Tafsir of Al-Ma'idah 5:114

(Jesus, son of Mary, said) when he perceived that they had a valid purpose in that. Al-Tirmidhi in Nawadir al-Usul and others narrated from Salman al-Farisi (may Allah be pleased with him) that when he (peace be upon him) saw that they insisted on asking for it, he stood up, cast off his woollen garment, and donned black hair-cloth. Then he performed ablution and bathed, entered his place of prayer, and prayed as much as Allah the Exalted willed. When he finished his prayer, he stood facing the Qibla, placing his feet together until they were level, joining heel to heel and toe to toe. He placed his right hand over his left upon his chest, lowered his gaze, and bowed his head in humility. Then he let his eyes flow with tears, and his tears continued to stream down his cheeks and drip from the tips of his beard until the ground in front of his face was wet. When he saw that, he called upon Allah the Exalted and said:

(O Allah, our Lord) He called upon Him (Glory be to Him) twice, as it is said, once with the attribute of Divinity which gathers all perfections, and again with the attribute of Lordship which signifies nurturing, as a display of the utmost supplication and an exaggeration in the request. The reason it was not made into a single call—by parsing "Our Lord" (Rabbana) as a substitution or an adjective—is that grammarians have stated that the term "O Allah" (Allahumma) does not take appositives (there is disagreement among some grammarians regarding this). The vocative particle was omitted in the first and compensated for with the 'mim' at the end, and likewise in the second, except that this compensation is exclusive to the Majestic Name. That is: O Allah, O our Lord.

(Send down to us a table from the sky) meaning a platter containing food, or a spread of such. The adverbial phrase is placed before the direct object for the reason mentioned repeatedly: to emphasize the preceding element and to build anticipation for the following one. The saying of the Exalted, (from the sky), is linked either to "send down" or to a suppressed element that functions as an adjective for "a table," meaning "one that comes from the sky." By this, it is intended either the known location, which is what first comes to mind from the wording, or the direction of height. The former is supported by what Ibn Humayd and Ibn Abi Hatim narrated from Ammar ibn Yasir, that the table which descended contained fruit from Paradise; the same was narrated from Wahb ibn Munabbih. The latter is supported by what was narrated from Salman al-Farisi in a long report: that when the table descended, Simon, the head of the disciples, said to Jesus (peace be upon him), "O Spirit of God and His Word, is this food from the world or food from Paradise?" Jesus (peace be upon him) replied, "Has the time not come for you to take heed from the signs you see and desist from persistent questioning? I fear you may be punished because of this question." Simon said, "No, by the God of Israel, I intended no evil by it, O son of the chaste woman." Jesus (peace be upon him) said, "It is not food from Paradise, nor food from the world; it is something Allah the Exalted originated in the air by His overwhelming and prevailing power, saying to it 'Be' and it was, in faster than the blinking of an eye. So eat from what you have asked for in the name of Allah, and praise your Lord for it, that He may provide for you and increase you, for He is the Originator, the Powerful, the Grateful."

And His saying, (that it may be for us a festival), is an adjective for "a table." "For us" is the predicate of kana (it may be), and "a festival" is an adverbial state (hal) from the pronoun in the adverbial phrase, or in "it may be," according to those who permit the functioning of kana in the state. It is also permitted that "a festival" be the predicate, in which case "for us" is either a state from the pronoun in "it may be," or a state from "a festival" because it is an adjective for it that was placed before it. The 'id (festival) is derived from 'awd (return). It is applied to the known time that returns every year with joy and happiness, and in this case, one must imply a possessor/genitive construction; the meaning is: its descent shall be a festival for us. It is also applied to the joy itself that returns, and in that case, no implication is needed; there is a subtlety in the expression that is not hidden. Many have mentioned that 'id is said for anything that returns to you at a time. From this is the saying of al-A'sha: "Woe to my liver from the burning of love and passion, whenever the festival of 'Umama returns to my heart." It is wawi, as indicated by the etymology. However, they said in its plural a'yad, while the analogy should have been a'wad, because plurals return things to their roots due to a dislike of confusion, as Ibn Hisham said regarding the plural of 'ud. Al-Hariri noted this by their saying "He is alit (more clinging) to my heart than you," i.e., closer, for its root is the waw, but they said it thus to differentiate it from their saying "He is alat (more sticky) than so-and-so." It is not hidden that this contradicts what the researchers of the linguists have mentioned. From al-Kisa'i, it is said: "The thing stuck (lata) to my heart, yalutu and yalitu, and it is alwat and alit." Furthermore, they did not reverse the matter in the plural of 'ud and 'id—saying a'yad for the former and a'wad for the latter—despite the distinction being achieved, out of consideration for the apparent form of the singular, as it is said of al-Akhfash, in most usage, while observing the outward form of the singular. Abdullah recited it as takun (jussive) as a response to the imperative.

(For the first of us and the last of us): meaning, for the people of our time and those who come after us. It is narrated that it descended on a Sunday, which is why the Christians took it as a festival. From Ibn Abbas (may Allah be pleased with him), the meaning is that the first of the people and the last of them shall eat from it. The prepositional phrase, for some, is a substitution for the prepositional phrase, namely "for us." Abu al-Baqa said: If "for us" is made a predicate or a state, then [for the first of us] is an adjective for "a festival." If it is made an adjective for it, it is a substitution for the genitive pronoun by repeating the preposition. Its outward form is that the thing replaced is the pronoun, but the preposition was repeated because substitution is equivalent to repeating the operator, though this is arbitrary, for the apparent meaning, as pointed out, is the substitution of the whole for the whole. Furthermore, the third-person pronoun can be replaced, but as for the second-person pronoun, some permitted it absolutely, and others permitted it likewise, while some made a distinction, saying: If it provides emphasis, encompassing, and inclusion, it is permitted; otherwise, it is forbidden. Some favored—following the opinion of the scholar (Ibn Abbas)—that "for us" is a predicate, meaning a provision or a benefit to us. Zayd, Ibn Muhaysin, and al-Jahdari recited li-awwalina wa-akhirina (feminine), considering the "nation" or "group," and the fact that the intent of "the first" and "the last" is the first abode, i.e., the world, and the other abode, i.e., the afterlife, is something that hardly stands to reason.

(And a sign from You) is a conjunction to "a festival." His saying, (from You), is linked to a suppressed element that functions as an adjective for it, meaning: a sign coming from You, indicating the perfection of Your power and the validity of my prophethood.

(And provide for us): meaning, [give us] the gratitude for it, according to what was narrated from al-Jubba'i, or [provide us] the table, according to what was narrated from more than one. The intent of it here is, as has been said, what is on the platter of food, or something more general, and this is perhaps the more likely.

(And You are the best of providers): This is a tail-piece running in the vein of a justification, meaning: the best of those who provide, because He is the Creator of provision and the Giver of it without expecting any compensation.