Al-Ma'idah (; 'The Table pread with Food is the fifth chapter of the

Quran The Quran, also Romanization, romanized Qur'an or Koran, is the central religious text of Islam, believed by Muslims to be a Waḥy, revelation directly from God in Islam, God (''Allah, Allāh''). It is organized in 114 chapters (, ) which ...

, containing 120 verses. Al-Mā'idah means "Meal" or "Banquet" . This name is taken from verses 112 to 115, which tell the request of the followers of Prophet 'Isa (Jesus) that Allah send down a meal from the sky as a sign of the truth of his message. Regarding the timing and contextual background of the revelation, it is a Medinan chapter, which means it is believed to have been revealed in

Medina Medina, officially al-Madinah al-Munawwarah (, ), also known as Taybah () and known in pre-Islamic times as Yathrib (), is the capital of Medina Province (Saudi Arabia), Medina Province in the Hejaz region of western Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, ...

rather than

Mecca Mecca, officially Makkah al-Mukarramah, is the capital of Mecca Province in the Hejaz region of western Saudi Arabia; it is the Holiest sites in Islam, holiest city in Islam. It is inland from Jeddah on the Red Sea, in a narrow valley above ...

. The chapter's topics include animals which are forbidden, and

Jesus Jesus (AD 30 or 33), also referred to as Jesus Christ, Jesus of Nazareth, and many Names and titles of Jesus in the New Testament, other names and titles, was a 1st-century Jewish preacher and religious leader. He is the Jesus in Chris ...

's and

Moses In Abrahamic religions, Moses was the Hebrews, Hebrew prophet who led the Israelites out of slavery in the The Exodus, Exodus from ancient Egypt, Egypt. He is considered the most important Prophets in Judaism, prophet in Judaism and Samaritani ...

's missions. Verse 90 prohibits "the intoxicant" (alcohol). Verse 8 contains the passage: "Do not let the hatred of a people lead you to injustice". Al-Tabligh Verse 67 is relevant to the

Farewell Pilgrimage The Farewell Pilgrimage () refers to the one Hajj pilgrimage that Muhammad performed in the Islamic year 10 AH, following the Conquest of Mecca. Muslims believe that verse 22:27 of the Quran brought about the intent to perform Hajj in Muhammad tha ...

and

Ghadir Khumm The Ghadīr Khumm () was a gathering of Muslims to attend a sermon delivered by the Prophets and messengers in Islam, Islamic prophet Muhammad on 16 March 632 Common Era, CE. The gathering is said to have taken place by the ''ghadir'' () in the ...

. Verses have been quoted to denounce killing, by using an abbreviated form such as, "If anyone kills a person, it would be as if he killed the whole people: and if anyone saved a life, it would be as if he saved the life of the whole people". The same formulation appears in the

Mishnah The Mishnah or the Mishna (; , from the verb ''šānā'', "to study and review", also "secondary") is the first written collection of the Jewish oral traditions that are known as the Oral Torah. Having been collected in the 3rd century CE, it is ...

Sanhedrin The Sanhedrin (Hebrew and Middle Aramaic , a loanword from , 'assembly,' 'sitting together,' hence ' assembly' or 'council') was a Jewish legislative and judicial assembly of either 23 or 70 elders, existing at both a local and central level i ...

. However, a columnist for ''

Mosaic A mosaic () is a pattern or image made of small regular or irregular pieces of colored stone, glass or ceramic, held in place by plaster/Mortar (masonry), mortar, and covering a surface. Mosaics are often used as floor and wall decoration, and ...

'' presents evidence suggesting that this coincidence is part of the Quran's critique of Judaism, and early Muslims were aware of this context.

Summary

*1 Covenants are to be fulfilled *2 Lawful meats * 3 Islam completed *4 Food caught by hunting animals is permissible *5 Muslims permitted to eat the food of Jews and Christians, and to marry their women. *6 The law of purifications *7–8 Believers reminded of the covenant of Aqabah, Muslims should bear true testimony and not let hatred nor prejudice prevent them from being just. *9–11 Muslims told to remember God's forgiveness and favour or forget old quarrels *12 God’s covenant with Children of Israel *13–16 The disobedience of Jews and Christians exposed. *17–18 Jews and Christians mutation of God's teachings. *19 Jews and Christians are not the children of God.

Muhammad Muhammad (8 June 632 CE) was an Arab religious and political leader and the founder of Islam. Muhammad in Islam, According to Islam, he was a prophet who was divinely inspired to preach and confirm the tawhid, monotheistic teachings of A ...

sent as a prophet to remind and warn those who have not read or believed The Books of The People of The Book. *20–26 Israel’s rebellion at Kadesh Barnea *27–31 The story of

Cain and Abel In the biblical Book of Genesis, Cain and Abel are the first two sons of Adam and Eve. Cain, the firstborn, was a farmer, and his brother Abel was a shepherd. The brothers made sacrifices, each from his own fields, to God. God had regard for Ab ...

