Al-Ma'ida

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المائدة Al-Māʼidah The Table Spread with Food
---- Arabic text · English translation
Classification	Medinan
Position	Juzʼ 6 to 7
Hizb number	11 to 13
Number of Rukus	16
Number of verses	120
Number of Sajdahs	none

Sūrat al-Māʼidah (Arabic: سورة المائدة‎‎, "The Table" or "The Table Spread with Food") is the fifth chapter of the Qur'an, with 120 verses. It is a Medinan sura. The sura's topics include animals which are forbidden, Isa (Jesus') and Musa's (Moses) missions.

Content

^[Quran 5:3]

This verse has a Parenthetical Sentence "...This day have those who disbelieve despaired of your religion, so fear them not, and fear Me. This day have I perfected for you your religion and completed My favor on you and chosen for you Islam as a religion.." This verse was revealed at Arafat as reported in the authentic hadith: Narrated 'Umar bin Al-Khattab:Once a Jew said to me, "O the chief of believers! There is a verse in your Holy Book Which is read by all of you (Muslims), and had it been revealed to us, we would have taken that day (on which it was revealed as a day of celebration." 'Umar bin Al-Khattab asked, "Which is that verse?" The Jew replied, "This day I have perfected your religion For you, completed My favor upon you, And have chosen for you Islam as your religion." (5:3) 'Umar replied,"No doubt, we know when and where this verse was revealed to the Prophet. It was Friday and the Prophet was standing at 'Arafat (i.e. the Day of Hajj)."-Bukhari

^{[Quran 5:17]}

The Quran: An Encyclopedia, authored by 43 Muslim and non-Muslim academics says, "The idea that God is Jesus is also highly objectionable, although again whether this really is a Christian mainstream doctrine is dubious".

^{[Quran 5:54]}

Verse 54 is one of three verses in the Qur'an that includes the word Irtiddah, relevant to apostasy [3]. It is also interesting in relation to who the "beloved" are; some hadith view it as being Abu Musa al-Ashari, while others say it is Salman the Persian, and even some say it is Abu Bakr.

^{[Quran 5:55]}

Verse 55 is well known and important to Shi'a Muslims, and is interpreted by them to suggest that Ali is the Wali of the Muslims.

The Shi'ah view

In 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 root 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 Qur'an where God says that anyone 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 God is unique.

Tahir ul Qadri writes regarding this verse:

A narration attributed to Ammar bin Yasir reports:

A beggar came up to 'Ali and stood beside him. He was kneeling in prayer. He ('Ali) pulled out his ring and he gave the ring to the beggar. Then 'Ali called on the Prophet and told him the news. At this occasion, this verse was revealed to him: (Surely your (helping) friend is Allah and His Messenger and (along with them) are the believers who establish prayers, pay zakah and bow down (in humility before Allah). Allah's Messenger read out the verse and said: One who has me as his master has 'Ali as his master. O Allah! Be his friend who befriends him ('Ali) and be his enemy who is his enemy.

Sunnis tend to view this with differing views
Shi'as tend to view this as Sahih

^{[Quran 5:67]}

Verse 67 is relevant to The Farewell Pilgrimage and Ghadir Khumm. It is said to contain a prophecy

^{[Quran 5:72–73]}

The Quran: An Encyclopedia says, "The Qur'an’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".

^{[Quran 5:87]}

Verses 87 is reported in Sahih Bukhari to be related to Mut'ah.

See also

• Islamic view of the Trinity
• Shirk (Islam)