A Festival for the First and the Last of Us

Jesus, son of Mary, said: qāla ʿĪsā ibnu Maryama Allāhumma rabbanā anzil ʿalaynā māʾidatan min al-samāʾ — ʿĪsā, Jesus, son of Mary, said: O Allah, our Lord, send us from the heaven a table spread with food. Now, when Sayyidunā ʿĪsā (peace be upon him) made a duʿāʾ, and he was telling Allah (swt) why he wants a table, he did not use the same four justifications that al-Ḥawāriyyūn used. But he said: takūnu lanā ʿīdan li-awwalinā wa ākhirinā — may it be for us a festival, for the first and the last of us.

ʿĪsā said: send down this table, so that, number one, it would be an ʿĪd for us. What does ʿĪd mean? ʿĪd is a festival. But if we look at the linguistic meaning of the word ʿĪd — ʿĪd in Arabic would mean something that returns; it returns again and again. It would mean something that is good. So why do we say ʿĪd, a celebration? Because it's something that comes on a yearly basis, like ʿĪd al-Fiṭr and ʿĪd al-Aḍḥā, or it comes on a weekly basis, like al-Jumuʿah. And it's a moment of celebration — a good moment, a pleasurable moment — so we want it to come again and again.

Sayyidunā ʿĪsā (peace be upon him) wanted this to be an ʿĪd for them, so that they would remember the blessing of Allah (swt) — just as ʿĪd al-Fiṭr, for example, is a celebration for us, because we have completed the fasting of the month of Ramaḍān, and now we are breaking our fast. And that's why the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) says: the person who is fasting has two moments of happiness — once when they break their fast, and once on the Day of Judgement, when they see the reward of their fasting. Sayyidunā ʿĪsā said: we want this to be an ʿĪd for us.

And then he said: wa āyatan minka — it will be a sign from You, a miracle. Wa-rzuqnā wa anta khayru al-rāziqīn: provide for us sustenance; You are the best of sustainers.

Al-Ḥawāriyyūn said, number one — what? We want to eat. Sayyidunā ʿĪsā made it the last reason: wa-rzuqnā, give us rizq. And Sayyidunā ʿĪsā did not limit it to food. He did not say: O Allah, give us this table to be food for us. Because food is only a very small part of rizq. And ʿĪsā made it comprehensive — and we learn from the adʿiyah of the anbiyāʾ — he made it comprehensive, and said: O Allah, give us rizq. Not only limiting it to food on a table: give us rizq. And rizq would include food, wealth, anything that you own, anything that you have. Knowledge is also a form of rizq. All of this is rizq from Allah (swt). Wa-rzuqnā wa anta khayru al-rāziqīn: O Allah, give us, and You are the best of providers.