The Holy Quran with Five Volume Commentary (Vol 1) — Page 148
CH. 2 AL-BAQARAH PT. 1 فَبَدَّلَ الَّذِينَ ظَلَمُوا قَوْلًا غَيْرَ الَّذِي قِيْلَ The transgressors changed. 60 it for a word other than that لَهُمْ فَأَنْزَلْنَا عَلَى الَّذِينَ ظَلَمُوا رِجْزًا which was said to them. So We sent down upon the1 transgressors a punishment from heaven, because they were disobedient. 66 R. 7. منَ السَّمَاءِ بِمَا كَانُوا يَفْسُقُونَ وَإِذِ اسْتَسْقَى مُوْسٰى لِقَوْمِهِ فَقُلْنَا And remember the time. 61 اضْرِبْ تَعَصَاكَ الْحَجَرَ فَانْفَجَرَتْ b when Moses prayed for water for his people and We said: 'Strike the rock with thy rod'; مِنْهُ اثْنَتَا عَشْرَةَ عَيْنًا قَدْ عَلِمَ كُلُّ أُنَاسِ and there gushed forth from it مَّشْرَبَهُمْ كُلُوا وَاشْرَبُوا مِنْ رِزْقِ اللهِ twelve springs, so that every tribe knew their drinking place. 'Eat and drink of what Allah has a7:163. b7:161. words may mean "any village that may be near" or "the nearest village". 66. Important Words: (a punishment) means: (1) filth; (2) punishment; (3) idol-worship (4) iniquity or sin (Aqrab). see سماء from heaven. For) من السماء note on 2:20. As low means a "height" or "anything that is high above us", would السماء therefore the expression من mean "from on high" or "from God", implying that the punishment meted out to the Israelites was not brought about through earthly means but, as it were, descended from above. Commentary: This verse is a continuation of the previous one. God commanded the Israelites to behave submissively and to pray to Him for the forgiveness of 148 their sins, but they, mischievous and arrogant as ever, disobeyed the injunctions given to them and changed the words of prayer taught by God, whereupon He chastised them with a punishment that was not of this earth, i. e. He visited them with a pestilence or plague that destroyed a number of them. Or the expression السماء may mean that their رجزا من disobedience recoiled on their own souls in the sense of moral degradation and filthiness of heart and mind. The question of the word which the Israelites used in place of the one taught to them is immaterial. According to some, they used the word as or abs i. e. "give us corn to eat" instead of ab- i. e. "remove our sins" (Bukhārī & Jarīr). The words