Tafseer of The Table · Al-Maaida · 5:114
Said Jesus, the son of Mary, "O Allah, our Lord, send down to us a table [spread with food] from the heaven to be for us a festival for the first of us and the last of us and a sign from You. And provide for us, and You are the best of providers."
Important: The Arabic source text is always authoritative. This translation is a study aid and has not been verified by scholars — do not use it as a basis for religious proof or for deriving rulings (ahkam). When in doubt, always consult the Arabic text and a qualified scholar.
The explanation of His word: قَالَ عِيسَى ابْنُ مَرْيَمَ اللَّهُمَّ رَبَّنَا أَنْزِلْ عَلَيْنَا مَائِدَةً مِنَ السَّمَاءِ تَكُونُ لَنَا عِيدًا لأَوَّلِنَا وَآخِرِنَا وَآيَةً مِنْكَ وَارْزُقْنَا وَأَنْتَ خَيرُ الرَّازِقِينَ (114) ("ʿĪsā, the son of Maryam, said: O Allah, our Lord, send down upon us a table from heaven, which shall be a feast for us, for the first of us and the last of us, and a sign from You; and provide for us, for You are the best of providers." (5:114))
Abū Jaʿfar [al-Ṭabarī] said: This is an announcement from Allah — exalted be His mention — concerning His prophet ʿĪsā, peace and blessings be upon him, that he responded to the people's request for what they asked: that he should ask his Lord for a table that would descend upon them from heaven.
Then the exegetes differed concerning the meaning of His word: "which shall be a feast for us, for the first of us and the last of us." Some of them said: the meaning is: we shall make the day on which it descends a feast, which we and those after us shall hold in honour.
* Mention of who said that:
12997 — Muḥammad ibn al-Ḥusayn related to me, saying: Aḥmad ibn al-Mufaḍḍal related to us, saying: Asbāṭ related to us, on the authority of al-Suddī, concerning His word "which shall be a feast for us, for the first of us and the last of us": he says: we shall make the day on which it descends a feast, which we and those after us shall hold in honour.
12998 — Bishr ibn Muʿādh related to us, saying: Yazīd related to us, saying: Saʿīd related to us, on the authority of Qatāda, concerning His word "which shall be a feast for us, for the first of us and the last of us": he said: they wanted it to be for their posterity after them.
12999 — Al-Qāsim related to us, saying: al-Ḥusayn related to us, saying: Ḥajjāj related to me, on the authority of Ibn Jurayj, concerning His word "send down upon us a table from heaven, which shall be a feast for us, for the first of us": he said: those are the ones among them who are alive on that day = "and the last of us": those among them who come after them.
13000 — Al-Ḥārith related to me, saying: ʿAbd al-ʿAzīz related to us, saying: Sufyān said: "which shall be a feast for us" — they said: we shall perform the prayer upon it. It descended twice.
* * *
Others said: the meaning is: we shall all eat of it together.
* Mention of who said that:
13001 — Al-Qāsim related to us, saying: al-Ḥusayn related to us, saying: Ḥajjāj related to me, on the authority of Layth, on the authority of ʿAqīl, on the authority of Ibn ʿAbbās, that he said: the last of the people ate of it — that is: of the table — when it was set down before them, just as the first of them ate of it.
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Others said: the meaning of His word "feast" is: a benefit (ʿāʾidah) from Allah — exalted be His mention — upon us, and a proof and a sign.
* * *
Abū Jaʿfar said: And the most correct of the statements is the statement of him who said: "the meaning is: it shall be for us a feast, on which we worship our Lord on the day it descends, and on which we perform the prayer for Him, just as people worship [Allah] on their feast days," because this is the well-known meaning of the word "feast" as it is in use among people, which we have mentioned — as opposed to the statement of him who said: "the meaning is: a benefit from Allah upon us." Attributing the meanings of Allah's word to the well-known meaning in the language of those to whom it is addressed is more deserving of preference than attributing them to the unknown meaning, when a way to that is found.
