Tafsir of Al-Baqarah 2:55

"And when you said..." It is said that the speakers were the seventy who were struck by the sa‘iqah (thunderbolt/catastrophe), and it is said that ten thousand of them said it.

"Openly" (jahratan) Meaning: visibly. It is a verbal noun (masdar) derived from your saying "he spoke aloud" (jahara) in recitation or supplication. That which is seen with the eye is "manifest" (jahir), while that which is seen with the heart is "hidden" (mukhafat). Its accusative case is due to it being a type of "seeing," so it is governed by the verb of seeing, just as al-qurfusaa (sitting cross-legged) is governed by the verb "to sit." Alternatively, it is a state (hal), meaning "possessors of openness."

It is also recited as jahrah (with a fatha on the ha'), which is either a verbal noun like al-ghalabah (victory), or the plural of jahir (manifest).

In this discourse is evidence that Moses, peace be upon him, refuted them and made them understand that seeing what cannot be in a direction is impossible. Whoever deems it permissible to see Allah has placed Him among the category of bodies or accidents. They persisted against him after the argument was clarified and the proof was made manifest. They were obstinate, and thus were in disbelief just like the worshippers of the Calf. Allah empowered the sa‘iqah against them, just as He empowered the killing against the others, equating the two acts of disbelief and indicating their magnitude through the severity of the trial.

"The Sa‘iqah (Thunderbolt/Catastrophe)" That which struck them, meaning: it caused them to die. It is said: a fire descended from the sky and burned them. It is said: a cry came from the sky. It is said: Allah sent soldiers whose sound they heard, and they fell down struck dead for a day and a night.

As for Moses, peace be upon him, his sa‘iqah was not death, but a swoon, as evidenced by His saying: "And when he recovered." The apparent meaning is that they were struck by what they were looking at, due to His saying: "While you were looking on." Ali, may Allah be pleased with him, recited: "Fa-adhkhatkum al-sa‘iqah" (The sa‘iqah seized you).

"That you might be grateful" For the blessing of resurrection after death, or for the blessing of Allah after you had disbelieved in it, when you witnessed the might of Allah in His striking you with the sa‘iqah and making you taste death.

"And We shaded you" We made the clouds shade you. This was in the wilderness (al-tih). Allah subjected the clouds to them; they moved as they moved, shading them from the sun. At night, a pillar of fire would descend, and they would travel by its light. Their clothes would neither get dirty nor wear out.

"The Mann (Manna)" It is taranjabin (honey-dew), like snow, from the break of dawn until sunrise, a sa‘ (measure) for every person. Allah would send the south wind, which would gather for them:

"The Salwa (Quail)" Which is the quail (al-sumani). A man would slaughter from it what sufficed him.

"Eat" Implied is the command: "We said, 'Eat'."

"And they did not wrong Us" Meaning: They wronged themselves by disbelieving in these blessings, and they did not wrong Us. The speech is abbreviated by omitting the object, as the phrase "And they did not wrong Us" serves as evidence for it.