Surah 2. Al-Baqarah

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Verses [Section]: 1-7[1], 8-20 [2], 21-29 [3], 30-39 [4], 40-46 [5], 47-59 [6], 60-61 [7], 62-71 [8], 72-82 [9], 83-86 [10], 87-96 [11], 97-103 [12], 104-112 [13], 113-121 [14], 122-129 [15], 130-141 [16], 142-147 [17], 148-151 [18], 152-163 [19], 164-167 [20], 168-176 [21], 177-182 [22], 183-188 [23], 189-196 [24], 197-210 [25], 211-216 [26], 217-221 [27], 222-228 [28], 229-231 [29], 232-235 [30], 236-242 [31], 243-248 [32], 249-253 [33], 254-257 [34], 258-260 [35], 261-266 [36], 267-273 [37], 274-281 [38], 282-283 [39], 284-286 [40]

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Quran Text of Verse 60-61وَ اِذِAnd whenاسْتَسْقٰیasked (for) waterمُوْسٰیMusaلِقَوْمِهٖfor his peopleفَقُلْنَا[so] We saidاضْرِبْStrikeبِّعَصَاكَwith your staffالْحَجَرَ ؕthe stoneفَانْفَجَرَتْThen gushed forthمِنْهُfrom itاثْنَتَا(of)عَشْرَةَtwelveعَیْنًا ؕspringsقَدْIndeedعَلِمَknewكُلُّallاُنَاسٍ(the) peopleمَّشْرَبَهُمْ ؕtheir drinking placeكُلُوْاEatوَ اشْرَبُوْاand drinkمِنْfromرِّزْقِ(the) provision (of)اللّٰهِAllahوَ لَاand (do) notتَعْثَوْاact wickedlyفِیinالْاَرْضِthe earthمُفْسِدِیْنَ spreading corruption وَ اِذْAnd whenقُلْتُمْyou saidیٰمُوْسٰیO MusaلَنْNever (will)نَّصْبِرَwe endureعَلٰی[on]طَعَامٍfoodوَّاحِدٍ(of) one (kind)فَادْعُso prayلَنَاfor usرَبَّكَ(to) your Lordیُخْرِجْto bring forthلَنَاfor usمِمَّاout of whatتُنْۢبِتُgrowsالْاَرْضُthe earthمِنْۢofبَقْلِهَاits herbsوَ قِثَّآىِٕهَا[and] its cucumbersوَ فُوْمِهَا[and] its garlicوَ عَدَسِهَا[and] its lentilsوَ بَصَلِهَا ؕand its onionsقَالَHe saidاَتَسْتَبْدِلُوْنَWould you exchangeالَّذِیْthat whichهُوَ[it]اَدْنٰی(is) inferiorبِالَّذِیْfor that whichهُوَ[it]خَیْرٌ ؕ(is) betterاِهْبِطُوْاGo downمِصْرًا(to) a cityفَاِنَّso indeedلَكُمْfor youمَّا(is) whatسَاَلْتُمْ ؕyou have asked (for)وَ ضُرِبَتْAnd were struckعَلَیْهِمُon themالذِّلَّةُthe humiliationوَ الْمَسْكَنَةُ ۗand the miseryوَ بَآءُوْand they drew on themselvesبِغَضَبٍwrathمِّنَofاللّٰهِ ؕAllahذٰلِكَThat (was)بِاَنَّهُمْbecause theyكَانُوْاused toیَكْفُرُوْنَdisbelieveبِاٰیٰتِin (the) Signsاللّٰهِ(of) Allahوَ یَقْتُلُوْنَand killالنَّبِیّٖنَthe Prophetsبِغَیْرِwithout (any)الْحَقِّ ؕ[the] rightذٰلِكَThatبِمَا(was) becauseعَصَوْاthey disobeyedوَّ كَانُوْاand they wereیَعْتَدُوْنَ ۠transgressing

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Translation of Verse 60-61

(2:60) And recall when Moses prayed for water for his people and We replied: “Strike the rock with your staff.” And there gushed out from it twelve springs⁷⁶ and each tribe knew its drinking-place. (Then you were directed): “Eat and drink of the sustenance provided by Allah, and do not go about acting wickedly on earth, spreading mischief.”

