Mary and Jesus in Islam

The Table of Viands

Allah Almighty has said,

The disciples said: O Jesus son of Mary! Will your Lord consent to send down to us food from heavens? He said: Be careful of (your duty to) Allah if you are believers. (5:112)

What was that table all about? How was it sent down and what did it contain? These questions are answered differently by different people, each according to the extent of his knowledge or depth of his imagination! Qatadah has quoted Jabir quoting `Ammar ibn Yasir citing the Messenger of Allah saying, “The table was sent down with bread and meat on it because they had asked Jesus for food to eat, and that it would not be exhausted. He said to them, `I shall do so, and it shall always come to you as long as you do not become malicious or betray (me), for in the latter case, you will be tormented.' It was only one day after its descent upon them that they became malicious, and they betrayed (Jesus).”

Ata ibn Abu Rabah[^1] is quoted as citing Salman al-Farisi (the Persian) saying that Jesus never committed any wrong deed, nor did he rebuke an orphan, nor did he burst laughing, nor did he drive flies away from his face[^2]... When the disciples asked him to bring them tables of viands, he said, “Lord! Do send down to us food from heavens to be for us an ever-recurring happiness, to the first of us and to the last, and

[^1] Ata ibn Abu Rabah (d. 114 A.H./732 A.D.) was a renown tabi`i who learned from the sahaba and reported hadith from them. He was once the mufti of Mecca.

[^2] This is a figure of speech which means: “He never hurt anyone.”

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a sign from You, and grant us means of subsistence, and You are the best of Providers” (Qur'an, 5:114). A red table between two clouds, one above it and one underneath it, came descending upon them as they looked at it till it settled on the ground before them. Jesus wept and said, “Lord! I implore You to count me among those who are grateful to You! Lord! Make it a sign of mercy from You rather than one of penalty!” When they saw it, they found it something which they had never seen before, and similar to its fragrance they had never inhaled. Jesus said to them, “Whoever is most righteous in deeds among you should uncover it and mention the Name of Allah over it then eat of it.”

Shemon (Simon) al-Safa said, “You are more fit to do so than any of us.” Jesus stood up, made his ablution, offered lengthy prayers and kept weeping for quite some time. Then he removed the sheet that had covered it saying, Bismillah (in the Name of Allah), the best of sustainers.” It was a roasted fish the scales and the bones of which had already been removed. So fat it was that it seemed as if it was floating over oil. At its head there was salt, and at its tail there was vinegar, and it was surrounded by many types of vegetables with the exception of leek. There were five loaves of bread on it. On the first of them there were olives. On the second there was honey. On the third there was oil, and on the fourth there was jerked meat. On the fifth there was cheese.

Simon said, “O Ruhullah! Is this earthly, or is it from the food of the afterlife?” Jesus said, “What you see is neither the food of the life of this world nor of that of the Hereafter. Rater, it is something which Allah has innovated through His overwhelming Might; so, eat of what you have asked for, and He will provide you with an increase of His favors.” They said, “O Ruhullah! Could you please show us a miracle derived from this one?” Jesus said, “O fish!

Come back to life by the permission of Allah!” The fish shook and its scales and bones came back to it, whereupon the disciples were frightened of it. Jesus asked them, “What is the matter with you that you ask for things which, when granted, you dislike?” Then he added, “How worried I am about you that you should ever be chastised! O fish! Go back to your former state by the permission of Allah!” The fish resumed its former state, a roasted fish, just as they had seen it before. They said, “O Ruhullah! Be the first to eat of it, then we will eat after you.” Jesus said, “God

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forbid that I should eat of it; rather, those who asked for it shall eat of it.” But they were apprehensive of eating of it; so, Jesus invited the indigent, the sick, the leprous, and those afflicted with other ailments to come and eat of it. He said to them, “Eat of the sustenance of your Lord! Yours shall be the joy, and affliction shall be others' lot!” So they ate of it. As many as one thousand and three hundred men and women from among the poor, the sick, the handicapped, and those afflicted with ailments ate of it to their fill. Then Jesus looked at the fish, and it appeared just as it had come the first time from the heavens.

The table after that ascended as they looked on and disappeared. All those who were sick and ate of it were healed, and so were all those with permanent handicaps, and Allah enriched of His favor the poor who partook of it till their death. The disciples regretted having missed the opportunity to eat of it, and so did those who could not. Whenever it descended, the young and the old, the men and the women, would crowd around it. It kept coming to them for forty days in the late morning and before noon.

It would remain with them till they all had enough, then it would fly away before their very eyes. It used to come one day and skip another, just as the she-camel of the people of Thamu-d. Allah Almighty inspired Jesus to “Make My table and sustenance for the benefit of the poor rather than the rich,” so the rich were very displeased about that, so much so that they complained about it and they started casting doubt about the table, saying, “Do you believe that a table can really come down from the heavens?!” Jesus said to them, “Prepare yourselves, then, to receive the penalty of Allah.”

Allah Almighty inspired Jesus: “I have made two provisions regarding those who belie it. Those who disbelieve after I have sent it down will be tormented a torment with which I will not torment anyone else from among the people of the world.” Jesus, thereupon, said, as the Holy Qur'an tells us, “If You chastise them, surely they are Your servants, and if You forgive them, surely You are the Mighty,

the Wise” (Qur'an, 5:118). He, therefore, turned three hundred men from among them, who had spent their night in bed with their wives, into pigs running in the alleys and frequenting the places where garbage is collected, eating filth. When people saw that, they were alarmed, and they came to Jesus son of Mary horrified. They wept over those of

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their families who were turned into pigs. When the pigs saw Jesus, they wept and kept turning around him. Jesus called them by their names, and they came, one by one, crying and nodding with their heads as he called out their names, unable to speak. They lived for three days, then they perished.