The refusal of the Children of Israel to enter the Holy Land during that period, and the period of wandering:
Selections from the Book The King Prophets...
Written by Dr. Ali Muhammad Al-Sallabi...
Episode (4)
Allah Almighty said: {And [mention, O Muhammad], when Moses said to his people, “O my people, remember the favor of Allah upon you when He appointed among you prophets and made you possessors and gave you that which He had not given anyone among the worlds (20) O my people, enter the Holy Land which Allah has assigned to you and do not turn back [from fighting in Allah ‘s cause] and [thus] become losers (21) They said, “O Musa, indeed within it is a people of tyrannical strength, and indeed, we will never enter it until they leave it; but if they leave it, then we will enter” (22) Said two men from those who feared [to disobey] upon whom Allah had bestowed favor, “Enter upon them through the gate, for when you have entered it, you will be predominant. And upon Allah rely, if you should be believers” (23) They said, “O Musa, indeed we will not enter it, ever, as long as they are within it; so go, you and your Lord, and fight. Indeed, we are remaining right here” (24) [Musa] said, “My Lord, indeed I do not possess except myself and my brother, so part us from the defiantly disobedient people” (25) [Allah] said, “Then indeed, it is forbidden to them for forty years [in which] they will wander throughout the land. So do not grieve over the defiantly disobedient people (26)} [Al-Ma’idah: 20 26].
This story between Prophet Moses (peace be upon him) and his people, which came in Surat Al-Ma’idah and was revealed in the Medinan period, speaks of an advanced stage in the life of Moses with his people, while they were at the gates of the Holy Land that Allah had promised them in that period, and their position as well on their Lord’s covenant with them, and how they broke it, and what was their reward for breaking the covenant.
These Holy verses show the position of the Children of Israel towards the Prophet of Allah Moses (peace be upon him), whom Allah sent to them, and who saved them at his hands from the oppression of Pharaoh - who was slaughtering their sons and sparing their women - and his tyranny, and in honor of Moses (peace be upon him), Allah bestowed upon them clear and great blessings, such as shading the clouds, springing water from the stone, and sending down manna and quails, and above all, He sent down to them the Torah as light and guidance.
Despite all these blessings, they stood with Prophet Moses in a position of ungratefulness and abandonment when Moses asked them to strive for the sake of Allah and enter the Holy Land, and before he asked them to do that, he reminded them of some of Allah’s blessings upon them.
A- Ibn Khaldun - may Allah have mercy on him - commented on Allah’s wisdom in the wandering, and said: “The wisdom of that wandering is intended, which is the annihilation of the generation who emerged from the grip of humiliation, oppression, and power, who were inbred by it, and were corrupted by their fanaticism, until another, dear generation arose in that wandering, a generation that does not know judgments or oppression, and does not tolerate humiliation. This created for them another fanaticism with which they were able to demand and overcome. It appears to you from this that forty years are the minimum in which the annihilation of one generation occurs and the emergence of another generation. Glory be to Him, The Wise, The All Knowing”.
B- Muhammad Rashid Reda - may Allah have mercy on him - said, commenting on this story: “The peoples who grow up in the cradle of tyranny and are subjected to injustice and persecution, Their morals become corrupt, their souls become humiliated, their strength disappears, and they become subjected to humiliation and poverty, accustomed to submission and humiliation. If these peoples are subjected to a prolonged period of oppression, these morals will become inherited and acquired, until they become like innate instincts and congenital natures. If you remove its possessor from its environment and lift its yoke from his neck, his soul will be naturally inclined to it, and will escape from you to enter into it.
He also said: We must consider these examples that Allah Almighty has shown us, and learn that reforming nations after they have been corrupted by injustice and tyranny is only by creating a new generation that combines nomadism, its independence and dignity, with knowledge of the Islamic law and virtues and acting upon them. This was done after the end of the prophethood by the heirs of the prophets, who combined knowledge and the laws of Allah in unity, and the period of insight, sincerity, and honesty in the love of reform, and preferring it over all whims and desires. Whoever Allah leads astray has no guide.
Thus, Moses and his brother Aaron - peace be upon them - separated with those of the Children of Israel who obeyed and followed them, from the misguided and immoral majority of the Children of Israel, and the immoral Children of Israel became lost in the Sinai desert, and began to flounder among its reefs and valleys in confusion, loss, and misguidance, not knowing what to do, nor where they are going, and this is what they committed against themselves, and Allah wronged them not, but they had been wronging themselves.
The members of that generation began to die one by one, and to leave humiliated and weak.
Thus, the life of Moses (peace be upon him) ended with this generation of the children of Israel after his continuous attempts to elevate them, but they did not respond to him, so his life with them ended with him despairing of them and turning to raising their children in harshness, severity, and jihad. As for them, they left this world lost and confused.
The Qur’anic context leaves them lost here, nothing more than that, and it is a situation in which the precious lesson combines with artistic beauty, in the way the Qur’an expresses it. These were some of the effects of the Qur’anic approach to education through stories in general, and some aspects of wisdom in detailing the story of the Children of Israel.
Episode references:
- Ali Muhammad Al-Sallabi, The King Prophets, first edition, Dar Ibn Kathir, 2023, pp. 37-40.
- In the Shadows of the Qur’an, Sayyid Qutb, Dar Al-Shorouk, Cairo, 17th edition, 1412 AH (2/868)
- Introduction ibn khaldun, by the scholar Abdul Rahman bin Muhammad bin Muhammad bin Khaldun, published by the Great Commercial Library. Cairo, undated, (2/502 - 503).
- Tafsir Al-Manar (Interpretation of the Wise Qur’an), Muhammad Rashid Reda, Egyptian General Book Authority, Cairo, 1990 AD (6/279).
For further information and review of the sources for the article, see:
The Book of King Prophets on the official website of Sheikh Dr. Ali Muhammad Al-Sallabi:
https://www.alsalabi.com/salabibooksOnePage/689
