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Chapter 5

The Tableal-Māʾidah ( المائدة )

120 verses • revealed at Medinan

»The surah that mentions the story of The Table from Heaven that God sent down at the request of the Disciples to be a clear sign to them of the unambiguous truth that Jesus was, indeed, the awaited Messiah and Prophet of God. It takes its name from “the table” (al-māʾidah) mentioned in verse 112 ff. A central theme of this surah is the regulation of lawful and unlawful food, obedience to which is part of the pledge between God and the believers (verse 1 ff. and verse 87 ff.). Part of the surah concerns hunting for food during the pilgrimage and respect for the rites of pilgrimage. God had also taken pledges from the Jews and Christians and the section between verse 13 and verse 86 deals with what these two communities did to their pledges, and with their relationships with the Muslims. The passage from verse 109 ff. deals with the afterlife and the verdict of the messengers on the behaviour of their respective communities. Jesus, in particular, is given prominence here: mention is made of the feast for which his disciples asked him to pray to God, which gives the surah its title, and of his renunciation of any claim to divinity.«

The surah is also known as The Feast, The Heavenly Food, The Repast, The Table-spread

بِسمِ اللَّهِ الرَّحمٰنِ الرَّحيمِ

A. J. Arberry: In the Name of God, the Merciful, the Compassionate

1
يا أَيُّهَا الَّذينَ آمَنوا أَوفوا بِالعُقودِ ۚ أُحِلَّت لَكُم بَهيمَةُ الأَنعامِ إِلّا ما يُتلىٰ عَلَيكُم غَيرَ مُحِلِّي الصَّيدِ وَأَنتُم حُرُمٌ ۗ إِنَّ اللَّهَ يَحكُمُ ما يُريدُ

A. J. Arberry

O believers, fulfil your bonds. Permitted to you is the beast of the flocks, except that which is now recited to you, so that you deem not game permitted to be hunted when you are in pilgrim sanctity. God decrees whatsoever He desires.