Tafsir of Al-Baqarah 2:252

(These are the signs of Allah) This is an indication of what has preceded regarding the narrative of the thousands, their death and resurrection, the installation of Talut as king, his manifestation through the miracle, the destruction of the tyrants at the hand of a boy, and the element of improbability therein; this is to signal the exalted status of that which is indicated. It is also said: it is an indication of what has passed from the beginning of the Surah up to this point, though there is remoteness in this. The sentence, under both interpretations, is an inception. His saying (We recite them unto you) means: by way of Gabriel, peace be upon him. It is either a state (hal) from "the signs," where the operative factor is the meaning of the indication, or it is an inaugural sentence that has no place in the grammatical inflection. (With the truth) is in the position of the accusative, acting as a state from the object of "We recite them," meaning: cloaked in the certainty which no one among the People of the Book and the masters of history can doubt, as they find it in agreement with what they possess; or it is something that should not be doubted; or it is from its subject, meaning: "We recite them unto you while We are cloaked in truth and correctness," which is with us; or it is from the attached pronoun, meaning: "while you are cloaked in the truth," which is with you. (And you are indeed of the messengers) since you report these signs and the stories of past centuries and their news as they truly occurred, without having studied a book or met with anyone who could inform you of such.

The aspect of the relevance of this story to what preceded it is manifest; for when the Exalted commanded the believers to fight in His path—having previously mentioned the story of those who left their homes in fear of death, whether due to plague or battle, by way of encouragement and strengthening for the believers, and to announce that caution does not avert the decree—He followed it up by stating that fighting was required and legislated in previous nations, so it is not among the ordinances specific to you. For the soul is more inclined to accept what is shared than a command in which one is singled out.

From the perspective of allusion in these verses: (Have you not seen) the assembly of faculties (of the Children of Israel) the body, (after Moses) the heart, (when they said to a prophet) their intellects, (Send for us a king that we may fight in the path of Allah) and the path of reaching Him is by way of His command and guidance. (He said: "Is it expected of you, if fighting is prescribed for you, that you will not fight?") meaning: I expect from you a lack of fighting due to your immersion in the mire of nature. (They said: "And why should we not fight") in the path of journeying toward Allah, the Exalted, when we have been expelled from the homes of our original dispositions, which we have never ceased to yearn for, and we are estranged from the children of our perfections, which we have never ceased to weep over? But when fighting was prescribed for them against their enemy, who was the cause of their estrangement and had brought upon them wonders of astonishment, they turned away and avoided fighting, and joined the ranks of its faction, except for a few of them—those being the prepared faculties. (And Allah is Knowing of the wrongdoers) who diminished their own shares.

(And their prophet said to them: "Indeed, Allah has sent to you Talut") the human spirit, a king crowned with the diadem of divine lights, seated upon the throne of Lordly directives. They said—due to their arguing with the veil of selfhood and their heedlessness of the truths of knowledge—"How can he have kingship over us," despite his lowered rank by his descent into the world of density from his original world, and there being no likeness in him to us? (And we are more worthy of kingship than him) because of our participation in our world and our likeness to one another; and things that are similar are inclined toward each other, and the followers of a thing are close to it.

And for everything there is a blight from its own kind.

(And he has not been given an abundance) of the wealth of disposition, for he does not dispose of affairs except through a medium. He said: "Indeed, Allah has chosen him over you because of his simplicity and your complexity, and has increased him in abundance of divine knowledge and strength in the luminous essence. And Allah gives His kingdom to whom He wills," so he manages it by His permission; "And Allah is All-Encompassing" due to the breadth of the Absolute, "All-Knowing" of the wisdoms that necessitate appearing and manifesting through the loci of the Names.

And their prophet said to them: The sign of his kingship over you and his succession on behalf of the Lord among you is that there will come to you the Ark of the Breast, in it is a Sakinah—that is, tranquility—from your Lord, which is tranquility through faith and intimacy with Allah, the Exalted; and a remnant of what was left by the family of Moses (the heart) and the family of Aaron (the secret), which is of the Tawhid (Oneness) and the staff of "There is no god but Allah" which swallows the great magic of the soul's attributes; and a basin of the manifestation of lights with which the hearts of the prophets are washed; and something of the Torah of inspirations. The angels of preparations carry it to Talut, the Spirit. Upon that, the succession is surrendered to him, and all the tribes of the human faculties submit to him.

When Talut departed with his soldiers from the minister of the intellect, the advisor of the heart, the manager of the understandings, and the order of the senses, (he said: "Indeed, Allah is testing you with a river") of bodily nature, overflowing with the waters of desires. Whoever drinks from it and sips, exceeding in quenching, is not of my followers—who are of the world of spiritualities and the people of the unveiling of attributes. And whoever does not taste it or sip it is of the inhabitants of the enclosures of the Holy, and those present at the unveiling of the brides on the dais of intimacy, except for one who scoops a handful with his hand and is content with that by the measure of necessity, due to need, without greed or immersion. So they drank from it, and sipped, and immersed themselves in it, except for a few of them, and they are those who are purified from natural filth, sanctified from its garments, and stripped of its veils—and few are they.

When Talut (the Spirit) crossed the river of nature and passed it, he and those who believed—from the heart, the intellect, the king, and others of the followers of the spirit—some of them said—those being the weak ones who had not reached the station of establishment—"We have no strength today against Goliath (the Soul) and his helpers," due to their being deeply rooted in deceptions and intrigues. Those who were certain that they would meet Allah by returning to Him said: "How many a small company has overcome a large company" and defeated it, until its multitude was gone, by the permission of Allah and His facilitation. "And Allah is with the patient," through His special manifestation to them.

When they stood against Goliath and his soldiers, they absolved themselves of power and strength and said: "Our Lord, pour upon us patience and steadfastness, and plant our feet firmly" in the fields of struggle so that we do not retreat in backwardness, "and grant us victory over the disbelievers" who covered the truth, and they are the commanding soul (al-nafs al-ammarah) and its attributes. So they defeated them and broke them by the permission of Allah, and David (the Heart) killed Goliath (the Soul). They all reached the station of establishment, so they do not fear a return or apostasy. He had thrown at him the stone of submission from the slingshot of contentment, with the hand of abandoning regard for other-than-Allah, so it struck the brain of his passion and he fell prostrate. Then Allah, the Exalted, gave David the kingship of succession, the wisdom of inspirations, and taught him of what He willed regarding the craft of forging armor for wars, the speech of the birds of incoming inspirations, and the glorification of the mountains of the bodies.

And if it were not for Allah checking some people—like the masters of seeking—by others—like the arriving spiritual masters—the earth of their dispositions, created in the best of molds, would have been corrupted upon the seizing of Goliath (the Soul). But Allah is full of bounty to the worlds, and among His bounty is moving the chain of the seekers' quest, inspiring their secrets with the will of the perfect masters, and granting them the success to hold fast to the skirt of their upbringing and to cling to the fringes of their conduct. Glorified be He, the Generous who is not stingy, and the Benefactor to those who ask and those who do not ask.