Tafseer of The Table · Al-Maaida · 5:66
And if only they upheld [the law of] the Torah, the Gospel, and what has been revealed to them from their Lord, they would have consumed [provision] from above them and from beneath their feet. Among them are a moderate community, but many of them - evil is that which they do.
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: وَلَوْ أَنَّهُمْ أَقَامُوا التَّوْرَاةَ وَالإِنْجِيلَ وَمَا أُنْزِلَ إِلَيْهِمْ مِنْ رَبِّهِمْ لأَكَلُوا مِنْ فَوْقِهِمْ وَمِنْ تَحْتِ أَرْجُلِهِمْ ("And if they had upheld the Torah and the Gospel and what was sent down to them from their Lord, they would surely have eaten from above them and from beneath their feet." (5:66))
Abū Jaʿfar said: He, exalted is His mention, means by His word: "And if they had upheld the Torah and the Gospel" — if they had acted according to what is in the Torah and the Gospel — "and what was sent down to them from their Lord," he says: and had acted according to what was sent down to them from their Lord of the Criterion (al-furqān) which Muḥammad (may Allah bless him and grant him peace) brought to them.
If someone were to say: And how can they uphold the Torah and the Gospel, as well as what was sent down to Muḥammad (may Allah bless him and grant him peace), given the difference between these Books and the fact that one abrogates (naskh) the other?
Then it is said: even though they are so in some of their ordinances and laws, nevertheless they are in agreement on the command to believe in the messengers of Allah and to hold true what they have brought from Allah. The meaning, then, of their upholding the Torah and the Gospel and what was sent down to Muḥammad (may Allah bless him and grant him peace) is: their holding true what is in them, and acting according to that on which they are in agreement, and according to each of them in the time in which acting according to it had been made obligatory.
As for the meaning of His word: "they would surely have eaten from above them and from beneath their feet" — that means: then Allah would have sent down upon them its rain from the heaven, and thereby the earth would have brought forth for them its grain and its crops and would have produced its fruits.
As for His word: "and from beneath their feet" — He, exalted is His mention, means: then they would have eaten from the blessing of what is beneath their feet of the earth, and that is what the earth brings forth of its grain, its crops, and its fruits, and all the rest of the edibles that the earth brings forth.
And in accordance with what we have said concerning this, the people of interpretation have spoken.
Mention of who said that:
12257 — Al-Muthannā related to me, saying: ʿAbd Allāh ibn Ṣāliḥ related to us, saying: Muʿāwiya ibn Ṣāliḥ related to me, on the authority of ʿAlī ibn Abī Ṭalḥa, on the authority of Ibn ʿAbbās: "And if they had upheld the Torah and the Gospel and what was sent down to them from their Lord, they would surely have eaten from above them," that means: then He would have sent down upon them the heaven pouring abundantly with rain — "and from beneath their feet," the earth brings forth its blessing.
12258 — Bishr related to us, saying: Yazīd related to us, saying: Saʿīd related to us, on the authority of Qatāda: "And if they had upheld the Torah and the Gospel and what was sent down to them from their Lord, they would surely have eaten from above them and from beneath their feet," he says: then the heaven would have given them its blessing and the earth its produce.
12259 — Muḥammad ibn al-Ḥusayn related to us, saying: Aḥmad ibn al-Mufaḍḍal related to us, saying: Asbāṭ related to us, on the authority of al-Suddī: "And if they had upheld the Torah and the Gospel and what was sent down to them from their Lord, they would surely have eaten from above them and from beneath their feet," he says: if they had acted according to what was sent down to them of what Muḥammad (may Allah bless him and grant him peace) brought to them, then We would have sent down the rain upon them, and He would have caused the fruit to sprout.
12260 — Al-Muthannā related to me, saying: Abū Ḥudhayfa related to us, saying: Shibl related to us, on the authority of Ibn Abī Najīḥ, on the authority of Mujāhid: "And if they had upheld the Torah and the Gospel and what was sent down to them from their Lord" — as for "their upholding the Torah," that is acting according to it; and as for "what was sent down to them from their Lord," that is Muḥammad (may Allah bless him and grant him peace) and what was sent down to him. He says: "they would surely have eaten from above them and from beneath their feet" — as for "from above them," then He would have sent down rain upon them; and as for "from beneath their feet," he says: then I would have caused to sprout for them from the earth of My provision what makes them rich enough.
