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Sūrah 5 · Āyāt 109120

The verses

  1. 109

    ۞ يَوْمَ يَجْمَعُ ٱللَّهُ ٱلرُّسُلَ فَيَقُولُ مَاذَآ أُجِبْتُمْ ۖ قَالُوا۟ لَا عِلْمَ لَنَآ ۖ إِنَّكَ أَنتَ عَلَّٰمُ ٱلْغُيُوبِ

    The day Allah will gather the apostles and say, ‘What was the response to you?’ They will say, ‘We have no knowledge. Indeed You are knower of all that is Unseen.’

  2. 110

    إِذْ قَالَ ٱللَّهُ يَٰعِيسَى ٱبْنَ مَرْيَمَ ٱذْكُرْ نِعْمَتِى عَلَيْكَ وَعَلَىٰ وَٰلِدَتِكَ إِذْ أَيَّدتُّكَ بِرُوحِ ٱلْقُدُسِ تُكَلِّمُ ٱلنَّاسَ فِى ٱلْمَهْدِ وَكَهْلًۭا ۖ وَإِذْ عَلَّمْتُكَ ٱلْكِتَٰبَ وَٱلْحِكْمَةَ وَٱلتَّوْرَىٰةَ وَٱلْإِنجِيلَ ۖ وَإِذْ تَخْلُقُ مِنَ ٱلطِّينِ كَهَيْـَٔةِ ٱلطَّيْرِ بِإِذْنِى فَتَنفُخُ فِيهَا فَتَكُونُ طَيْرًۢا بِإِذْنِى ۖ وَتُبْرِئُ ٱلْأَكْمَهَ وَٱلْأَبْرَصَ بِإِذْنِى ۖ وَإِذْ تُخْرِجُ ٱلْمَوْتَىٰ بِإِذْنِى ۖ وَإِذْ كَفَفْتُ بَنِىٓ إِسْرَٰٓءِيلَ عَنكَ إِذْ جِئْتَهُم بِٱلْبَيِّنَٰتِ فَقَالَ ٱلَّذِينَ كَفَرُوا۟ مِنْهُمْ إِنْ هَٰذَآ إِلَّا سِحْرٌۭ مُّبِينٌۭ

    When Allah will say, O Jesus son of Mary, remember My blessing upon you and upon your mother, when I strengthened you with the Holy Spirit, so you would speak to the people in the cradle and in adulthood, and when I taught you the Book and wisdom, the Torah and the Evangel, and when you would create from clay the form of a bird, with My leave, and you would breathe into it and it would become a bird, with My leave; and you would heal the blind and the leper, with My leave, and you would raise the dead, with My leave; and when I held off [the evil of] the Children of Israel from you when you brought them manifest proofs, whereat the faithless among them said, ‘This is nothing but plain magic.’

  3. 111

    وَإِذْ أَوْحَيْتُ إِلَى ٱلْحَوَارِيِّۦنَ أَنْ ءَامِنُوا۟ بِى وَبِرَسُولِى قَالُوٓا۟ ءَامَنَّا وَٱشْهَدْ بِأَنَّنَا مُسْلِمُونَ

    And when I inspired the Disciples, [saying], ‘Have faith in Me and My apostle,’ they said, ‘We have faith. Bear witness that we are Muslims.’

  4. 112

    إِذْ قَالَ ٱلْحَوَارِيُّونَ يَٰعِيسَى ٱبْنَ مَرْيَمَ هَلْ يَسْتَطِيعُ رَبُّكَ أَن يُنَزِّلَ عَلَيْنَا مَآئِدَةًۭ مِّنَ ٱلسَّمَآءِ ۖ قَالَ ٱتَّقُوا۟ ٱللَّهَ إِن كُنتُم مُّؤْمِنِينَ

    When the Disciples said, ‘O Jesus son of Mary! Can your Lord send down to us a table from the sky?’ Said he, ‘Be wary of Allah, should you be faithful.’

  5. 113

    قَالُوا۟ نُرِيدُ أَن نَّأْكُلَ مِنْهَا وَتَطْمَئِنَّ قُلُوبُنَا وَنَعْلَمَ أَن قَدْ صَدَقْتَنَا وَنَكُونَ عَلَيْهَا مِنَ ٱلشَّٰهِدِينَ

    They said, ‘We desire to eat from it, and our hearts will be at rest: we shall know that you have told us the truth, and we shall be among the witnesses to it.’

