Al-Ma'idah: (12) "And Allah had taken the covenant of the Children of Israel..."
"(And Allah had taken the covenant of the Children of Israel)" is a new statement that includes an explanation of some of the actions that occurred from the Children of Israel. It is presented to strengthen the believers' resolve to remember the favor of Allah the Exalted, to observe the rights of the covenant, and to warn them against breaking it. It also serves to confirm what was previously mentioned regarding the resolve to commit violence, basing it on the fact that since it originated from their ancestors, such treachery and betrayal are an "Akhzamian trait" (shinshinah akhzamiyyah) among them.
The Majestic Name (Allah) is mentioned here to foster awe, to magnify the covenant, and to emphasize the gravity of violating it, alongside the observance of the right of starting a new discourse, which necessitates a break from what preceded it. The shift to the first-person plural in His saying, "(And We raised from among them twelve leaders)," is to follow the path of majesty. The non-direct object is mentioned before the direct object for the sake of importance and to create suspense, as has been mentioned more than once.
A Naqib (leader/representative) is said to be a fa'il (active participle) form derived from naqb, meaning inspection or scrutiny—from which comes the phrase: "They inspected (naqabu) in the lands." He is so named because he inspects the affairs of the people and their secrets. It is also said to be in the sense of a maf'ul (passive participle), as if the people selected him based on their knowledge and scrutiny of his affairs. Al-Zajjaj said: Its origin is from naqb, which is a wide hole or a path in a mountain. It is said, "Such a person has a good naqibah," meaning a beautiful nature. A naqib is also one who is knowledgeable about things, sharp-witted, and investigates matters extensively. This whole category signifies an effect upon a thing that has depth, and from this is "I bored (naqabtu) the wall," meaning I reached the end of the hole.
It is narrated that when the Children of Israel finished with the affair of Pharaoh, Allah the Exalted commanded them to march toward Jericho, the land of the Levant, which was inhabited by the Canaanite tyrants. The Almighty said to them: "I have written it down for you as a dwelling and a place of rest, so go forth to it and fight those who are in it, for I am your helper." He, the Exalted, commanded Moses, peace be upon him, to take from every tribe a guarantor responsible for their fulfillment of what they were commanded. So, he took the covenant from them, chose the leaders (nuqaba), and traveled with them. When he drew near the land of Canaan, he sent the leaders to spy out the news and forbade them from telling their people. They saw giant bodies and severe might, so they grew afraid and returned and told their people—except for Caleb son of Jephunneh from the tribe of Judah, and Joshua son of Nun from the tribe of Ephraim son of Joseph, peace be upon him. At that, the Children of Israel said to Moses, peace be upon him: "Go, you and your Lord, and fight; indeed, we are sitting right here."
'Abd bin Humayd and Ibn Jarir narrated from Mujahid that when the leaders entered upon the tyrants, they found that two of them could fit inside the sleeve of one of those giants, and their cluster of grapes could only be carried by five people on a pole. Five or four people could fit inside a single grape skin once its seeds were removed. Al-Baghawi mentioned that a man from among them met them, called 'Uj bin 'Unaq, whose height was three thousand three hundred and thirty-three and one-third cubits. He used to hold onto the clouds, drink from them, and grab whales from the bottom of the sea, roasting them with the heat of the sun by lifting them toward it, then eating them. It is narrated that the water flooded everything on the earth except for the mountains, and it did not exceed 'Uj's knees. He lived for three thousand years until Allah the Exalted destroyed him at the hands of Moses, peace be upon him. This was because he came and hollowed out a rock from the mountain the size of Moses' army—which was a square league—and carried it to drop upon them. So, Allah the Exalted sent a hoopoe, which hollowed out the rock with its beak, and it fell upon his neck and knocked him down. Moses, peace be upon him, approached while he was struck down and killed him. His mother was 'Unaq, one of the daughters of Adam, peace be upon him, and her seat was a jarib of land. When they met 'Uj, and on his head was a bundle of firewood, he took them all, put them in his bundle, and took them to his wife, saying, "Look at these who claim they want to fight us," and he threw them before her, saying, "Shall I crush them with my feet?" His wife said, "No, leave them be so they may tell their people what they have seen," and he did so.
I (the author) say: The affair of 'Uj has become widespread among the common people, and they have transmitted outrageous stories about him. In the Fatawa of the scholar Ibn Hajar, he said: The Hafiz al-Imad bin Kathir stated: "The story of 'Uj and everything they narrate about him is delirious nonsense that has no foundation. It is among the fabrications of the People of the Book. He never existed at the time of Noah, peace be upon him, and no one among the disbelievers survived [the flood]." Ibn al-Qayyim said: "Among the matters by which a hadith is known to be fabricated is that it is of the type that established authentic evidence proves its falsehood, like the long hadith of 'Uj. The wonder is not at the audacity of fabricating this hadith and lying about Allah the Exalted, but rather the wonder is at those who include this hadith in books of knowledge—tafsir and others—without clarifying its condition." Then he said: "There is no doubt that this and its likes are from the fabrications of the heretics among the People of the Book who intended to mock and ridicule the noble messengers, peace be upon them, and their followers."
