Tafseer of The Table · Al-Maaida · 5:75
The Messiah, son of Mary, was not but a messenger; [other] messengers have passed on before him. And his mother was a supporter of truth. They both used to eat food. Look how We make clear to them the signs; then look how they are deluded.
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 discourse on the explanation of His saying: مَا الْمَسِيحُ ابْنُ مَرْيَمَ إِلا رَسُولٌ قَدْ خَلَتْ مِنْ قَبْلِهِ الرُّسُلُ وَأُمُّهُ صِدِّيقَةٌ كَانَا يَأْكُلانِ الطَّعَامَ ("The Masīḥ, the son of Maryam, is no more than a messenger; messengers have already passed away before him. And his mother was a truthful woman (ṣiddīqa). Both of them used to eat food.")
Abū Jaʿfar said: This is a report from Allah — exalted be His mention — as an argument on behalf of His Prophet Muḥammad ﷺ against the factions of the Christians regarding what they say about the Masīḥ.
He says — while refuting the Jacobites (al-Yaʿqūbiyya) in their claim "he is Allah," and the others in their claim "he is the son of Allah" —: The matter is not as these unbelievers say about the Masīḥ; rather he is the son of Maryam, who bore him just as mothers bear their sons; and that belongs to the attributes of man, not to the attributes of the Creator of man. He is only a messenger of Allah, like all His other messengers who came before him and who passed on and went by. Allah caused to occur by his hand what He willed to occur through it of signs and lessons, as a proof of his truthfulness and that he is a messenger of Allah to those of His creatures to whom He sent him — just as He also caused signs and lessons to occur by the hands of the messengers before him, as a proof of the reality of their truthfulness in their being messengers of Allah. وأمه صديقة ("And his mother is a truthful woman"), He says — exalted be His mention —: and the mother of the Masīḥ is a truthful woman (ṣiddīqa).
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And "al-ṣiddīqa" is on the pattern "al-fiʿʿīla," derived from "al-ṣidq" (truthfulness). Likewise their saying "so-and-so is ṣiddīq," on the pattern "fiʿʿīl," derived from "al-ṣidq." To this also belongs His saying — exalted be His mention —: وَالصِّدِّيقِينَ وَالشُّهَدَاءِ (Surah An-Nisāʾ 4:69).
It has been said that Abū Bakr al-Ṣiddīq — may Allah be pleased with him — was named "al-Ṣiddīq" only on account of his truthfulness.
And it has been said: he was named "ṣiddīq" only on account of his affirming the truthfulness of the Prophet ﷺ regarding his journey in a single night to Bayt al-Maqdis (Jerusalem) from Mecca, and his return there.
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And His saying: "Both of them used to eat food" is a report from Allah — exalted be His mention — about the Masīḥ and his mother: that both of them were in need of what nourished them and by which their bodies were sustained of food and drink, like all other people among the children of Ādam. For whoever is thus cannot be a god, because he who needs food is sustained by something other than himself. And in his being sustained by something other than himself and his need for that which keeps him upright lies a clear proof of his incapacity. And the incapable one can be nothing but one who is governed (marbūb), not a Lord (rabb).
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The discourse on the explanation of His saying: انْظُرْ كَيْفَ نُبَيِّنُ لَهُمُ الآيَاتِ ثُمَّ انْظُرْ أَنَّى يُؤْفَكُونَ ("See how We make clear the signs to them, and then see how they are turned away." 5:75)
Abū Jaʿfar said: Allah — exalted be His mention — says to His Prophet Muḥammad ﷺ: See, O Muḥammad, how We make clear the signs to these unbelievers among the Jews and the Christians — and these are the proofs, the indications, and the arguments for the falsity of what they say about the prophets of Allah, and in their fabrication against Allah, and their claim that He has a child, and their testimony for a part of His creation that it is for them a Lord and a god; and yet they do not restrain themselves from their lie and their false claim, and they are not deterred from their fabrication against their Lord and their tremendous ignorance, despite the coming of the decisive arguments that cut off their excuse. Allah — exalted be His mention — says to His Prophet Muḥammad ﷺ: "Then see," O Muḥammad, "how they are turned away," He says: then see, despite Our making clear to them Our signs regarding the falsity of their saying, to which side they are turned away from Our clarification that We make clear to them. And how do they stray from the guidance to which We urge them away from the truth?
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And the Arabs say of everything that is turned away from something: "it is turned away from it (maʾfūk)." One says: "I turned so-and-so away from such-and-such (afaktu)," that is: I turned him away from it; "so I turn him away (āfikuhu) with a turning-away (afkan), and he is turned away (maʾfūk)." And "the land is turned away (ufikat)" when the rain is turned away from it.