  6. 114

    قَالَ عِيسَى ٱبْنُ مَرْيَمَ ٱللَّهُمَّ رَبَّنَآ أَنزِلْ عَلَيْنَا مَآئِدَةًۭ مِّنَ ٱلسَّمَآءِ تَكُونُ لَنَا عِيدًۭا لِّأَوَّلِنَا وَءَاخِرِنَا وَءَايَةًۭ مِّنكَ ۖ وَٱرْزُقْنَا وَأَنتَ خَيْرُ ٱلرَّٰزِقِينَ

    Said Jesus son of Mary, ‘O Allah! Our Lord! Send down to us a table from the sky, to be a festival for us, for the first ones and the last ones among us and as a sign from You, and provide for us; for You are the best of providers.’

  7. 115

    قَالَ ٱللَّهُ إِنِّى مُنَزِّلُهَا عَلَيْكُمْ ۖ فَمَن يَكْفُرْ بَعْدُ مِنكُمْ فَإِنِّىٓ أُعَذِّبُهُۥ عَذَابًۭا لَّآ أُعَذِّبُهُۥٓ أَحَدًۭا مِّنَ ٱلْعَٰلَمِينَ

    Allah said, ‘I will indeed send it down to you. But should any of you disbelieve after this, I will indeed punish him with a punishment such as I do not punish anyone in all creation.’

  8. 116

    وَإِذْ قَالَ ٱللَّهُ يَٰعِيسَى ٱبْنَ مَرْيَمَ ءَأَنتَ قُلْتَ لِلنَّاسِ ٱتَّخِذُونِى وَأُمِّىَ إِلَٰهَيْنِ مِن دُونِ ٱللَّهِ ۖ قَالَ سُبْحَٰنَكَ مَا يَكُونُ لِىٓ أَنْ أَقُولَ مَا لَيْسَ لِى بِحَقٍّ ۚ إِن كُنتُ قُلْتُهُۥ فَقَدْ عَلِمْتَهُۥ ۚ تَعْلَمُ مَا فِى نَفْسِى وَلَآ أَعْلَمُ مَا فِى نَفْسِكَ ۚ إِنَّكَ أَنتَ عَلَّٰمُ ٱلْغُيُوبِ

    And when Allah will say, ‘O Jesus son of Mary! Was it you who said to the people, ‘‘Take me and my mother for gods besides Allah’’?’ He will say, ‘Immaculate are You! It does not behoove me to say what I have no right to [say]. Had I said it, You would certainly have known it: You know whatever is in my self, and I do not know what is in Your Self. Indeed, You are knower of all that is Unseen.

  9. 117

    مَا قُلْتُ لَهُمْ إِلَّا مَآ أَمَرْتَنِى بِهِۦٓ أَنِ ٱعْبُدُوا۟ ٱللَّهَ رَبِّى وَرَبَّكُمْ ۚ وَكُنتُ عَلَيْهِمْ شَهِيدًۭا مَّا دُمْتُ فِيهِمْ ۖ فَلَمَّا تَوَفَّيْتَنِى كُنتَ أَنتَ ٱلرَّقِيبَ عَلَيْهِمْ ۚ وَأَنتَ عَلَىٰ كُلِّ شَىْءٍۢ شَهِيدٌ

    I did not say to them [anything] except what You had commanded me [to say]: ‘‘Worship Allah, my Lord and your Lord.’’ And I was a witness to them so long as I was among them. But when You had taken me away, You Yourself were watchful over them, and You are witness to all things.

  10. 118

    إِن تُعَذِّبْهُمْ فَإِنَّهُمْ عِبَادُكَ ۖ وَإِن تَغْفِرْ لَهُمْ فَإِنَّكَ أَنتَ ٱلْعَزِيزُ ٱلْحَكِيمُ

    If You punish them, they are indeed Your creatures; but if You forgive them, You are indeed the All-mighty, the All-wise.’

  11. 119

    قَالَ ٱللَّهُ هَٰذَا يَوْمُ يَنفَعُ ٱلصَّٰدِقِينَ صِدْقُهُمْ ۚ لَهُمْ جَنَّٰتٌۭ تَجْرِى مِن تَحْتِهَا ٱلْأَنْهَٰرُ خَٰلِدِينَ فِيهَآ أَبَدًۭا ۚ رَّضِىَ ٱللَّهُ عَنْهُمْ وَرَضُوا۟ عَنْهُ ۚ ذَٰلِكَ ٱلْفَوْزُ ٱلْعَظِيمُ

    Allah will say, ‘This day truthfulness shall benefit the truthful. For them there will be gardens with streams running in them, to remain in them forever. Allah is pleased with them and they are pleased with Him. That is the great success.’

