Quran Garden

Session 263

Chapter 2

Verse 246

Have you not seen the elders of the Children of Israel who came after Moses, when they said to one of their Prophets, ‘Appoint a king for us and we shall fight in God’s cause.’ He said, ‘Is it not possible that if fighting were prescribed for you, you would not fight?’ They said, ‘How could we not fight in God’s cause when we have been driven out of our homeland and our children?’ Yet when they were commanded to fight, all but a few of them turned away: God has full knowledge of the unjust. (Chapter 2: Verse 246)

The verse starts with the phrase ‘Have you not seen?’ asking you if you have witnessed an event that happened thousands of years ago.  The Quran is God's word, and to the believer, what God says is as true and certain as one's own eyesight.  We believe in what God tells us with the same certainty as if we were present witnessing the event first hand.  So what do we see? God says: ‘Have you not seen the elders of the Children of Israel who came after Moses, when they said to one of their Prophets, ‘Appoint a king for us and we shall fight in God’s cause.’  The word ‘elders’ translated from the Arabic origin ‘Malaa’ refers to the leaders, elites, and nobles of a society.  The tribe of the Israelites in this verse could be from the era of Joshua, Ezekiel, or any period after the prophet Moses.  The exact period does not concern us because the Quran did not specify a time.  What is important is they were after Moses peace be upon him.   

The nobles and leaders from the children of Israel gathered in discussion, and then they went to their Prophet.  They asked him to appoint a king.  We understand the presence of a prophet and the absence of a king.  What is the significance?  We answer that Prophets at that time played the role of advising and monitoring, but the Prophet did not lead projects or initiate actions.  That was left to kings.  The wisdom behind separating the two matters is that the person who leads projects and takes action often becomes a target for disputes and hatred.  Had the prophet been in charge, then the failure of one project would have been blamed on God.  That, in turn, would negatively affect people’s perception of faith and the prophet.  By having a king, such matters and disputes are handled differently.  Therefore, the elders of the Israelites asked their Prophet to appoint a king who would deal with such issues.  In this manner, the prophet would remain the moral compass to which the tribe turns.

Let’s consider the situation of this tribe.  Their elders gathered, saw a clear need to fight, and decided to ask their prophet to appoint a king to lead them into war.  They have been driven out of their town; some families were separated from their loved ones.  They were humiliated by losing their homes and children to the enemy.  Despite these dire reasons, the Prophet was worried.  He asked them: "Is it not possible that if fighting were prescribed for you, you would not fight?" He knew that appointing a king to lead them to war would make fighting –which is not compulsory at the moment- a religious duty.  And when God makes fighting obligatory, you might lose your nerve and fail to obey His command and thus fall in sin.

They answered: ‘How could we not fight in God’s cause when we have been driven out of our homeland and our children?’ Let’s take a moment to examine their statement.  While they claimed to want to fight "in God’s cause," the real reason behind their decision was worldly and material.  They wanted to fight because they were driven from their homes and their children! They only considered fighting when they were personally going through a hard time.  It was not for God’s sake.  However, since they sought God as their refuge, He accepted their request and considered their fight in His path.

The verse continues: ‘Yet when they were commanded to fight, all but a few of them turned away.’  The critical point to remember is that the elders and nobles of the tribe asked to fight, and requested a leader to take them to battle.  They studied the matter and came up with the solution.  Even when their prophet questioned them, they insisted: ‘How could we not fight in God’s cause when we have been driven out of our homeland and our children?’ Allah only made fighting obligatory upon them based on their request.  It was not imposed haphazardly.  Sadly, their prophet was proven right when he predicted their true willingness to fight.  Most of them changed their minds, but not all.  There were a few who obeyed the mandate of their Lord to fight.   

Here we should address an important issue.  When it comes to life’s tough struggles, the majority of people will often turn away from confrontation.  But you should not say: "We are only a few; we don’t stand a chance” because true results are not attained through numbers, they are attained through God’s support.  You may be up against overwhelming odds, but if you have the grace and support of your Lord on your side, the odds do not matter.  In the verse under study God says: ‘Yet when they were commanded to fight, all but a few of them turned away.’  The expression "all but a few of them" was mentioned for a reason.  God says in the 249^th verse of ‘The Cow’:

"Many a times has a group of a few defeated a much bigger group by God’s command; God is with the steadfast."

Victory comes through the will of God.  Each one of us sees matters according to the strength of his or her faith.  Here is an example: two soldiers standing shoulder to shoulder before battle.  They can both see that the enemy far outnumbers them, but their thoughts differ.  One soldier sees the enemy and thinks: “we are few, and they are many; we cannot fight them.”  The other soldier sees the enemy and thinks: “Unlike our enemy, we are fighting for the truth; God is with us.”  God says:

When they had crossed it, and those who believed with him, they said: "We have no strength to combat Goliath and his forces today. But those who believed they have to face their Lord, said: "Many a time has a small band defeated a large horde by the will of God. God is with those who are patient" (from 2:249)

The verse ends with: “Yet when they were commanded to fight, all but a few of them turned away: God has full knowledge of the unjust.” Take note that God described those who disobeyed Him as unjust.  Injustice in its purest form is to transfer a right to someone other than its owner.  The Israelites who turned away from fighting were unjust on three levels.  First, by not fighting for their homes and their children, they gave up their rightful ownership to their enemies.  They were unjust towards their families and property.  Second, they were unjust towards their fellow fighters as they robbed them of the morale of a strong army.  Lastly, and most importantly, they were unjust towards themselves.  Why, you may ask? Because by disobeying God’s command, they earned themselves the punishment of Hellfire and robbed themselves of the rewards of paradise.