It is surely remarkable – and for many readers perhaps surprising – that the first four long sūras of the Quran should devote so much material to and about the “People of the Book.” Sūra 2 opens with a long passage concerned with the beliefs and practices of Jews; Sūra 3 does the same for Christians. Sūra 4 offers several influential diatribes against both Jews and Christians. And Sūra 5 brings this polemic to a rhetorical climax, making some very sharp judgments against Christian beliefs and drawing some famous conclusions about Muslim relationships with non-Muslims.
These four long sūras make up about one fifth of the total contents of the Quran – six evenings of recitation for Muslims who seek to recite the entire Quran during Ramadan. Classical Muslim commentaries on the Quran dedicate up to one third of their total interpretations to these four sūras.
According to Muslim tradition, Sūra 5 was one of the final sūras to be recited. The first part of Sūra 5 offers legal rulings to those “who believe,” and a largely legal passage also comes later in the sūra (vv. 87–108). However, starting with the expression “certainly God took a covenant with the Sons of Israel” (v. 12), the heart of the sūra is about Jews and Christians. The sūra closes with one of the Quran’s three extended passages about ‘Īsā, the quranic Jesus.

5.1 – Permitted to you (to eat) is (any) animal of the livestock
The sūra begins with a series of commands addressed to those “who believe” (v. 2), including laws concerning ritual, diet, marriage, and prayer (vv. 1–11). Legislative material picks up again on commands to “believers” in verses 87–108.