Surah Al-Maeda

Al-Maeda, "The Table Spread", is the fifth surah of the Quran. A Medinan surah of 120 verses, it is 112th in the traditional order of revelation, among the very last surahs revealed. It opens with the call to honour one's commitments, completes the rules on food, purification and justice, and closes with Jesus and the table sent down from heaven at his disciples' request.

Name and context

The name refers to the table (ma'ida) laden with food that the disciples of Jesus asked him to request from God as a sign (5:112–115). The surah is also called al-'Uqud, "the Commitments", after its first verse. It belongs to the final period of revelation: according to Umar ibn al-Khattab, verse 5:3, "Today I have perfected your religion for you, completed My favour upon you and approved Islam as your religion", was revealed at Arafat on a Friday, during the Prophet's farewell pilgrimage in 10 AH (al-Bukhari 45, Muslim 3017). Some passages are earlier: al-Bukhari (4607) links the verse on ablution (5:6) to an expedition during which Aisha had lost a necklace.

Main themes

• Honouring commitments; lawful and unlawful food, and hunting in the state of pilgrim consecration (5:1–5, 5:94–96); the food of the People of the Book and marriage with their chaste women (5:5).
• Ablution, and dry ablution when water is lacking (5:6).
• Justice even towards enemies: "Do not let hatred of a people lead you to injustice. Be just: that is nearer to piety" (5:8); "Help one another in righteousness and piety" (5:2).
• The covenant of the Children of Israel and Moses at the gates of the Holy Land (5:12–26).
• The two sons of Adam, and the principle that whoever kills a soul unjustly "it is as if he had killed all mankind, and whoever saves a life, it is as if he had saved all mankind" (5:27–32).
• Penalties for armed robbery and theft (5:33–39), and judging by what God revealed in the Torah, the Gospel and the Quran (5:44–50).
• The final prohibition of wine and gambling (5:90–91), after the earlier steps of 2:219 and 4:43; the expiation of oaths (5:89) and wills made on a journey (5:106–108).
• Jesus: his miracles, the disciples and the table, and his reply to God on the Day of Judgment (5:110–118).

Notable verse

Muslim (202) reports that the Prophet ﷺ recited the words of Abraham in Ibrahim and those of Jesus in this surah, "If You punish them, they are Your servants, and if You forgive them, You are the Almighty, the Wise" (5:118), then raised his hands and wept, saying: "O God, my community, my community!"

The surah completes the legislation of Al-Baqara and An-Nisa; the story of Jesus and his mother is also told in Aal-e-Imran and Maryam.