Surah 5. Al-Ma'idah

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Verses [Section]: 1-5[1], 6-11 [2], 12-19 [3], 20-26 [4], 27-34 [5], 35-43 [6], 44-50 [7], 51-56 [8], 57-66 [9], 67-77 [10], 78-86 [11], 87-98 [12], 99-100 [13], 101-108 [14], 109-115 [15], 116-120 [16]

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Quran Text of Verse 20-26وَ اِذْAnd whenقَالَsaidمُوْسٰیMusaلِقَوْمِهٖto his peopleیٰقَوْمِO my peopleاذْكُرُوْاrememberنِعْمَةَ(the) Favorاللّٰهِ(of) Allahعَلَیْكُمْupon youاِذْwhenجَعَلَHe placedفِیْكُمْamong youاَنْۢبِیَآءَProphetsوَ جَعَلَكُمْand made youمُّلُوْكًا ۖۗkingsوَّ اٰتٰىكُمْand He gave youمَّاwhatلَمْnotیُؤْتِHe (had) givenاَحَدًا(to) anyoneمِّنَfromالْعٰلَمِیْنَ the worlds یٰقَوْمِO my peopleادْخُلُواEnterالْاَرْضَthe landالْمُقَدَّسَةَthe Holyالَّتِیْwhichكَتَبَ(has been) ordainedاللّٰهُ(by) Allahلَكُمْfor youوَ لَاand (do) notتَرْتَدُّوْاturnعَلٰۤیonاَدْبَارِكُمْyour backsفَتَنْقَلِبُوْاthen you will turn backخٰسِرِیْنَ (as) losers قَالُوْاThey saidیٰمُوْسٰۤیO Musa!اِنَّIndeedفِیْهَاin itقَوْمًا(are) peopleجَبَّارِیْنَ ۖۗ(of) tyrannical strengthوَ اِنَّاand indeed weلَنْneverنَّدْخُلَهَاwill enter itحَتّٰیuntilیَخْرُجُوْاthey leaveمِنْهَا ۚfrom itفَاِنْand ifیَّخْرُجُوْاthey leaveمِنْهَا[from] itفَاِنَّاthen certainly we (will)دٰخِلُوْنَ enter (it) قَالَSaidرَجُلٰنِtwo menمِنَfromالَّذِیْنَthose whoیَخَافُوْنَfeared (Allah)اَنْعَمَ(had) favoredاللّٰهُAllahعَلَیْهِمَا[on] both of themادْخُلُوْاEnterعَلَیْهِمُupon themالْبَابَ ۚ(through) the gateفَاِذَاthen whenدَخَلْتُمُوْهُyou have entered itفَاِنَّكُمْthen indeed, you (will be)غٰلِبُوْنَ ۚ۬victoriousوَ عَلَیAnd uponاللّٰهِAllahفَتَوَكَّلُوْۤاthen put your trustاِنْifكُنْتُمْyou areمُّؤْمِنِیْنَ believers 5. Al-Ma'idah Page 112قَالُوْاThey saidیٰمُوْسٰۤیO MusaاِنَّاIndeed, weلَنْneverنَّدْخُلَهَاۤwill enter itاَبَدًاeverمَّاforدَامُوْاas long as they areفِیْهَاin itفَاذْهَبْSo goاَنْتَyouوَ رَبُّكَand your Lordفَقَاتِلَاۤand you both fightاِنَّاIndeed, weهٰهُنَاare [here]قٰعِدُوْنَ sitting قَالَHe saidرَبِّO my LordاِنِّیْIndeed, Iلَاۤ(do) notاَمْلِكُ(have) powerاِلَّاexceptنَفْسِیْ(over) myselfوَ اَخِیْand my brotherفَافْرُقْso (make a) separationبَیْنَنَاbetween usوَ بَیْنَand betweenالْقَوْمِthe peopleالْفٰسِقِیْنَ (the) defiantly disobedient قَالَ(Allah) saidفَاِنَّهَاThen indeed itمُحَرَّمَةٌ(will be) forbiddenعَلَیْهِمْto themاَرْبَعِیْنَ(for) fortyسَنَةً ۚyearsیَتِیْهُوْنَthey will wanderفِیinالْاَرْضِ ؕthe earthفَلَاSo (do) notتَاْسَgrieveعَلَیoverالْقَوْمِthe peopleالْفٰسِقِیْنَ۠the defiantly disobedient

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Translation of Verse 20-26

20. And (recall) when Moosa said to his people: “O my people! Remember Allah’s favour to you when He raised from among you prophets, made you rulers and gave you what He had not given to any other among the peoples⁹⁵.

21. “O my people ! enter the holy land which Allah has ordained for you⁹⁶ and do not turn back, for surely you will then become the losers.

22. “ They said: “O Moosa ! A mighty people are therein⁹⁷, and never shall we enter it until they leave it. So if they leave, then we shall enter”.

23. Of the people who were afraid, two on whom Allah had bestowed His grace said: “Enter in upon them by the gate⁹⁸, for if you enter by it, surely you will be victorious. And put your trust in Allah, if you are faithful.”

24. They said: “O Moosa ! We shall never enter it, so long as they remain therein. Go you and your Lord and fight you two, we shall remain here sitting.”

