Tafsir al-Baghawi - Al-Baghawi - (3/118)

Tafsir al-BaghawiAl-Baghawi

of His power, and that our hearts may be reassured, and that we may know that you have spoken the truth to us”—namely, that you are the Messenger of Allah; that is, that we may increase in faith and certainty. It was also said that Jesus, son of Mary, instructed them to fast for thirty days; then, when they broke their fast, they would ask Allah for nothing except that He would grant it to them. They did so and asked for the table, saying, “And that we may know that you have spoken the truth to us” in your statement that, when we fast for thirty days, we ask Allah Most High for nothing except that He grants it to us. “And that we may be among those who testify to it”: testifying to Allah’s oneness and power, and to your prophethood and messengership. It was also said: that we may be among those who testify on your behalf before the Children of Israel when we return to them.

Then Jesus, son of Mary, said, “O Allah, our Lord, send down to us a table from heaven.” It was said that he washed himself, put on woolen garments, prayed two units of prayer, bowed his head, lowered his gaze, and wept. Then he said, “O Allah, our Lord, send down to us a table from heaven, that it may be for us a festival—for the first and last of us.” That is, a recurring favor from Allah to us, serving as proof and evidence. A festival is a day of joy; it is so called because of the return from sorrow to happiness. It is also a name for something to which one is accustomed and which returns to one. The days of the Festival of Breaking the Fast and the Festival of Sacrifice are called festivals because they return every year. Al-Suddi said: Its meaning is that we shall take the day on which it descended as a festival for the first and last of us; that is, we and those after us shall venerate it. Sufyan said: We shall pray on that day. “For the first of us” means the people of our time, and “the last of us” means those who come after us. Ibn Abbas said: The last of the people will eat from it just as the first of them ate. “And a sign from You”: an indication and proof. “And provide for us, for You are the best of providers.”

Allah Most High replied to Jesus: “Indeed, I will send it down to you”—meaning, the table. The reciters of Medina, Ibn Amir, and Asim read it in the intensive form, “I will repeatedly send it down to you,” because it descended on several occasions; the intensive form indicates repetition, time after time. The others read it in the simple form, in accordance with his words, “Send down to us.” “Then whoever disbelieves among you thereafter”—that is, after the table has descended—“I will punish him with a punishment”—that is, a kind of punishment—“such as I will not inflict upon anyone among the worlds,” meaning the people of his time. The people then denied and disbelieved after the table had descended, so they were transformed into monkeys and swine. Abdullah ibn Umar said: The people most severely punished on the Day of Resurrection will be the hypocrites, those among the people of the table who disbelieved, and the family of Pharaoh. (1)

The scholars differed over whether the table descended or not. Mujahid and Al-Hasan said that it did not descend, because when Allah warned them of punishment should they disbelieve after the table had descended, they feared that some of them might disbelieve. So they asked to be excused and said, “We do not want it,” and it did not descend. His words, “Indeed, I will send it down to you,” mean: if you ask for it. (2)

(1) Ibn Jarir al-Tabari narrated it as mawquf (a report traced no further than a Companion) from Abdullah ibn Amr, 11:233. Shaykh Ahmad Shakir declared it authentic in Umdat al-Tafsir. Al-Suyuti also attributed it, likewise as mawquf, to Abd ibn Humayd and Abu al-Shaykh. Al-Durr al-Manthur, 3:237. (2) The view held by Mujahid and al-Hasan, may Allah have mercy on them, is weak, as it is not based on any sound report. It also contradicts the explicit wording of the verse: “Indeed, I will send it down to you.” Therefore, al-Baghawi and others deemed the view of the majority preponderant, and it is the correct view.

