2-249 So when Saul set out with the forces, he said: Surely Allah will try you with a river. Whoever drinks from it, he is not of me, and whoever tastes it not, he is surely of me, except he who takes a handful with his hand. But they drank of it save a few of them.a So when he had crossed it, he and those who believed with him, they said: We have today no power against Goliath and his forces. Those who were sure that they would meet their Lord said: How often has a small party vanquished a numerous host by Allah’s permission! And Allah is with the steadfast.b
فَلَمَّا فَصَلَ طَالُوتُ بِٱلۡجُنُودِ قَالَ إِنَّ ٱللَّهَ مُبۡتَلِيڪُم بِنَهَرٍ۬ فَمَن شَرِبَ مِنۡهُ فَلَيۡسَ مِنِّى وَمَن لَّمۡ يَطۡعَمۡهُ فَإِنَّهُ ۥ مِنِّىٓ إِلَّا مَنِ ٱغۡتَرَفَ غُرۡفَةَۢ بِيَدِهِۦۚ فَشَرِبُواْ مِنۡهُ إِلَّا قَلِيلاً۬ مِّنۡهُمۡۚ فَلَمَّا جَاوَزَهُ ۥ هُوَ وَٱلَّذِينَ ءَامَنُواْ مَعَهُ ۥ قَالُواْ لَا طَاقَةَ لَنَا ٱلۡيَوۡمَ بِجَالُوتَ وَجُنُودِهِۦۚ قَالَ ٱلَّذِينَ يَظُنُّونَ أَنَّهُم مُّلَـٰقُواْ ٱللَّهِ ڪَم مِّن فِئَةٍ۬ قَلِيلَةٍ غَلَبَتۡ فِئَةً۬ ڪَثِيرَةَۢ بِإِذۡنِ ٱللَّهِۗ وَٱللَّهُ مَعَ ٱلصَّـٰبِرِينَ (٢٤٩)
249a: جُنُودِ – is the plural of جُنۡد which means a force or a congregation of any type. جنود ابلیس and جنود ربّك are taken from جُندُ, which means hard earth which has stones.
نَهَر – نَهَر and نَھۡر is a place for drinking water, and the meaning of نَهَر is also abundance and means (R). In the commentary of فِى جَنَّـٰتٍ۬ وَنَہَرٍ (…will be among Gardens and rivers) (54:54) it is stated that this can also be taken to mean abundance and light (LA). نھار or day is that in which light spreads (R).
مِنِّى – مِنِّى means he is from among my companions. The Holy Prophet’s words in a hadith are: لیس مِنّا من لم یرحم صغیرنا و لم یوقر کبیرنا (He is not one of us who does not show mercy to our young ones and esteem to our elderly).
يَطۡعَمۡهُ – The word طعم means to taste and is applicable to both eatables and drinkables.
ٱغۡتَرَفَ – غُرۡفَةَۢ – غَرۡف means to pick up and take a thing, and غُرۡفَةَۢ is that which is taken in this way, that is a handful. The meaning of غُرۡفَةَۢ is an elevated chamber or a tall building (R). Other places in the Quran where this word is used are: أُوْلَـٰٓٮِٕكَ يُجۡزَوۡنَ ٱلۡغُرۡفَةَ (These are rewarded by high places) (25:75), لَنُبَوِّئَنَّهُم مِّنَ ٱلۡجَنَّةِ غُرَفً۬ا (We shall certainly give them an abode in high places in the Garden) (29:58) وَهُمۡ فِى ٱلۡغُرُفَـٰتِ ءَامِنُونَ (…and they are secure in the highest places) (34:37). The latter two references both use the plural of غُرۡفَةَۢ.
