Surah Al-Baqarah — Verse 246

Do you not know, O Prophet, about those nobles from the Israelites after the time of Moses who said to a prophet of theirs, ‘Set up for us a king and we will fight alongside him in Allah’s path’? The prophet replied, ‘It may be that if Allah makes fighting obligatory, you will not fight!’ They denied that this would happen and insisted, ‘What would stop us from fighting in Allah’s path when our enemies have removed us from our homes and have taken our children as prisoners?’ Yet when Allah made fighting obligatory on them, they all turned away, except a few of them. Allah knows the wrongdoers who broke their promise and turned away from His instruction; and He will repay them for their action.

Have you not thought about the group of the Children of Israel after (the time of) Musa? When they said to a Prophet of theirs, "Appoint for us a king and we will fight in Allah's way." He said, "Would you then refrain from fighting, if fighting was prescribed for you?" They said, "Why should we not fight in Allah's way while we have been driven out of our homes and our children (families have been taken as captives)?" But when fighting was ordered for them, they turned away, all except a few of them. And Allah is All-Aware of the wrongdoers (246)

Mujahid said that the Prophet (mentioned in the Ayah 2:246 above) is Shamwil (Samuel). Wahb bin Munabbih said: The Children of Israel remained on the straight path for a period of time after Moses. They then innovated in the religion and some of them even worshipped the idols. Yet, there were always Prophets sent among them who would command them to work righteous deeds, refrain from doing evil and who would rule them according to the commands of the Torah. When they (Israelites) committed the evil that they committed, Allah caused their enemies to overwhelm them, and many fatalities fell among them as a consequence. Their enemies also captured a great number of them, and took over large areas of their land. Earlier, anyone who would fight the Israelites would lose, because they had the Torah and the Tabut, which they inherited generation after generation ever since the time of Moses, who spoke to Allah directly. Yet, the Israelites kept indulging in misguidance until some king took the Tabut from them during a battle. That king also took possession of the Torah, and only a few of the Israelites who memorized it remained. The prophethood halted among their various tribes and only a pregnant woman remained of the offspring of Lavi (Levi), in whom the prophethood still appeared. Her husband had been killed, so the Israelites kept her in a house so that Allah may give her a boy, who would be their Prophet. The woman also kept invoking Allah to grant her a boy. Allah heard her pleas and gave her a boy whom she called 'Shamwil' meaning 'Allah has heard my pleas.' Some people said that the boy's name was Sham'un (Simeon), which also has a similar meaning.

As that boy grew, Allah raised him to be a righteous person. When he reached the age of prophethood, Allah revealed to him and commanded him to call (his people) to Him and to His Tawhid (Oneness). Shamwil called the Children of Israel (to Allah) and they asked him to appoint a king over them so that they could fight their enemies under his command. The kingship had also ended among them. Their Prophet said to them, "What if Allah appoints a king over you, would you fulfill your vow to fight under his command?"

قَالُوا وَمَا لَنَا أَلَّا نُقَاتِلَ فِي سَبِيلِ اللَّهِ وَقَدْ أُخْرِجْنَا مِن دِيَارِنَا وَأَبْنَائِنَا

(They said, "Why should we not fight in Allah's way while we have been driven out of our homes and our children?") meaning, 'After our land had been confiscated and our children had been taken from us?' Allah said:

فَلَمَّا كُتِبَ عَلَيْهِمُ الْقِتَالُ تَوَلَّوْا إِلَّا قَلِيلًا مِّنْهُمْ وَاللَّهُ عَلِيمٌ بِالظَّالِمِينَ

(But when fighting was ordered for them, they turned away, all except a few of them. And Allah is All-Aware of the wrongdoers) meaning, only a few of them kept their promise, but the majority abandoned Jihad and Allah has full knowledge of them.

Commentary

1. Verse 246: إِذْ قَالُوا لِنَبِيٍّ لَّهُمُ ابْعَثْ لَنَا مَلِكًا نُّقَاتِلْ فِي سَبِيلِ اللَّـهِ (When they said to a prophet of theirs: "Send us a king so that we may fight in the way of Allah)."

These people from the Bani Isra'il had abandoned the injunctions given by Allah Almighty. When the infidel Amalekites were made to rule over them, they began thinking about correcting the situation. The name of the prophet mentioned here is Samuel (Arabic: Hebrew: Shemuel).

Verse 248: The story of Talut and Jalut

The Bani Isra'il used to have the legacy of a wooden chest (also identified as the Ark of the Covenant). Moses and other prophets of Bani Isra'il would keep this chest in the frontline of the battlefield. Its barakah بَرَکَہ (blessing, benediction) used to give them victory. When )Jalut: Goliath) overcame Bani Isra'il, he took this chest away with him. When Allah Almighty willed the return of the chest, it so happened that the infidels were struck by some epidemic or calamity at places where they carried this chest. Five cities were turned desolate. Nonplussed, they loaded it on two bullocks and drove them off. Then, the angels took control of the bullocks and made it reach Talut's doorsteps. (Talut is the Qur'anic name of the king known in the Bible as Saul) When the Bani Isra'il saw this sign, they believed in the kingdom of Talut, who then mounted an attack on Jalut while the weather was very hot.

Spending for the cause of God’s religion is called giving a ‘generous loan.’ This spending is purely for God: no other interest is involved. God called for a loan to be given to Him and he called it a ‘generous loan’ because He would return it many times over. The facing of difficulties and setbacks by a believer is in no way a deprivation. It is indeed akin to opening a new door to God’s blessings. At a later stage, by spending his life and wealth for the cause of God, he becomes deserving of those blessings of God, that no one would ordinarily receive. About three hundred years after the death of Moses, the Israelites were again subjugated by the polytheistic neighbouring nations. After having remained in that state of subjugation for about a quarter of a century, they felt the urge to bring back their period of glory. For this purpose they needed a leader around whom they could rally in order to fight their enemies. So their Prophet Samuel appointed a man called Talut in the Quran and Saul in the Bible. Tall, wise and strong, Saul was distinguished in physique, and commanding in appearance. Although he was superior both in mind and body, the Hebrews were loath to accept his leadership and raised all kinds of petty objections, one of which was that he belonged to the tribe of Benjamin, the smallest tribe in Israel. Moreover, he was not rich. Out of sheer selfishness, each one of them, instead of desiring the good of the people as a whole—as a leader should—wanted to be leader and king himself.