إِذْ قَالَ ٱلْحَوَارِيُّونَ يَٰعِيسَى ٱبْنَ مَرْيَمَ هَلْ يَسْتَطِيعُ رَبُّكَ أَن يُنَزِّلَ عَلَيْنَا مَآئِدَةً مِّنَ ٱلسَّمَآءِ
"The disciples said: 'O Jesus, son of Mary! Can your Lord send down to us a table from heaven?' He said: 'Be mindful of God, if you are believers.'"
Māʾida (م-ي-د): the lexicographers explain the word as "a table with food on it" and record its connection with the root mayd (to sway, to stir) — the verb māda is also used in the sense of "he bestowed, he held out".
The name of the sūra is a word that occurs in the last ten verses of a text of a hundred and twenty verses. And this fits another feature of the sūra: the text opened with awfū bi'l-ʿuqūd (5/1) and continued with the rulings on what is eaten and drunk (5/3-5, 5/87-88, 5/93, 5/96). The table is one of the subjects the sūra returns to most.
| View | Content |
|---|---|
| A | The question is not in the sense of doubting the power; it is a pattern of request meaning "will you ask your Lord, will He do this" |
| B | On a variant reading it is read hal tastaṭīʿu rabbaka ("can you ask your Lord") |
| C | The question does carry a real hesitation, and the ittaqu'llāha in kuntum muʾminīn of the answer meets it |
But the answer should be recorded: Jesus does not answer the question directly; he first says ittaqu'llāha in kuntum muʾminīn.
| Request | Word |
|---|---|
| Nurīdu an naʾkula minhā | To eat |
| Wa taṭmaʾinna qulūbunā | Iṭmiʾnān — ط-م-ن |
| Wa naʿlama an qad ṣadaqtanā | To know |
| Wa nakūna ʿalayhā mina'sh-shāhidīn | To bear witness |
The root of iṭmiʾnān was treated at al-Raʿd 13/28 (alā bi-dhikri'llāhi taṭmaʾinnu'l-qulūb) and at al-Baqara 2/260 (in Abraham's request, wa lākin li-yaṭmaʾinna qalbī); I rely on that treatment. The same word, in a request of the same kind.
5/115 — قَالَ ٱللَّهُ إِنِّى مُنَزِّلُهَا عَلَيْكُمْ ۖ فَمَن يَكْفُرْ بَعْدُ مِنكُمْ فَإِنِّىٓ أُعَذِّبُهُۥ عَذَابًا لَّآ أُعَذِّبُهُۥٓ أَحَدًا مِّنَ ٱلْعَٰلَمِينَ
I record this as my own reading, and its ground is the condition in the sentence: the request is granted, but the responsibility grows heavier in return. That is, once the proof asked for is given, denial after the proof carries a different weight.
The same measure was treated at al-Baqara 2/55-56 and at al-Nisāʾ 4/153; the requital for turning away after a visible proof has been asked for and given is separately recorded in every case.
On whether the table came down or not, differing views are transmitted in the classical sources. The verse says innī munazziluhā ʿalaykum; no detail beyond this is transmitted in this commentary.