Al-Ma'idah (The Table Spread): Verse 110

{When Allah said, "O Jesus, son of Mary, remember My favor upon you and upon your mother...}

In this verse, there are several important issues:

We have previously established that the purpose of Allah addressing the Messengers with {What did you respond?} (Al-Ma'idah: 109) was to rebuke those among their nations who rebelled. The nation most deserving of rebuke and blame are the Christians, who falsely claim to follow Jesus (peace be upon him).

The slander of other nations was confined to the Prophets themselves, but the slander of these accursed people extended to the majesty and glory of Allah, as they ascribed to Him what no rational person would ascribe to the Divine—namely, taking a spouse and a child.

Therefore, it is appropriate that Allah recounted His various favors upon Jesus (peace be upon him) one by one in the presence of the Messengers. The objective is to rebuke the Christians and reprimand them for their corrupt statements, as every single favor enumerated for Jesus proves that he was a servant, not a god.

The benefit of this narration is to alert the Christians present at the time of the revelation of this verse to the ugliness of their claims and the weakness of their doctrine and belief.

The word {إذ} (idh, when) can be in the nominative case (as a subject) meaning, "That was when Allah said..." Alternatively, the meaning could be: "Remember when Allah said..."

The statement uses the past tense rather than the future tense, and there are several interpretations for this:

1. Indication of Nearness: It signifies the proximity of the Day of Judgment, as if it has already occurred. Just as one says, "The army has arrived," when its arrival is imminent. Allah says: {The command of Allah has come} (An-Nahl: 1).
2. Narration of a State/Scene: It is phrased as a narration of a current state. This is similar to a man telling his companion, "It is as if we are already entering such-and-such a city and doing such-and-such, when a caller shouted, and I left you and answered him." Examples from the Quran include: {If only you could see when they are made to fear, and there is no escape} (Saba: 51), {If only you could see when the angels take the souls of those who disbelieve} (Al-Anfal: 50), and {If only you could see when the wrongdoers are made to stand before their Lord} (Saba: 31). The reason for using the past tense in all these verses is the narration of the state, as mentioned.

The word {عيسى} (‘Īsā) can be in the nominative case because it is a singular vocative noun followed by an adjective (which is ibn). Alternatively, it can be in the accusative case, implying an iḍāfah (genitive construction), with ibn serving as emphasis. Any similar construction allows for two possibilities, such as Yā Zaydun ibn ‘Amr (nominative) or Yā Zaydan ibn ‘Amr (accusative). Grammarians cite poetry supporting both readings.

The use of the singular form {نعمتى} (ni‘matī, My favor) is intended to mean the plural, similar to {And if you should count the favors of Allah, you could not enumerate them} (An-Nahl: 18). This is permissible because the noun being modified (ni‘mah) can refer to the entire category or genus.

Allah then specified His favors upon him:

First Favor: {When I supported you with the Holy Spirit}

There are two interpretations for Rūḥ al-Qudus (the Holy Spirit):

1. Rūḥ al-Qudus is Gabriel (peace be upon him). The Rūḥ (Spirit) is Gabriel, and al-Qudus (the Holy) is attributed to Allah, implying an iḍāfah of honor.
2. Spirits differ in their essence: some are pure, luminous, and elevated; others are corrupt, dark, bright, or murky; some are noble, others base. This is why the Prophet (PBUH) said: "The spirits are mustered troops." Thus, Allah specifically favored Jesus with the pure, luminous, elevated, and noble spirit.

A potential objection: If this verse indicates that Jesus's support came from Gabriel or through his specific spirit, does this undermine the evidence that miracles provide for the truthfulness of Messengers? Before knowing Gabriel's infallibility, we might assume he helped Jesus deceive people. Thus, without knowing Gabriel's infallibility, this is not refuted, and without knowing Jesus's prophethood, Gabriel's infallibility is not known, leading to a circular argument.

The Answer: This question is refuted by our fundamental principle: the Creator is none other than Allah.

Second Favor: {You spoke to people in the cradle and in maturity}

Jesus's speech in the cradle is exemplified by his statement: {Indeed, I have been given the Scripture and have been made a prophet} (Maryam: 30). The phrase {in the cradle and in maturity} is a circumstantial clause (ḥāl). It means he spoke to people as an infant and as a mature man without any difference in his speech during these two stages—a noble characteristic unique to him among all Prophets, before or after.

Third Favor: {And when I taught you the Scripture and wisdom, and the Torah and the Gospel}

Regarding {the Scripture} (al-Kitāb), there are two views:

1. It refers to the act of writing (calligraphy).
2. It refers to the general category of books. A person first learns simple, concise texts, then progresses to noble books.

{Wisdom} (al-Ḥikmah) refers to both theoretical and practical sciences.

