The Madinan Period II, Part 18: Muʿādh in Yemen and the Farewell Ḥajj
Section 8 of 10 · The Life of the Prophet Muhammad: The Madinan Period, Part Two
"Today I Have Perfected Your Religion"
When the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) was at ʿArafah, Allah (swt) revealed to Muḥammad (peace be upon him):
حُرِّمَتْ عَلَيْكُمُ ٱلْمَيْتَةُ وَٱلدَّمُ وَلَحْمُ ٱلْخِنزِيرِ وَمَآ أُهِلَّ لِغَيْرِ ٱللَّهِ بِهِۦ وَٱلْمُنْخَنِقَةُ وَٱلْمَوْقُوذَةُ وَٱلْمُتَرَدِّيَةُ وَٱلنَّطِيحَةُ وَمَآ أَكَلَ ٱلسَّبُعُ إِلَّا مَا ذَكَّيْتُمْ وَمَا ذُبِحَ عَلَى ٱلنُّصُبِ وَأَن تَسْتَقْسِمُوا۟ بِٱلْأَزْلَـٰمِ ۚ ذَٰلِكُمْ فِسْقٌ ۗ ٱلْيَوْمَ يَئِسَ ٱلَّذِينَ كَفَرُوا۟ مِن دِينِكُمْ فَلَا تَخْشَوْهُمْ وَٱخْشَوْنِ ۚ ٱلْيَوْمَ أَكْمَلْتُ لَكُمْ دِينَكُمْ وَأَتْمَمْتُ عَلَيْكُمْ نِعْمَتِى وَرَضِيتُ لَكُمُ ٱلْإِسْلَـٰمَ دِينًا ۚ فَمَنِ ٱضْطُرَّ فِى مَخْمَصَةٍ غَيْرَ مُتَجَانِفٍ لِّإِثْمٍ ۙ فَإِنَّ ٱللَّهَ غَفُورٌ رَّحِيمٌ
“Prohibited for you are: carrion, blood, the flesh of swine, and those upon which (a name) other than that of Allah has been invoked (at the time of slaughter), animal killed by strangulation, or killed by a blow, or by a fall, or by goring, or that which is eaten by a beast unless you have properly slaughtered it; and that which has been slaughtered before the idols, and that you determine shares through the arrows. (All of) this is sin. Today those who disbelieve have lost all hope of (damaging) your faith. So, do not fear them, and fear Me. Today, I have perfected your religion for you, and have completed My blessing upon you, and chosen Islam as Dīn (religion and a way of life) for you. But whoever is compelled by extreme hunger, having no inclination towards sin, then Allah is Most-Forgiving, Very-Merciful.” (5:3)
Today I have perfected your religion for you, and I have completed My favour upon you, and I have chosen Islam as religion for you. Allah (swt) revealed to Muḥammad (peace be upon him) that today your religion is complete, and My blessings upon you are complete, and it is pleasing to Allah to have your religion be Islam. A Jew came to ʿUmar ibn al-Khaṭṭāb — this was when ʿUmar was caliph — and said to him: O Amīr al-Muʾminīn, if this verse had been revealed to us, we would have taken that day as a day of celebration, as a day of ʿĪd (al-Bukhārī 45). Because it is such a great ayah, when one thinks about it: you know that your religion is now complete. Every Muslim now knows that the religion he is following is a complete religion; everything is in it. ʿUmar ibn al-Khaṭṭāb said: I know when that ayah was revealed: it was revealed at ʿArafah, and it was on a Friday.