Surah 5 · Madinah · 120 āyāt

Phase 06 · Conquest, completion and farewell(6–11 AH) — view in timeline

Al-MāʾidahThe Table Spread

المائدة

Among the last surahs revealed, largely during and after the Farewell Pilgrimage. It opens with the command to fulfil contracts and closes a body of law with 5:3, revealed at ʿArafah, declaring the religion complete. Between these poles it legislates purification and justice, retells the story of Ādam's two sons as a lesson on the sanctity of life, sets out the covenant taken from the People of the Book, and ends with ʿĪsā's public disavowal of those who deified him.

Why it was revealed

By this stage the Arabian Peninsula had largely entered Islam, treaties with the People of the Book needed clear terms, and the Prophet ﷺ was completing his mission. The surah's final legal material reflects a community now mature enough to be given its last and most complete instructions.

Drawn fromṢaḥīḥ al-Bukhārī 45; Ṣaḥīḥ Muslim 3017; Ibn Kathīr on 3:1–80; Ibn Kathīr on 5:12–13; Sīrat Ibn Hishām

ʿUmar ibn al-Khaṭṭāb reported that a Jewish man said to him, 'O Commander of the Believers, there is an āyah in your Book which, had it been revealed to us Jews, we would have taken that day as a festival.' ʿUmar asked which āyah, and he said, 'This day I have perfected for you your religion' (5:3). ʿUmar said, 'I know the day and place it was revealed: the Prophet ﷺ was standing at ʿArafah on a Friday.'

Cited toṢaḥīḥ al-Bukhārī 45; Ṣaḥīḥ Muslim 3017

In the Prophet's ﷺ life

Revelation10 AH · Age c. 63 · ʿArafah

The Farewell Pilgrimage

The Prophet ﷺ led the pilgrims at ʿArafah in his final ḥajj, and it was here, standing on his camel, that 5:3 was revealed, completing the religion.

Recalled in āyah 3

حُرِّمَتْ عَلَيْكُمُ ٱلْمَيْتَةُ وَٱلدَّمُ وَلَحْمُ ٱلْخِنزِيرِ وَمَآ أُهِلَّ لِغَيْرِ ٱللَّهِ بِهِۦ وَٱلْمُنْخَنِقَةُ وَٱلْمَوْقُوذَةُ وَٱلْمُتَرَدِّيَةُ وَٱلنَّطِيحَةُ وَمَآ أَكَلَ ٱلسَّبُعُ إِلَّا مَا ذَكَّيْتُمْ وَمَا ذُبِحَ عَلَى ٱلنُّصُبِ وَأَن تَسْتَقْسِمُوا۟ بِٱلْأَزْلَـٰمِ ۚ ذَٰلِكُمْ فِسْقٌ ۗ ٱلْيَوْمَ يَئِسَ ٱلَّذِينَ كَفَرُوا۟ مِن دِينِكُمْ فَلَا تَخْشَوْهُمْ وَٱخْشَوْنِ ۚ ٱلْيَوْمَ أَكْمَلْتُ لَكُمْ دِينَكُمْ وَأَتْمَمْتُ عَلَيْكُمْ نِعْمَتِى وَرَضِيتُ لَكُمُ ٱلْإِسْلَـٰمَ دِينًا ۚ فَمَنِ ٱضْطُرَّ فِى مَخْمَصَةٍ غَيْرَ مُتَجَانِفٍ لِّإِثْمٍ ۙ فَإِنَّ ٱللَّهَ غَفُورٌ رَّحِيمٌ

Prohibited to you are dead animals, blood, the flesh of swine, and that which has been dedicated to other than Allāh, and [those animals] killed by strangling or by a violent blow or by a head-long fall or by the goring of horns, and those from which a wild animal has eaten, except what you [are able to] slaughter [before its death], and those which are sacrificed on stone altars, and [prohibited is] that you seek decision through divining arrows. That is grave disobedience. This day those who disbelieve have despaired of [defeating] your religion; so fear them not, but fear Me. This day I have perfected for you your religion and completed My favor upon you and have approved for you Islām as religion. But whoever is forced by severe hunger with no inclination to sin - then indeed, Allāh is Forgiving and Merciful.

  • Madd — 2 vowels
  • Madd — 2, 4 or 6 vowels
  • Madd — 6 vowels (lāzim)
  • Madd — 4 or 5 vowels (wājib)
  • Ghunnah — 2 vowels
  • Qalqalah
  • Ikhfāʾ
  • Ikhfāʾ shafawī
  • Idghām shafawī
  • Idghām with ghunnah
  • Idghām without ghunnah
  • Idghām mutajānisayn
  • Idghām mutaqāribayn
  • Iqlāb
  • Hamzat al-waṣl
  • Lām shamsiyyah
  • Silent letter

Tajwīd markup and colour convention: Quran.com API (v4) — text_uthmani_tajweed. Recitation audio: Quran.com / Quran Foundation Audio API (v4).

