Sūrah Al-Māʾidah The Table Spread
سورة المائدة
A Madīnan sūrah of 120 verses one of the last revealed. Al-Ṭabarī examines its major legal passages: the completion of religion, permitted and forbidden foods, the ḥudūd for theft, and the comprehensive justice verse, all through careful isnād analysis.
Surah Overview
Key Themes from Al-Ṭabarī
Al-Ṭabarī's commentary on 5:3 ("al-yawma akmaltu lakum dīnakum") presents the famous story of the Jewish scholar who told ʿUmar ibn al-Khaṭṭāb, "If this verse had been revealed to us, we would have made that day a festival." ʿUmar replied: "We know when and where it was revealed on the day of ʿArafah, a Friday." Al-Ṭabarī verifies this through chains from Ṭāriq ibn Shihāb via ʿUmar, then analyzes its theological significance: the religion was complete before the Prophet's death, not gradually supplemented afterward.
On the justice verse (5:8) "wa-lā yajrimannakum shanaʾānu qawmin ʿalā allā taʿdilū" (let not the hatred of a people cause you to be unjust) al-Ṭabarī collects narrations on the occasion of revelation and emphasizes that justice is commanded even toward enemies. He presents the chain from ʿAbdullāh ibn Shaddād who witnessed this verse applied when the Prophet ﷺ maintained justice toward Quraysh despite their enmity.
- Religion's completion: 5:3 marks the last major legal revelation al-Ṭabarī treats it as the Quran's own statement that sharīʿah is now complete and self-contained.
- Chain evaluation for occasions: Al-Ṭabarī subjects asbāb al-nuzūl claims to rigorous chain analysis many popular stories fail his standard and are rejected or marked as weak.
- Ḥadd conditions: The theft punishment debate shows al-Ṭabarī presenting the Companion disagreements on the nisāb (minimum amount) without forcing a single answer.
- Justice over emotion: The justice verse (5:8) is treated as a universal principle transcending context al-Ṭabarī emphasizes its general application from multiple Companion narrations.
- Food regulations: Al-Ṭabarī carefully distinguishes which food prohibitions are absolute (maytah, blood, pork) versus contextual, using isnāds to trace each ruling.