من أخذ السبع الأول من القرآن فهو حبر
Whoever takes up the first seven (long surahs) of the Qur’an is a scholar (habr).
Virtues and benefits of Surah Al-Ma’idah
Surah Al-Ma’idah is one of the “seven long surahs” given to the Prophet ﷺ in place of the Torah, and he said: “Whoever takes up the first seven of the Qur’an is a scholar.” It is among the last revealed; Aishah said: “Whatever you find in it lawful, treat as lawful, and whatever you find in it unlawful, treat as unlawful.” It gathers the most detailed rulings, and contains the verse of the perfected religion.
Its virtues at a glance
-
One of the seven long surahs
It is one of the seven long surahs given to the Prophet ﷺ in place of the Torah, according to both views: counting them from Al-Baqarah to At-Tawbah, or, like Sa’id ibn Jubayr, making Yunus the seventh.
Good (hasan)Abu Dawud at-Tayalisi (1012), Ahmad and Al-Bayhaqi (As-Sunan as-Saghir, 978)
-
Learning them makes a scholar
The Prophet ﷺ said: “Whoever takes up the first seven of the Qur’an is a scholar (habr)”, and Al-Ma’idah is one of these seven.
-
Among the last revealed
Aishah said it was the last surah revealed, so what is found lawful in it is to be treated as lawful and what is found unlawful as unlawful; Abdullah ibn Amr also said: “The last surah revealed was Al-Ma’idah.” Its rulings are therefore regarded as final.
Authentic (sahih)Ahmad, An-Nasa’i (As-Sunan al-Kubra, 11138) and Al-Hakim Good (hasan)At-Tirmidhi (3063) and Al-Hakim
-
It contains the obligations
Umar ibn al-Khattab urged people to learn it with Al-Baqarah, An-Nisa, Al-Hajj and An-Nur, for they contain the obligations; it gathers the most detailed rulings, and Abu Maysarah said it contains eighteen obligations found in no other surah.
Authentic (sahih)Al-Hakim and Al-Bayhaqi (Shu’ab al-Iman, 2451)
-
The verse of the perfected religion
It contains the verse “This day I have perfected for you your religion”; according to the Sahih, from Umar ibn al-Khattab, it was revealed on the evening of Arafah, a Friday, during the Farewell Pilgrimage, so two festivals coincided on the day of its revelation.
Hadiths on its virtues
Arabic text, translation, reference and authenticity grade of each hadith.
أعطيت مكان التوراة السبع الطوال، ومكان الزبور المئين، ومكان الإنجيل المثاني، وفضِّلت بالمفصل
I was given in place of the Torah the seven long surahs, in place of the Psalms the Mi’in, in place of the Gospel the Mathani, and I was favoured with the Mufassal.
هل تقرأ سورة المائدة؟ قال: قلت: نعم. قالت: فإنها آخر سورة نزلت، فما وجدتم فيها من حلال فاستحلوه، وما وجدتم فيها من حرام فحرموه
She asked Jubayr ibn Nufayr: “Do you recite Surah Al-Ma’idah?” He said: “Yes.” She said: “It is the last surah revealed: whatever you find in it lawful, treat as lawful, and whatever you find in it unlawful, treat as unlawful.”
آخر سورة أنزلت المائدة
The last surah to be revealed was Al-Ma’idah.
تعلموا سورة البقرة، وسورة النساء، وسورة المائدة، وسورة الحج، وسورة النور؛ فإن فيهن الفرائض
Learn Surah Al-Baqarah, Surah An-Nisa, Surah Al-Ma’idah, Surah Al-Hajj and Surah An-Nur, for they contain the obligations (al-fara’id).
Widespread but unproven narrations
Mujahid’s mursal report “Teach your men Surah Al-Ma’idah and your women Surah An-Nur” is weak, as are Atiyyah ibn Qays’s mursal “Al-Ma’idah is among the last of the Qur’an revealed” and Asma’ bint Yazid’s report that the whole surah was revealed on the Prophet’s ﷺ camel; what is authentic from Aishah and Abdullah ibn Amr suffices.
علموا رجالكم سورة المائدة وعلموا نسائكم سورة النور
Teach your men Surah Al-Ma’idah, and teach your women Surah An-Nur.
المائدة من آخر القرآن تنزيلًا، فأحلوا حلالها، وحرموا حرامها
Al-Ma’idah is among the last of the Qur’an to be revealed, so treat as lawful what it makes lawful and as unlawful what it forbids.
إني لآخذة بزمام العضباء ناقة رسول الله ﷺ إذ نزلت عليه المائدة كلها، وكادت من ثقلها تدق عضد الناقة
I was holding the reins of Al-’Adba’, the she-camel of the Messenger of Allah ﷺ, when the whole of Al-Ma’idah was revealed to him; its weight nearly broke the camel’s leg.
What the surah is about
- The command to fulfil contracts, covenants and pledges
- The lawful and unlawful in slaughtered animals, food and marriage
- Purification, prayer and dry ablution
- Justice in judgment and testimony, even towards enemies
- The story of Adam’s two sons, and the laws of retribution and legal penalties
- The decisive prohibition of wine, gambling, stone altars and divining arrows
- Dialogue with the People of the Book and refutation of their false beliefs
- The Table Spread, and Jesus’ innocence of what was falsely ascribed to him
Main purpose: To command the fulfilment of contracts and warn against imitating the People of the Book who broke them.
About Surah Al-Ma’idah
Al-Ma’idah is Medinan by scholarly consensus; it is the 5th in the order of the Qur’an, after Al-Fatihah, Al-Baqarah, Ali ’Imran and An-Nisa, and has 120 verses in the Kufan count. It is named after the Table Spread that the disciples asked Jesus to bring down from heaven, and is also called “Al-’Uqud” (the Contracts), as it opens with the command to fulfil them. The preferred view is that it was not revealed all at once: part came before Al-Hudaybiyah and most after it.
Tafsir of Surah Al-Ma’idah Listen to Al-Ma’idah by other reciters
Detailed study in Arabic
The full Arabic text: introduction, virtues, themes, and a study of the chain and authenticity of each hadith.
- التعريف بسورة المائدة
- فضائل سورة المائدة وخصائصها
- ووجه اتصالها بسورة النساء
- مقاصد سورة المائدة
- هل نزلت سورة المائدة دفعة واحدة على النبي صلى الله عليه وسلم؟
- تلخيص سورة المائدة
- الأحاديث الواردة في الفضل ودرجتها
Virtues of other surahs
All 114 surahs- Virtues of Surah Al-Kahf A light between two Fridays and protection from the Dajjal
- Virtues of Surah Al-Mulk Intercedes for its reciter and protects from the grave’s punishment
- Virtues of Surah Ya-Sin Whoever recites it at night seeking Allah’s Face is forgiven
- Virtues of Surah Al-Baqarah Satan flees the house where it is recited; it is the peak of the Qur’an
- Virtues of Surah Al-Fatihah The greatest surah of the Qur’an, without which there is no prayer
- Virtues of Surah Al-Ikhlas It equals a third of the Qur’an; loving it earns Allah’s love
- Virtues of Surah Al-Waqi’ah One of the surahs that greyed the Prophet ﷺ; he recited it at Fajr
- Virtues of Surah Ar-Rahman Recited by the Prophet ﷺ to the jinn, who responded better than people
- Ayat al-Kursi The greatest verse in the Book of Allah, a guard against Satan