THEME 01Āyāt 1–5

Fulfil your contracts

The surah opens with a single sweeping command — fulfil contracts — before moving to permitted food, and then to 5:3, revealed at ʿArafah, which lists the remaining prohibited foods and declares the religion complete on that day. The two poles of the opening frame the surah: binding commitment, and finished guidance.

Drawn fromIbn Kathīr on 5:1; Ibn Kathīr on 5:3

1

يَـٰٓأَيُّهَا ٱلَّذِينَ ءَامَنُوٓا۟ أَوْفُوا۟ بِٱلْعُقُودِ ۚ أُحِلَّتْ لَكُم بَهِيمَةُ ٱلْأَنْعَـٰمِ إِلَّا مَا يُتْلَىٰ عَلَيْكُمْ غَيْرَ مُحِلِّى ٱلصَّيْدِ وَأَنتُمْ حُرُمٌ ۗ إِنَّ ٱللَّهَ يَحْكُمُ مَا يُرِيدُ

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O you who have believed, fulfill [all] contracts. Lawful for you are the animals of grazing livestock except for that which is recited to you [in this Qur’ān] - hunting not being permitted while you are in the state of iḥrām. Indeed, Allāh ordains what He intends.

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3

حُرِّمَتْ عَلَيْكُمُ ٱلْمَيْتَةُ وَٱلدَّمُ وَلَحْمُ ٱلْخِنزِيرِ وَمَآ أُهِلَّ لِغَيْرِ ٱللَّهِ بِهِۦ وَٱلْمُنْخَنِقَةُ وَٱلْمَوْقُوذَةُ وَٱلْمُتَرَدِّيَةُ وَٱلنَّطِيحَةُ وَمَآ أَكَلَ ٱلسَّبُعُ إِلَّا مَا ذَكَّيْتُمْ وَمَا ذُبِحَ عَلَى ٱلنُّصُبِ وَأَن تَسْتَقْسِمُوا۟ بِٱلْأَزْلَـٰمِ ۚ ذَٰلِكُمْ فِسْقٌ ۗ ٱلْيَوْمَ يَئِسَ ٱلَّذِينَ كَفَرُوا۟ مِن دِينِكُمْ فَلَا تَخْشَوْهُمْ وَٱخْشَوْنِ ۚ ٱلْيَوْمَ أَكْمَلْتُ لَكُمْ دِينَكُمْ وَأَتْمَمْتُ عَلَيْكُمْ نِعْمَتِى وَرَضِيتُ لَكُمُ ٱلْإِسْلَـٰمَ دِينًا ۚ فَمَنِ ٱضْطُرَّ فِى مَخْمَصَةٍ غَيْرَ مُتَجَانِفٍ لِّإِثْمٍ ۙ فَإِنَّ ٱللَّهَ غَفُورٌ رَّحِيمٌ

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Prohibited to you are dead animals, blood, the flesh of swine, and that which has been dedicated to other than Allāh, and [those animals] killed by strangling or by a violent blow or by a head-long fall or by the goring of horns, and those from which a wild animal has eaten, except what you [are able to] slaughter [before its death], and those which are sacrificed on stone altars, and [prohibited is] that you seek decision through divining arrows. That is grave disobedience. This day those who disbelieve have despaired of [defeating] your religion; so fear them not, but fear Me. This day I have perfected for you your religion and completed My favor upon you and have approved for you Islām as religion. But whoever is forced by severe hunger with no inclination to sin - then indeed, Allāh is Forgiving and Merciful.

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From the tafsīr

'ʿUqūd' covers every kind of binding agreement — covenants with Allah, contracts between people, and treaties between nations — making faithfulness to agreements a foundational value of the surah.

Cited toIbn Kathīr on 5:1

The report of ʿUmar and the Jewish man establishes both the timing (ʿArafah, on a Friday, during the Farewell Pilgrimage) and the weight of the āyah as the completion of revealed law.

Cited toIbn Kathīr on 5:3

Key takeaways

Reflect

Which agreement — spoken or unspoken — have you been slow to honour?

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Question 1 of 2

Where and when was 5:3 revealed, according to ʿUmar's report?

Question 2 of 2

What does 'ʿuqūd' in 5:1 cover, according to Ibn Kathīr?

