لَقَدْ كَفَرَ ٱلَّذِينَ قَالُوٓا۟ إِنَّ ٱللَّهَ هُوَ ٱلْمَسِيحُ ٱبْنُ مَرْيَمَ ۖ وَقَالَ ٱلْمَسِيحُ يَـٰبَنِىٓ إِسْرَٰٓءِيلَ ٱعْبُدُوا۟ ٱللَّهَ رَبِّى وَرَبَّكُمْ ۖ إِنَّهُۥ مَن يُشْرِكْ بِٱللَّهِ فَقَدْ حَرَّمَ ٱللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ ٱلْجَنَّةَ وَمَأْوَىٰهُ ٱلنَّارُ ۖ وَمَا لِلظَّـٰلِمِينَ مِنْ أَنصَارٍ 72
Translations
They have certainly disbelieved who say, "Allāh is the Messiah, the son of Mary" while the Messiah has said, "O Children of Israel, worship Allāh, my Lord and your Lord." Indeed, he who associates others with Allāh - Allāh has forbidden him Paradise, and his refuge is the Fire. And there are not for the wrongdoers any helpers.
Transliteration
Laqad kafara alladhīna qālū inna Allāha huwa al-Masīḥu ibnu Maryam wa-qāla al-Masīḥu yā banī Isrāʾīl uʿbudū Allāha rabbī wa-rabbakum innahu man yushrik bi-Allāh faqad ḥarrama Allāhu ʿalayhi al-jannata wa-maʾwāhu al-nār wa-mā li-l-ẓālimīna min anṣār
Tafsir (Explanation)
This ayah rejects the Christian doctrine of Jesus being God or the son of God, declaring such belief to be kufr (disbelief). The Qur'an presents Jesus' own testimony that he worshipped Allah as his Lord and the Lord of the Israelites, and warns that associating partners with Allah (shirk) results in Paradise being forbidden and Hellfire being the destination. Classical scholars like Ibn Kathir emphasize that this ayah affirms Jesus' monotheism and humanity while refuting trinitarian concepts, establishing the Islamic principle of absolute divine oneness (tawhīd).
Revelation Context
Surah Al-Ma'idah was revealed in Medina during the later Meccan period and deals extensively with People of the Book (Christians and Jews) and their theological positions. This ayah specifically addresses Christian beliefs about Jesus that had developed after his time, correcting misconceptions that had entered Christian theology and reaffirming the Islamic understanding of Jesus as a messenger, not divine.
Related Hadiths
The Prophet ﷺ said: 'Whoever testifies that there is no god but Allah alone with no partners, and that Muhammad is His servant and messenger, and that Jesus is the servant of Allah and His messenger, and His word which He bestowed upon Mary, and a spirit created from Him...' (Sahih Bukhari 4472). This hadith affirms the proper Islamic position on Jesus that aligns with this ayah.
Themes
Key Lesson
This ayah teaches that belief in absolute monotheism is fundamental to Islam and salvation, rejecting any form of associating partners with Allah, no matter how religiously framed. For modern believers, it emphasizes the importance of maintaining pure Islamic creed and vigilance against theological innovations that compromise the central message of divine oneness that Jesus himself proclaimed.