5-20 And when Moses said to his people: O my people, remember the favor of Allah to you when He raised prophets among you and made you kings and gave you what He gave not to any other of the nations.a
وَإِذۡ قَالَ مُوسَىٰ لِقَوۡمِهِۦ يَـٰقَوۡمِ ٱذۡكُرُواْ نِعۡمَةَ ٱللَّهِ عَلَيۡكُمۡ إِذۡ جَعَلَ فِيكُمۡ أَنۢبِيَآءَ وَجَعَلَكُم مُّلُوكً۬ا وَءَاتَٮٰكُم مَّا لَمۡ يُؤۡتِ أَحَدً۬ا مِّنَ ٱلۡعَـٰلَمِينَ (٢٠)
5-20a: This section narrates how the promises to Bani Israel were postponed because of the violations by the Jewish nation of the covenant. In the last section, mention is made of their violations. A specific example is given here and the reason for explicitly pointing out the Jews is to indicate that the Jews are bent upon fighting and waging war against the Holy Prophet who has come for their reformation but when their prophet conveyed to them Allah’s command to fight an idolatrous nation, they refused to fight. Thus, their previous violation of the covenant is mentioned and also an indication is given of their current planning which is delved into more explicitly in the next section.
The mention of raising prophets and kings: The mention of raising prophets and kings is by way of a promise because Allah’s promises are such that when He says something, it is as if the thing has come to pass, or by prophets is meant Moses and Aaron who were present at that time. There is a mention in Ibn Jarir that the mention of prophets refers to the seventy men who accompanied Moses to Mount Tur. This can only be true in the sense that they were honored by true dreams and revelations and the word prophet was used among the Bani Israel for such recipients. By the term made you kings is meant the coming out of slavery in which the Bani Israel were in Egypt and becoming independent and masters of their own destiny. The real kingship is freedom from being a serf of someone. When a nation becomes the master of its own destiny and comes out of the bondage of another nation, then it becomes a king. In the narrative in Ibn Jarir, it is stated that a person who was the master of a house, woman and servant was considered a king and the indication in the verse seems to be to this aspect because in the subservience of Pharoah in Egypt, by virtue of being slaves, they had no proprietary rights to their houses and leave alone having servants, they were the servants of the Egyptians. The mention of prophets is stated in terms of prophets being raised but kingship is attributed to the whole nation. What is conveyed is that kingship belongs to the whole nation and not to a few individuals. By the statement about giving what was not given to any other nation is meant no other contemporary nation for which see 2:47a. In summary, the chain of prophets in Bani Israel was very extensive and then they were granted kingship along with prophethood.
5-21 O my people, enter the Holy Land which Allah has ordained for you and turn not your backs, for then you will turn back losers.
يَـٰقَوۡمِ ٱدۡخُلُواْ ٱلۡأَرۡضَ ٱلۡمُقَدَّسَةَ ٱلَّتِى كَتَبَ ٱللَّهُ لَكُمۡ وَلَا تَرۡتَدُّواْ عَلَىٰٓ أَدۡبَارِكُمۡ فَتَنقَلِبُواْ خَـٰسِرِينَ (٢١)
5-21a: ٱلۡأَرۡضَ ٱلۡمُقَدَّسَةَ – تقدیس means purified by Allah, that is a purification that is not connected with perceptible dirt. Hence بیت المقدس and ٱلۡأَرۡضَ ٱلۡمُقَدَّسَةَ is a place that is purified from the filth of polytheism (R). The meaning of قَدُس is also blessing (LA). ٱلۡأَرۡضَ ٱلۡمُقَدَّسَةَ is the area of Syria which includes Jerusalem and according to Farah it is Damascus, Palestine and some areas of Jordan (LA – IJ). Ibn Jarir states that Quranic interpreters, biographers of the Holy Prophet, and religious scholars are unanimous in their opinion that ٱلۡأَرۡضَ ٱلۡمُقَدَّسَةَ is situated between Seh Araish Egypt and Euphrates. The blessing of this land is described in Bible as: and surely it floweth with milk and honey (Numbers 13:27).
كَتَبَ ٱللَّهُ لَكُمۡ – There is an indication in this to the covenant with Abraham: … the Lord made a covenant with Abraham, saying, Unto thy seed have I given this land, from the river of Egypt unto the great river Euphrates. (Genesis 15:18). This covenant is repeated in Genesis 17:8 with the land now being called Canaan. The covenant with Abraham includes both Bani Israel and Bani Ishmael.