THEME 02Āyāt 6–11

Purification and justice that resists hatred

The passage on wuḍūʾ and tayammum is followed immediately by a command to stand firm for Allah as witnesses in justice, and a direct warning: let not hatred of a people lead you away from justice. Justice is placed nearer to taqwā than any other single instruction in the surah.

Drawn fromAl-Saʿdī on 5:8; Ibn Kathīr on 5:8

8

يَـٰٓأَيُّهَا ٱلَّذِينَ ءَامَنُوا۟ كُونُوا۟ قَوَّٰمِينَ لِلَّهِ شُهَدَآءَ بِٱلْقِسْطِ ۖ وَلَا يَجْرِمَنَّكُمْ شَنَـَٔانُ قَوْمٍ عَلَىٰٓ أَلَّا تَعْدِلُوا۟ ۚ ٱعْدِلُوا۟ هُوَ أَقْرَبُ لِلتَّقْوَىٰ ۖ وَٱتَّقُوا۟ ٱللَّهَ ۚ إِنَّ ٱللَّهَ خَبِيرٌۢ بِمَا تَعْمَلُونَ

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O you who have believed, be persistently standing firm for Allāh, witnesses in justice, and do not let the hatred of a people prevent you from being just. Be just; that is nearer to righteousness. And fear Allāh; indeed, Allāh is [fully] Aware of what you do.

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From the tafsīr

Revealed regarding dealings with enemies and opponents, the āyah forbids letting animosity distort judgement — justice is owed even to those one has every worldly reason to resent.

Cited toIbn Kathīr on 5:8

'That is nearer to righteousness' ties justice directly to taqwā, making fairness towards an adversary a measure of one's fear of Allah, not merely a legal formality.

Cited toAl-Saʿdī on 5:8

Key takeaways

Reflect

Who do you dislike enough that your fairness towards them has quietly slipped?

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Question 1 of 2

How does al-Saʿdī connect justice to taqwā in this āyah?

Question 2 of 2

What does 5:8 explicitly warn against?

THEME 03Āyāt 27–32

The two sons of Ādam and the sanctity of life

One brother's offering was accepted and the other's was not; envy turned to a threat of murder, and the killer's brother refused to respond in kind, saying Allah only accepts from the righteous. From this account the Qurʾān draws the principle given to the Children of Israel: whoever kills a soul unjustly, it is as if he had slain all mankind, and whoever saves a soul, it is as if he had saved all mankind.

Drawn fromAl-Qurṭubī on 5:32; Ibn Kathīr on 5:27

27

۞ وَٱتْلُ عَلَيْهِمْ نَبَأَ ٱبْنَىْ ءَادَمَ بِٱلْحَقِّ إِذْ قَرَّبَا قُرْبَانًا فَتُقُبِّلَ مِنْ أَحَدِهِمَا وَلَمْ يُتَقَبَّلْ مِنَ ٱلْـَٔاخَرِ قَالَ لَأَقْتُلَنَّكَ ۖ قَالَ إِنَّمَا يَتَقَبَّلُ ٱللَّهُ مِنَ ٱلْمُتَّقِينَ

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And recite to them the story of Adam's two sons, in truth, when they both made an offering [to Allāh], and it was accepted from one of them but was not accepted from the other. Said [the latter], "I will surely kill you." Said [the former], "Indeed, Allāh only accepts from the righteous [who fear Him].

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32

مِنْ أَجْلِ ذَٰلِكَ كَتَبْنَا عَلَىٰ بَنِىٓ إِسْرَٰٓءِيلَ أَنَّهُۥ مَن قَتَلَ نَفْسًۢا بِغَيْرِ نَفْسٍ أَوْ فَسَادٍ فِى ٱلْأَرْضِ فَكَأَنَّمَا قَتَلَ ٱلنَّاسَ جَمِيعًا وَمَنْ أَحْيَاهَا فَكَأَنَّمَآ أَحْيَا ٱلنَّاسَ جَمِيعًا ۚ وَلَقَدْ جَآءَتْهُمْ رُسُلُنَا بِٱلْبَيِّنَـٰتِ ثُمَّ إِنَّ كَثِيرًا مِّنْهُم بَعْدَ ذَٰلِكَ فِى ٱلْأَرْضِ لَمُسْرِفُونَ

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Because of that, We decreed upon the Children of Israel that whoever kills a soul unless for a soul or for corruption [done] in the land - it is as if he had slain mankind entirely. And whoever saves one - it is as if he had saved mankind entirely. And Our messengers had certainly come to them with clear proofs. Then indeed many of them, [even] after that, throughout the land, were transgressors.