(2:61) And recall when you said: “O Moses, surely we cannot put up with one sort of food, so pray to your Lord to bring out for us what the earth produces – its herbs and its cucumbers and its corn and its lentils and its garlic and its onions.” Then Moses said: “Will you take a meaner thing in exchange for what is better?⁷⁷ Go down to some city and there you shall get what you ask for.” And ignominy and wretchedness were pitched upon them and they were laden with the burden of Allah’s wrath. This was because they denied the Signs of Allah⁷⁸ and slew the Prophets unrightfully.⁷⁹ All this, because they disobeyed and persistently exceeded the limits (of the Law).

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Commentary

76 That rock can still be seen in the Sinai Peninsula with the twelve holes of the springs. Twelve springs were caused to flow for the Israelites in order to avoid water disputes among their twelve clans.

77. This does not mean that their real fault lay in asking for things which entailed cultivation instead of availing themselves of manna and quails which they received without any toil. What is emphasized here is that rather than being concerned with the great purpose for which they had been brought to the Sinai they relished the foods which gratified their palates to such a degree that they could not forgo them even temporarily (cf. Numbers 11: 4-9).

78. There are several ways in which one might deny the signs of God. First, one might refuse to accept those teachings of God which one found contrary to one's fancies and desires. Second, one might know that something is from God and yet wilfully flout it. Third, one might know well the import of God's directives and yet distort them.

79. The Israelites recorded their crimes in detail in their own history. Here are just a few examples from the Bible:

(1) After the death of Solomon the state of the Israelites was split into two: the State of Judah with its capital in Jerusalem, and the State of Israel with its capital in Samaria. This was followed by a series of wars between the two States so that the State of Judah sought the assistance of the Aramacan State of Damascus against its own kinsmen. At this, Hamani the seer went under God's direction to Asa the king and rebuked him. Instead of rectifying his behaviour, Asa was so angry that he put the seer in the stocks. (See 2 Chronicles 16: 7-10.)

(2) When Elijah denounced the Jews for their worship of Baal and invited them to return to monotheism, Ahab, the king of Israel pursued him for the sake of his pagan wife so that he had to take refuge in the mountains of the Sinai peninsula. On this occasion, according to the Bible, he said: '. . . the people of Israel have forsaken thy covenant, thrown down thy altars, and slain thy prophets with the sword., and 1, even 1 only, am left; and they seek my life, to take it away' (1 Kings 19: 14).

(3) The same king Ahab imprisoned another Prophet, Micah, for no other reason than that of speaking the truth. King Ahab ordered that he should be given only bread and water. (See 1 Kings 22: 26-7)

(4) When idol-worship and moral corruption became prevalent in Judah and the Prophet Zechariah raised his voice against them, he was stoned to death in the very court of the house of the Lord. (See 2 Chronicles 24: 2l.)

(5) When the Israelite State of Samaria was wiped out by the State of Jerusalem, the Prophet Jeremiah deplored the condition of the Israelites. He warned them that it was time they set about mending their ways otherwise they would face an even more calamitous end than that of Samaria. The response to this sincere preaching was abuse and curses: he was beaten, imprisoned, put in the stocks and lowered by ropes into a cistern, where he was left to die of hunger and thirst. He was also accused of various crimes, including treason and conspiracy. (See Jeremiah 15: 10; 18: 20-3; 20: 1-18; 36-40)

(6) It is reported of another Prophet, Amos, that when he denounced the widespread errors and corruption in the State of Samaria and warned of the evil consequences that follow such misdeeds, he was condemned to exile and told to pursue his prophetic task somewhere beyond its frontiers. (See Amos 7: 10-13.)

(7) When John the Baptist protested against the acts of moral corruption that were brazenly practised in his court, Herod, the ruler of Judah, first put John into prison, then had him beheaded at the request of a dancing girl, and had his head set on a platter and presented to the girl. (See Mark 6: 17-29)

(8) The same hostility to Prophets is evident from the life of Jesus. The priests and political leaders of Israel ultimately became inflamed against Jesus, who criticized them for their impiety and hypocrisy and invited them to true faith and righteousness. It was this which prompted them to prepare a false case against him and persuade the Romans to sign a death sentence. Later, when the Roman governor, Pilate, asked them which of the two prisoners - Jesus or Barabbas, a notorious brigand - should be released on the occasion of the feast, they asked for the release of Barabbas and for the crucifixion of Jesus (Matthew 27: 20-6). This is a shameful chapter in the record of the Jewish nation, to which the Qur'an refers here in passing. It is evident that when a nation chooses its most notoriously criminal and wicked people for positions of leadership, and its righteous and holy men for gaol and the scaffold, God has no alternative but to lay His curse and damnation on that nation.