Quran

Quran 5:116, did you tell people to worship you?

Surah Al-Maidah, ayah 116: "And [beware the Day] when Allah will say, "O Jesus, Son of Mary, did you say to the people, 'Take me and my mother as deities besides Allah?'" He will say, "Exalted..." Read it in Arabic with transliteration and the Sahih International translation, with the ayah before and after it, and listen to it recited.

5:115Before

قَالَ ٱللَّهُ إِنِّى مُنَزِّلُهَا عَلَيْكُمْ ۖ فَمَن يَكْفُرْ بَعْدُ مِنكُمْ فَإِنِّىٓ أُعَذِّبُهُۥ عَذَابًۭا لَّآ أُعَذِّبُهُۥٓ أَحَدًۭا مِّنَ ٱلْعَٰلَمِينَ ﴿١١٥﴾

Waalal laahu innee munaz ziluhaa 'alaikum faman yakfur ba'du minkum fa inneee u'azzibuhoo 'azaabal laaa u'azzibuhooo ahadam minal 'aalameen

Allah said, "Indeed, I will sent it down to you, but whoever disbelieves afterwards from among you - then indeed will I punish him with a punishment by which I have not punished anyone among the worlds."

5:116This ayah

وَإِذْ قَالَ ٱللَّهُ يَٰعِيسَى ٱبْنَ مَرْيَمَ ءَأَنتَ قُلْتَ لِلنَّاسِ ٱتَّخِذُونِى وَأُمِّىَ إِلَٰهَيْنِ مِن دُونِ ٱللَّهِ ۖ قَالَ سُبْحَٰنَكَ 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 عَلَّٰمُ ٱلْغُيُوبِ ﴿١١٦﴾

Wa iz qaalal laahu yaa 'Eesab na Maryama 'a-anta qulta linnaasit takhizoonee wa ummiya ilaahaini min doonil laahi qaala Subhaanaka maa yakoonu leee anaqoola maa yakkoonu leee an aqoola maa laisa lee bihaqq; in kuntu qultuhoo faqad 'alimtah; ta'lamu maa fee nafsee wa laaa a'almu maa fee nafsik; innaka Anta 'Allaamul Ghuyoob

And [beware the Day] when Allah will say, "O Jesus, Son of Mary, did you say to the people, 'Take me and my mother as deities besides Allah?'" 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.

5:117After

مَا قُلْتُ لَهُمْ إِلَّا مَآ أَمَرْتَنِى بِهِۦٓ أَنِ ٱعْبُدُوا۟ ٱللَّهَ رَبِّى وَرَبَّكُمْ ۚ وَكُنتُ عَلَيْهِمْ شَهِيدًۭا مَّا دُمْتُ فِيهِمْ ۖ فَلَمَّا تَوَفَّيْتَنِى كُنتَ أَنتَ ٱلرَّقِيبَ عَلَيْهِمْ ۚ وَأَنتَ عَلَىٰ كُلِّ شَىْءٍۢ شَهِيدٌ ﴿١١٧﴾

Maa qultu lahum illaa maaa amartanee bihee ani'budul laaha Rabbeee wa Rabbakum; wa kuntu 'alaihim shaheedam maa dumtu feehim falammaa tawaffaitanee kunta Antar Raqeeba 'alaihim; wa Anta 'alaa kulli shai'in Shaheed

I said not to them except what You commanded me - to worship Allah, my Lord and your Lord. And I was a witness over them as long as I was among them; but when You took me up, You were the Observer over them, and You are, over all things, Witness.

Arabic: Tanzil, Uthmani script. English: Sahih International. Audio: EveryAyah. Transliteration is a learning aid; read from the Arabic when you can.

Meaning and lessons

What Quran 5:116 means, in brief.

On the Day of Resurrection, Allah will ask Isa son of Maryam whether he told people to take him and his mother as gods besides Allah. Isa answers: "Glory be to You. It was not for me to say what I had no right to say. If I had said it, You would know it. You know what is in me, and I do not know what is in You."

Ibn Kathir explains that the question is a rebuke to those who worshipped Isa and his mother, made in front of all creation, and Isa's answer frees him from what they claimed. In the next ayat Isa says he told them only to worship Allah, his Lord and theirs, and ends: "If You punish them, they are Your servants; and if You forgive them, You are the Mighty, the Wise."

Summarised in our own words from Tafsir Ibn Kathir, on Quran 5:116. Translation of the ayah: Sahih International.

Lessons from this ayah

  • Isa called only to the worship of Allah.
  • The prophets will testify against anyone who worshipped them.
  • Only Allah knows the unseen; even prophets know only what He tells them.

Where Quran 5:116 is in the mushaf

Ayah 116 of Surah Al-Maidah (المَائـِدَةِ), "The Table", surah 5 of the Quran, a Medinan surah of 120 ayat revealed in Madinah. It is in juz 7 (para 7), hizb 13, on page 127 of the standard Madinah mushaf. People search for it as 5/116, 5 116 or Quran 5 116.

Questions

Good to know.

What does Quran 5:116 say?

And [beware the Day] when Allah will say, "O Jesus, Son of Mary, did you say to the people, 'Take me and my mother as deities besides Allah?'" 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. (Sahih International)

What is Quran 5:116 about?

On the Day of Resurrection, Allah will ask Isa son of Maryam whether he told people to take him and his mother as gods besides Allah. Isa answers: "Glory be to You. It was not for me to say what I had no right to say. If I had said it, You would know it. You know what is in me, and I do not know what is in You."

Which surah and juz is 5:116 in?

It is in Surah Al-Maidah, surah 5 of the Quran, in juz 7 (para 7), on page 127 of the Madinah mushaf.

What comes before and after 5:116?

The ayah before, 5:115, says: "Allah said, "Indeed, I will sent it down to you, but whoever disbelieves afterwards from among you - then indeed will I punish him with a punishment by which I have not punished anyone among the worlds."" The ayah after, 5:117, says: "I said not to them except what You commanded me - to worship Allah, my Lord and your Lord. And I was a witness over them as long as I was among them; but when You took me up, You were the Observer over them, and You are, over all things, Witness."