Moses told his people to enter the ٱلۡأَرۡضَ ٱلۡمُقَدَّسَةَ (the Sacred Land) as conquerors and stated that Allah has promised that the land will be given to them, but they will have to fight for it. The purport of وَلَا تَرۡتَدُّواْ عَلَىٰٓ أَدۡبَارِكُمۡ is that they should not turn their backs to the enemy out of fear.
5-22 They said: O Moses, therein are a powerful people, and we shall not enter it until they go out from it; if they go out from it, then surely we will enter.
قَالُواْ يَـٰمُوسَىٰٓ إِنَّ فِيہَا قَوۡمً۬ا جَبَّارِينَ وَإِنَّا لَن نَّدۡخُلَهَا حَتَّىٰ يَخۡرُجُواْ مِنۡهَا فَإِن يَخۡرُجُواْ مِنۡهَا فَإِنَّا دَٲخِلُونَ (٢٢)
5-22a: جَبَّارِينَ – جَبّار is from جَبۡر which literally means reforming something by some kind of force, and so sometimes it is used just for reform and sometimes just for wrath or mastery (R). الجّبار which is one of the attributes of Allah means العالی فوق خلقه (The Most High is above His creation). So, if a person is called جَبّار , it will mean proud or haughty because being جَبّار and متکبر (proud), that is to consider oneself higher and greater than others is befitting of Allah but not for humans. Hence in the Quranic verses: لَمۡ يَكُن جَبَّارًا عَصِيًّ۬ا (he was not insolent, disobedient) (19:14) and لَمۡ يَجۡعَلۡنِى جَبَّارً۬ا شَقِيًّ۬ا (…He has not made me insolent, unblessed) (19:32) the word جَبّار is used in the sense of haughtiness, that is one who does not bow his head before Allah. جَبّار is also spoken of a person who is appointed as a ruler over another, as in: مَآ أَنتَ عَلَيۡہِم بِجَبَّارٍ۬ (…thou art not one to compel them) (50:45). جَبّار is also a person who kills another unjustly, as in: وَإِذَا بَطَشۡتُم بَطَشۡتُمۡ جَبَّارِينَ (And when you seize, you seize as tyrants) (26:130) and إِن تُرِيدُ إِلَّآ أَن تَكُونَ جَبَّارً۬ا فِى ٱلۡأَرۡضِ (Thou only desirest to be a tyrant in the land) (28:19). A tall strong man is called جَبّار عظیم and the meaning has been taken from نَخۡلَة جَبّارة meaning a tall or a big date palm which is out of reach. This is the sense in which the word is used in: قَوۡمً۬ا جَبَّارِينَ meaning strong, well built, or powerful or tyrannical people (LA).
It is stated in the Bible: We be not able to go up against the people; for they are stronger than we (Numbers 13:31), and: There we saw the giants (Numbers 13:33). In the beginning of Chapter 14 of Numbers, it is described how the Bani Israel were frightened from them and refused to enter this land and planned to go back to Egypt, that is preferred a life of servitude rather than to fight. The narrations written about قَوۡمً۬ا جَبَّارِينَ beyond the factual situation given in the Quran are mere fables.
5-23 Two men of those who feared, on whom Allah had bestowed a favor, said: Enter upon them by the gate, for when you enter it you will surely be victorious; and put your trust in Allah, if you are believers.a
قَالَ رَجُلَانِ مِنَ ٱلَّذِينَ يَخَافُونَ أَنۡعَمَ ٱللَّهُ عَلَيۡہِمَا ٱدۡخُلُواْ عَلَيۡہِمُ ٱلۡبَابَ فَإِذَا دَخَلۡتُمُوهُ فَإِنَّكُمۡ غَـٰلِبُونَۚ وَعَلَى ٱللَّهِ فَتَوَكَّلُوٓاْ إِن كُنتُم مُّؤۡمِنِينَ (٢٣)
5-23a: The names of these two men are given in Numbers 14:6 as Joshua the son of Nun, and Caleb the son of Jephunneh.