Tried by the river: If we take the meaning of نَهَرٍ to be a river of water, then possibly this trial is meant to find out those who can patiently bear the pangs of hunger and thirst, and in this way separate the bold from the weak of heart. It is possible that the meaning of نَهَرٍ here is abundance and wealth because the narration here is about Saul’s military expedition against Goliath which took place after he defeated the Amalekites and captured much booty as is mentioned in Samuel chapter 15. Although Bani Israel was commanded not to put the spoils of war to their use (that is, they were to destroy it), Saul’s forces took the good things for their own use and as a consequence became much weaker in their campaign against the Philistines.
The first trial through Gideon: Even if the meaning of نَهَرٍ is taken to be a river of water, the Christian objection that the Quran makes an historical mistake by narrating this incident here is fallacious. It is correct that according to the Bible, about a century and half before Saul, Gideon was commanded to try his troops by water. This is described in the beginning of the seventh chapter of Judges where it is stated: “…bring them down unto the water, and I will try them for thee there…and the, Lord said unto Gideon, Every one that lappeth of the water with his tongue, as a dog lappeth , him shall thou set by himself; likewise every one that boweth down upon their knees to drink water.” It is well established that the Book of Judges is not an original document but is gleaned from pre-existing documents. Hence the veracity of any incident in it cannot be vouched with any degree of certainty. Further, there are many discrepancies in the narration of this incident. Rev. Dummelow admits in his commentary of the Bible that, “The places mentioned in this incident are dubious,” and writes about Mount Gilead: “Gilead is to the east of Jordan. Some other location is intended.” When these events are so doubtful, how can they contradict the Quran?
Quite apart from this, it appears from the Bible that many other trials tried to differentiate between those strong in faith and the weaklings. One such incident is mentioned in Deuteronomy 20:8. Hence it is not farfetched that similar incidents occurred with Gideon and Saul. One was mentioned in the Bible and the other in the Quran. It is not perhaps the contention of any Christian that the Bible contains such a detailed history of Bani Israel that any incident not mentioned in it cannot be accepted. There is some difference in the two incidents as well. The Bible version states lappeth of the water with his tongue, as a dog lappeth, while the Quran states that a handful of water may be drunk but not in an amount to fully quench. This narration is more enlightening.
2:249b: جَالُوتَ – is from جال and جال فی الحرب means a vehement attack during a battle. The Bible states that Goliath of Gad attacked with such vehemence that despite his loudly challenging the Israelites to send out a champion for individual combat, none dared to step out.
فِئَةٍ۬ – is derived from فَیۡءٌ which means to return to a good condition. And فئة is a party that helps another, and some among them repeatedly return to help some (R).
A small party sometimes vanquishes a larger one: The party with Saul passed through a great trial and was determined to bear all manner of suffering and distress. This determination made them deserving of overcoming a large party though being smaller in number. The purpose here is to reassure Muslims of victory provided they are patient. The most vivid illustration of this, and one unparalleled in the annals of history, was during the time of the Holy Prophet. The opponents always outnumbered the Muslims in strength and armament, but the Muslim’s strength of faith, patience and fortitude made them deserving of Allah’s help. The current weakness of the Muslims is a direct result of their lack of faith and patience.
2-250 And when they went out against Goliath and his forces, they said: Our Lord, pour out patience on us and make our steps firm and help us against the disbelieving people.a
وَلَمَّا بَرَزُواْ لِجَالُوتَ وَجُنُودِهِۦ قَالُواْ رَبَّنَآ أَفۡرِغۡ عَلَيۡنَا صَبۡرً۬ا وَثَبِّتۡ أَقۡدَامَنَا وَٱنصُرۡنَا عَلَى ٱلۡقَوۡمِ ٱلۡڪَـٰفِرِينَ (٢٥٠)
2-250a: بَرَزُواْ – An open plain is called بَراز , and the meaning of بَرَزَ is he came out in the open plain. Sometimes, بَرَزَ is used for a person whose previously hidden condition becomes manifest. Other examples of its use in the Quran are: وَبَرَزُواْ لِلَّهِ ٱلۡوَٲحِدِ ٱلۡقَهَّارِ (and they will come forth to Allah, the One, the Supreme) (14:48), وَبَرَزُواْ لِلَّهِ جَمِيعً۬ا (And they will all come forth to Allah) (14:21) and يَوۡمَ هُم بَـٰرِزُونَۖ (The day when they come forth) (40:16) (R).
