1 The Virtues of Surah Al-Ma'idah; When It was Revealed Surah to ...

The Prohibition of Using Al-Azlam for Decision MakingAllah said,25وَأَن تَسْتَقْسِمُواْ‏ بِالأَزْلاَمِ‏(Forbidden) also is to make decisions with Al-Azlam,The Ayah commands, "O believers! You areforbidden to use Al-Azlam (arrows) for decisionmaking,'' which was a practice of the Arabsduring the time of Jahiliyyah.They would use three arrows, one with the word`Do' written on it, another that says `Do not',while the third does not say anything. Some ofthem would write on the first arrow, `My Lordcommanded me,' and, `My Lord forbade me,' onthe second arrow and they would not writeanything on the third arrow. If the blank arrowwas picked, the person would keep trying untilthe arrow that says do or do not was picked, andthe person would implement the command thathe picked.Ibn Abbas said that;the Azlam were arrows that they used to seekdecisions through.Muhammad bin Ishaq and others said that;the major idol of the tribe of Quraysh was Hubal,which was erected on the tip of a well inside theKa`bah, where gifts were presented and wherethe treasure of the Ka`bah was kept. There, theyalso had seven arrows that they would use toseek a decision concerning matters of dispute.Whatever the chosen arrow would tell them, theywould abide by it!Al-Bukhari recorded that;when the Prophet entered Al-Ka`bah (afterMakkah was conquered), he found pictures of......