[Kanz-ul-Iman (Translation of Quran)J (Part 7, Surah AI-Mai’dah, Ayah 114)
In response to the supplication of Sayyiduna ‘Isa , Allah replied that although I will descend a feast but afterwards, anyone committing unbelief (Kufr) among the Bani Israel will be tormented so severely that no one else would ever be tormented like that. Therefore, following the commandment of Allah &.9;..o, few angels descended bearing feast from the skies consisting of seven fish and seven loaves of bread.
(Iajseer Jalalayn, pp. 111; part 7, Surah AI-Mai’dah, Ayah 115)
Sayyiduna Ibn ‘Abbas has reported that the angels brought meat and bread from Heavens and according to some other reports, it was a big boneless fried fish, oil was dripping from it, salt was present near its head and vinegar near its tail, it was surrounded with different types of vegetables and there were five bread. On top of one
of the bread, there was olive oil, on the ”
second one there was honey, on the
third one there was ghee, on the fourth one there was cheese, and on the fifth one there were fillets of meat.
Upon seeing these on the dinning mat, Sham’oon, the chief of the disciples of Sayyiduna asked, ‘O Ruhullah, is this feast a worldly food or heavenly food?’ He replied, ‘This food is neither heavenly nor worldly. Allah &.9;..o has just created it through His supreme power and sent it for you.’
(Iafseer Jalalayn, vol. 2, pp. 304; part 7, Surah Al-Mai’dah, Ayah 115)
Then Sayyiduna ‘Isa ordered the Bani Israel to eat the feast as per their desires and warned them to refrain from any mischief and directed them not to store the food for the next day. But the Bani Israel breached the trust and hoarded the food for the next day. Due to this disobedience, they became victim of the punishment from Allah &.9;..o in such a way that when they slept at night, they were all fine but when they woke up in the morning, their faces were deformed and few had turned into pigs and others into monkeys. Then Sayyiduna ‘Isa supplicated for their death and thus on the third day, all of these people died and vanished off from the face of the earth, it is a mystery as to what happened to their corpses. Whether the earth swallowed them or what else did Allah do to them! (I’afseer Jamal ‘alal Jalalayn, vol. 2, pp. 304; part 7, Surah Al-Mai’dah, Ayah 115)
Allah has described this strange and wonderful event in Surah Al-Mai’dah of the Holy Quran. And due to this incident, this Surah has been named as Surah ‘Al-Mai’dah’. Al-Mai’dah means ‘table spread’.
‘Isa; the son of Maryam, said, ‘O Allah, 0 our Lord! Send down for us a table spread (with food) from heaven, so that it may become an Eid {festival) for us, for our former and latter people, and (let it be) a sign from You. And give us sustenance, and You are the Best Provider of Sustenance.’ Allah said, ‘I am sending it down to you; so if now any of you disbelieves thereafter, I will give him such a punishment which I will not give anyone else in the whole world.’
[Kanz-ul-Iman (Translation of Quran)] (Part 7, Surah Al-Mai’dah, Ayah 114-115)
Moral:
The abovementioned event provides several moral lessons and words of advice. Two among these are very obvious:
1. You see how perilous it is to oppose Ambiya that when the Bani Israel opposed and disobeyed their Nabi by being mischievous towards the heavenly feast and by hoarding for the next day the severe torment from Allah struck them deforming their faces into that of pigs and monkeys. They were destroyed in such a way that even no signs of their graves are left. All those who breach the trust of Allah and
His Rusul should learn a lesson from the abovementioned severe punishment and should repent seriously.
2. The supplication of Sayyiduna ‘Isa ‘ mentions ‘the day when the Divine feast will descend will be a day of Eid for our predecessors and successors’. From this statement, we derive the Madani pearl that the day when a Divine sign of Allah s revealed, display of joy, jubilation and Eid (celebrating) on that day is the blessed Sunnah of Sayyiduna ‘Isa –
The day and night of the birthday of our Beloved Rasool Muhammad is undoubtedly the day and night of the revealing the greatest sign of Allah . Therefore, celebrating the day of Eid Milad-un-Nabi and calling this day as ‘Eid-e-Milad’ is in accordance to the teachings of the Glorious Quran. Celebration of the joy by holding gatherings at homes, by decorating places,
cooking excellent food and eating yourself as well as feeding others; all these are the signs of Eid and are the modes to celebrate this day.
This is a holy tradition by virtue of which the Ahl-us-Sunnah celebrates the great birthday of Beloved Rasool Muhammad. And the ones who get irritated on this blissful day, confine themselves in their homes, maintain darkness in their homes, wander here and there wearing dirty clothes with faces made up, and ridicule and allege the celebrators of Eid Milad-un-Nabi by calling them Bid’ati (innovator) should be left to suffer at their own ends and Ahl-us-Sunnah should rejoice happily, should try to organise numerous gatherings of Milad and recite Salat-‘ Alan-Nabi out of love and devotion.
