Which Madinan Ayah Was Revealed in Mecca?
آية مدنية نزلت في مكة المكرمة وضمنت في سورة مدنية، فما هي؟
Allah the Almighty says: (And fear a Day when you will be returned to Allah. Then every soul will be compensated for what it earned, and they will not be treated unjustly.) [Al-Baqarah 2:281]
Allah the Almighty says: (Today I have perfected your faith for you, completed My favour upon you, and chosen Islam as your way.) [Al-Ma'idah 5:3]
قال تعالى: (وَاتَّقُوا يَوْمًا تُرْجَعُونَ فِيهِ إِلَى اللَّهِ ۖ ثُمَّ تُوَفَّىٰ كُلُّ نَفْسٍ مَّا كَسَبَتْ وَهُمْ لَا يُظْلَمُونَ) [البقرة 2: 281]
قال تعالى: (الْيَوْمَ أَكْمَلْتُ لَكُمْ دِينَكُمْ وَأَتْمَمْتُ عَلَيْكُمْ نِعْمَتِي وَرَضِيتُ لَكُمُ الْإِسْلَامَ دِينًا) [المائدة 5: 3]
1. Madinan by Time, Not by Place | المدني ما نزل بعد الهجرة
Al-Qurtubi explains, at the opening of Surah Al-Ma’idah, that everything of the Quran revealed after the Prophet’s emigration (Hijrah) is Madinan, whether it was revealed in Madinah or on one of his journeys, and that only what was revealed before the Hijrah is called Makkan. He states that Al-Ma’idah is Madinan by consensus, that part of it was revealed during the Farewell Pilgrimage, and part in the year of the Conquest of Mecca, namely: Do not let the hatred of a people who once barred you from the Sacred Mosque provoke you to transgress (5:2). By the same rule An-Nisa’ 4:58 is Madinan too: Ibn Kathir notes that many exegetes said it was revealed about Uthman ibn Talhah, from whom the Prophet took the key of the Ka’bah on the day of the Conquest and then returned it to him, as explained in the ayah revealed inside the Ka’bah.
وَلَا يَجْرِمَنَّكُمْ شَنَآنُ قَوْمٍ أَن صَدُّوكُمْ عَنِ الْمَسْجِدِ الْحَرَامِ أَن تَعْتَدُوا (سورة المائدة: 2)
قال القرطبي في مطلع تفسير سورة المائدة: وهي مدنية بإجماع، ومن هذه السورة ما نزل في حجة الوداع، ومنها ما أنزل عام الفتح، وهو قوله تعالى: (ولا يجرمنكم شنآن قوم) (المائدة 5: 2) الآية، وكل ما أنزل من القرآن بعد هجرة النبي صلى الله عليه وسلم فهو مدني، سواء نزل بالمدينة أو في سفر من الأسفار، وإنما يرسم بالمكي ما نزل قبل الهجرة، وعلى هذا فآية النساء: (إن الله يأمركم أن تؤدوا الأمانات إلى أهلها) (النساء 4: 58) مدنية أيضا، قال ابن كثير: وقد ذكر كثير من المفسرين أن هذه الآية نزلت في شأن عثمان بن طلحة، لما أخذ منه رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم مفتاح الكعبة يوم الفتح، ثم رده عليه.
2. Revealed at Arafah on a Friday | نزلت بعرفة يوم جمعة
Umar ibn al-Khattab reported that a Jewish man said to him: O Commander of the Believers, there is a verse in your Book which you recite; had it been revealed to us Jews, we would have taken that day as a festival. Umar asked: Which verse? He said: Today I have perfected your faith for you, completed My favour upon you, and chosen Islam as your way. Umar said: We know that day and the place where it was revealed to the Prophet: he was standing at Arafah, on a Friday (Sahih al-Bukhari 45, Sahih Muslim 3017). Ibn Kathir adds that it is known with certainty that the standing at Arafah in the Farewell Pilgrimage fell on a Friday, and that no scholar of the battles and the biography, nor any jurist, differed over it. Just before these words the same verse says: Today the disbelievers have given up all hope of undermining your faith. So do not fear them; fear Me! Ibn Kathir reports from Ibn Abbas: they lost hope that you would go back to their religion.
الْيَوْمَ يَئِسَ الَّذِينَ كَفَرُوا مِن دِينِكُمْ فَلَا تَخْشَوْهُمْ وَاخْشَوْنِ (سورة المائدة: 3)
عن عمر بن الخطاب رضي الله عنه أن رجلا من اليهود قال له: يا أمير المؤمنين، آية في كتابكم تقرءونها، لو علينا معشر اليهود نزلت لاتخذنا ذلك اليوم عيدا، قال: أي آية؟ قال: (اليوم أكملت لكم دينكم وأتممت عليكم نعمتي ورضيت لكم الإسلام دينا) (المائدة 5: 3)، قال عمر: "قد عرفنا ذلك اليوم والمكان الذي نزلت فيه على النبي صلى الله عليه وسلم وهو قائم بعرفة يوم جمعة" (صحيح البخاري 45، صحيح مسلم 3017)، وقال ابن كثير في كون الوقوف في حجة الوداع يوم جمعة: فإن هذا أمر معلوم مقطوع به، لم يختلف فيه أحد من أصحاب المغازي والسير ولا من الفقهاء، وقبلها في الآية نفسها: (اليوم يئس الذين كفروا من دينكم فلا تخشوهم واخشون) (المائدة 5: 3)، قال علي بن أبي طلحة عن ابن عباس: يعني: يئسوا أن يراجعوا دينهم.