أَفۡرِغۡ – فِراغ is the opposite of occupation, and اَفۡرَغۡتُ الدَّلۡو means washed it away by pouring what was in it. افۡراغ means poured out (R). And فَرۡغ is also used in the sense of spacious and pouring (LA). In the context here, افراغ صبر means the grant of patience in abundance, and by صبر here is meant steadfastness and perseverance.
ثَبِّتۡ – ثَبات is the opposite of decline, and sometimes ثُبُوت or اِثۡبات is by reasoning. And the meaning of تثبیت is to give strength, that is, to make strong or firm (R).
This shows that patience and perseverance are the key ingredients for overpowering and subduing an enemy and that is why Allah imparted the knowledge of this prayer. Those who lose courage and retreat at the slightest sign of opposition cannot be successful. Patience is a most useful quality during conflict.
2-251 So they put them to flight by Allah’s permission. And David slew Goliath, and Allah gave him kingdom and wisdom, and taught him of what He pleased.a And were it not for Allah’s repelling some men by others, the earth would certainly be in a state of disorder; but Allah is Full of grace to the worlds.b
فَهَزَمُوهُم بِإِذۡنِ ٱللَّهِ وَقَتَلَ دَاوُ ۥدُ جَالُوتَ وَءَاتَٮٰهُ ٱللَّهُ ٱلۡمُلۡكَ وَٱلۡحِڪۡمَةَ وَعَلَّمَهُ ۥ مِمَّا يَشَآءُۗ وَلَوۡلَا دَفۡعُ ٱللَّهِ ٱلنَّاسَ بَعۡضَهُم بِبَعۡضٍ۬ لَّفَسَدَتِ ٱلۡأَرۡضُ وَلَـٰڪِنَّ ٱللَّهَ ذُو فَضۡلٍ عَلَى ٱلۡعَـٰلَمِينَ (٢٥١)
2-251a: دَاوُد is a grand prophet from among the Bani Israel who was a king in addition to being a prophet. He lived 1017 years before Christ. His father’s name was Jesse and Jesse was a resident of Bethlehem.
ٱلۡحِڪۡمَةَ – The actual meaning of حِڪۡمَةَ is to find the truth with knowledge and reason (R) or with knowledge and experimentation (T). This word is used in various senses in different contexts. When used in the context of the Book, it means an understanding of the Book or the details of Islamic law, jurisprudence, and tradition. See 2-129a. David was granted two things, kingship and prophethood. The verse speaks of granting him ٱلۡمُلۡكَ that is kingdom and ٱلۡحِڪۡمَةَ which in this context stands for prophethood, because among the meaning of حِڪۡمَةَ is prophethood and messengership (T). And, truth, obedience, fear of Allah, and an understanding of the wisdom of His actions is found through prophethood and messengership. حِڪۡمَةَ is also used in the sense of reflecting on what lies behind Divine commands and obeying them. It is used in the sense of tolerance and serenity. The Quran, Torah and the Gospels are also referred to by the name حِڪۡمَةَ (T). Sadi also narrates حِڪۡمَةَ as being prophethood (R).
Conflicting narratives in the Bible about Saul: The Bible has two conflicting narratives about how David came into the service of Saul. See Samuel 16:18-22 and 17:26 and 55-58. According to the first version, Saul sent for David and kept him to play the harp. According to the second version, when Saul saw David challenging Goliath, he did not know who he was. It is established from the Bible narrative that it was David who killed Goliath. The purport behind the grant of kingdom and wisdom is that he was granted kingship and prophethood.
