The violations of the Children of Israel after Joshua bin Nun (peace be upon him)…
Selections from the Book The King Prophets...
Written by Dr. Ali Muhammad Al-Sallabi...
Episode (7)
Joshua bin Nun died after that, and others took over the leadership of the children of Israel and settled in the conquered areas of the Holy Land, and we are not concerned here with talking about them at this stage.
All we say is that they were not serious about adhering to Allah’s law, nor were they steadfast in the truth. Rather, they were dominated by their nature based on escapism, rebellion, opposition, and disobedience. The Qur’an gave an example of their rebellion and disobedience, after they settled in the Holy Land.
Allah Almighty said: {And [recall] when We said, “Enter this city and eat from it wherever you will in [ease and] abundance, and enter the gate bowing humbly and say, ‘Relieve us of our burdens.’ We will [then] forgive your sins for you, and We will increase the doers of good [in goodness and reward].” (58) But those who wronged changed [those words] to a statement other than that which had been said to them, so We sent down upon those who wronged a punishment from the sky because they were defiantly disobeying (59)} [Al-Baqarah: 58-59].
And Allah Almighty said: {And [mention, O Muhammad], when it was said to them, “Dwell in this city and eat from it wherever you will and say, ‘Relieve us of our burdens,’ and enter the gate bowing humbly; We will [then] forgive you your sins. We will increase the doers of good [in goodness and reward].” (161) But those who wronged among them changed [the words] to a statement other than that which had been said to them. So We sent upon them a punishment from the sky for the wrong that they were doing (162)} [Al-A’raf: 161-162].
The summary of the meaning of these verses is that Allah tells us about some of the transgressions of the Children of Israel. When Allah Almighty granted them victory over their enemies, He commanded them to thank Him for that blessing, by entering the gate of the village, prostrating and thankful to Him, and asking Him to forgive their sins, remove them, and forgive them. If they did that, then Allah will respond to them, forgive their sins, and remove from them their evil deeds. But their reckless and rebellious nature prevents them from adhering to Allah’s commands. When Allah gave them victory over their enemies, they did not enter the gate of the village prostrating, but rather entered crawling on their backs and stomachs, as small children do, and instead of being humble! They said: A grain for a hair, and in this way, they changed a word other than what was said to them, and they rebelled against the divine command, distorting it and changing it, and thus they deserved punishment from Allah.
We see that the verses obscure the name of the village, as it is a village in the Holy Land, and perhaps that was some time after the death of Joshua bin Nun, at a later stage in their stay in the Holy Land, with evidence that Allah hastened their affliction and torment as punishment for them, and that torment did not occur during the reign of Joshua bin Nun, and Allah knows best.
Episode references:
- Ali Muhammad Al-Sallabi, The King Prophets, first edition, Dar Ibn Kathir, 2023, pp. 50-52.
- Quranic Stories (3/368).
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