* 32 The

sin In religious context, sin is a transgression against divine law or a law of the deities. Each culture has its own interpretation of what it means to commit a sin. While sins are generally considered actions, any thought, word, or act considered ...

homicide Homicide is an act in which a person causes the death of another person. A homicide requires only a Volition (psychology), volitional act, or an omission, that causes the death of another, and thus a homicide may result from Accident, accidenta ...

*33–40 The penalty of

theft Theft (, cognate to ) is the act of taking another person's property or services without that person's permission or consent with the intent to deprive the rightful owner of it. The word ''theft'' is also used as a synonym or informal shor ...

and reminder to repent. God's judgment supersedes all. *41–44 Warning against distortion of Scripture and judging only by God's revelations. *45– 55 Reiteration of Quran as confirmation of earlier Scriptures. Muhammad to judge by laws of Allah. *56–58 Not to seek guardianship of those who mock faith. Allying oneself only with God. *59–63 Hypocrites warned. Believers warned and instructed. *64–65 The Jews exhort and warned *66 The hypocrisy and unbelief of the jews and Christians rebuked *67–69 Muhammad required to preach. He attestes to Jewish and Christian Scriptures. Believing Jews, Sabians, and Christians to be saved *70–71 The Jews rejected and killed the prophets of God *72–75 The doctrines of the Trinity and Christ’s Sonship rejection. *76–77 Reiteration of one God, upholding principles and warning against extremism. *78–81 Disobedient Jews condemned by Christ. *82–87 Jewish and Christian beliefs compared. Righteous rewarded. Disobedient to be punished. Warnings against transgressions. *88 Muslims to use lawful food and be mindful of God *89

Expiation Atonement, atoning, or making amends is the concept of a person taking action to correct previous wrongdoing on their part, either through direct action to undo the consequences of that act, equivalent action to do good for others, or some other ...

for

perjury Perjury (also known as forswearing) is the intentional act of swearing a false oath or falsifying an affirmation to tell the truth, whether spoken or in writing, concerning matters material to an official proceeding."Perjury The act or an insta ...

*90–94 Shunning of intoxicants and gambling. *95–96 Law concerning hunting and gaming during pilgrimage *97–101

Pilgrimage A pilgrimage is a travel, journey to a holy place, which can lead to a personal transformation, after which the pilgrim returns to their daily life. A pilgrim (from the Latin ''peregrinus'') is a traveler (literally one who has come from afar) w ...

and its

rites RITES Ltd, formerly known as Rail India Technical and Economic Service Limited, is an Indian public sector undertaking and engineering consultancy corporation, specializing in the field of transport infrastructure. Established in 1974 by the In ...

enjoined An injunction is an equitable remedy in the form of a special court order compelling a party to do or refrain from doing certain acts. It was developed by the English courts of equity but its origins go back to Roman law and the equitable reme ...

. Forgiveness of deeds done before laws established. *102–104 Arab customs denounced *105–108 Accountable for only one's action. Wills to be attested by witnesses. *109 The prophets ignorant of the characters of their followers, only God knower of all. *110 Jesus— his miracles—God’s favour to him *111 The apostles of Jesus were Muslims *112–115 A table provided by God for Jesus and the apostles. *116–118 Jesus did not teach his followers to worship him and his mother. *119 The reward of the true believer. *120 God is sovereign

Placement and coherence with other surahs

The idea of textual relation between the verses of a chapter has been discussed under various titles such as ''nazm'' and ''munasabah'' in non-English literature and ''coherence'', ''text relations'', ''intertextuality'', and ''unity'' in English literature. Hamiduddin Farahi, an

Islamic Islam is an Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic monotheistic religion based on the Quran, and the teachings of Muhammad. Adherents of Islam are called Muslims, who are estimated to number Islam by country, 2 billion worldwide and are the world ...

scholar of the

Indian subcontinent The Indian subcontinent is a physiographic region of Asia below the Himalayas which projects into the Indian Ocean between the Bay of Bengal to the east and the Arabian Sea to the west. It is now divided between Bangladesh, India, and Pakista ...

, is known for his work on the concept of nazm, or coherence, in the Quran. Fakhruddin al-Razi (died 1209 CE), Zarkashi (died 1392) and several other classical as well as contemporary Quranic scholars have contributed to the studies. The entire Qur'an thus emerges as a well-connected and systematic book. Each division has a distinct theme. Topics within a division are more or less in the order of revelation. Within each division, each member of the pair complements the other in various ways. The seven divisions are as follows:

Exegesis

3 Verse of Ikmal al-Din

This verse was revealed at Arafat according to the hadith:

27–31 Cain and Abel

The story appears in the Quran 5:27–31:

33 Hirabah verse

This verse from Qur'anic chapter ''al-ma'idah'' () is known as the '' Hirabah'' verse (''ayat al-hiraba''), It specifies punishment for "those who wage war against Allah and His Messenger and strive to spread disorder in the land": Javed Ahmad Ghamidi,

Mizan Mizan () is a concept in the Quran The Quran, also Romanization, romanized Qur'an or Koran, is the central religious text of Islam, believed by Muslims to be a Waḥy, revelation directly from God in Islam, God (''Allah, Allāh''). It is o ...

