Surah Al-Maaida (5) — Ayah 115

(Ayah 115) {قَالَ اللّٰهُ اِنِّيْ مُنَزِّلُهَا عَلَيْكُمْ … :} The scholars have differed regarding whether the table spread descended or not. Most scholars are of the opinion that it did descend. Shawkani, Ibn Jarir, and many other scholars have declared this to be authentic, because Allah’s emphatic statement: «اِنِّيْ مُنَزِّلُهَا عَلَيْكُمْ » “Indeed, I am going to send it down to you,” is evidence that Allah sent it down. In Jami’ Tirmidhi, it is narrated from Ammar bin Yasir (may Allah be pleased with them both) that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said: “The table spread descended from the sky in the form of meat and bread, and they were commanded not to be treacherous and not to store anything for the next day, but they were treacherous and stored it and kept it for the next day, so they were transformed into monkeys and pigs.” [ ترمذی، تفسیر القرآن، باب و من سورۃ المائدۃ : ۳۰۶۱ ] If this hadith were authentic, then there would be no room for disagreement, but Shaykh Nasiruddin al-Albani (may Allah have mercy on him) has declared both its attribution to the Messenger of Allah and its being the statement of Ammar bin Yasir (may Allah be pleased with them both) to be weak. On the other hand, other scholars say that the subsequent words: «فَمَنْ يَّكْفُرْ بَعْدُ مِنْكُمْ فَاِنِّيْۤ اُعَذِّبُهٗ عَذَابًا لَّاۤ اُعَذِّبُهٗۤ اَحَدًا مِّنَ الْعٰلَمِيْنَ» Upon hearing these words, they became afraid and withdrew their request for the supplication. This is the statement of Mujahid and Hasan al-Basri, and their chains have been declared authentic by Ibn Kathir, but this too is the statement of the Tabi’in and those after them; it is not established from the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him). Those who say that the table spread did descend also present as an indication that in the previous verses, Allah has enumerated His favors upon the Messiah (peace be upon him), and along with them, He has mentioned this incident as a favor, and at the end, He asked him whether, despite so many favors, he had told the people to take himself and his mother as deities besides Allah. Therefore, the descent of the table spread was also a favor. Others may say that sparing them from the trial by not sending down the table spread was also a favor. In any case, the words of the Noble Qur’an allow for both possibilities, and the real truth is best known to Allah Almighty.

Shah Abdul Qadir (may Allah have mercy on him) writes: “Perhaps it is the effect of the supplication of ‘Isa (peace be upon him) that his community has always enjoyed material abundance, and whoever among them is ungrateful may perhaps receive the greatest punishment in the Hereafter.” However, after the advent of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him), the only one considered a follower of ‘Isa (peace be upon him) is the one who accepts Islam; for others to call themselves followers of the Messiah (peace be upon him) is mere obstinacy, because ‘Isa (peace be upon him) clearly commanded belief in the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him). Now, the entire world is the community of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him), whether it is the community of response or the community of invitation. As for worldly wealth, sometimes it is with some, sometimes with others; it has no connection with faith or disbelief. Allah Almighty has said: «كُلًّا نُّمِدُّ هٰۤؤُلَآءِ وَ هٰۤؤُلَآءِ مِنْ عَطَآءِ رَبِّكَ» [ بنی إسرائیل : ۲۰ ] “We help all—these and those—from the bounty of your Lord.” And He said: «وَ تِلْكَ الْاَيَّامُ نُدَاوِلُهَا بَيْنَ النَّاسِ» [ آل عمران : ۱۴۰ ] “And these are the days which We alternate among the people.”

115. 1. Did this مَائِدَ ۃً (table spread of food) descend from the sky or not? There is no authentic marfu' hadith regarding this. Most scholars (including Imam Shawkani and Imam Ibn Jarir Tabari) believe in its descent, and their reasoning is based on the words of the Quran (اَنَّ مُنَزِّلُھَا عَلَیْکُمْ), that this is Allah's promise which is certainly true. However, considering this as a definite promise from Allah does not seem correct because the following words فَمَنْ یَّکْفُرْ make this promise conditional. Therefore, other scholars say that after hearing this condition from Allah, they said that then we do not need it, after which it did not descend. Imam Ibn Kathir has declared the chains of those narrations authentic which are transmitted from Imam Mujahid and Hazrat Hasan al-Basri, and also said that these narrations are supported by the fact that there is neither any fame of the descent of the table spread among the Christians nor is it recorded in their books. Whereas, if it had descended, it should have been famous among them and should have been recorded in their books either through tawatur or at least transmitted by individuals.

115. Allah said, "Indeed, I will send it down to you, but whoever among you disbelieves after this, I will punish him with a punishment such as I have not inflicted on anyone among all the worlds [165]."

[165]
After Demanding a Miracle, Disobedience Necessitates Punishment:

Here it is worth mentioning that Allah’s law is that when a nation demands a specific miracle from its prophet, and then Allah shows them the demanded miracle, but the nation still does not believe, then a very severe punishment descends upon them in this world. This reality is stated in this verse. A clear example of this is the demand of the people of Thamud from their prophet Salih ؑ that a pregnant she-camel should come out of this mountain and give birth before their eyes, then they would believe. Allah showed them this miracle. But instead of believing, the Thamud adopted a rebellious attitude and even killed that she-camel, so a severe earthquake struck them, and along with it, a very intense and harsh sound was produced, by which all of them were destroyed. The second example is this very demand. Regarding this, consider the following hadith.

The Fate of Those Who Demanded the Table of Blessings:

Ammar bin Yasir رضی اللہ عنہ says that the Messenger of Allah ﷺ said, “The table that was sent down from the sky had bread and meat on it, and they were commanded not to be treacherous with it and not to store anything for the next day. But those people committed treachery and also kept some for the next day. Therefore, they were turned into monkeys and pigs.” [ترمذي۔ ابو اب التفسير۔ زير آيت مذكوره] From this hadith, it is understood that such a table was not sent down for just one day, but for some period of time. The ones who made the demand had said that the poor, needy, disabled, and helpless people would eat from this table, but later, well-off people also began to participate in eating from this table. This was their treachery. In addition, they also started storing for the next day, which was evidence of their undue greed and lack of trust in Allah, and they had been forbidden from this. They committed several other acts of disobedience as well, as a result of which the forms of about eighty people among them were transformed into those of monkeys and pigs. According to the clarification of Imam Tirmidhi, this hadith is not marfu‘ but mawquf, and for this reason, some scholars have disagreed with this incident. Their view is that when Allah warned them against demanding such a miracle, they actually became afraid and refrained from their demand. Therefore, the table was never sent down. But despite such statements, we prefer the mawquf hadith because this incident is mentioned in the Quran in the same manner.