Tafsir of Al-Baqarah 2:248

This is a conjunctive clause to a similar preceding statement. The reason for interpolating the preceding verse between these two is to indicate that they are not directly connected; rather, there is an intervening discourse from the side of the interlocutors, derived from the preceding context and following the subsequent one. The traditions of the narrators are concurrent in stating that they said to their Prophet, "What is the sign of his sovereignty and his being chosen over us?" He replied, "Indeed, the sign of his sovereignty is that the Ark (al-Tabut) shall come to you."

Since their statement was not explicitly mentioned so that this could be an explicit response to it, the subject (the Prophet) was reiterated to distinguish it from what is explicitly known as a response. The reason this was not constructed by stating their question and making this its answer—relying on the implied pronoun as was done initially—is to hint that this question posed to the Prophet, after they had already attested to his truthfulness and he had clarified what they had inquired about, was inappropriate to be answered, as it bore a complete resemblance to obstinacy (ta'annut) at that point, even if it were counted among the questions meant to strengthen knowledge.

This is based on the assumption that the people were believers. However, some traditions suggest they were not yet believers at that time. It is narrated from Al-Suddi that this Prophet was sheltered as an orphan by an elder among the scholars of the Children of Israel. When God Almighty willed to send him as a Prophet, Gabriel came to him while he was a youth sleeping beside the elder—who trusted no one else with him—and called him using the elder’s voice. He stood up in alarm and went to the elder, saying, "O my father, did you call me?" The elder disliked saying no, lest he be frightened, so he said, "O my son, go back and sleep." He went back and slept. He called him a second time, and the youth came to him again, saying, "Did you call me?" He replied, "Go back and sleep; if I call you a third time, do not answer me." When the third call came, Gabriel appeared to him and said, "Go to your people and deliver to them the message of your Lord, for God Almighty has sent you among them as a Prophet." When he came to them, they belied him, saying, "You have rushed into prophethood; your time has not yet come." They added, "If you are truthful, then send us a king." Then, what transpired happened, and he said, "Indeed, God has sent you Talut as a king." They replied, "I have never seen anyone more lying than you at this moment." They raised objections, were answered, and then said, "If you are truthful, bring us a sign that this man is a king." He then told them what God Almighty narrated.

In this light, it is not improbable that the interrogation expressed in the verse, as well as the request hinted at therein, originated from denial and lack of certainty. The reason for omitting their question, if it is to be omitted, is to signal that it is the nature of Prophets to provide signs even if they are not explicitly requested by the straying, as a restriction for the arrival and "so that those who have believed may increase in guidance."

Al-Tabut is the chest (al-sanduq). It is derived from tawbut from tawba (returning), because things are continually returned to it when taken out, and its owner returns to it for the items deposited within. The ta is an addition, like the ta in malakut. Its original form is tawbut, then the waw was changed into an alif. It is not of the measure fa'ul from al-tabt because it is rare for the first and third radical letters to be of the same type (like salas or qalaq). It has been recited as tabuh with a ha (at the end), which is the dialect of the Ansar, while the first is the dialect of the Quraish—and it is the one that Uthman, may God be pleased with him, commanded to be written in the Imam (the standard codex) when Zayd and Aban, may God be pleased with them, disputed before him regarding it. Its measure then, according to what Al-Zamakhshari preferred, is fa'alu, because the ambiguity of the derivation does not contradict the addition of the ha and the lack of a parallel. As for considering the ha a substitute for the ta due to their gathering in the attribute of hams (whisper/unvoiced) and because both are among the letters of addition, this is weak because substitution in letters other than the feminine ta is not established. Al-Jawhari held that the ta in it is for the feminine, and in his view, the original form is tabuta like tarquwa (clavicle); when the waw became quiescent, the feminine ha changed into a ta.

The intended meaning is a chest from which the Children of Israel sought blessings. It vanished from them, and there is disagreement regarding its reality. The chroniclers said: It is a chest God Almighty sent down to Adam, peace be upon him; inside it were images of all the Prophets. It was made of boxwood, about three cubits by two. It continued to be passed from one noble person to another until it reached Jacob, then his sons, until the Children of Israel became corrupt and disobedient after Moses, peace be upon him. God Almighty empowered the Amalekites against them, so they seized it and placed it in a place for urine and excrement. When God willed to make Talut king, He afflicted them with suffering, such that everyone who relieved themselves near it was afflicted with hemorrhoids, and five of their cities perished. They realized this was due to their disparagement of it, so they brought it out and placed it on two oxen. The two oxen began to walk, and God Almighty had assigned four angels to drive them until they arrived at Talut’s house.

It is narrated from Ibn Abbas, may God be pleased with them, that it is the chest of the Torah. God had raised it to heaven due to His wrath upon the Children of Israel when they disobeyed after the death of Moses, peace be upon him. When the sign was requested, it came from heaven, and the angels were guarding it while the Children of Israel witnessed this until they placed it in Talut’s house. From Abu Ja'far, may God be pleased with them, it is narrated that it is the Ark in which the mother of Moses placed him when she cast him into the sea. The Children of Israel possessed it and sought blessings from it until they became corrupt, began to hide it, and then God raised it until what happened, happened. Other things are narrated that would take long to recount. The closest of the views I have seen is that it is the chest of the Torah which the Amalekites overcame until God returned it. The most remote is that it is a chest that descended from heaven to Adam, peace be upon him, and people would seek judgment from it after Moses, peace be upon him, when they differed; it would judge between them and speak to them until they became corrupt and the Amalekites took it. I have not seen any authentic, marfu (attributed to the Prophet) tradition that one can rely upon to open the lock of this chest or any thought of that kind.

"In it is calmness (sakina) from your Lord": That is, in its arrival, there is stillness and tranquility for you. Sakina is a verbal noun here, or within it is that which makes you find tranquility, which is the Torah. It is said—though it is not correct as Al-Raghib stated—that it was an image in it made of peridot or jacinth, having a head and tail like the head and tail of a cat, and two wings; it would moan, and the Ark would move toward the enemy while they followed it. When it settled, they would become firm and calm, and victory would descend. The sentence is in the position of a circumstantial qualifier (hal), and "min" is for the beginning of the distance or for partition, meaning: from the calms of your Lord.

"And a remnant of what the family of Moses and the family of Aaron left behind": This is the shards of the Tablets, the garments of Moses, the turban of Aaron, a basin of gold in which the hearts of the Prophets were washed, and the word of relief: "There is no god but God, the Forbearing, the Generous," "Glory be to God, Lord of the seven heavens, and Lord of the Great Throne," and "Praise be to God, Lord of the Worlds." Their "family" (Al) refers to their followers, their own selves, or the Prophets of the Children of Israel, because they are their cousins.

"The angels carry it": This is a circumstantial qualifier (hal) for the Ark. The carrying is either literal or metaphorical, on the order of "Zayd carried my baggage to Mecca."

"Indeed in that is a sign for you": This is a reference to what was mentioned regarding the arrival of the Ark—it is from the speech of the Prophet to his people—or it is a reference to the transmission of the story and its narration; it is thus the beginning of an address from Him, the Exalted, to the Prophet, may God bless him and grant him peace, and the believers with him. It was brought before the completion of the story to manifest complete care, and the singular pronoun was used despite the plurality of the addressees, on both interpretations, by taking it to mean the "group" or similar.

"If you are believers": That is, if you are those who attest to his being made king over you, or [attest] to any of the signs. "In" is conditional, and the response is omitted, relying on what preceded it. The intent is not the reality of the condition if the addressee is one whose faith has been verified. It is also said that it means "when."