5-24 They said: O Moses, we will never enter it so long as they are in it; go therefore thou and thy Lord, and fight; surely here we sit.a
قَالُواْ يَـٰمُوسَىٰٓ إِنَّا لَن نَّدۡخُلَهَآ أَبَدً۬ا مَّا دَامُواْ فِيهَاۖ فَٱذۡهَبۡ أَنتَ وَرَبُّكَ فَقَـٰتِلَآ إِنَّا هَـٰهُنَا قَـٰعِدُونَ (٢٤)
5-24a: Bani Israel disobeyed the command of Moses and refused to fight for fear of the enemy. The refusal: فَٱذۡهَبۡ أَنتَ وَرَبُّكَ is not surprising from a people who were disobedient and insolent at every step. What they meant is that you Moses have trust in your Lord so you and your Lord can go and fight but we do not want to expose ourselves to getting killed and will not go to war.
The companions of Moses and the companions of the Holy Prophet: It is narrated in a hadith that on the day of Badar, Maqdar submitted to the Holy Prophet that we will not say like what the companions of Moses said: فَٱذۡهَبۡ أَنتَ وَرَبُّكَ but we will fight with you, to your right and to your left, in front of you and behind you. In some hadith, the occasion is mentioned as the day of Badar while in others the occasion is not mentioned. In Kitab al Tafsir of Bukhari, the occasion is mentioned as the day of Badar but Ibn Jarir has a narration in which Maqdar made this statement at Hudaybiyah. This is credible because although the revelation of a surah often took place over an extended time period but there is no proof that any part of Surah Maidah was revealed before the day of Badar, but it is credible that the surah was revealed before Hudaybiyah. This shows how the companions of the Holy Prophet took a warning from the narrations of previous nations.
5-25 He said: My Lord, I have control of none but my own self and my brother; so distinguish between us and the transgressing people.a
قَالَ رَبِّ إِنِّى لَآ أَمۡلِكُ إِلَّا نَفۡسِى وَأَخِىۖ فَٱفۡرُقۡ بَيۡنَنَا وَبَيۡنَ ٱلۡقَوۡمِ ٱلۡفَـٰسِقِينَ (٢٥)
5-25a: Moses’ statement that he has control of none but his own self and of his brother is from the point of view that Allah had established them as prophets. If Allah had commanded them, it would have been necessary for them to go to war by themselves. It is for this reason that their two companions who were mentioned afore and who were promised a reward are not included here.
فَٱفۡرُقۡ – The meaning of فَرَقۡتُ بین الشیئین means to separate two things whether the separation is such that it can be seen (that is physical separation) or one that is distinguishable by the spiritual eye (that is to separate by the way treated and rewarded) (R). The meaning taken here is اقض (IJ). They are called transgressing people because of the preponderance of such persons in their midst even though the two on whom Allah bestowed a favor were among them.
5-26 He said: It will surely be forbidden to them for forty years — they will wander about in the land. So grieve not for the transgressing people.a
قَالَ فَإِنَّهَا مُحَرَّمَةٌ عَلَيۡہِمۡۛ أَرۡبَعِينَ سَنَةً۬ۛ يَتِيهُونَ فِى ٱلۡأَرۡضِۚ فَلَا تَأۡسَ عَلَى ٱلۡقَوۡمِ ٱلۡفَـٰسِقِينَ (٢٦)
5-26a: يَتِيهُونَ – The meaning of تاہ یَتِیۡه is تَحَیّرَ , that is discomfited (R). The meaning is that they will be unable to achieve any objective.
تَأۡسَ – The root is اسا and اُسوۃ or اِسۡوۃ is that condition in which one is the follower of another regardless of whether that condition is good or bad. The meaning of اسی is grief, that is sorrow, and it is as if a person grieves for one dead by following him. Further, it comes in both forms اَسِیۡت علیه and اَسِیۡت له‘ . Derived from it is تَأۡسَ as in: فَكَيۡفَ ءَاسَىٰ عَلَىٰ قَوۡمٍ۬ كَـٰفِرِينَ (how, then, should I be sorry for a disbelieving people (7:93).
The Bible states: Surely they shall not see the land which I sware unto their fathers, neither shall any of them that provoked me see it (Numbers 14:23) and: Your carcases shall fall in this wilderness; and all that were numbered of you, according to your whole number, from twenty years old and upward, which have murmured against me (Numbers 14:29). Thus, the existing generation will die in the wilderness, but their children will be victorious. Quran has indicated the same thing by using the term forty years because the average age is sixty years. So, in forty years, members of the current generation that were capable of waging war and were disobedient would pass away.
Bayan-ul-Quran 