Islam Guidance

Verse246

(246) أَلَمْ تَرَ إِلَى الْمَلإِ مِن بَنِي إِسْرَائِيلَ مِن بَعْدِ مُوسَى إِذْ قَالُواْ لِنَبِيٍّ لَّهُمُ ابْعَثْ لَنَا مَلِكًا نُّقَاتِلْ

فِي سَبِيلِ اللّهِ قَالَ هَلْ عَسَيْتُمْ إِن كُتِبَ عَلَيْكُمُ الْقِتَالُ أَلاَّ تُقَاتِلُواْ قَالُواْ وَمَا لَنَا أَلاَّ نُقَاتِلَ فِي

سَبِيلِ اللّهِ وَقَدْ أُخْرِجْنَا مِن دِيَارِنَا وَأَبْنَآئِنَا فَلَمَّا كُتِبَ عَلَيْهِمُ الْقِتَالُ تَوَلَّوْاْ إِلاَّ قَلِيلاً مِّنْهُمْ وَاللّهُ

عَلِيمٌ بِالظَّالِمِينَ

246. " Have you not seen the chiefs of the Children of Israel, after Moses, when they said to a Prophet of theirs: 'Raise up for us a king, that we will fight in Allah's way'. He said: 'Might it be that, if fighting is written for you, then you will not fight? ' They said: ' Why should we not fight in the way of Allah, while we have been expelled from our dwellings and our children? ' But when fighting was written for them, they turned back save a few of them, and Allah is All-Knowing of the unjust. "
Commentary:
After Prophet Moses (a.s.), the Israelites lost their power as a result of their self-indulgence and being desirous in welfare and laziness. So they became involved again in the domination and oppression of the tyrants when they lost both their freedom and home. In order to be free from vagrancy and come out of the yoke of servitude of those tyrants, they decided to fight. Therefore, they went to their Prophet and asked him to appoint a king, a commander, for them so that they could struggle by Holy War against the tyrannical ruler of their time.
" Have you not seen the chiefs of the Children of Israel, after Moses, when they said to a Prophet of theirs: 'Raise up for us a king, that we will fight in Allah's way. ..."

The Prophet (a.s.), regarding their notorious background, questioning them said: was it not probable that, after prescribing the command of war to them, they would disobey and would not be ready to fight?
"... He said: ' Might it be that, if fighting is written for you, then you will not fight?
They did not agree with that idea and said that they would fight, for they had been expelled from their home and had been made vagrant for a long time, because their cities had been occupied by the enemy and their children were captured:
"... They said: ' Why should we not fight in the way of Allah, while we have been expelled from our dwellings and our children? '..."
But, with all these claims, when the command was issued, all of them, except a few, did not attend the battle-field and disobeyed that command.
"... But when fighting was written for them, they turned back save a few of them, and Allah is All-Knowing of the unjust. "
* * * *
Explanations: (1)
Vr. 246 (279) The event alluded to in this verse has a reference also in the Bible. (1 Samuel 8: 19, 20).
19. " Nevertheless the people refused to obey the voice of Samuel; and they said, Nay! but we will have a king over us;
20. " That we also may be like all the nations, and that our kind may judge us, and go out before us, and fight our battles."
After 'Moses,' prophets after prophets were appointed to succeed him and to maintain the Law ('Torah'). 'Moses' was succeeded by 'Usha bin Noon,' 'Kalib.' 'Ezekiel' and 'Ilyas' and 'Elisha' and as time passed the people neglected and ultimately gave up the Law and became idolatrous. And in the time of the prophet 'Yasa' there appeared an enemy for the Israelites who were the people of the land of 'Shalisha,' from the tribe of Goliath ('Jaloot') who had captured all the land on the shores of the Mediterranean including Palestine and Egypt. They subdued the Israelites, killed 440 Israelite princes and noblemen and had taken the Israelites as their subjects and taken away their lands. (1 Sam. 17: 1). Now the Israelites had no prophet to guide them out of the calamitous state. They prayed to God for a prophet. At last their prayer was heard and God sent a prophet to them in Samuel. When Samuel appeared and claimed apostleship of God, the Israelites asked him to appoint a king for them to lead them in the battle for freedom from the subjection and servitude they had been suffering under the enemy. In those days battles were fought only under kings and the Prophet was only the adviser or the administrative adviser or a director of the affairs. Prophet Samuel warned them before hand that they might disobey after it gets prescribed for them to fight in the way of God. Here was the question of fighting for the freedom of the people against the torturous subjection and it has been termed as the fight in the way of God. It is evident that the fight for right means the fight for God.

(1) This detail is narrated exactly from the footnote of the translation of the Holy Quran, by S.V. Mir Ahmed Ali, P. 217

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