The Eucharist in the Qur’an

Abstract

ABSTRACT A passage in the Qur’an’s fifth sura (verses 112–15) relates that Jesus’s disciples asked him if God could send them a table or meal (māʾida) from heaven. The precise referent of this story and its significance have been the subject of debate in Qur’an scholarship. This study first argues that Q 5.112–5 refers to the institution of the Eucharist, by showing that worship is a central concern of Q 5 and that this passage is connected to earlier verses of the sura that refer to Christian worship. Second, the study provides a brief discussion of Christian conceptions of the Eucharist and of the prayers recited during this ritual in Late Antiquity, suggesting that the qur’anic account and its surrounding verses address critically three main issues: the affirmation of the Christian creed during the Eucharist, the capacity of this rite to bring about forgiveness and salvation, and the related idea of Christ as the prime mediator between God (the Father) and humanity. This critical engagement with Christian worship seems to be a reaction to Christian criticism of the Believers’ way of worship, which is referenced earlier in the sura.