  12. 120

    لِلَّهِ مُلْكُ ٱلسَّمَٰوَٰتِ وَٱلْأَرْضِ وَمَا فِيهِنَّ ۚ وَهُوَ عَلَىٰ كُلِّ شَىْءٍۢ قَدِيرٌۢ

    To Allah belongs the kingdom of the heavens and the earth and whatever there is in them, and He has power over all things.

English translation: Ali Quli Qarai

✦ Synthesisopus-4.8every claim cited to a source below

Synthesis: Sūrat al-Māʾida 5:109–120 (Six-Source Tafsīr Triangulation)

Sources present: Ṭabarsī, Majmaʿ al-Bayān [tabarsi_majma_al_bayan]; Ṭūsī, al-Tibyān [tusi_al_tibyan]; Baḥrānī, al-Burhān [bahrani_al_burhan]; al-Qummī [qummi]; Ṭabāṭabāʾī, al-Mīzān [tabatabai_al_mizan]; An Enlightening Commentary [enlightening_commentary]. All six present.

The sūra closes with the Day God gathers the messengers (109), recounts His favours to Jesus and his miracles "by God's leave" (110–111), the disciples' request for a heavenly table and its granting under warning (112–115), God's questioning of Jesus and his disavowal of any claim to divinity (116–118), and the declaration that the truthful profit, sealed by the affirmation of God's universal dominion (119–120).

Convergence

1. The gathering of the messengers (109). All read 109 as God's question to the messengers, "what response did you receive?", and their disclaiming knowledge before the Knower of the unseen. [tabarsi_majma_al_bayan] and [tusi_al_tibyan] canvass the senses (the Day's terror; "no knowledge beside Yours"; "of their inner state"); [enlightening_commentary] and [tabatabai_al_mizan] tie it to bearing true witness. [bahrani_al_burhan] and [qummi] preserve al-Bāqir's reading that the question concerns "the successors (awṣiyāʾ) you left over your communities."

2. God's favours to Jesus (110–111). All recount the Holy Spirit (Gabriel), speech in the cradle and maturity, the Book and wisdom, the bird from clay, the healing and raising of the dead — each "by God's leave," refuting his divinity — and the inspiration of the disciples (ḥawāriyyūn). [bahrani_al_burhan] adds al-Riḍā on each prophet's miracle matching his age and on the disciples' name; [tabarsi_majma_al_bayan] and [tusi_al_tibyan] gloss ḥawārī as Jesus's intimates and helpers.

3. The table from heaven (112–115). All recount the disciples' request, Jesus's caution, their wish for assurance, his prayer for a "feast" and "sign," and God's granting it with the warning that whoever disbelieves after will be punished as none else. [tabarsi_majma_al_bayan] reports its food (bread and fish, or fruit of Paradise); [qummi] (with [tabarsi_majma_al_bayan]) relates that when the affluent begrudged the lowly, the table was withdrawn and the deniers turned into apes and swine.

4. Jesus's disavowal (116–118). All read 116 as God's questioning — "did you say: take me and my mother as two gods?" — a rebuke of the Christians' claim, and Jesus's disavowal: "Glory to You… You know what is in myself and I do not know what is in Yourself." [bahrani_al_burhan] and [qummi] stress (al-Bāqir/al-Ṣādiq) that "he has not said it yet but will, on the Day of Resurrection" — God reporting the future as past — citing 119 as proof; [bahrani_al_burhan] adds Jābir's report on the Greatest Name and Abū Dharr's on 118.

5. The truthful and the close (119–120). All: "this is the Day the truthful profit from their truthfulness," with everlasting gardens and God's good pleasure — the great triumph — and 120 seals the sūra with God's dominion over the heavens and the earth and power over all things. [bahrani_al_burhan] and [qummi] attach the long al-Bāqir narrative of the Reckoning (the Pen, Tablet, Isrāfīl and Gabriel questioned; the Prophet summoned first, ʿAlī at his side).

Distinctive contributions

[enlightening_commentary] and [tabatabai_al_mizan] supply the doctrinal reading — Jesus's servitude "by God's leave" and the warning against coveting signs — while the Arabic sources add the table narrative and, in [bahrani_al_burhan] and [qummi], the awṣiyāʾ reading of 109, the "not yet said" reading of 116, and the Reckoning narration on 119. No source is silent for this passage, and the sūra closes affirming God's universal sovereignty.

The tafsīr (6 sources)