* * *
As for His word "for the first of us and the last of us": the most correct in the explanation of it is the statement of him who said: "its explanation is: for those among us who are alive today, and for whoever comes after us among us," for the reason we have mentioned regarding His word "which shall be a feast for us," for that is the most evident meaning.
* * *
As for His word "and a sign from You": its meaning is: and a sign and a proof from You, O Lord, to Your servants concerning Your oneness, and concerning my truthfulness, that I am a messenger to them with that with which You have sent me = "and provide for us, for You are the best of providers": and grant us of Your gifts, for You, O Lord, are the best of those who give, and the most generous of those who do good, because His gift is not accompanied by reproach nor by deprivation.
* * *
The exegetes differed concerning "the table" (al-māʾidah): did it descend upon them or not? And what was it?
Some of them said: it descended, and it was fish and food, and the people ate of it; but it was taken away after it had descended, on account of misdeeds they committed between themselves and Allah — exalted be His mention.
Mention of who said that:
13002 — Muḥammad ibn al-Muthannā related to us, saying: Muḥammad ibn Jaʿfar related to us, saying: Shuʿba related to us, on the authority of Abū Isḥāq, on the authority of Abū ʿAbd al-Raḥmān al-Sulamī, he said: the table descended as bread and fish.
13003 — Al-Ḥusayn ibn ʿAlī al-Ṣudāʾī related to me, saying: my father related to us, on the authority of al-Fuḍayl, on the authority of ʿAṭiyya, he said: "the table" was a fish in which was the taste of every food.
13004 — Ibn Wakīʿ related to us, saying: ʿUbaydullāh related to us, on the authority of Fuḍayl, on the authority of Masrūq, on the authority of ʿAṭiyya, he said: "the table" was fish in which was some of the taste of every food.
13005 — Ibn Wakīʿ related to us, saying: Yaḥyā ibn Ādam related to us, on the authority of Isrāʾīl, on the authority of Abū Isḥāq, on the authority of Abū ʿAbd al-Raḥmān, he said: the table descended as bread and fish.
13006 — Muḥammad ibn Saʿd related to me, saying: my father related to me, saying: my uncle related to me, saying: my father related to me, on the authority of his father, on the authority of Ibn ʿAbbās, he said: upon ʿĪsā, the son of Maryam, and the disciples there descended a spread upon which lay bread and fish, of which they ate wherever they alighted, whenever they wished.
13007 — Al-Ḥasan ibn Yaḥyā related to us, saying: ʿAbd al-Razzāq informed us, saying: al-Mundhir ibn al-Nuʿmān informed us, that he heard Wahb ibn Munabbih say concerning His word "send down upon us a table from heaven, which shall be a feast for us": he said: upon them descended barley loaves and fish = al-Ḥasan said: Abū Bakr [i.e. ʿAbd al-Razzāq] said: I related this to ʿAbd al-Ṣamad ibn Maʿqil, and he said: I heard Wahb. And it was said to him: and what did that profit them? He said: nothing [in itself], but Allah scattered the blessing among their portions, so that one group ate and then departed, and others came and ate and then departed, until they had all eaten and still had a surplus.
13008 — Ibn Wakīʿ related to us, saying: ʿUbaydullāh related to us, on the authority of Isrāʾīl, on the authority of Abū Yaḥyā, on the authority of Mujāhid, he said: it was the food that descended upon them wherever they alighted.
13009 — Muḥammad ibn ʿAmr related to me, saying: Abū ʿĀṣim related to us, saying: ʿĪsā related to us, on the authority of Ibn Abī Najīḥ, on the authority of Mujāhid, concerning the word of Allah — exalted be His mention — "a table from heaven": he said: a table upon which lay food; it was brought to them when the punishment was announced to them should they disbelieve. All kinds of food descended upon them.
