Tafsir of Al-Baqarah 2:56

This was due to the thunderbolt, and it occurred through the supplication of Moses, peace be upon him, and his beseeching his Lord after he recovered. In some narrations, it is stated that when they died, Moses did not cease beseeching his Lord to bring them back to life, saying: "O Lord, the Children of Israel will say that I have killed the best among us." Then Allah the Exalted revived them all, man after man, watching one another as they were brought back to life.

Death here refers clearly to the departure of the soul from the body, and the revival is qualified by it because [revival] may also refer to waking from sleep, as in the case of the People of the Cave, and it may mean the sending of a person—a usage frequent in the Quran. Some have said that this "death" was a state of swooning and lethargy, not true death, as in the saying of the Exalted: {And death comes to him from every side, but he is not to die}. Others have interpreted death metaphorically as ignorance, as in the saying of the Exalted: {Or one who was dead and We gave him life}. This has become widespread in prose and poetry; among which is the saying:

The possessor of knowledge is alive, eternal after his death, While his limbs are decaying beneath the soil. The possessor of ignorance is dead, even while walking upon the earth, Thought to be among the living, while he is non-existent.

The meaning of "revival" in this sense is: "Then We taught you after your ignorance, that you might give thanks," meaning the favor of Allah the Exalted upon you by reviving you after death, or His—glorified be He—favor after you had denied it, having witnessed the severity of Allah the Exalted when the thunderbolt struck you and you tasted death. It is the view of a group that those who are brought back to life after death are obligated with duties, so that no sane adult in this world remains without religious obligation after the sending of messengers.

He who considers the "revival" after death a metaphor for teaching after ignorance makes the object of gratitude that [teaching]. In some narrations, it is mentioned that when Allah the Exalted revived them, they requested that He make them prophets, and He did so. Therefore, the object of gratitude—according to what has been said—is this mission, though this is far-fetched. More far-fetched still is making the object of gratitude the revelation of the Torah, which contains the mention of His acceptance of their repentance and the detailing of their laws after they had previously had no laws.

The Mu'tazila and sects of the innovators have used this verse as evidence for the impossibility of seeing the Creator—glorified and exalted be He—arguing that if it were possible, the thunderbolt would not have seized them for requesting it. The response is that the seizing of the thunderbolt was not merely for the request itself, but because of the obstinacy and excessive stubbornness that accompanied it, as indicated by the context of the speech, where they made their belief conditional upon it. It is also permissible that this seizing was due to their disbelief regarding Allah the Exalted giving the Torah to Moses—peace be upon him—His speaking to him, or his prophethood, rather than merely their request. It may also be said that since they were not qualified to behold the Truth in this existence, their request was an act of transgression, and they were punished for what they were punished for; this is not evidence for the absolute impossibility of [vision] in this world or the Hereafter. The investigation of this matter will follow, if Allah the Exalted wills, in a manner that leaves no dust upon it.