قُدْرَتَهُ، ﴿وَتَطْمَئِنَّ﴾ وَتَسْكُنَ، ﴿قُلُوبُنَا وَنَعْلَمَ أَنْ قَدْ صَدَقْتَنَا﴾ بِأَنَّكَ رَسُولُ اللَّهِ، أَيْ: نَزْدَادُ إِيمَانًا وَيَقِينًا، وَقِيلَ: إِنَّ عِيسَى ابْنَ مَرْيَمَ أَمَرَهُمْ أَنْ يَصُومُوا ثَلَاثِينَ يَوْمًا، فَإِذَا أَفْطَرُوا لَا يَسْأَلُونَ اللَّهَ شَيْئًا إِلَّا أَعْطَاهُمْ، فَفَعَلُوا وَسَأَلُوا الْمَائِدَةَ، وَقَالُوا: "وَنَعْلَمُ أَنْ قَدْ صَدَقْتَنَا" فِي قَوْلِكَ، إِنَّا إِذَا صُمْنَا ثَلَاثِينَ يَوْمًا لَا نَسْأَلُ اللَّهَ تَعَالَى شَيْئًا إِلَّا أَعْطَانَا، ﴿وَنَكُونَ عَلَيْهَا مِنَ الشَّاهِدِينَ﴾ لِلَّهِ بِالْوَحْدَانِيَّةِ وَالْقُدْرَةِ، وَلَكَ بِالنُّبُوَّةِ وَالرِّسَالَةِ، وَقِيلَ: وَنَكُونُ مِنَ الشَّاهِدَيْنَ لَكَ عِنْدَ بَنِي إِسْرَائِيلَ إِذَا رَجَعْنَا إِلَيْهِمْ. ﴿قَالَ عِيسَى ابْنُ مَرْيَمَ﴾ عِنْدَ ذَلِكَ، ﴿اللَّهُمَّ رَبَّنَا أَنْزِلْ عَلَيْنَا مَائِدَةً مِنَ السَّمَاءِ﴾ وَقِيلَ: إِنَّهُ اغْتَسَلَ وَلَبِسَ الْمُسُحَ وَصَلَّى رَكْعَتَيْنِ وَطَأْطَأَ رَأْسَهُ وَغَضَّ بَصَرَهُ وَبَكَى، ثُمَّ قَالَ: اللَّهُمَّ رَبَّنَا أَنْزِلْ عَلَيْنَا مَائِدَةً مِنَ السَّمَاءِ، ﴿تَكُونُ لَنَا عِيدًا لِأَوَّلِنَا وَآخِرِنَا﴾ أَيْ: عَائِدَةً مِنَ اللَّهِ عَلَيْنَا حُجَّةً وَبُرْهَانًا، وَالْعِيدُ: يَوْمُ السُّرُورِ، سُمِّيَ بِهِ لِلْعَوْدِ مِنَ التَّرَحِ إِلَى الْفَرَحِ، وَهُوَ اسْمٌ لِمَا اعْتَدْتَهُ وَيَعُودُ إِلَيْكَ، وَسُمِّيَ يَوْمُ الْفِطَرِ وَالْأَضْحَى عِيدًا لِأَنَّهُمَا يَعُودَانِ كُلَّ سَنَةٍ، قَالَ السُّدِّيُّ: مَعْنَاهُ نَتَّخِذُ الْيَوْمَ الَّذِي أُنْزِلَتْ فِيهِ عِيدًا لِأَوَّلِنَا وَآخِرِنَا، أَيْ: نُعَظِّمُهُ نَحْنُ وَمَنْ بَعْدَنَا، وَقَالَ سُفْيَانُ: نُصَلِّي فِيهِ، قَوْلُهُ ﴿لِأَوَّلِنَا﴾ أَيْ: لِأَهْلِ زَمَانِنَا ﴿وَآخِرِنَا﴾ أَيْ: لِمَنْ يَجِيءُ بَعْدَنَا، وَقَالَ ابْنُ عَبَّاسٍ: يَأْكُلُ مِنْهَا آخِرُ النَّاسِ كَمَا أَكَلَ أَوَّلُهُمْ، ﴿وَآيَةً مِنْكَ﴾ دَلَالَةً وَحُجَّةً، ﴿وَارْزُقْنَا وَأَنْتَ خَيْرُ الرَّازِقِينَ﴾ ﴿قَالَ اللَّهُ﴾ تَعَالَى مُجِيبًا لِعِيسَى ﵇، ﴿إِنِّي مُنَزِّلُهَا عَلَيْكُمْ﴾ يَعْنِي: الْمَائِدَةَ وقرأ أهل المدنة وَابْنُ عَامِرٍ وَعَاصِمٌ "مُنَزِّلُهَا" بِالتَّشْدِيدِ لِأَنَّهَا نَزَلَتْ مَرَّاتٍ، وَالتَّفْعِيلُ يَدُلُّ عَلَى التَّكْرِيرِ مَرَّةً بَعْدَ أُخْرَى، وَقَرَأَ الْآخَرُونَ بِالتَّخْفِيفِ لِقَوْلِهِ: أَنْزِلْ عَلَيْنَا، ﴿فَمَنْ يَكْفُرْ بَعْدٌ مِنْكُمْ﴾ أَيْ: بَعْدَ نُزُولِ الْمَائِدَةِ ﴿فَإِنِّي أُعَذِّبُهُ عَذَابًا﴾ أَيْ جِنْسَ عَذَابٍ، ﴿لَا أُعَذِّبُهُ أَحَدًا مِنَ الْعَالَمِينَ﴾ يَعْنِي: عَالَمِي زَمَانِهِ، فَجَحَدَ الْقَوْمُ وَكَفَرُوا بَعْدَ نُزُولِ الْمَائِدَةَ فَمُسِخُوا قِرَدَةً وَخَنَازِيرَ، قَالَ عَبْدُ اللَّهِ بْنُ عُمَرَ: إِنَّ أَشَدَّ النَّاسِ عَذَابًا يَوْمَ الْقِيَامَةِ الْمُنَافِقُونَ وَمَنْ كَفَرَ مِنْ أَصْحَابِ الْمَائِدَةِ وَآلِ فِرْعَوْنَ (١) . وَاخْتَلَفَ الْعُلَمَاءُ فِي الْمَائِدَةِ هَلْ نَزَلَتْ أَمْ لَا؟ فَقَالَ مُجَاهِدٌ وَالْحَسَنُ: لَمْ تَنْزِلْ لِأَنَّ اللَّهَ ﷿ لَمَّا أَوْعَدَهُمْ عَلَى كُفْرِهِمْ بَعْدَ نُزُولِ الْمَائِدَةِ خَافُوا أَنْ يَكْفُرَ بَعْضُهُمْ فَاسْتَعْفُوا، وَقَالُوا: لَا نُرِيدُهَا، فَلَمْ تَنْزِلْ، وَقَوْلُهُ: "إِنِّي مُنَزِّلُهَا عَلَيْكُمْ"، يَعْنِي: إِنْ سَأَلْتُمْ (٢) .

(١) أخرجه ابن جرير الطبري موقوفا على عبد الله بن عمرو: ١١ / ٢٣٣، وصححه الشيخ أحمد شاكر في عمدة التفسير. وعزاه السيوطي أيضا لعبد بن حميد وأبي الشيخ موقوفا كذلك. الدر المنثور: ٣ / ٢٣٧. (٢) ما ذهب إليه مجاهد والحسن رحمهما الله - رأي مرجوح، لم يستندا فيه إلى خبر صحيح. وهو مخالف لنص الآية "إني منزلها عليكم". ولذلك رجح البغوي وغيره رأي الجمهور، وهو الصحيح.