,
The Penal Law of Islam
', Al-Mawrid The verbal noun form (i.e. ''ḥirabah'') is frequently used in classical and modern books of Islamic jurisprudence, but neither the word ḥirabah nor the root verb ḥaraba occurs in the Quran. (''Yuḥāribūna'' is the form used in Quran .) According to early Islamic sources, the verse was revealed after some members of the Urayna tribe feigned conversion to Islam in order to steal Muslims' possessions and killed a young shepherd sent to teach them about the faith. In view of the broad and strong language of the verse, however, various state representatives beginning with the Umayyads have asserted that it applied to rebels in general. The original meanings of the

triliteral root The roots of verbs and most nouns in the Semitic languages are characterized as a sequence of consonants or " radicals" (hence the term consonantal root). Such abstract consonantal roots are used in the formation of actual words by adding the vowel ...

''ḥrb'' are to despoil someones wealth or property, and also fighting or committing sinful act. The

"refers to both meanings" in and .

51 Be wary of taking Jews and Christians as guardians

Some Muslim hard liners have used verses such as this one to denounce close relationships with non-Muslims and forbidding non-Muslims from becoming leaders in Muslim countries. However, other Muslim scholars such as Shafi Usmani see this as forbidding only "indiscriminating intimacy" which might confuse the "distinctive hallmarks of Islam", while all other equitable relations as being allowed. Ghamidi in the context of his '' Itmam al-Hujjah'' interpretation of Islam, restricts the subjects of this verse to only the Jews and Christians of the Muslim Prophet's time. Others argue that only belligerent non-Muslims are being referenced here. Verse 51 is preserved in the Ṣan‘ā’1 lower text.Behnam Sadeghi & Mohsen Goudarzi,
Sana'a and the Origins of the Qu'ran
, ''Der Islam'', 87 (2012), 37.

Verse 54

Some hadith view the 'beloved' in verse 54 as

Abu Musa al-Ash'ari Abu Musa Abd Allah ibn Qays al-Ash'ari (), better known as Abu Musa al-Ash'ari () (died c. 662 or 672) was a companion of Muhammad and an important figure in early Islamic history. He was at various times governor of Basra and Kufa and was involv ...

. Verse 54 is preserved in the Ṣan‘ā’1 lower text.

Shia' view

On the

Shia Shia Islam is the second-largest branch of Islam. It holds that Muhammad designated Ali ibn Abi Talib () as both his political successor (caliph) and as the spiritual leader of the Muslim community (imam). However, his right is understood ...

interpretation of this verse, God used the singular form "waliyyukum" implying the "wilayah" (Guardianship of the believers) is a single project. In other words, the "wilayah" of the messenger and that of the Ali springs from the of God's wilayah. The word "wali" in the context of this verse cannot mean "friend" because there is not a single verse in the Quran where

God In monotheistic belief systems, God is usually viewed as the supreme being, creator, and principal object of faith. In polytheistic belief systems, a god is "a spirit or being believed to have created, or for controlling some part of the un ...

says that any one of his messengers is a friend or helper of their followers. Further if the verse implied "wilayah" in the sense of friend or helper, then the singular form "waliyyukum" would not have been used but the plural form "awliya'ukum" would be appropriate because the "friendship" of

is unique.

Verses 72 and 73

''The Quran: An Encyclopedia'' says, "The Quran’s objection to Christian practice is Christianity’s shirk, its worship of Jesus, Mary and the saints ‘in derogation of Allah’. There is no justification in believing in the Trinity, for Jesus never would have condoned such a concept".

Verse 82

in Verse 82 it says, "Verily, you will find the strongest among men in enmity to the believers the Jews and those who commit Shirk, and you will find the nearest in love to the believers those who say: "We are Christians."

Verse 90

In Verse 90 it says, "O believers! Intoxicants, gambling, idols, and drawing lots for decisions are all evil of Satan’s handiwork. So shun them so you may be successful." This is a clear ruling in the Quran for Muslims to avoid alcohol and gambling.

References

External links

*
Quran 5
at

Clear Quran translation Mustafa Khattab is a Canadian–Egyptian Muslim scholar, imam, and university chaplain. He holds a professional ijâzah in the Ḥafṣ style of recitation. He is known for his translation of the Quran in "The Clear Quran" series. Career He ...

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