Tafsir al-Baghawi - Al-Baghawi - (3/119)

Tafsir al-BaghawiAl-Baghawi

The sound view, held by the majority, is that it did descend, based on His saying, “Indeed, I will send it down to you.” There can be no breach in His statement, especially given the mass-transmitted reports concerning it from the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, the Companions, and the Successors.

They differed regarding its description. Khilās ibn Amr narrated from Ammār ibn Yāsir, from the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, that it descended with bread and meat. They were told: “It shall remain with you so long as you do not betray and conceal [anything]” (1). Yet before their day had passed, they betrayed and concealed, and so they were transformed into monkeys and swine (2).

Ibn Abbas, may Allah be pleased with him, said: Jesus, peace be upon him, said to them, “Fast for thirty days, then ask Allah for whatever you wish, and He will grant it to you.” So they fasted, and when they had finished, they said, “O Jesus, if we worked for someone and completed our work for him, he would feed us.” They then asked Allah for the table, and the angels came carrying a table upon which were seven loaves and seven fish, until they placed it before them. The last of the people ate from it just as the first of them had eaten (3).

Kab al-Ahbar said: A table descended upside down, borne by the angels between heaven and earth, upon which was every kind of food except meat.

Saʿīd ibn Jubayr narrated from Ibn Abbas: Everything except bread and meat was sent down upon the table. Qatādah said: Upon it were fruits from the fruits of Paradise.

Atiyyah al-Awfi said: A fish descended from heaven containing the taste of every kind of food.

Al-Kalbi said: Upon it were bread, rice, and herbs.

Wahb ibn Munabbih said: Allah sent down barley cakes and fish. One group would eat, then leave, and another would come and eat, until they had all eaten and some still remained.

(1) Addition from manuscript B. (2) Al-Tabari narrated it in his Tafsir from Ammar ibn Yasir, both as marfu (attributed to the Prophet) and mawquf (stopped at the Companion), 11:228-229. Al-Tirmidhi also narrated it in his commentary on Surat al-Ma'idah, 8:433, and said: “This is a gharib (unfamiliar) hadith. Abu Asim and more than one narrator reported it from Sa'id ibn Abi Arubah, from Qatadah, from Khallas, from Ammar as mawquf. We know it as marfu only through the narration of al-Hasan ibn Qaza'ah ... and we do not know the marfu report to have any basis.” (3) It should be mentioned here that the basic story is established by the Quran. Understanding it does not depend on the numerous reports cited by exegetes to describe the nature of this table, how it descended, and when it descended, and so forth. These reports are attributed to Wahb ibn Munabbih, Kab al-Ahbar, Salman, Ibn Abbas, Muqatil, al-Kalbi, Ata, and others. Their chains of transmission are not established. Moreover, even where a report can be soundly attributed to its narrator, this does not mean that it is sound in itself; for example, a report from Wahb may be transmitted through a sound chain, yet have been received from the People of the Book. Books of tafsir should therefore be kept free of such reports, including those cited here by al-Baghawi in his commentary. Ibn Kathir, al-Qurtubi, Ibn Atiyyah, and others have noted the weakness of these Israelite reports. And Allah knows best. See also Muhammad Abu Shahbah, Israeli Traditions and Fabrications, pp. 266-277.