12261 — Al-Qāsim related to us, saying: al-Ḥusayn related to us, saying: Ḥajjāj related to me, on the authority of Ibn Jurayj, on the authority of Mujāhid, concerning His word: "they would surely have eaten from above them and from beneath their feet," he said: the blessings of the heaven and the earth. Ibn Jurayj said: "they would surely have eaten from above them," the rain; "and from beneath their feet," from the crops of the earth.
12262 — 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, concerning His word: "from above them and from beneath their feet," he says: then they would have eaten from the provision that descends from the heaven — "and from beneath their feet," he says: from the earth.
And some of them used to say: by His word "they would surely have eaten from above them and from beneath their feet" is meant only the ample abundance, as one says: "he is in well-being from his crown to his foot."
But the interpretation of the people of interpretation diverges from what we have mentioned of this statement, and that suffices as a witness against its unsoundness.
The explanation of His word: مِنْهُمْ أُمَّةٌ مُقْتَصِدَةٌ وَكَثِيرٌ مِنْهُمْ سَاءَ مَا يَعْمَلُونَ (66) ("Among them is a moderate community, but many of them — evil is what they do." (5:66))
Abū Jaʿfar said: He, exalted is His mention, means by His word: "Among them is a community (umma)," among them is a group — "moderate (muqtaṣida)," he says: moderate in the statement about ʿĪsā ibn Maryam, those who say the truth about him: that he is the messenger of Allah and His Word that He cast to Maryam and a spirit from Him; not exaggerating, saying: "he is the son of Allah" — exalted is Allah above what they said about that — and not falling short, saying: he is of illegitimate birth. "And many of them," that is to say: of the Children of Israel, of the People of the Book, the Jews and the Christians — "evil is what they do," he says: many of them, their deed is evil; and that is because they are disbelievers in Allah: the Christians deny Muḥammad (may Allah bless him and grant him peace) and claim that the Messiah is the son of Allah, and the Jews deny ʿĪsā and Muḥammad (may Allah bless them both). Therefore Allah, exalted is He, said about them, censuring them: "evil is what they do," in that of their deed.
And in accordance with what we have said concerning this, the people of interpretation have spoken.
Mention of who said that:
12264 — Al-Muthannā related to me, saying: Abū Ḥudhayfa related to us, saying: Shibl related to us, on the authority of Ibn Abī Najīḥ, on the authority of Mujāhid: "Among them is a moderate community," and they are the Muslims among the People of the Book — "and many of them, evil is what they do."
12265 — Al-Muthannā related to me, saying: Abū Ḥudhayfa related to us, saying: Shibl related to us, saying: ʿAbd Allāh ibn Kathīr related to us, that he heard Mujāhid say: the Children of Israel split into groups; a group said: "ʿĪsā is the son of Allah," a group said: "he is Allah," and a group said: "he is the servant of Allah and His spirit" — and that is the moderate one, and they are the Muslims among the People of the Book.
12266 — Bishr related to us, saying: Yazīd related to us, saying: Saʿīd related to us, on the authority of Qatāda: Allah said: "Among them is a moderate community," he says: upon His Book and His command. Then He censured the majority of the people and said: "and many of them, evil is what they do."
12267 — 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: "Among them is a moderate community," he says: a believer.
12268 — Yūnus related to me, saying: Ibn Wahb informed us, saying: Ibn Zayd said concerning His word: "Among them is a moderate community, but many of them, evil is what they do," he said: the moderate ones are the people of obedience to Allah. He said: and these are the People of the Book.
12269 — Al-Muthannā related to me, saying: Isḥāq related to us, saying: ʿAbd Allāh ibn Abī Jaʿfar related to us, on the authority of his father, on the authority of al-Rabīʿ ibn Anas, concerning His word: "Among them is a moderate community, but many of them, evil is what they do," he said: this moderate community are those who were neither coarse in the religion nor exaggerated. He said: and "exaggeration (al-ghulūw)" is aversion [to it], and "depravity (al-fisq)" is falling short in relation to it.
