Mecca’s Cult and Medina’s Constitution in the Qur'ān: A New Reading of al-Mā'idah

Abstract

The Qur͗ān’s fifth sura denounces the killing of game during pilgrimage and decries the killing of innocent Believers. This juxtaposition reflects the intimate connection between right worship and proper social order, between cult and covenant, a connection that animates the entire sura. In particular, the sura suggests that if Jews and Christians have been generally unreliable allies, if they have been often reluctant to support the Believers’ military efforts against the Quraysh, and if they were even unwilling to requite violence against innocent Believers, it was because the People of the Book mostly had a negative view of the Meccan Sanctuary and its rituals. Specifically, they derided the central rite of salāt, which may have been accompanied with sacrifices on certain occasions (such as Fridays). In the light of their opposition to the Meccan cult, the sura commands the Believers not to take Jews or Christians as covenantal partners. It is possible that the sura thereby ended the Believers’ alliance with some Jewish tribes of Yathrib as enshrined in the Constitution of Medina. What supports this possibility is that al-Mā͗idah has significant thematic and terminological overlaps with the Constitution of Medina, as alliance with the Jews and deterring violent crimes through retaliation are central concerns to both documents. Still, and contrary to the interpretations of several scholars, it is doubtful that at the time of al-Mā͗idah’s proclamation the Prophet had judicial authority over the People of the Book or that he sought to impose violent punishment against them.