25. (Moosa) prayed: “O my Lord ! I have power only over myself and my brother⁹⁹ so decide between us and the disobedient people”¹⁰⁰.

26. (Allah) said: “So this land is forbidden to them for forty years; they will wander in the earth bewildered ¹⁰¹. So grieve not over the disobedient people”.

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Commentary

95. Refers to the magnificent past of the Bani Israil. Their history can boast of such grand personalities as prophet Ibrahim, prophet Ishaq, prophet Yaqub and prophet Yusuf (Prophets Abraham, Issac, Jacob and Joseph). And during the time of prophet Yusuf, they had gained power in Egypt.

In preference to other communities Allah bestowed this distinction on Bani Israil that He gave them the position of the leadership of the world, so that they might become the standard bearers of the religion of truth and fulfil the duty of giving witness to the Truth. In this connection Allah had been helping them in an extraordinary manner. Deliverance from the tyrant king like Firaun (Pharaoh) is the result of only Allah’s extraordinary help.

96. Means the land of Can’an (palestine). The reason for calling it holy land is that prophet Ibrahim had made it a centre of the Islamic dawah, and Allah had given a promise to the Bani Israil that He would give this holy land to them as a legacy:

“Behold. I have set the land before you; go in and take possession of the land which the Lord swore to your fathers, to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob, to give to them and to their descendants after them”. (Deuteronomy 1:8)

It may be noted that prophet Ibrahim had established two centres of the Islamic dawah, one in Makkah, where he settled his son Ismail and the second in Can’an (Palestine) where he settled his son, Ishaq. The descendents of Prophet Yaqub, whose title was Israil, son of prophet Ishaq, were called Bani Israil. Prophet Yaqub shifted to Egypt with his sons at the time prophet Yusuf gained power there. After settling there for a number of years, their number increased considerably. At that time pharaoh was ruling over Egypt. Moosa (Moses) who was from Bani Israil, was sent as a prophet by Allah. He achieved deliverance of his people from Firaun, and migrated with them to Sinai. Here Allah gave him His Shariah in the valley of the Mount Sinai. Subsequently when prophet Moosa, with his followers, reached the desert of Faran, Allah gave them command to proceed to Can’an in palestine, which was their original native place so as to restore its position as the centre of dawah. Later on in the time of prophet Sulaiman (Solomon) Baitul Maqdis was built in the famous palestinian city, Jerusalem.

97. That is:,The people who dwell there are so mighty that it is not possible for the Israilis to fight them. In the Bible they have been described as follows:

“and all the people that we saw in it are men of great stature. And there we saw the Nephilim (the sons of Anak, who come from the Nephilim); and we seemed to ourselves like grasshopper, and so we seemed to them,” (Numbers 13: 32, 33)

98. In the Torah the names of these two persons have been given as Yusha’ and Kalib, and the summary of the details given therein is like this: prophet Moosa sent twelve chiefs to palestine to find out the conditions prevailing there. After returning from there, they informed a public meeting that in that country ‘rivers of milk and honey were flowing,’ but the residents of that place are very powerful and mighty. On hearing this, the gathering cried out: “Would that we had died in the land of Egypt! Or would that we had died in this wilderness ! O Lord! Why does the Lord bring us to this land, to fall by the sword? Our wives and our little ones will become a prey ! Would it not be better for us to go back to Egypt?” (Numbers -14: 2-3) The two chiefs, out of these twelve, were Yusha and Kalib, who got up and tried to bolster their courage and said that “the Lord, God is with us, so do not fear them.” However, the gathering’s reply to them was: “Stone them with stones”. (Numbers 14: 10).

99. Refers to prophet Haroon, who was the brother of prophet Moosa and also a prophet.

100. When prophet Moosa saw that it is not possible to obey the Divine command of capturing the holy land, as his community was not prepared to obey him, he prayed to Allah that on the one side there were he and his brother Haroon, who were willing and ready to obey the Divine Command, and on the other side there was his community, bent on disobeying the command. In such circumstances it is for God to decide what they should do, and if the Divine wrath would be stirred by this abject disobedience, then, Moosa prayed, that he and his brother should be spared.

101. Allah gave His judgment that as a punishment the Bani Israil would not enter the holy land for forty years, and would wander in the desert in a bewildered way. The Torah says:

“But as for you, your dead bodies shall fall in this wilderness. And your children shall be shepherds in the wilderness forty years, and shall suffer for your faithlessness, until the last of your dead bodies lies in the wilderness... I, the LORD, have spoken; surely this will I do to all this wicked congregation that are gathered together against me: in this wilderness they shall come to a full end, and there they shall die.’ (Numbers 14: 32 to 35)

Accordingly Bani Israil had to pass forty years in the wilderness, during which period all their young males died, and in their place a new generation grew up. At the end of this period, prophets Moosa and Haroon also died and Bani Israil were deprived of their leadership, However, before his death, Moosa had taken Bani Israil near the city of Eriha, from where the border of Palestine begins, and he had surveyed that country from the Mount of Ibrahim which Bani Israil were to conquer soon. After the death of Moosa, Bani Israil advanced under the leadership of Yusha bin Noon and conquered the promised Land, the details of which are given in the Book of Joshua in the Bible.