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From the tafsīr

The story is told 'in truth' to correct exaggerated or fabricated versions in earlier communities; the acceptance of an offering follows piety (taqwā), not birth order or status.

Cited toIbn Kathīr on 5:27

The comparison to killing 'all mankind' reflects the gravity of unjustly taking a single life in the sight of Allah, and the parallel principle of saving a life through rescue or through sparing it from wrongful death.

Cited toAl-Qurṭubī on 5:32

Key takeaways

Reflect

What envy, however small, are you allowing to grow unchecked right now?

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0 / 2 correct

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Question 1 of 2

What principle does 5:32 draw from this story?

Question 2 of 2

According to Ibn Kathīr, why was one offering accepted and the other not?

THEME 04Āyāt 12–19, 82

The covenant of the People of the Book

Allah took a covenant from the Children of Israel binding them to prayer, charity, belief in the messengers and support of them, but many broke that covenant. The Torah itself is described as containing guidance and light, judged by prophets who submitted to Allah. The surah then distinguishes among the People of the Book, noting that those who called themselves Christians were found nearer in affection to the believers because of priests and monks among them who were not arrogant.

Drawn fromIbn Kathīr on 5:12–13; Ibn Kathīr on 5:82

82

۞ لَتَجِدَنَّ أَشَدَّ ٱلنَّاسِ عَدَٰوَةً لِّلَّذِينَ ءَامَنُوا۟ ٱلْيَهُودَ وَٱلَّذِينَ أَشْرَكُوا۟ ۖ وَلَتَجِدَنَّ أَقْرَبَهُم مَّوَدَّةً لِّلَّذِينَ ءَامَنُوا۟ ٱلَّذِينَ قَالُوٓا۟ إِنَّا نَصَـٰرَىٰ ۚ ذَٰلِكَ بِأَنَّ مِنْهُمْ قِسِّيسِينَ وَرُهْبَانًا وَأَنَّهُمْ لَا يَسْتَكْبِرُونَ

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You will surely find the most intense of the people in animosity toward the believers [to be] the Jews and those who associate others with Allāh; and you will find the nearest of them in affection to the believers those who say, "We are Christians." That is because among them are priests and monks and because they are not arrogant.

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From the tafsīr

Breaking the covenant led to a described hardening of hearts and distortion of words from their right places, a warning to any community entrusted with revelation.

Cited toIbn Kathīr on 5:12–13

The nearness of some Christians in affection is explained by humility and a readiness to accept truth without arrogance, not as a blanket theological endorsement of Christian doctrine, which the surah elsewhere corrects.

Cited toIbn Kathīr on 5:82

Key takeaways

Reflect

Which of your own covenants with Allah have quietly hardened into habit without sincerity?

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0 / 2 correct

Answer from memory before scrolling back — retrieval is what makes it stick.

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Question 1 of 2

What reason does 5:82 give for some Christians being nearer in affection to believers?

Question 2 of 2

What consequence does Ibn Kathīr describe from breaking the covenant in 5:12–13?

THEME 05Āyāt 116–120

ʿĪsā's disavowal on the Day of Judgement

Allah will ask ʿĪsā, son of Maryam, whether he told people to take him and his mother as deities besides Allah, and he will answer, exalted are You, it was not for me to say what I have no right to say — declaring that Allah knows what is in his own soul while he does not know what is in Allah's. The surah closes by affirming that to Allah alone belongs the dominion of the heavens and the earth.

Drawn fromAl-Qurṭubī on 5:120; Ibn Kathīr on 5:116

116

وَإِذْ قَالَ ٱللَّهُ يَـٰعِيسَى ٱبْنَ مَرْيَمَ ءَأَنتَ قُلْتَ لِلنَّاسِ ٱتَّخِذُونِى وَأُمِّىَ إِلَـٰهَيْنِ مِن دُونِ ٱللَّهِ ۖ قَالَ سُبْحَـٰنَكَ مَا يَكُونُ لِىٓ أَنْ أَقُولَ مَا لَيْسَ لِى بِحَقٍّ ۚ إِن كُنتُ قُلْتُهُۥ فَقَدْ عَلِمْتَهُۥ ۚ تَعْلَمُ مَا فِى نَفْسِى وَلَآ أَعْلَمُ مَا فِى نَفْسِكَ ۚ إِنَّكَ أَنتَ عَلَّـٰمُ ٱلْغُيُوبِ

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And [beware the Day] when Allāh will say, "O Jesus, Son of Mary, did you say to the people, 'Take me and my mother as deities besides Allāh?'" He will say, "Exalted are You! It was not for me to say that to which I have no right. If I had said it, You would have known it. You know what is within myself, and I do not know what is within Yourself. Indeed, it is You who is Knower of the unseen.