3. The Greatest Favour on This Nation | أكبر نعم الله على هذه الأمة
Ibn Kathir explains that this is the greatest of Allah’s favours on this nation: He perfected their religion, so they need no other religion and no prophet other than their Prophet, whom He made the Seal of the Prophets and sent to mankind and jinn; nothing is lawful but what he made lawful, nothing is unlawful but what he made unlawful, and there is no religion but what he legislated, and everything he told is true, as Allah says: The Word of your Lord has been perfected in truth and justice (6:115). Ibn Abbas said: Allah told His Prophet and the believers that He had perfected faith for them, so they will never need any addition to it; He completed it, so He will never diminish it; and He was pleased with it, so He will never be displeased with it. As-Suddi said: it was revealed on the day of Arafah, and nothing lawful or unlawful was revealed after it.
وَتَمَّتْ كَلِمَتُ رَبِّكَ صِدْقًا وَعَدْلًا (سورة الأنعام: 115)
قال ابن كثير: هذه أكبر نعم الله عز وجل على هذه الأمة، حيث أكمل تعالى لهم دينهم، فلا يحتاجون إلى دين غيره، ولا إلى نبي غير نبيهم صلوات الله وسلامه عليه؛ ولهذا جعله الله خاتم الأنبياء، وبعثه إلى الإنس والجن، فلا حلال إلا ما أحله، ولا حرام إلا ما حرمه، ولا دين إلا ما شرعه، وكل شيء أخبر به فهو حق وصدق لا كذب فيه ولا خلف، كما قال تعالى: (وتمت كلمت ربك صدقا وعدلا) (الأنعام 6: 115)، وقال علي بن أبي طلحة عن ابن عباس: أخبر الله نبيه صلى الله عليه وسلم والمؤمنين أنه أكمل لهم الإيمان، فلا يحتاجون إلى زيادة أبدا، وقد أتمه الله فلا ينقصه أبدا، وقد رضيه الله فلا يسخطه أبدا، وقال السدي: نزلت هذه الآية يوم عرفة، فلم ينزل بعدها حلال ولا حرام.
4. Al-Baqarah 2:281 | آية البقرة 281
Ibn Kathir explains that in And fear a Day when you will be returned to Allah (2:281) Allah admonishes His servants and reminds them that this world and the wealth in it will pass, that the Hereafter will come, and that they will return to Him, who will hold His creation to account for what they did and repay them for the good and evil they earned; and He warns them of His punishment. He notes that it is reported to be the last verse of the Quran revealed: an-Nasa’i reported that Ibn Abbas said: The last thing revealed of the Quran was: And fear a Day when you will be returned to Allah; then every soul will be paid in full for what it earned, and they will not be wronged.
وَاتَّقُوا يَوْمًا تُرْجَعُونَ فِيهِ إِلَى اللَّهِ (سورة البقرة: 281)
قال ابن كثير: ثم قال تعالى يعظ عباده ويذكرهم زوال الدنيا وفناء ما فيها من الأموال وغيرها، وإتيان الآخرة والرجوع إليه تعالى ومحاسبته تعالى خلقه على ما عملوا، ومجازاته إياهم بما كسبوا من خير وشر، ويحذرهم عقوبته: (واتقوا يوما ترجعون فيه إلى الله ثم توفى كل نفس ما كسبت وهم لا يظلمون) (البقرة 2: 281)، وقال: وقد روي أن هذه الآية آخر آية نزلت من القرآن العظيم، وقد رواه النسائي من حديث يزيد النحوي، عن عكرمة، عن عبد الله بن عباس قال: آخر شيء نزل من القرآن: (واتقوا يوما ترجعون فيه إلى الله ثم توفى كل نفس ما كسبت وهم لا يظلمون) (البقرة 2: 281).
Scholarly Insight: Al-Qurtubi explains that whatever was revealed after the Hijrah is Madinan, even if it came down on a journey, so Al-Ma’idah 5:3, revealed at Arafah during the Farewell Pilgrimage (Sahih al-Bukhari 45), is Madinan. Read more in the tafsir of Surah Al-Ma’idah.
Frequently Asked Questions | الأسئلة الشائعة
Which Madinan verse was revealed near Mecca?
Al-Ma’idah 5:3, Today I have perfected your faith for you, revealed at Arafah during the Farewell Pilgrimage, on a Friday (Sahih al-Bukhari 45).
Why is a verse revealed in or near Mecca called Madinan?
Al-Qurtubi explains that everything revealed after the Hijrah is Madinan, whether in Madinah or on a journey; only what was revealed before the Hijrah is called Makkan.
When and where was Today I have perfected your faith for you revealed?
Umar ibn al-Khattab said it was revealed while the Prophet was standing at Arafah, on a Friday (Sahih al-Bukhari 45, Sahih Muslim 3017).
Which verse is reported to be the last one revealed?
Ibn Kathir notes that an-Nasa’i reported from Ibn Abbas that the last thing revealed of the Quran was: And fear a Day when you will be returned to Allah (2:281).
Prepared by Eng. Ghada Homad, founder of IslamFAQ, researched and written in consultation with qualified scholars, reviewed by Professor Khaled Jassem Al-Houli, Associate Professor of Comparative Jurisprudence and Islamic Politics, Faculty of Sharia and Islamic Studies, University of Kuwait. Read more about the authors and this project →