Tafseer of The Table · Al-Maaida · 5:72
They have certainly disbelieved who say, "Allah is the Messiah, the son of Mary" while the Messiah has said, "O Children of Israel, worship Allah, my Lord and your Lord." Indeed, he who associates others with Allah - Allah has forbidden him Paradise, and his refuge is the Fire. And there are not for the wrongdoers any helpers.
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 the words: لَقَدْ كَفَرَ الَّذِينَ قَالُوا إِنَّ اللَّهَ هُوَ الْمَسِيحُ ابْنُ مَرْيَمَ وَقَالَ الْمَسِيحُ يَا بَنِي إِسْرَائِيلَ اعْبُدُوا اللَّهَ رَبِّي وَرَبَّكُمْ إِنَّهُ مَنْ يُشْرِكْ بِاللَّهِ فَقَدْ حَرَّمَ اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ الْجَنَّةَ وَمَأْوَاهُ النَّارُ وَمَا لِلظَّالِمِينَ مِنْ أَنْصَارٍ (72) ("Indeed, they have disbelieved who say: 'Allah is the Messiah, the son of Maryam.' But the Messiah said: 'O Children of Israel, worship Allah, my Lord and your Lord.' Truly, whoever ascribes partners to Allah (shirk), Allah has forbidden him the Garden (janna), and his abode is the Fire, and for the wrongdoers there are no helpers") (5:72).
Abū Jaʿfar said: This is a report from Allah, the Exalted whose mention is exalted, concerning a part of that with which He tested the Israelites — about whom He reported that they supposed there would be no trial. The Exalted, whose mention is exalted, says: Among that with which I put them to the test and tried them was that they therein broke My covenant, and altered the pact that I had made with them — namely, that they would worship none other than Me, take no lord other than Me, acknowledge Me as the One, and adhere to obedience to Me — through My servant ʿĪsā, the son of Maryam; for I created him and brought about by his hand what I have brought about by the hand of many of My messengers. Then they said, out of disbelief on their part: "He is Allah."
This is the statement of the Jacobites among the Christians — upon them be the wrath of Allah.
Allah, the Exalted whose mention is exalted, says: When I tested them and put them to the test with that with which I tested them, they ascribed partners to Me and said concerning a creature of My creatures, a servant like themselves among My servants, a human being like them — whose lineage and origin are known, born of mankind, who called them to My oneness and commanded them to worship and obey Me, and who acknowledged before them that I am his Lord and their Lord, and who forbade them to ascribe to Me any partner — they said concerning him: "He is their god," out of ignorance of Allah and out of disbelief in Him. And it does not befit Allah to be a father or one begotten.
By His words: "And the Messiah said: O Children of Israel, worship Allah, my Lord and your Lord," He means: render the worship and the submission to Him before whom all things humble themselves and to whom all that exists submits, "my Lord and your Lord," that is to say: my Owner and your Owner, my Master and your Master, who created me and you. "Truly, whoever ascribes partners to Allah, Allah has forbidden him the Garden," that he should dwell in it in the Hereafter, "and his abode is the Fire," that is to say: and his place of return and his abode — whither he betakes himself and where he ends up upon his return, he who has ascribed to Allah a partner in His worship — is the Fire of Hell (jahannam). "And for the wrongdoers," that is to say: and there is not for him who has done other than what Allah has permitted him, and has worshipped other than Him to whom the worship of creation is due, "any helpers," who would help him against Allah on the Day of Resurrection and rescue him from Him when He casts him into Hell (jahannam).