وَالصَّحِيحُ الَّذِي عَلَيْهِ الْأَكْثَرُونَ: أَنَّهَا نَزَلَتْ، لِقَوْلِهِ تَعَالَى: "إِنِّي مُنَزِّلُهَا عَلَيْكُمْ"، وَلَا خُلْفَ فِي خَبَرِهِ، لِتَوَاتُرِ الْأَخْبَارِ فِيهِ عَنْ رَسُولِ اللَّهِ ﷺ وَالصَّحَابَةِ وَالتَّابِعِينَ. وَاخْتَلَفُوا فِي صِفَتِهَا فَرَوَى خِلَاسُ بْنُ عَمْرٍو عَنْ عَمَّارِ بْنِ يَاسِرٍ عَنْ رَسُولِ اللَّهِ ﷺ أَنَّهَا نَزَلَتْ خُبْزًا وَلَحْمًا، وَقِيلَ لَهُمْ: إِنَّهَا مُقِيمَةٌ لَكُمْ مَا لَمْ تَخُونُوا [وَتُخَبِّؤُوا] (١) فَمَا مَضَى يَوْمُهُمْ حَتَّى خَانُوا وَخَبَّؤُوا فَمُسِخُوا قِرَدَةً وَخَنَازِيرَ (٢) . وَقَالَ ابْنُ عَبَّاسٍ ﵄: إِنَّ عِيسَى ﵇ قَالَ لَهُمْ: صُومُوا ثَلَاثِينَ يَوْمًا ثُمَّ سَلُوا اللَّهَ مَا شِئْتُمْ يُعْطِكُمُوهُ، فَصَامُوا فَلَمَّا فَرَغُوا قَالُوا: يَا عِيسَى إِنَّا لَوْ عَمِلْنَا لِأَحَدٍ فَقَضَيْنَا عَمَلَهُ لَأَطْعَمَنَا، وَسَأَلُوا اللَّهَ الْمَائِدَةَ فَأَقْبَلَتِ الْمَلَائِكَةُ بمائدة يحملونها، علها سَبْعَةُ أَرْغِفَةٍ وَسَبْعَةُ أَحْوَاتٍ حَتَّى وَضَعَتْهَا بَيْنَ أَيْدِيهِمْ، فَأَكَلَ مِنْهَا آخِرُ النَّاسِ كَمَا أَكَلَ أَوَّلُهُمْ (٣) . قَالَ كَعْبُ الْأَحْبَارِ: نَزَلَتْ [مَائِدَةٌ] مَنْكُوسَةٌ تَطِيرُ بِهَا الْمَلَائِكَةُ بَيْنَ السَّمَاءِ وَالْأَرْضِ، عَلَيْهَا كُلُّ الطَّعَامِ إِلَّا اللَّحْمَ. وَقَالَ سَعِيدُ بْنُ جُبَيْرٍ عَنِ ابْنِ عَبَّاسٍ: أُنْزِلَ عَلَى الْمَائِدَةِ كُلُّ شَيْءٍ إِلَّا الْخُبْزَ وَاللَّحْمَ، قَالَ قَتَادَةُ كَانَ عَلَيْهَا ثَمَرٌ مِنْ ثِمَارِ الْجَنَّةِ. وَقَالَ عَطِيَّةُ الْعَوْفِيُّ: نَزَلَتْ مِنَ السَّمَاءِ سَمَكَةٌ فِيهَا طَعْمُ كُلِّ شَيْءٍ. وَقَالَ الْكَلْبِيُّ: كَانَ عَلَيْهَا خُبْزٌ وَرُزٌّ وَبَقْلٌ. وَقَالَ وَهْبُ بْنُ مُنَبِّهٍ: أَنْزَلَ اللَّهُ أَقْرِصَةً مِنْ شَعِيرٍ وَحِيتَانًا وَكَانَ قَوْمٌ يَأْكُلُونَ ثُمَّ يَخْرُجُونَ وَيَجِيءُ آخَرُونَ فَيَأْكُلُونَ حَتَّى أَكَلُوا جَمِيعُهُمْ وَفَضَلَ.

(١) زيادة من "ب". (٢) أخرجه الطبري في التفسير عن عمار بن ياسر مرفوعا وموقوفا: ١١ / ٢٢٨،٢٢٩، والترمذي في تفسير سورة المائدة: ٨ / ٤٣٣، وقال: "هذا حديث غريب، ورواه أبو عاصم وغير واحد عن سعيد بن أبي عروبة عن قتادة عن خلاس عن عمار موقوفا، ولا نعرفه مرفوعا إلا من حديث الحسن بن قزعة ... ولا نعلم للحديث المرفوع أصلا". (٣) ينبغي أن نذكر هنا بأن أصل القصة ثابت بالقرآن الكريم، ولا يتوقف فهم هذا على شيء من الروايات الكثيرة التي ساقها المفسرون لبيان صفة هذه المائدة وكيفية نزولها ووقت النزول ... إلخ هذه الروايات المنقولة عن وهب بن منبه، وكعب الأحبار، وسلمان، وابن عباس، ومقاتل والكلبي وعطاء، وغيرهم. فإنها غير ثابتة الإسناد، وما قد يكون صحيح النسبة إلى قائله منها، لا يعني أنه صحيح في ذاته، فقد ينقل الخبر عن وهب مثلا بسند ثابت، ولكنه متلقى من أهل الكتاب، فينبغي تنزيه كتب التفسير عن أمثال هذه الروايات، ومنها ما ساقه البغوي هنا في تفسيره. هذا، وقد أشار ابن كثير والقرطبي وابن عطية وغيرهم إلى ضعف هذه الروايات الإسرائيلية. والله أعلم. انظر أيضا: الإسرائيليات والموضوعات د. محمد أبو شهبة ص (٢٦٦-٢٧٧) .