2:251b: دَفۡعُ – When the relative pronoun of دَفۡعُ is الٰی the meaning is اِنالة to deliver a thing to somebody as in: فَإِذَا دَفَعۡتُمۡ إِلَيۡہِمۡ أَمۡوَٲلَهُمۡ (And when you make over to them their property) (4:6). However when the relative pronoun is عن , its meaning is defend or protect as in: إِنَّ ٱللَّهَ يُدَٲفِعُ عَنِ ٱلَّذِينَ ءَامَنُوٓاْۗ (Surely Allah defends those who believe.) (22:38) (R). Here دَفۡعُ is in its primary meaning الا زالة بقوة (LA) that is to remove by force, the purport being to remove the mischief of the mischief mongers.
The necessity for a religious war explained: When mischievous folks gain ascendancy in the world and seek to destroy what is right and truthful then Allah destroys them, and the use of the word ذُو فَضۡلٍ is indicative that war at times is a blessing. This indicates the battles that the Holy Prophet had to fight. The Quran was the first to propound the principle of a necessary war.
2-252 These are the messages of Allah — We recite them to thee with truth; and surely thou art of the messengers.a
تِلۡكَ ءَايَـٰتُ ٱللَّهِ نَتۡلُوهَا عَلَيۡكَ بِٱلۡحَقِّۚ وَإِنَّكَ لَمِنَ ٱلۡمُرۡسَلِينَ (٢٥٢)
2-252a: Christian criticism and the truthfulness of Quran: Christian critics try to portray the narrations of this section and the previous one as being historically incorrect or muddled. However, it is a testament to the truthfulness of the Quran that it foresaw the parts that were to be made the target of criticism and after narrating the events in these parts, it states that the narration is بالحق , meaning that not only is the narration true but that there was a dire need for bringing these events to light; only those parts of the events are narrated which were necessary given the context. The need of the time was that Muslims were facing an aggressive war in which they were vastly outnumbered, and the objective here was to make them understand how they could be victorious. It is also revealed to them that if the hypocrites and those of weak faith abandon them in war, this would not be a source of weakness for them, but rather strength. It is then conveyed that the necessity for these wars is to end strife. The ending statement of “thou art of the messengers” is meant to convey that the statements made herein are not things that are the construct of the Holy Prophet’s mind but are things told to him by God, and that previous prophets too had to fight so why is there an objection to the wars that the Holy Prophet had to fight?
2-253 We have made some of these messengers to excel others.a Among them are they to whom Allah spoke, and some of them He exalted by (many) degrees of rank.b And We gave clear arguments to Jesus son of Mary, and strengthened him with the Holy Spirit.c And if Allah had pleased, those after them would not have fought one with another after clear arguments had come to them, but they disagreed; so some of them believed and some of them denied. And if Allah had pleased they would not have fought one with another, but Allah does what He intends.d
تِلۡكَ ٱلرُّسُلُ فَضَّلۡنَا بَعۡضَهُمۡ عَلَىٰ بَعۡضٍ۬ۘ مِّنۡهُم مَّن كَلَّمَ ٱللَّهُۖ وَرَفَعَ بَعۡضَهُمۡ دَرَجَـٰتٍ۬ۚ وَءَاتَيۡنَا عِيسَى ٱبۡنَ مَرۡيَمَ ٱلۡبَيِّنَـٰتِ وَأَيَّدۡنَـٰهُ بِرُوحِ ٱلۡقُدُسِۗ وَلَوۡ شَآءَ ٱللَّهُ مَا ٱقۡتَتَلَ ٱلَّذِينَ مِنۢ بَعۡدِهِم مِّنۢ بَعۡدِ مَا جَآءَتۡهُمُ ٱلۡبَيِّنَـٰتُ وَلَـٰكِنِ ٱخۡتَلَفُواْ فَمِنۡہُم مَّنۡ ءَامَنَ وَمِنۡہُم مَّن كَفَرَۚ وَلَوۡ شَآءَ ٱللَّهُ مَا ٱقۡتَتَلُواْ وَلَـٰكِنَّ ٱللَّهَ يَفۡعَلُ مَا يُرِيدُ (٢٥٣)
2-253a: تِلۡكَ – The indication here is to the prophets mentioned previously in this chapter. A little reflection shows that all the prophets of the world are mentioned in the foregoing verses: مَآ أُنزِلَ مِن قَبۡلِكَ (that which was revealed before thee) (2:4) and مَآ أُوتِىَ ٱلنَّبِيُّونَ مِن رَّبِّهِمۡ (that which was given to the prophets by their Lord) (2:135). So, the indication in تِلۡكَ ٱلرُّسُلُ is to all the prophets of the world.
