When these sincere, pure and pious believers who were devoted to the path of Allah (swt) saw that Prophet Jesus (PBUH) could perform all those miracles with the permission of Allah, they asked him – as if to confirm their faith – to see with their own eyes, another miracle.

This is like the request of Prophet Abraham (PBUH):

 رَبِّ أَرِنِي كَيْفَ تُحْيِـي الْمَوْتَى

(“My Lord! Show me how you give life to the dead.”) (Al-Baqara: 260)

He believed that Allah (swt) is the Giver of life to the dead, but he wanted to see the way it was done.

So, it is in this same manner that the disciples, who were believers, said that. This is the reason this Surah is called Al-Maidah, which means ‘a table (spread with food)’.

(… هَلْ يَسْتَطِيعُ رَبُّكَ… ) (…can your Lord …): A question arises here: How is it that the disciples, who were believers in Allah (swt), and in the Prophet Jesus (PBUH) too, question if Allah could do the thing they had requested?

The answer: Among the Attributes of Allah (swt) is that He is All-Powerful and capable of doing everything. So, the word {can} in the phrase actually means, “O Jesus, will your Lord accede to our request of sending down a table (of food) from the heaven?”

Therefore, Prophet Jesus (PBUH) replied:

(  قَالَ اتَّقُوا اللَّهَ إِن كُنتُم مُّؤْمِنِينَ… ) (…[Jesus] said,” Fear Allah, if you should be believers.”): He shifted their focus from requesting a tangible miracle to accomplishing values connected to faith. For it was not fitting for them to give Allah (swt) suggestions for miracles. Observe the precision of the positive answer given by Prophet Jesus (PBUH).