sacrificial Animal:

Sayyiduna Abu Hurairah ؓ narrates that the Prophet ﷺ saw a man driving a sacrificial camel. The Prophet ﷺ said, "Ride it." The man said, "It is a sacrificial animal." The Prophet ﷺ again said, "Ride it." He again said, "But it is a sacrificial camel." Then the Prophet ﷺ, the second or third time, said, "Woe to you! Ride it."
[بخاري، كتاب المناسك۔ باب ركوب البدن مسلم۔ كتاب الحج۔ باب جواز ركوب البدنة المهداة]

And in Muslim, there are additional words that the Prophet ﷺ said to him, "You may ride it in a customary manner, provided you are compelled to ride, until you find another mount."
[مسلم۔ حواله ايضاً]

[8] Ihram itself is also among the sha'air of Allah. Therefore, if you trouble them, you will be guilty of disrespecting the sha'air of Allah. Although the imperative form is used here, and the imperative is generally for obligation, here it is in the sense of permission and concession. That is, when you remove the ihram, you may hunt, as is clear from the translation. It does not mean that when you remove the ihram, you must hunt or do so. Also, it is understood that the imperative form can also be used in the sense of concession and permission.

[9] The disbelievers of Makkah had prevented the Muslims from Hajj, Umrah, and circumambulation of the Ka'bah, and this restriction remained in place until the conquest of Makkah, except for the Umrah of Qada. Then, whenever there was a war between the disbelievers and the Muslims, the disbelieving tribes would side with the disbelievers. And at Hudaybiyyah, they disrespected all the sha'air of Allah mentioned in this verse. They blocked the way to the House of Allah, were ready to fight in the sacred months, and paid no heed to the sacrificial animals and those with collars. Therefore, Muslims might have thought that the disbelieving tribes who go for Hajj and Umrah in caravans and pass by the Muslims they themselves might become incited and prevent them from Hajj and Umrah and loot their possessions. Allah Almighty revealed this verse to prohibit such thoughts.

[10] In terms of the context, this sentence means that those disbelievers who go for Hajj and Umrah, even though they are disbelievers and polytheists, at that time they are going to perform an act of righteousness and piety, so in that part of their lives where they are engaged in righteousness and piety, instead of blocking their way, you should cooperate with them.

The Participation of the Prophet ﷺ in Harb al-Fijar and Hilf al-Fudul:

However, the command of this verse is general, meaning whether a person is Muslim or non-Muslim, if he is doing an act of righteousness and piety, you should support him, and if anyone, even a Muslim, is doing an act of sin or rebellion, you should not cooperate with him in any way. Thus, before your prophethood, the people of Makkah were badly affected by tribal civil wars. This endless series of battles had destroyed hundreds of families. In the Harb al-Fijar, which broke out between the tribes of Qays and Quraysh, you ﷺ also participated and supported the Quraysh, but you ﷺ did not raise your hand against anyone. This battle was called Harb al-Fijar because it continued even during the sacred months. After this war ended, some peace-loving individuals initiated a movement for reform. A few honorable men of Quraysh gathered at the house of Abdullah bin Jud'an and made a pact that "each of us will support the oppressed, and no oppressor will be allowed to remain in Makkah." This pact was called Hilf al-Fudul, and the reason for its name was that the names of those who conceived this pact all contained the root "Fadl" as a common element. This pact did not yield any significant result because at that time there was no power that could end tribal prejudices. In your ﷺ prophetic era, you ﷺ used to say, "If I were given red camels in exchange for this pact, I would not accept them. And if even today I am called for such a pact, I am ready to participate."
[سیرۃ النبی۔ ج 1 ص 184، 185 شبلی نعمانی]