13010 — Al-Qāsim related to us, saying: al-Ḥusayn related to us, saying: Ḥajjāj related to me, on the authority of Abū Maʿshar, on the authority of Isḥāq ibn ʿAbdillāh: that the table descended upon ʿĪsā, the son of Maryam, with seven loaves and seven fish upon it, of which they ate as much as they wished. He said: and some of them stole from it and said: "perhaps it will not descend tomorrow!", and thereupon it was taken away.
13011 — Al-Muthannā related to us, saying: ʿAbd al-Aʿlā related to us, saying: Dāwūd related to us, on the authority of Simāk ibn Ḥarb, on the authority of a man from the Banū ʿIjl, he said: I prayed beside ʿAmmār ibn Yāsir, and when he was finished he said: do you know how it was with the table of the Israelites? He said: I said: no! He said: they asked ʿĪsā, the son of Maryam, for a table upon which would be food of which they would eat without it running out. He said: it was said to them: it shall remain with you so long as you do not conceal anything of it, or commit treachery, or take [anything] away; but if you do that, then I will punish you with a punishment with which I punish no one of the worlds! He said: and their day had not yet ended before they concealed and took away and committed treachery, and thereupon they were punished with a punishment with which no one of the worlds had been punished. And you, O assembly of Arabs, you followed the tails of camels and sheep, and then Allah sent among you a messenger from among yourselves, whose origin and lineage you know, and he informed you by the mouth of your prophet that you will triumph over the Arabs, and he forbade you to hoard up gold and silver. And, by Allah, the night and the day shall not pass before you will hoard them [nonetheless], and He will punish you with a painful punishment.
13012 — Al-Ḥasan ibn Qazaʿa al-Baṣrī related to us, saying: Sufyān ibn Ḥabīb related to us, saying: Saʿīd related to us, on the authority of Qatāda, on the authority of Khilās ibn ʿAmr, on the authority of ʿAmmār ibn Yāsir, he said: the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, said: the table descended as bread and meat, and they were commanded not to commit treachery, not to store [anything] up, and not to take anything away for the next day; but they committed treachery and stored up and took away, and thereupon they were transformed into apes and swine.
13013 — Muḥammad ibn ʿAbdillāh ibn Bazīʿ related to me, saying: Yūsuf ibn Khālid related to us, saying: Nāfiʿ ibn Mālik related to us, on the authority of ʿIkrima, on the authority of Ibn ʿAbbās, concerning the table, he said: it was food that descended upon them from heaven wherever they alighted.
* * *
* Mention of who said that:
13014 — Muḥammad ibn Bashshār related to us, saying: Ibn Abī ʿAdī related to us, on the authority of Saʿīd, on the authority of Qatāda, on the authority of Khilās ibn ʿAmr, on the authority of ʿAmmār, he said: the table descended with fruit of the fruit of paradise upon it, and they were commanded not to conceal anything, not to commit treachery, and not to store anything up. He said: but the people committed treachery and concealed and stored up, and thereupon Allah transformed them into apes and swine.
13015 — Bishr related to us, saying: Yazīd related to us, saying: Saʿīd related to us, on the authority of Qatāda, he said: we were told that it was a table upon which descended fruit of the fruits of paradise, and they were commanded not to conceal anything, not to commit treachery, and not to store anything up for the next day — a trial with which Allah tried them — and whenever they did anything of that, ʿĪsā informed them of it. But the people committed treachery in it and concealed and stored up for the next day.
* * *
Others said: upon it lay of every food, except meat.
* Mention of who said that:
13016 — Abū Kurayb related to us, saying: Jarīr related to us, on the authority of ʿAṭāʾ, on the authority of Maysara, he said: when the table was set down for the Israelites, the hands reached for it with all kinds of food.
13017 — Ibn Wakīʿ related to us, saying: Yaḥyā ibn Ādam related to us, on the authority of Sharīk, on the authority of ʿAṭāʾ, on the authority of Maysara and Zādhān, both said: the hands reached for it with all kinds of food.