Ibn al-Mundhir reported from Ibn Umar, may Allah be pleased with them, something strange about his story, and some authors critiqued it, saying that this is something a person should be ashamed to attribute to Ibn Umar. The author of al-Qamus took the position that the reports about him are fabricated. Al-Tabarani, Abu al-Shaykh, and Ibn Hibban in Kitab al-'Azamah recorded accounts regarding him. The scholars of hadith, in their analysis of the ones containing strange conditions about him, said: "It is false and a lie." The Hafiz al-Suyuti said: "The most plausible view regarding the report of 'Uj is that he was a remnant of 'Ad, that he had a height in general of a hundred cubits or something similar, and that Moses, peace be upon him, killed him with his staff. This is the amount that is acceptable to accept."
That is a fine statement, for his survival during the flood while he was an apparent disbeliever—since his belief was not reported—and Noah's prayer, peace be upon him, which covered the whole earth, is something that a fair-minded person can hardly accept. Likewise, his survival after the flood, along with the saying of Allah the Exalted: "And We made his descendants those who remained," is something that one with insight cannot justify. Roasting a whale with the eye of the sun is something that cannot be comprehended according to what the philosophers mentioned. Al-Khalkhali mentioned that they held that the sun is not hot; otherwise, mountain peaks would be hotter than the valleys due to their proximity to the sun. Instead, heat occurs when the sun's rays reach the surface of the earth and reflect off it. That is why valleys appear hotter due to the accumulation of reflected rays in them. Whatever part of the earth's surface the rays reach becomes hot, and otherwise not. The commentator of Hikmat al-'Ayn mentioned similar things. It is not an objection to this that some people narrated that angels throw snow at the sun when it rises, and were it not for that, it would burn the earth, because that is something not established with the Hafiz, and it is closer to being fabricated than authentic.
Furthermore, the one who posits the existence of this 'Uj does not posit the Zamhariri (frigid) layer, which is the third of the seven layers of the elements, nor anything above it. Otherwise, how could he hold onto the clouds, which—like thunder, lightning, and thunderbolts—only originate from that cold layer which the rays of the sun affect via reflection from the surface of the earth? They also mentioned that above it are two layers: the first is what mixes with fire, which is where the smoke rising from below dissipates and where comets and meteors form; the second is what approaches purity, as the heat of what is above it and the cold of what is below it (the earth and water) do not reach it, and it is where shooting stars occur. If this man held onto the clouds, his head, by their claim, would have reached one of those two layers, so how would his state be with that cold and heat? I do not think any human, in any condition, could endure that. Moreover, the act of holding onto the clouds is itself impossible based on the speech of the philosophers, as you have learned that the origin of clouds is the Zamhariri layer.
In the book Nuzhat al-Qulub, quoting the sage Abu Nasr, the maximum height of the clouds is twelve leagues and six hundred cubits, and the ancients said it is eighteen leagues. A league is three miles, and a mile is three thousand five hundred cubits.
They also disagreed on the limit of their descent, and none of them mentioned that they descend to a point where it is imaginable for a man—whose height they described as they did—to hold onto the clouds, unless what is meant is a cloud that did not reach that height. Despite all this, they have erred in saying "son of 'Unaq"; it is actually "son of 'Awq," like "Nuh," as established in al-Qamus. It is also the name of his father, not his mother, as mentioned there as well, so let that be noted.
Ibn Humayd and Ibn Jarir reported from Abu al-'Aliyah that he said regarding the verse: Allah the Exalted took the covenant of the Children of Israel that they should be sincere to Him and worship none other than Him. He raised from among them twelve guarantors who guaranteed to them their fulfillment to Allah the Exalted regarding the pledges they gave Him concerning what He commanded and forbade them. Al-Jubba'i chose this, and the leaders in that case could be messengers, or they could be leaders, as al-Balkhi said. Abu Muslim chose that they were sent as prophets to establish the religion, teach the tribes the Torah, and command them with what Allah had obligated upon them. Al-Tibi reported from Ibn Abbas, may Allah be pleased with them, that they were ministers and became prophets after that.
"(And Allah said)"—that is, to the leaders, according to al-Rabi', and al-Samin favored this due to proximity. According to most commentators, it was to the Children of Israel, and Abu Hayyan favored this, as they are the ones in need of the mentioned encouragement and warning, as the shift in the pronouns indicates, along with the education and confirmation of the promises contained in the speech: "(I am with you)"—I hear your speech, see your deeds, and know your inner thoughts, so I will reward you for that. It is also said: "with you" in terms of aid, and it is said: in terms of knowledge, and the general interpretation is more appropriate.
