After Allah (swt) mentioned the things that He prohibited for His believing servants and the good things that He allowed for them, He said next:

(… الْيَوْمَ أُحِلَّ لَكُمُ الطَّيِّبَاتُ ) (This day [all] good foods have been made lawful, …): That is, from this day, Allah (swt) has allowed the good food, as the general principle says that all things are lawful unless being stated as prohibited.

 (… وَطَعَامُ الَّذِينَ أُوتُوا الْكِتَابَ حِلٌّ لَّكُمْ وَطَعَامُكُمْ حِلٌّ لَّهُمْ …) (…and the food of those who were given the Scripture is lawful for you and your food is lawful for them.…): We may eat the food of the people of Scripture and they may eat our food unless there is a prohibition about them, such as the ham or any other as equal compensation and fair treatment. This reflects the significant relationship between the Muslims and the people of other religions in general, because they are all from one source and One Lord:

 شَرَعَ لَكُم مِّنَ الدِّينِ مَا وَصَّىٰ بِهِ نُوحًا وَالَّذِي أَوْحَيْنَا إِلَيْكَ وَمَا وَصَّيْنَا بِهِ إِبْرَاهِيمَ وَمُوسَىٰ وَعِيسَىٰ ۖ أَنْ أَقِيمُوا الدِّينَ وَلَا تَتَفَرَّقُوا فِيهِ ۚ كَبُرَ عَلَى الْمُشْرِكِينَ مَا تَدْعُوهُمْ إِلَيْهِ ۚ اللَّهُ يَجْتَبِي إِلَيْهِ مَن يَشَاءُ وَيَهْدِي إِلَيْهِ مَن يُنِيبُ 

(He has ordained for you of religion what He enjoined upon Noah and that which We have revealed to you, [O Muhammad], and what We enjoined upon Abraham and Moses and Jesus – to establish the religion and not be divided therein. Difficult for those who associate others with Allah is that to which you invite them. Allah chooses for Himself whom He wills and guides to Himself whoever turns back [to Him].) (Ash-Shura: 13)

It is impossible in any case for religion to be a cause of hatred, animosity, division and rupture. The people of the heavenly messages are the first people to maintain relationships that build the sound foundations of brotherhood of faith, including national work and citizenship in which the duties of Christians are equal with the rights of a Muslim.

(… وَالْمُحْصَنَاتُ مِنَ الْمُؤْمِنَاتِ وَالْمُحْصَنَاتُ مِنَ الَّذِينَ أُوتُوا الْكِتَابَ مِن قَبْلِكُمْ …) (…And [lawful in marriage are] chaste women from among the believers and chaste women from among those who were given the Scripture before you,…): This moving from the speech about what is lawful of food and what is lawful in marriage indicates that as there is preservation of life through food, there is as well preservation of the species through marriage. So the verse states that you are allowed to marry chaste women from the believers and chaste free women from those who were given the Scripture before your time.

(… إِذَا آتَيْتُمُوهُنَّ أُجُورَهُنَّ …) (…when you have given them their due compensation,…): Meaning, you must give the dowry. Some talk about women’s rights in Islam; is the dowry a price for women? The enemies of Islam and the enemies of the nation want to distort the true and high features of Islam, so they made a special Islam for them in the West on the ruins of the Wahhabi and the Khawariji thought, and made women a commodity for pleasure, and the dowry as a price for her, and spread this concept in societies, whereas Islam is one unity and it is the religion of moderation, and the Holy Quran describes the dowry in a great manner in Surah An-Nisa:

 وَآتُوا النِّسَاءَ صَدُقَاتِهِنَّ نِحْلَةً ۚ فَإِن طِبْنَ لَكُمْ عَن شَيْءٍ مِّنْهُ نَفْسًا فَكُلُوهُ هَنِيئًا مَّرِيئًا

(And give the women [upon marriage] their [bridal] gifts graciously. But if they give up willingly to you anything of it, then take it in satisfaction and ease.) (An-Nisaa: 4)

So that, it is a gift and not a price. The greatest woman is Sayyidah Fatimah (may Allah be pleased with her), the daughter of the Messenger Muhammad (saws), she had the least dowry of any women. Marriage’s conditions are acceptance, witnesses, publicity, and the dowry which can be even a date grain or anything that expresses this gift. The Prophet (saws) said:

“The woman who produces most blessing is that who involves least dowry”.[1]

The least dowry is the best because Islam does not value a woman with the dowry, but rather honors her, and there is a difference between being valued and honored. This gift is an honor and an expression of affection, Allah (swt) says:

 وَمِنْ آيَاتِهِ أَنْ خَلَقَ لَكُم مِّنْ أَنفُسِكُمْ أَزْوَاجًا لِّتَسْكُنُوا إِلَيْهَا وَجَعَلَ بَيْنَكُم مَّوَدَّةً وَرَحْمَةً ۚ إِنَّ فِي ذَٰلِكَ لَآيَاتٍ لِّقَوْمٍ يَتَفَكَّرُونَ

(And of His signs is that He created for you from yourselves mates that you may find tranquillity in them; and He placed between you affection and mercy. Indeed in that are signs for a people who give thought.) (Ar-Room: 21)

It has been lawful for us to eat the food of the People of the Scripture, as well as to marry them with conditions:

(… مُحْصِنِينَ غَيْرَ مُسَافِحِينَ وَلَا مُتَّخِذِي أَخْدَانٍ …) (…desiring chastity, not unlawful sexual intercourse or taking [secret] lovers …).

(  وَمَن يَكْفُرْ بِالْإِيمَانِ فَقَدْ حَبِطَ عَمَلُهُ وَهُوَ فِي الْآخِرَةِ مِنَ الْخَاسِرِينَ … ) (And whoever denies the faith – his work has become worthless, and he, in the Hereafter, will be among the losers …): Faith has to be proved by deeds, so it is not enough for you to say: I believe in Allah (swt), the requirements of faith are to know what is permissible and what is forbidden, so you stay away from dead meat, blood, pork, and what is dedicated to other than Allah (swt), etc… Therefore, Allah (swt) has ended the verse related to the prohibitions of food and the prohibitions of sexual relations, by mentioning those who disbelieve in faith to clarify that faith as a doctrine must be translated into actions and every deed those disbelievers do will never be rewarded in the hereafter because they disobey the commands of Allah (swt).

[1] Sunan al-Bayhaqi: The Book of Dowry, Hadith No. 14134.