13018 — Al-Ḥārith related to me, saying: ʿAbd al-ʿAzīz related to us, saying: Sufyān al-Thawrī related to us, on the authority of ʿAṭāʾ ibn al-Sāʾib, on the authority of Zādhān and Maysara, concerning: هَلْ يَسْتَطِيعُ رَبُّكَ أَنْ يُنَزِّلَ عَلَيْنَا مَائِدَةً مِنَ السَّمَاءِ ("Is your Lord able to send down upon us a table from heaven?"), they both said: they saw the hands reaching for it with everything except meat.
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Others said: Allah did not send down any table upon the Israelites.
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Then the proponents of this statement differed among themselves.
Some of them said: this is merely a parable which Allah — exalted be His mention — set forth for His creatures, by which He forbade them to ask Allah's prophet for signs.
* Mention of who said that:
13019 — Ibn Wakīʿ related to us, saying: Yaḥyā ibn Ādam related to us, on the authority of Sharīk, on the authority of Layth, on the authority of Mujāhid, concerning His word "send down upon us a table from heaven": he said: it is a parable that was set forth; nothing descended upon them.
* * *
Others said: when it was said to the people: فَمَنْ يَكْفُرْ بَعْدُ مِنْكُمْ فَإِنِّي أُعَذِّبُهُ عَذَابًا لا أُعَذِّبُهُ أَحَدًا مِنَ الْعَالَمِينَ ("Whoever of you disbelieves after that, him I will punish with a punishment with which I punish no one of the worlds"), they asked to be spared it, and thereupon it did not descend.
* Mention of who said that:
13020 — Bishr ibn Muʿādh related to us, saying: Yazīd ibn Zurayʿ related to us, saying: Saʿīd related to us, on the authority of Qatāda, he said: al-Ḥasan used always to say: when it was said to them "Whoever of you disbelieves after that," to the end of the verse, they said: we have no need of it! And thereupon it did not descend.
13021 — Ibn al-Muthannā related to us, saying: Muḥammad ibn Jaʿfar related to us, saying: Shuʿba related to us, on the authority of Manṣūr ibn Zādhān, on the authority of al-Ḥasan: that he said concerning the table: it did not descend.
13022 — Al-Ḥārith related to me, saying: al-Qāsim ibn Sallām related to us, saying: Ḥajjāj related to us, on the authority of Ibn Jurayj, on the authority of Mujāhid, he said: a table upon which lay food; they refused it when the punishment was announced to them should they disbelieve, and they refused that it should descend upon them.
* * *
Abū Jaʿfar said: and the correct of the statement concerning this, in our opinion, is that one says: Allah — exalted be His mention — sent down the table upon those who asked ʿĪsā to request [this] of his Lord.
We have said this only because of the report that we have transmitted concerning that from the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, and his companions and the exegetes after them, with the exception of him who stood alone in that which we have mentioned concerning him.
Moreover: Allah — exalted be His mention — does not break His promise, and in His announcement no breach occurs. And He — exalted be His mention — has announced in His Book concerning His granting [the request of] His prophet ʿĪsā, peace and blessings be upon him, when he asked Him what he asked Him concerning that: إِنِّي مُنَزِّلُهَا عَلَيْكُمْ ("I will surely send it down upon you"). And it is not permissible that He — exalted be His mention — should say: "I will surely send it down upon you," and then not send it down, for that is from Him — exalted be His mention — an announcement, and from Him there comes not the contrary of what He announces. And if it were permissible that He should say "I will surely send it down upon you," and then not send it down upon them, then it would [equally] be permissible that He should say "Whoever of you disbelieves after that, him I will punish with a punishment with which I punish no one of the worlds," and that then one of them should afterwards disbelieve and He not punish him — so that neither His promise nor His threat would have reality or validity. And it is not permissible that our Lord — exalted be His mention — should be described with that.
* * *
As for the correct of the statement concerning what lay upon the table: one should say: upon it lay something edible. And it is possible that it was fish and bread, and it is possible that it was fruit of the fruit of paradise; the knowledge of that does not profit, and ignorance of it does not harm, so long as he who recites the verse acknowledges the apparent meaning that the revelation admits.
