Sūrat al-Māʾidah
Section 24 of 25 · Surah Studies · Mufti Abdul Rahman Mangera
The Bounties upon ʿĪsā
After that, in verse 109, Allah (swt) carries the matter back to the Hereafter; for this Book is not, after all, about a single theme, but about several, so as to tug at the cords of our hearts and bring us to realisation. Allah (swt) says: the day when the messengers Allah had sent are gathered, and Allah will say:
۞ يَوْمَ يَجْمَعُ ٱللَّهُ ٱلرُّسُلَ فَيَقُولُ مَاذَآ أُجِبْتُمْ ۖ قَالُوا۟ لَا عِلْمَ لَنَآ ۖ إِنَّكَ أَنتَ عَلَّـٰمُ ٱلْغُيُوبِ
“(Be mindful of) the day when Allah will assemble the messengers and will say to them, “How were you responded to?” They will say, “We have no knowledge. Surely You alone have the full knowledge of all that is unseen.”” (5:109)
Mādhā ujibtum — what response did you receive? And they will say: we do not know; You are the Knower of all things unseen.
Now Sūrat al-Māʾidah comes to its point. ʿĪsā (peace be upon him) is singled out, and there is an extensive discussion of ʿĪsā (peace be upon him) once more. There is, again, much discussion of ʿĪsā (peace be upon him) and Mūsā (peace be upon him), because it is they whom the Christians and the Jews followed, or claim to follow; so the record is being set right. This is where the whole concept of the māʾidah enters. Allah (swt) says that, as part of this exchange with the prophets, the messengers, on the Day of Judgement, Allah (swt) will address ʿĪsā (peace be upon him) and say: yā ʿĪsā ibna Maryam, O ʿĪsā, son of Maryam, do you remember the bounties I bestowed upon you and your mother?
إِذْ قَالَ ٱللَّهُ يَـٰعِيسَى ٱبْنَ مَرْيَمَ ٱذْكُرْ نِعْمَتِى عَلَيْكَ وَعَلَىٰ وَٰلِدَتِكَ إِذْ أَيَّدتُّكَ بِرُوحِ ٱلْقُدُسِ تُكَلِّمُ ٱلنَّاسَ فِى ٱلْمَهْدِ وَكَهْلًا ۖ وَإِذْ عَلَّمْتُكَ ٱلْكِتَـٰبَ وَٱلْحِكْمَةَ وَٱلتَّوْرَىٰةَ وَٱلْإِنجِيلَ ۖ وَإِذْ تَخْلُقُ مِنَ ٱلطِّينِ كَهَيْـَٔةِ ٱلطَّيْرِ بِإِذْنِى فَتَنفُخُ فِيهَا فَتَكُونُ طَيْرًۢا بِإِذْنِى ۖ وَتُبْرِئُ ٱلْأَكْمَهَ وَٱلْأَبْرَصَ بِإِذْنِى ۖ وَإِذْ تُخْرِجُ ٱلْمَوْتَىٰ بِإِذْنِى ۖ وَإِذْ كَفَفْتُ بَنِىٓ إِسْرَٰٓءِيلَ عَنكَ إِذْ جِئْتَهُم بِٱلْبَيِّنَـٰتِ فَقَالَ ٱلَّذِينَ كَفَرُوا۟ مِنْهُمْ إِنْ هَـٰذَآ إِلَّا سِحْرٌ مُّبِينٌ
“(Call to mind the time) when Allah will say, “O ‘Īsā, son of Maryam, remember My blessing upon you and upon your mother; when I supported you with the Holy Spirit. You spoke to people while you were still in the cradle and when you grew to middle age. I taught you the Book and the Wisdom, the Torah and the Injīl. You created from clay something in the shape of a bird, then you blew on it, and it became a bird by My leave. You cured those born blind and lepers by My leave.You raised the dead by My leave. I kept the children of Isrā’īl away from you when you came to them with clear signs, and the disbelievers among them said, “This is nothing but a clear magic.”” (5:110)
All the bounties are then recounted. Ayyadtuka bi-rūḥi al-qudus: I aided and supported you with the Rūḥ al-Qudus, Jibrīl (peace be upon him). You spoke to people in your cradle; and then, of course, when you were older — kahl, which means middle-aged. It was noted in an earlier chapter that there is no account of his childhood and youth; he returns to the scene at about thirty or so. That is the sense of mahdan wa-kahlā. And We taught you the Book and Wisdom, and the Torah and the Injīl; and the other things We taught you are — this is of great interest — the miracles: that you used to form from clay the shape of a bird, moulding it; and that, without Our permission**, you would then breathe into it, with the name of Allah, and it would become a real bird and fly away. That was one. You could cure the leper and the blind; and indeed there is even a narration — it is not in the Qur'an… wa-idh tukhriju al-mawtā: you could even revive — rather, it is there — you could revive even the deceased, the dead. That happened on at least one occasion, when they challenged him: can you do this? You do all of this; can you do that? They went to a certain person's grave, and he was revived, with white hair, and so on. And: when We protected you from the Banū Isrāʾīl. It then continues and treats of his Ḥawāriyyūn, his disciples, those who were around him.