فَضَّلۡنَا – تفضیل – فَضِیۡلَة – فضل is degree of excellence and تفضیل is to grant excellence or to endow an attribute or trait of character that distinguishes a person from others (T).
What is the relevance of beginning a discussion on the excellence of prophets here? It was stated earlier that the Holy Prophet is one of the prophets, and here it is stated that Allah granted different degrees of excellence to prophets. This is a way of saying that the Holy Prophet is one of the prophets but that he excels all others. This is not a farfetched statement because there is no harm in accepting that some prophets excel others. Without accepting this, the sequence of the subject ceases to be consistent. Thus, it is stated in Ruh al-Maani: استئناف مشعر بالترقی کانه قیل انك لمن المرسلین و افضلہم فضلا. In reality, this indication is given here because on different occasions the excellence of the Holy Prophet is already mentioned. For example,it is mentioned by his being sent to all the nations of the world, in the excellence of Quran over all other revealed Books, in the abrogation of and being better than all previous religious laws or shariah, and in the Holy prophet being the arbitrator for the contentions between all religions. Hence it became necessary to clarify that this eminent position which supersedes all other prophethoods and takes their place is not a contradiction of: لَا نُفَرِّقُ بَيۡنَ أَحَدٍ۬ مِّنۡهُمۡ (…we do not make any distinction between any of them…) (2:136) because even in previous prophets some were given excellence over others. The narration in previous verses of David who was given both kingship and prophethood is a point of his excellence over the other prophets of Bani Israel. Hence the excellence of Holy Prophet is mentioned here because along with prophethood, he was granted kingship. The intention of one excelling another is not to imply that the other is deficient in any respect but in two perfect human beings one may be distinguished from the other by having a higher degree of desirable traits and this is what imparts excellence to one over the other. Thus, there are different degrees of human perfection.
All the attributes of the Bani Israel prophets found in the Holy Prophet: There is another fact that is worth remembering. The excellence of the Holy Prophet is mentioned here in between the narration of two great Israeli prophets – David and Jesus. David occupies a premier position among these prophets from the point of view of glory and splendor while Jesus excels in the spiritual and moral quality of his teachings. The Holy Prophet surpassed both in each of these fields respectively. In addition, both compared the coming of Holy Prophet to the coming of God in their prophecies. See Psalms 110 and Mathew 21:33-44. Thus, despite their own respective temporal and spiritual glory, they saw in the high degree of excellence of the Holy Prophet a reflection of God’s glory.
There are some hadith reports in which the Holy Prophet stated: “Do not give me superiority over Moses” or “Do not give me superiority over Jonah.” However, there is no contradiction between the hadith reports and this fine narration of the words of Allah in the Quran that state the excellence of Holy Prophet, because the Hadith statements are with reference to a particular occasion and context. The hadith in Bukhari in which the statement regarding not giving superiority over Moses occurs has as background a quarrel between a Companion of the Holy Prophet and a Jew on this subject of who is superior. The Holy Prophet probably thought that if such a discussion was not put to an end, there would be a real chance that a prophet of Allah may be denigrated.
2-253b: كَلَّمَ ٱللَّهُ – Words strung together in the form of a verse that conveys a meaning is called کَلام . See 2-75a. The way in which Allah communicates is explained by the Quran in surah Al-Shura 42:51 where it is stated that Allah communicates with men only in three ways. One is by inspiration to the heart known as وحی خفی ; the second is from behind a veil and includes true dreams known as رویا صادق , visions known as کشف and revelation known as الہام; the third way is by sending the angel Gabriel. There is no other way in which Divine communication comes to man. Imam Raghib also held that these are the only three means by which Allah communicates.