Then, {the Torah and the Gospel} are mentioned. There are two views:

1. They are singled out after mentioning general books as a form of honor, like {Guard strictly your prayers, especially the middle prayer} (Al-Baqarah: 238) and {And [recall] when We took from the prophets their covenant, and from you, and from Noah} (Al-Aḥzāb: 7).
2. The stronger view is that insight into the secrets of the Divine Books is only granted to one who is established in the apparent religious and rational sciences studied by scholars. Thus, {and the Torah and the Gospel} points to the secrets that only the greatest Prophets (peace be upon them) are privy to.

Fourth Favor: {And when you shape from clay the likeness of a bird by My permission, then you breathe into it and it becomes a bird by My permission}

• Issue 1 (Recitation): Nafi’ recited {فَتَكُونَ} (fa-takūna, so it becomes), while others recited {طَيْرًا} (ṭayran, birds) without the alif. Ṭayr is the plural of ṭā’ir (bird), similar to ḍa’n (sheep) being plural for ḍā’in (one who is sheep-like).
• Issue 2 (Pronoun Reference): Allah mentioned {فَتَنفُخُ فِيهَا} (then you breathe into it) here, but in Al ‘Imran, He said {فَأَنفُخُ فِيهِ} (then I breathe into it).
  • Answer: Since He said {كهيئة الطير} (the likeness of a bird), the pronoun refers to the kāf (the likeness/form), as it is the description of the form Jesus created and breathed into. It does not refer back to the hay’ah (form) itself, as Jesus did not create the form or breathe into the form itself.
  • Knowing this, the kāf is treated as feminine based on the meaning (referring to the hay’ah), but masculine based on its outward form. Therefore, the pronoun referring back to it can be masculine or feminine.
• Issue 3 (Repetition of Bi-idhnī): Allah mentioned permission in shaping the clay into a bird's likeness, and again when it becomes a bird. Repeating {بِإِذْنِي} (bi-idhnī, by My permission) is for emphasis, confirming that the act occurs by Allah's power and creation, not by Jesus's power or origination.

Fifth Favor: {And when you heal the blind and the leper by My permission}

Healing the blind and the leper is well-known. Al-Khalili stated that al-akmah (the congenitally blind) is one born blind, while al-a‘mā (the blind) is one born sighted and later lost sight.

Sixth Favor: {And when you bring forth the dead by My permission}

This means bringing the dead out of their graves alive by My permission, i.e., by My action when you supplicate and say to the dead person, "Come forth by the permission of Allah from your grave." Mentioning permission in these actions is to attribute the true agency of the act to Allah, similar to {And it is not for a soul to die except by permission of Allah} (Al ‘Imran: 145), meaning except by Allah creating death within it.

Seventh Favor: {And when I restrained the Children of Israel from you when you came to them with clear signs}

• Issue 1 (Meaning of al-Bayyināt): {when you came to them with clear signs} (idh ji’tahum bil-bayyināt) can mean the specific miracles already mentioned (in which case alif and lām denote definiteness/the known), or it can mean the general category of clear signs.
• Issue 2 (The Jews' Plot): It is narrated that when Jesus (peace be upon him) displayed these astonishing miracles, the Jews intended to kill him, but Allah saved him by raising him to heaven.

Then Allah said: {And those who disbelieved among them said, "This is not but apparent magic"}

• Issue 1 (Recitation of Sāḥir vs. Siḥr): Ḥamzah and Al-Kisā’ī recited {سِحْرٌ} (siḥrun, magic) with an alif (implying sāḥir, magician) in this verse, as well as in Yunus, Hud, and As-Saff. Ibn ‘Āmir and ‘Āṣim in Yunus recited only with alif (implying sāḥir). The rest recited {سِحْرٌ} (siḥrun).
  • Those who read sāḥir (magician) refer to the person.
  • Those who read siḥr (magic) refer to the act/thing brought forth. Both are sound, as both were previously mentioned. Al-Wāḥidī preferred siḥr because it can refer to the act (ḥadath) or the person, similar to saying hādhā siḥr (this is magic) to mean dhū siḥr (one possessing magic), just as Allah said {But the righteous is he who believes} (Al-Baqarah: 177), meaning the one possessing righteousness.

• Issue 2 (Context of Mentioning Disbelief): If Allah began enumerating favors upon Jesus, why mention the disbelievers' statement, {This is not but apparent magic}, which is not a favor?
  • Answer: It is a famous proverb that every possessor of a favor is envied. The slander of the disbelievers using this statement indicates that the favors Allah bestowed upon Jesus were immense. Thus, mentioning it alongside the favors is appropriate for the reason stated.

{And [recall] when I inspired to the disciples, "Believe in Me and in My Messenger." They said, "We believe, and bear witness that we are Muslims [submitting to You]."}