Surah Al-Ma'idah (الْمَائِدَة) — The Table Spread
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Al-Maidah is the 5th surah, 120 verses long. It's the last major surah revealed in full to the Prophet ﷺ (PBUH), making it one of the latest Madani surahs in the Quran.
The name comes from a story near the end of the surah. The disciples of Isa (Jesus) ask him to ask Allah to send down a table spread with food from heaven, as a sign. Isa makes the duaa, and Allah sends the table down with a warning: any disciple who eats from it and then disbelieves will face a punishment unlike any other. The story is mentioned in only this one place in the Quran.
The surah covers a lot of ground. Rules about food (which animals are halal, which are haram). Rules about hunting. The completion of the religion in verse 3, which is one of the most quoted verses in the whole Quran ("Today I have completed your religion for you, perfected My favour upon you, and chosen Islam as your religion"). This verse was revealed during the Prophet ﷺ's farewell pilgrimage, near the end of his life. Rules about marriage with the People of the Book. Rules about wudu and tayammum (the alternative purification when water isn't available). Detailed instructions about justice, including the famous principle that bearing false witness is to be punished with the same severity as the crime being witnessed.
There's also the powerful conversation at the end of the surah. Allah will ask Isa on the Day of Judgment whether he told people to take him and his mother as gods. Isa will say no, he never said that, and that he was a witness over them only as long as he was among them.
How many verses are in Surah Al-Maidah?
One hundred and twenty verses. It's the 5th surah in the Quran.
What is the table spread referenced in the surah's name?
A miraculous table sent down from heaven by Allah, in answer to a request from the disciples of Isa (Jesus). The story is mentioned only in this surah and gives the surah its name (Al-Maidah meaning "the table spread").
What's special about Surah Al-Maidah?
It's one of the latest surahs revealed in full, and contains the verse where Allah says "Today I have completed your religion for you." This was revealed during the Prophet ﷺ's farewell pilgrimage, near the end of his life.