Surah Al-Ma'idah (The Table Spread): Verse 12

And certainly did Allah take the covenant from the Children of Israel, and We sent among them twelve chieftains.

There are several issues concerning this verse:

Issue 1: Connection to the Preceding Verses

There are three ways this verse connects to what came before it:

1. Contrast with Believers: Previously, Allah addressed the believers, saying, "And remember the favor of Allah upon you, and His covenant with which He bound you when you said, 'We hear and obey'" (Al-Ma'idah: 7). Now, Allah mentions that He took a covenant from the Children of Israel, but they broke it and failed to fulfill it. The implication is: O believers, do not adopt this blameworthy trait of those Jews, lest you suffer the same curse, humiliation, and wretchedness that befell them.
2. Context of Hostility: When Allah mentioned, "Remember My favor upon you, when a people intended to extend their hands [to harm] you" (Al-Ma'idah: 11)—which some narrations state was revealed regarding the Jews intending harm to the Prophet (PBUH)—Allah followed it by exposing their disgrace and demonstrating that they were perpetually accustomed to breaking covenants and pacts.
3. General Practice of Obligation: The purpose of the preceding verses was to encourage the accountable (Mukallafin) to accept obligations and abandon rebellion and disobedience. Thus, Allah mentions that He imposed obligations on those before the Muslims just as He imposed them on the Muslims, to show that Allah’s practice of imposing obligations and binding people to them is not exclusive to this community but is a consistent practice with all His servants.

Issue 2: The Meaning of Naqīb (Chieftain/Leader)

Al-Zajjaj said: Naqīb (نقيب) is derived from naqb (نقب), which means a wide hole or perforation. A person is called the naqīb of a people because he investigates their affairs, just as one investigates secrets. This is why manāqib (مناقب - virtues) are so named, as they only become apparent through investigation. To naqabta al-ḥā’iṭ (نقبت الحائط) means you perforated the wall completely. The naqbah (نقبة) is a type of trousers without legs because they have been maximally opened and perforated. It is also said that a dog is naqīb if its throat is cut so that its barking sound cannot rise—a practice Arabs used out of stinginess so that guests would not be attracted by the noise.

Given this linguistic background, we say: Naqīb is on the pattern faʿīl (فعيل), which can imply the doer (fāʿil) or the receiver (mafʿūl).

• If it means the doer, then the naqīb is the one who investigates the affairs of the people and searches for information.
• Abu Muslim said that naqīb here means faʿīl in the sense of mafʿūl (the receiver), meaning they were chosen over their people. This is analogous to calling the struck person a ḍarīb (striker/struck) and the killed person a qatīl (killer/killed).
• Al-Aṣamm said they are those who are looked up to and entrusted with the people's affairs and the management of their interests.

Issue 3: The Identity and Mission of the Twelve Chieftains

The Children of Israel were divided into twelve tribes (asbāṭ). Allah chose one man from each tribe to be their naqīb and judge over them.

Mujahid, Al-Kalbi, and Al-Suddi said that these chieftains were sent to the city of the giants (whom Moses, peace be upon him, commanded them to fight) to ascertain their conditions and report back to their Prophet Moses so he could inform the people. However, they broke the covenant, except for Caleb son of Jephunneh from the tribe of Judah, and Joshua son of Nun from the tribe of Ephraim, son of Joseph. These two are the ones about whom Allah says, "Said two men from those who feared..." (Al-Ma'idah: 23) until the end of the verse.

Verse 13: {And Allah said, "Indeed, I am with you. If you establish prayer and give zakāh and believe in My messengers and support them and lend Allah a good loan, I will surely remove from you your sins and admit you to Gardens beneath which rivers flow..."}

There are several issues here:

There is an omission in the verse. The implied meaning is: "And Allah said to them, 'Indeed, I am with you...'" This was omitted due to the continuity of the discourse mentioning them.

There are two opinions:

1. It is addressed to the twelve chieftains: "And Allah said to the chieftains, 'Indeed, I am with you.'"
2. It is addressed to all the Children of Israel.

Both are plausible, but the first opinion is stronger because the pronoun refers back to the nearest mentioned entity, which here is the chieftains. And Allah knows best.

The statement is complete at "And Allah said, 'Indeed, I am with you.'" This means: I am with you by My Knowledge, My Power—I hear your speech, see your actions, know your innermost thoughts, and am capable of delivering recompense to you. This statement is a very significant preamble for both encouragement and warning.

After establishing this general preamble, Allah followed it with a conditional sentence. The condition is composed of five matters:

1. "If you establish the prayer (ṣalāh)"
2. "and give zakāh"
3. "and believe in My messengers"
4. "and support them (ʿazzartumūhum)"
5. "and lend Allah a good loan (qarḍan ḥasan)"

The consequence (the jawāb) is:

1. "I will surely remove from you your sins" (referring to the removal of punishment).
2. "and admit you to Gardens beneath which rivers flow" (referring to the delivery of reward).

There are three questions regarding this section:

Question 1: Why was belief in the messengers mentioned after establishing prayer and giving zakāh, even though belief precedes them?

Answer: The Jews acknowledged that establishing prayer and giving zakāh were necessary for salvation. However, they persisted in denying some of the messengers. Therefore, after mentioning prayer and zakāh, Allah added that belief in all the messengers is also required to achieve the goal. Otherwise, establishing prayer and giving zakāh would have no effect on salvation without belief in all the messengers.

Question 2: What is the meaning of ʿazzartumūhum (support them)?

Answer: Al-Zajjaj said that linguistically, ʿizz (عز) means to repel. To say ʿazzartu fulānan means I did something to him that repels him from the ugly and restrains him from it. Therefore, the majority held that the meaning of ʿazzartumūhum is that you supported them, because whoever supports a person repels his enemies from him. He added: If taʿzīr meant veneration, then the verse "and revere him and hold him in high esteem" (Al-Fatḥ: 9) would be redundant.

Question 3: The phrase "and lend Allah a good loan" seems included under giving zakāh. What is the benefit of repeating it?

Answer: Zakāh refers to the obligatory payments. This loan refers to the voluntary charities (ṣadaqāt mandūbah). It was singled out for mention to indicate its high status and elevated rank. Al-Farrā’ said that saying "and lend Allah a loan" (wa aqraḍtum Allāha iqrāḍan) would also have been correct, but sometimes the noun form (ism) is used in place of the verbal noun (maṣdar). Examples include: "So her Lord accepted her with a good acceptance" (Āl ʿImrān: 37) instead of taqabbul (accepting), and "and caused it to grow a good growth" (instead of inbāt - causing to grow).

Then Allah says: "Then whoever disbelieves after that among you, he has certainly strayed from the soundness of the way."

This means he has missed the straight path, which is the religion Allah legislated for them.

If it is asked: Surely, whoever disbelieved before that has also strayed from the soundness of the way.

We reply: Yes, but disbelief after this [covenant and promise] is more apparent and greater, because the ugliness of disbelief is magnified by the greatness of the favor being rejected. Thus, when the favor increases, the ugliness of the disbelief increases to its utmost limit.

Verse 14: {So for their breaking of the covenant, We cursed them and made their hearts hard. They distort the words from their places and have forgotten a portion of what they were reminded, and you will not cease to discover treachery from them, except for a few of them. But pardon them and overlook. Indeed, Allah loves the doers of good.}