The Holy Quran with Five Volume Commentary (Vol 1) — Page 144
CH. 2 AL-BAQARAH PT. 1 ثُمَّ بَعَثْكُمْ مِنْ بَعْدِ مَوْتِكُمْ لَعَلَّكُمْ Then We raised you up. 57 after your death, that you might be grateful. 63 "2:260; 6:123. تَشْكُرُونَ spiritual death. This significance accompanied the manifestation of finds corroboration in the next verse wherein God says: Then We raised you up after your death. It may be noted here that whereas the Bible mentions the incident of calf-worship after the incident referred to above, the Quran reverses the order, mentioning the incident of calf-worship before that of the demand of the Israelites to see God; and a careful study of the relevant facts indicates that the Quran order is the correct one. The incident of the calf must certainly have taken place before the Israelites went to Mount Sinai and before the Lord came down upon the Mount in the sight of the people; for if the Israelites had already gone to the Mount and had seen a clear manifestation of God, then it is hardly possible that they should have taken the calf for their God after such manifestation. Evidently they had made the calf before going to Mount Sinai, and when Moses ordered them to refrain from calf-worship, they obeyed but expressed an arrogant desire to see God so that they might be sure of His existence. Thereupon Moses took them to the Mount and God descended on the Mount in the sight of the people (Exod. 19:9-11). The words of the Quran: Then the thunderbolt overtook you, may refer to the thunders and lightnings which 144 God and which caused the Israelites to tremble with fear. 63. Important Words: بعث We raised you) is from) بعثناكم They say i. e. (1) he sent him as a messenger; (2) he made him to rise; (3) he roused him up; (4) He (God) brought him to life; (5) he awoke him from sleep; (6) he instigated him to do a certain thing (Aqrab). (your death). See notes on 2:20 and 2:29 where it has been explained that the word (death) includes (1) spiritual death; and (2) a state of extreme sorrow, grief, or fear, etc. Commentary: to The verse should not be understood mean that the Israelites were restored to life after they had actually died. The Quran strongly repudiates the idea of the dead coming to life again in this world (21:96). The death spoken of in the verse is either spiritual death or a state of extreme grief or terror brought about through dreadful punishment, etc. The Bible testifies to the "death" of which the Quran speaks, as follows: "And Moses returned unto the Lord, and said, Oh, this people have sinned a great sin and have made them gods of gold. Yet now, if thou wilt, forgive their sin; and if not, blot me, I pray Thee, out of Thy book which Thou hast written. And the Lord said unto