Surah Al-Baqarah — Verse 249

When Saul set out with his warriors, he said to them, ‘Allah will test you with a river. If anyone drinks from it, he will not be on my path and must not join me in fighting. The person who does not drink from it will be on my path and will join me in the fight. If someone drinks a handful of water, this will be forgiven’. When they reached the river, all the warriors drank from its water, except a few of them who held back despite being extremely thirsty. After Saul had crossed the river with the believers, some of the warriors said, ‘We do not have the ability to fight Goliath and his army’. Those that were convinced that they would meet Allah on the Day of Resurrection said to them, ‘So many believing groups small in number have defeated a disbelieving group large in number with Allah’s permission and assistance. Victory is based on faith and not numbers. Allah is with the patient ones among His servants: He assists and gives them victory’.

Then when Talut set out with the army, he said: "Verily, Allah will try you by a river. So whoever drinks thereof, he is not of me; and whoever tastes it not, he is of me, except him who takes (thereof) in the hollow of his hand." Yet, they drank thereof, all, except a few of them. So when he had crossed it (the river), he and those who believed with him, they said: "We have no power this day against Jalut (Goliath) and his hosts." But those who knew with certainty that they were going to meet Allah, said: "How often has a small group overcome a mighty host by Allah's leave?" And Allah is with As-Sabirin (the patient)(249)

Allah states that Talut, the king of the Children of Israel, marched forth with his soldiers and the Israelites who obeyed him. His army was of eighty thousand then, according to As-Suddi, but Allah knows best. Talut said:

إِنَّ اللَّهَ مُبْتَلِيكُم

(Verily, Allah will try you) meaning, He will test you with a river, which flowed between Jordan and Palestine, i.e. , the Shari'ah river, according to Ibn 'Abbas and others. He continued,

فَمَن شَرِبَ مِنْهُ فَلَيْسَ مِنِّي

(So whoever drinks thereof, he is not of me;) meaning, shall not accompany me today,

وَمَن لَّمْ يَطْعَمْهُ فَإِنَّهُ مِنِّي إِلَّا مَنِ اغْتَرَفَ غُرْفَةً بِيَدِهِ

(and whoever tastes it not, he is of me, except him who takes (thereof) in the hollow of his hand.) meaning, there is no harm in this case. Allah then said:

فَشَرِبُوا مِنْهُ إِلَّا قَلِيلًا مِّنْهُمْ

(Yet, they drank thereof, all, except a few of them.)

Ibn Jurayj stated that Ibn 'Abbas commented, "Whoever took some of it (the river's water) in the hollow of his hand, quenched his thirst; as for those who drank freely from it, their thirst was not quenched."

Ibn Jarir reported that Al-Bara' bin 'Azib said, "We used to say that the Companions of Muhammad ﷺ who accompanied him on the battle of Badr were more than three hundred and ten, just as many as the soldiers who crossed the river with Talut. Only those who believed crossed the river with him." Al-Bukhari also reported this.

This is why Allah said:

فَلَمَّا جَاوَزَهُ هُوَ وَالَّذِينَ آمَنُوا مَعَهُ قَالُوا لَا طَاقَةَ لَنَا الْيَوْمَ بِجَالُوتَ وَجُنُودِهِ

(So when he had crossed it (the river), he and those who believed with him, they said: "We have no power this day against Jalut (Goliath) and his hosts.")

This Ayah indicates that the Israelites (who remained with Saul) thought that they were few in the face of their enemy who were many then. So, their knowledgeable scholars strengthened their resolve by stating that Allah's promise is true and that triumph comes from Allah Alone, not from the large numbers or the adequacy of the supplies. They said to them:

كَم مِّن فِئَةٍ قَلِيلَةٍ غَلَبَتْ فِئَةً كَثِيرَةً بِإِذْنِ اللَّهِ وَاللَّهُ مَعَ الصَّابِرِينَ

("How often has a small group overcome a mighty host by Allah's leave?" And Allah is with As-Sabirin (the patient).)

Verse 249: قَالَ إِنَّ اللَّـهَ مُبْتَلِيكُم بِنَهَرٍ (He said: Allah is going to test you by a

river).

The wisdom behind this test, as perceived by this humble commentator, appears to be as follows. Not difficult to imagine is the excitement created on such occasions but there are not many who would stay firm in their hour of trial. And should such a time come, the weakness shown by such people becomes contagious making others panic as well. Allah Almighty willed that such people be pruned out. This purpose was accomplished by this test, which is very appropriate, because steadfastness is necessary in fighting. So, being patient, when water is made available without asking in a state of intense thirst, is a proof of steadfastness, and dashing for water is a proof of its absence. Later on comes the unusual: Those who drank too much water became mysteriously more incapacitated. This has appeared in Ruh al-Ma'ani on the authority of Ibn Abi Haim from Ibn ` Abbas ؓ . Now the events and sayings mentioned in this story tell us that there were three kinds of people among them:

(1) The weak in faith who failed to make the grade in their hour of

trial.

(2) The perfect who fully succeeded in their trial but did feel concerned about how low they were in numbers.

(3) The most perfect who did not bother even about that.

About three hundred years after Moses and about one thousand years before Christ the Philistines attacked the Israelites and annexed most of the region of Palestine. After a period of time the Israelites wished to take some action against the Philistines, so that they might recover their lands from them. At that time there was a prophet called Samuel among them. Living in an ancient city in Syria, known as Rama, Samuel was in charge of the community matters of the Israelites. Therefore, a delegation met him and said to him, ‘Now that you have aged, you should appoint a king from amongst us, in order that we may wage war against our enemies under the command of our leader.’ Although Samuel did not have a good opinion of the character of the Israelites, he agreed to their request and promised to appoint a King for them. Therefore, he appointed a brave youth, Saul, who belonged to the tribe of Benjamin. Saul (Talut) set forth with the army to meet the enemy. On the way they had to cross the river Jordan. Since Saul was aware of the weaknesses of the Israelites, he employed a simple method to test them. He gave the order that, while crossing the river, no one was to drink more than a handful of water from it. The majority of the Israelites failed the test. However, God was with them and they emerged victorious under the leadership of Saul. A decisive role was played in this battle by David, a young Israelite soldier who was one of those who had full confidence in God. The feat he performed was to kill the enemy’s supreme commander, Goliath (Jalut). Upon the fall of Goliath, the Philistine army broke ranks and fled.