"(If you establish prayer, give zakah, and believe in My messengers)"—that is, in all of them. The lam acts as an introduction to an implied oath. The postponement of belief after the establishment of prayer and the giving of zakah—despite them being branches that follow belief—is because, as many have said, they were acknowledging their obligation as requested, while simultaneously committing the error of denying some of the messengers, peace be upon them. This is also to observe the correspondence between this and His saying: "(and support them)." Some said: The clause "and believe in My messengers" to the end is a figurative metonymy for striving and supporting the religion of Allah the Exalted and His messengers, peace be upon them, and spending in His path. It is as if it were said: "If you establish prayer, give zakah, and strive in the path of Allah." This is evidenced by His saying: "(and do not turn back on your heels, lest you become losers)," for the meaning is: "Do not turn back on your heels in your religion by opposing the command of your Lord and disobeying your Prophet, peace be upon him." The focus was placed on this condition rather than the first two, and it was brought in the form of a metonymy because the people used to hold back from fighting and say to Moses, peace be upon him, "Go, you and your Lord, and fight; indeed, we are sitting right here." This, however, is not free from scrutiny.
It is said: Establishing prayer and giving zakah were put first because they are the outward aspects of their conditions that signify their belief. Ta'zir (support/honor) originally means prevention and defense; it is also said to mean strengthening, from 'azr, as 'azr and azr are from the same root. It is not hidden that in strengthening, there is a prevention of the one you have strengthened from other than it, so they are close. It is metaphorically used for support, as it contains that, and for discipline—which in religious law is what is less than the hadd punishment—because it is a deterrent and prevents the commission of ugly deeds. Thus, it is called "support" in the hadith. It has been authentically reported from the Prophet, peace be upon him: "Support your brother whether he is an oppressor or oppressed." A man said: "O Messenger of Allah, I support him if he is oppressed, but how do I support him if he is an oppressor?" The Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him, said: "By restraining him or preventing him from oppression, for that is supporting him." Al-Raghib said: Ta'zir is support combined with glorification. Al-Hasan and Mujahid interpreted it as just support, and Ibn Zayd and Abu 'Ubaydah interpreted it as just glorification. It is recited "‘azzartumuhum" with the light form.
"(And loan to Allah)"—that is, by spending in the path of goodness; it is also said: by truthfulness in recommended charities. In any case, it is a metaphor, because when the Almighty promised its reward and recompense, He likened it to a loan that is repaid with its like. In the speech of the Arabs of old, "good deeds are loans." "(...a goodly loan)"—which is what is given with a willing spirit, according to al-Akhfash. It is also said: that which is not followed by reproach or injury. It is also said: that which is from the lawful.
Many have mentioned that "loan" (qardan) can be interpreted as a source or as the object. "(I will surely remove from you your misdeeds)" is indicative of the response to the implied oath, and it takes the place of the meaning; it is not the response to the condition, contrary to Abu al-Baqa'. Rather, it is the response to the oath. It has been established that when a condition and an oath are combined, the preceding one is responded to, unless it is preceded by a news-giving clause. It is permitted that this is the response to what is contained in His saying: "And Allah had taken the covenant of the Israelites" regarding the oath. It is also said: Its response is "If you establish...", so the lam is not the introducer, or it is a clause with two aspects, though this is strange. The sentence of the condition, the oath, and its response clarifies that aforementioned covenant.
"(And I will surely admit you to gardens beneath which rivers flow)" is a conjunction to what preceded it, included with it in its ruling, though it is subsequent in attainment, necessarily so as the stripping [of sin] precedes the adorning [with reward]. "(So whoever disbelieves)"—that is, in My messengers or in anything enumerated within the scope of the condition. The fa' is for order, an explanation of the ruling of the one who disbelieves after the explanation of the ruling of the one who believes, to strengthen the encouragement with the warning. "(after that)"—that is, after the confirmed condition to which the great promise—I mean "I will surely remove your misdeeds"—is attached. It is also said: after the confirmed condition to which the great promise—I mean "I am with you"—is attached, based on interpreting the companionship as companionship of support, aid, or success for goodness; for the condition is attached to it in terms of meaning, such as: "I am with you regarding your affair; if you serve me, I will raise your status." It is also said: The meaning is "after I have stipulated this promise and bestowed this favor."
His saying "(from you)" is connected to an implied word that acts as a circumstantial qualifier (hal) for the subject of "disbelieves." Perhaps the change in structure—where He did not say "And if you disbelieve" as a conjunction to the previous conditional clause, as the Sheikh al-Islam said—is to exclude the disbelief of all from the scope of possibility, and to drop the one who disbelieves from the rank of address. Furthermore, the meaning of disbelief is not "initiating it after belief," but rather what includes continuation upon it as well. It is as if it were said: "So whoever is characterized by disbelief after that." However, he intended by including what indicates the new occurrence to explain their escalation in the ranks of disbelief, for being characterized by something after its arrival—which necessitates quitting it—even if it is a continuation upon it, is a new action and a new deed according to the heading.
"(...has certainly strayed from the middle of the path)"—that is, the middle of the road and its center, a straying in which there is no doubt and for which there is no excuse, unlike the one who disbelieved before that, as he might have had a doubt and imagined an excuse.
