Name: This surah which has sixteen sections and one hundred and twenty verses is named Al Maidah (The Food) and this name is taken from the mention of Maidah in section fifteen of this surah. The meaning of ما ئدۃ is a tablecloth laden with food. Or just food. The mention in which this word is used is the request to Jesus by the disciples that they get food in abundance and the indication in عِيدً۬ا لِّأَوَّلِنَا is that the food may be a source of everlasting pleasure. Jesus tried to counsel them that it is righteousness and not food that is a source of everlasting pleasure, but on the insistence of the disciples he prayed for the food to be sent down to them from heaven. Because in this chapter there is a mention of the mistakes and evil beliefs and the erroneous ideologies of the Christians, the Muslims are warned that they should not become engulfed with the excessive love of this world like the Christians and not to get totally engrossed in pursuing the luxuries of this life. To emphasize this truth, this surah has been named Al Maidah. In addition, this surah discusses civilization and the tendency of the civilized nations is often to pursue worldly pleasure excessively. Hence it was necessary to warn the Muslims that civilization should not entail total engrossment with daily bread.
Chapter Summary: Just as the last chapter focused on society with a special mention of Jews, this chapter focusses on civilization and a special mention of Christians. To indicate these two things, the chapter begins with أَوۡفُواْ بِٱلۡعُقُودِ (fulfil the obligations) because if on the one hand, the foundation of civilization is based on contracts whether written or implied, on the other hand shariah too is based on certain obligations from Allah. Christianity has not only slighted shariah and considered it not necessary even though they call their heavenly scripture New Testament but also have declared shariah as a curse. It is therefore very appropriate to begin a discussion about Christianity with the command to fulfill obligations. By putting these two things together, attention is drawn to the fact that when the system of the physical world cannot function without laws and contracts then how can the system of religion exist without following laws and observance of contracts. Beginning with this command, the first section contains instructions about food, drinks, and marriage in order to convey the importance of having a balance in pursuing human desires for which these instructions are necessary. This section also contains the glad tidings of the completion of religion as if to convey that religion could not be completed without the completion of shariah. The second section continues with the need for shariah and draws attention to having a relationship with Allah and developing angelic attributes. Prayer is mentioned for having a relationship with Allah and some details are provided about the precursor to prayer which is physical purity. If on the one hand guidance is given to develop a true relationship with Allah, on the other attention is drawn to having the highest standard of justice in human relations not only with fellow citizens but also with foreign nations and even enemies. The third section narrates the Christian and Jews breach of contracts and the fourth delves into the disobedience of Bani Israel. The fifth section relates the plans against the Holy Prophet of the Ahle Kitab who by virtue of their persistent breach of contracts had become far removed from righteousness. The need to protect life and property is pointed out without which a civilized society cannot exist. The sixth section continues this discussions and instructs that the internal disputes of the Ahle Kitab should be adjudicated on the basis of their shariah. From physical disputes, the seventh section turns to the resolution of religious disputes and it is stated that the Quran is the arbiter of religious disagreements and the guardian of previous scriptures. Relations with Jews and Christians are discussed in the eighth section and the ninth describes their present condition. The tenth section manifests Christianity’s deviation from the truth and the exaggeration in its articles of faith. The eleventh section mentions that despite this Christianity is very close to Islam and gives the good news of their believing in the truth. The twelfth section warns the Muslims of the mistakes made by Christians who on one side went to the extreme of even prohibiting lawful things to enhance their worship of God and on the other became so absorbed in worldly things that they extensively partook of prohibited things like alcohol. The thirteenth section mentions the sanctity of the Kabbah because if a Christian king had in the past made plans to destroy it, in the knowledge of Allah a second time was to come when the Christian nation will harbor evil plans about this holy House. The fourteenth section states that even though shariah is a necessity but in any matter, extremes should be avoided and instead of focusing and asking questions about trivial matters the focus should on important issues. The fifteenth section narrates the demand of the disciples for food and indicates the engrossment of the Christians in pursuing worldly pleasures. It is stated that the entire attention of this nation will turn away from spiritual matters and focus on food and drink and on pursuing their physical desires. The sixteenth and last section that their false article of faith about the Divinity of Jesus is not his teaching.
Relation to the previous chapters: The relation of this chapter with the previous one Al Nisa is that the previous chapter dealt with societal living while the current chapter focuses on civilization. The rules for societal living and civilization are connected. The second thing that shows a relationship is that just as surah Baqarah covered the narration of Jews and is followed by Ale Imran which covered the narration of Christians, similarly surah Al Nisa focuses on Jews and surah Al Maidah delves into Christianity at great depth. This keeps the attention on those on whom Allah’s wrath was brought down and those who were led astray, the two groups that were mentioned in surah Fatihah. A more analytical look further manifests the relationship. In the last chapter, while discussing the mischief of the Jews, mention was made of their mischief against Jesus and this became the transition point from where the subject shifted to Christians. Belief in the Divinity of Christ was also refuted there because belief in the Divinity of Christ diminishes the importance of shariah. For this reason there is a lot of emphasis in the beginning of surah Maidah on the need for shariah and the necessity of following it. In short the placement of the surah at this place in the Quran demonstrates a systematic arrangement in the topics of the Quran in a clear and eloquent manner.
Period of revelation: A perusal of the topics covered in this surah indicates that its period of revelation is between the fifth and seventh year of hijrah, and this is the opinion of most commentators as well. Trying to determine the exact date of revelation of certain important verses is often a wasted effort. For example, Christians generally assign verses in which there is something against the Jews or Christians to the period when relations between the Muslims on the one hand and Jews and Christians on the other had become contentious on account of the political situation in the country. This is not a correct measure for dating the revelations. In this verse, on the one hand Muslims have been urged not to befriend Jews and Christians because of their secret plans against Islam and on the other hand, there is also the mention of the nearness to Islam of the Christians and their tender heartedness. There is, however, one verse that is worthy of mention and that is: ٱلۡيَوۡمَ أَكۡمَلۡتُ لَكُمۡ دِينَكُمۡ وَأَتۡمَمۡتُ عَلَيۡكُمۡ نِعۡمَتِى (This day have I perfected for you your religion and completed my favor to you) (5:3). There is a report in Bukhari that the Jews told Caliph Umar that there is a verse in your Book which if it had been revealed to us, we would have celebrated the date of its revelation as if it was Eid. Caliph Umar understood that they were referring to this verse and replied: We know fully well when and where this verse was revealed and where the Holy Prophet was at the time of the revelation. This was on the Day of Arafat (probably a Friday) and I was also in Arafat when this verse was revealed, that is during the farewell pilgrimage. So, in the dating of revelation, this verse is in the very last period but it has been placed in this surah to be a decisive argument against the Christians. This shows clearly that the arrangement of the chapters of the Quran was done under Divine inspiration and the placement of the verses in the chapters and the arrangement of chapters was done by the Holy Prophet.
Bayan-ul-Quran 