The kings of the Children of Israel in Surat Al-Baqarah, Saul and David (peace be upon them)….
Selections from the Book The King Prophets...
Written by Dr. Ali Muhammad Al-Sallabi...
Episode (10)
Allah Almighty said: {Have you not considered the assembly of the Children of Israel after [the time of] Moses when they said to a prophet of theirs, “Send to us a king, and we will fight in the way of Allah “? He said, “Would you perhaps refrain from fighting if fighting was prescribed for you?” They said, “And why should we not fight in the cause of Allah when we have been driven out from our homes and from our children?” But when fighting was prescribed for them, they turned away, except for a few of them. And Allah is Knowing of the wrongdoers (246) And their prophet said to them, “Indeed, Allah has sent to you Saul as a king.” They said, “How can he have kingship over us while we are more worthy of kingship than him and he has not been given any measure of wealth?” He said, “Indeed, Allah has chosen him over you and has increased him abundantly in knowledge and stature. And Allah gives His sovereignty to whom He wills. And Allah is all-Encompassing [in favor] and Knowing” (247) And their prophet said to them, “Indeed, a sign of his kingship is that the chest will come to you in which is assurance from your Lord and a remnant of what the family of Moses and the family of Aaron had left, carried by the angels. Indeed in that is a sign for you, if you are believers” (248) And when Saul went forth with the soldiers, he said, “Indeed, Allah will be testing you with a river. So whoever drinks from it is not of me, and whoever does not taste it is indeed of me, excepting one who takes [from it] in the hollow of his hand.” But they drank from it, except a [very] few of them. Then when he had crossed it along with those who believed with him, they said, “There is no power for us today against Goliath and his soldiers.” But those who were certain that they would meet Allah said, “How many a small company has overcome a large company by permission of Allah. And Allah is with the patient” (249) And when they went forth to [face] Goliath and his soldiers, they said, “Our Lord, pour upon us patience and plant firmly our feet and give us victory over the disbelieving people” (250) So they defeated them by permission of Allah, and David killed Goliath, and Allah gave him the kingship and prophethood and taught him from that which He willed. And if it were not for Allah checking [some] people by means of others, the earth would have been corrupted, but Allah is full of bounty to the worlds (251) These are the verses of Allah which We recite to you, [O Muhammad], in truth. And indeed, you are from among the messengers (252)} [Al-Baqarah: 246-252].
These noble verses tell us one of the stages of the civilization of the nation of the Children of Israel. The stories of the Children of Israel in the Holy Qur’an are among the most frequently mentioned stories in the Holy Qur’an, for many reasons, some of which we mentioned in my book: (Musa Kalimullah, the enemy of the arrogant and the leader of the oppressed). They came in abundance and diversity, because Allah Almighty knew that generations of this Muslim nation would go through things like what the Children of Israel went through, and would take positions similar to the positions of the Children of Israel regarding their religion and belief, so He presented to them the pitfalls of the road, depicted in the history of the Children of Israel, so that they would be an admonition and a lesson for them, and that their image would be seen in the verses of the Holy Quran, before falling into those pitfalls or going through them along the way.
This Qur’an should be read, and generations of the Muslim nation should consciously receive it, and it should be understood as living directives that are revealed to address today’s issues and illuminate the path to the future, not as mere beautiful words to be recited or as a record of past events, phenomena, and situations that will never return.
We will not benefit from the Holy Qur’an until we read it and seek from it the guidance of our lives that are present today and in our tomorrow. When we read the Qur’an with this awareness, we will find in it what we want, and we will find in it wonders that do not occur to the heedless mind.
These noble verses tell us about the experience of the lives of the Children of Israel after Moses (peace be upon him), and after their kingdom was lost, their sanctities were plundered, they were humiliated by their enemies, and they tasted woe because of their deviation from the guidance of Allah and the teachings of their Prophet, then their souls rose up in a new uprising and the faith awoke in their hearts, and they woke up to fight for the sake of Allah, so they said to a prophet of theirs, “Send us a king to fight for the sake of Allah”.
Through this experience - as presented in the Qur’anic context - a number of facts emerge, carrying revelations from which every generation will benefit, until Allah inherits the earth and those on it. The overall lesson that emerges from the whole story is that this uprising - the uprising of faith - despite all the shortcomings and weakness that befell it in the face of the existing experience, the people abandoning it, group after group, along the way.
Despite all of this, the steadfastness of a small minority of believers, achieved huge results for the Children of Israel: victory, glory, and empowerment after staggering defeat, blatant, long displacement, and humiliation under the feet of tyrants. It brought them the kingship of David and then the kingship of Solomon (peace be upon them). This is the highest peak that the state of the children of Israel has reached on earth, and it is their golden era that they talk about, which they had not achieved before. This victory was all a direct result of the uprising of the faith from under the rubble and the steadfastness of a few in front of the hordes of Goliath.
Episode references:
- Ali Muhammad Al-Sallabi, The King Prophets, first edition, Dar Ibn Kathir, 2023, pp. 60-63.
- In the shadows of the Qur’an (1/262).
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