رَفَعَ – The four meanings of رَفۡع are explained in 2-63a. The applicable meaning here is an esteemed status because the رَفۡع of people by Allah takes place only in this sense, and not by physically raising them from a low place and putting them at a high place. This interpretation is evidenced by the attribute of Allah as الرافع meaning الذی یرفع المؤمن بالا سعاد و اولیاءہ بالتقریب (T), which means who makes the believer fortunate and who raises (رَفۡع ) the pious by granting nearness to Him.
دَرَجَـٰتٍ – Either something is omitted before دَرَجَـٰتٍ such as فی or درجہ if taken to mean رفعة (exaltedness or eminence) is a basic form of verb without inflection binding it to a particular subject or is in the present tense and means ذو درجات . What is the purport of these words? The obvious rendering of the words makes it appear as if only some prophets received Divine communication while others were exalted but not spoken to. Some commentators hold that what is meant is speaking without the intermediary of an angel as with Moses on Mount Sinai and with the Holy Prophet on the night of Ascension or Mirage, but this form of communication is excluded by the clear meaning of ما کانا بشر (42:51). So the communication that took place in the cited instances of Moses and the Holy Prophet must be one of the three types. Some say that by كَلَّمَ ٱللَّهُ is meant Moses and by رَفَعَ بَعۡضَهُمۡ دَرَجَـٰتٍ is meant Holy Prophet but such an adaptation is quite unnecessary.
All prophets received Divine communication: All prophets were spoken to. The construction of the statement is similar to what is stated elsewhere in the Quran: فَفَرِيقً۬ا كَذَّبۡتُمۡ وَفَرِيقً۬ا تَقۡتُلُونَ (some you gave the lie to and others you would slay). The meaning is not that the ones who were slain were not given the lie to, but rather accusing of lying was the first stage for all these messengers. For some, the opposition did not go beyond that stage but for others the opponents made plans to murder them. Similarly, Divine communication is the first stage. Some prophets only received Divine communication, that is, they were sent with knowledge and guidance while others received some other degrees of rank as well, as for example kingship in the case with David, mentioned earlier. There are very few who were granted both prophethood and kingship and the grandest of those who were granted both is Prophet Muhammad Mustafa, peace and blessings on him.
2-253c: These words are explained before in 2-87b. The excellence of David was mentioned earlier in that he was given kingship along with prophethood. Jesus was mentioned here because although he was far removed from kingship, he was given excellence of a different sort, or because Jesus was the last of the national prophets and in the very next words there is an indication of the prophet who came as a prophet for the whole world.
2-253d: ٱقۡتَتَلَ –اقتتال and مُقَاتَلة have the same meaning, that is, to fight with one another.
The need for a prophet to be sent to each nation: It is stated here that the followers of prophets who were sent to different nations would not have fought with each other if God had wanted. But because God intended that after all the national prophets, He would send a prophet who would create a universal brotherhood of all nations, so the followers of earlier prophets contended with each other. Although Divine will or pleasure is sometimes used interchangeably with intention, actually, Divine will is the creation of things in a particular manner. God created humans with different, and often opposing, forces within which supply the motivating power for human progress, but the wrong use of these opposing forces leads to conflict. Hence, the meaning of لَوۡ شَآءَ ٱللَّهُ مَا ٱقۡتَتَلُواْ is merely that if God wanted, He could have created humans without the opposing forces, but the Divine pleasure was to create humans so that they could progress and excel other creation, and so He kept these different and opposing forces within people. The indication in يَفۡعَلُ مَا يُرِيدُ is that humans can obtain a good result by the right use of these opposing forces and a bad one by their wrong use, or that the intention of Allah is to send a universal prophet for all nations so that the universal prophet puts an end to all strife and contention among nations.
Bayan-ul-Quran 