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120

لِلَّهِ مُلْكُ ٱلسَّمَـٰوَٰتِ وَٱلْأَرْضِ وَمَا فِيهِنَّ ۚ وَهُوَ عَلَىٰ كُلِّ شَىْءٍ قَدِيرٌۢ

Tajwīd markup unavailable for this āyah — text shown uncoloured

To Allāh belongs the dominion of the heavens and the earth and whatever is within them. And He is over all things competent.

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From the tafsīr

This is a public disavowal on the Day of Judgement of any claim to divinity, spoken by ʿĪsā himself, refuting the later doctrines attributed to him by his followers.

Cited toIbn Kathīr on 5:116

The closing āyah returns the surah to its foundation — sole ownership of all creation belongs to Allah — answering every claim of shared divinity raised throughout the surah.

Cited toAl-Qurṭubī on 5:120

Key takeaways

Reflect

What claim about your own certainty would not survive being asked, in front of Allah, to account for it?

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Check yourself

0 / 2 correct

Answer from memory before scrolling back — retrieval is what makes it stick.

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Question 1 of 2

What does the surah's final āyah (5:120) affirm?

Question 2 of 2

What will ʿĪsā say when asked whether he told people to take him and his mother as deities?

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VOCABULARY

Roots from this surah

Learn the three-letter root and you unlock every word built from it — across the whole Qur'an, not just this surah.

و ف ي

āyāt 1, 3

to fulfil, complete

  • أَوْفُوا۟fulfil!
  • الْمُوفُونَthose who fulfil
  • وَفَّىhe fulfilled fully

ع د ل

āyāt 8, 42, 95, 106

justice

  • تَعْدِلُوا۟you are just
  • ٱعْدِلُوا۟be just!
  • عَدْلjustice

ك م ل

āyāt 3

completion, perfection

  • أَكْمَلْتُI have perfected
  • كَامِلcomplete
  • تَكْمِلَةcompletion

ق ب ل

āyāt 27

acceptance

  • تُقُبِّلَit was accepted
  • يَتَقَبَّلُHe accepts
  • قُرْبَانan offering

ق ت ل

āyāt 27, 28, 32

killing

  • لَأَقْتُلَنَّكَI will surely kill you
  • قَتَلَhe killed
  • قَـٰتِلُوهُمْfight them

ع ه د

āyāt 1, 7, 12, 14

covenant, pact

  • مِيثَـٰقa firm covenant
  • عَهِدَhe made a covenant
  • عَهْدa covenant

س ب ح

āyāt 116

to glorify, exalt as free of imperfection

  • سُبْحَـٰنَكَexalted are You
  • يُسَبِّحُhe glorifies
  • تَسْبِيحglorification

Carry this with you

  • Islam opens its most legislatively dense surah with a single command: fulfil your contracts.
  • The completion of the religion was announced at ʿArafah, the peak of the Prophet's ﷺ mission.
  • Justice must hold even toward those you have every worldly reason to hate.
  • The killing of one innocent soul carries the weight of killing all mankind.
  • Covenants carry consequences; breaking them hardens the heart over time.
  • Humility, not lineage, is what draws people nearer to true faith.
  • ʿĪsā will personally disown, before all creation, the divinity later claimed for him.
  • All dominion, without partner, belongs to Allah alone.

Where this surah connects

Cross-surah threads

Parts of the Qurʾān explain other parts. Each thread below opens the same subject as it is argued across every other surah you have studied, in revelation order.

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Sources behind Sūrah Al-Māʾidah

Every line of context, tafsīr and takeaway on this page traces back to one of these references. Ḥadīth numbers open on sunnah.com and āyah references open on quran.com, so you can check the claim rather than take it on trust. The Arabic text itself is fetched live from a verified public corpus.

FINAL ASSESSMENT

Full exam — the whole surah, from memory

Every question from every theme, interleaved and reworded. Interleaving is what turns recognition into recall. Each answer updates your review schedule, your mistakes list and your mastery score for that theme.

Al-Māʾidah — full exam

1 / 10 · 0 correct

10 questions across 5 themes.

Al-Māʾidah · The covenant of the People of the Book

What reason does 5:82 give for some Christians being nearer in affection to believers?

Arabic (Uthmānī script) and the Ṣaḥīḥ International translation are fetched live from the Quran.com API (v4), sourced from the King Fahd Complex muṣḥaf — api.quran.com API docs · Translation: Ṣaḥīḥ International · Integrity & testing protocol