The Holy Quran with Five Volume Commentary (Vol 1) — Page 389
PT. 2 AL-BAQARAH CH. 2 عَسَيْتُمْ اِنْ كُتِبَ عَلَيْكُمُ الْقِتَالُ الَّا :the cause of Allah? He said تُقَاتِلُوا قَالُوا وَمَا لَنَا أَلَّا تُقَاتِلَ فِي is سَبِيْلِ اللَّهِ وَقَدْ أُخْرِجْنَا مِنْ دِيَارِنَا "Is it not likely that you will not fight, if fighting prescribed for you?' They said: "What reason have we to وَأَبْنَابِنَا فَلَمَّا كُتِبَ عَلَيْهِمُ الْقِتَالُ abstain from fighting in the تَوَلَّوْا إِلَّا قَلِيْلًا مِّنْهُمْ وَاللهُ عَلِيْمٌ been driven forth from our cause of Allah when we have homes and our sons?' But when fighting was ordained for them, they turned back except a small number of them. And Allah knows the transgressors well. 253 "4:78. بِالظَّلِمِينَ 253. Important Words: (chiefs) is derived from i. e. he filled the under comment. They say vessel with water. he means, he was filled with fright. means: (1) assembly of persons; (2) chiefs and nobles, for they fill the eyes and hearts of the commoners with awe and admiration; or because with them a meeting becomes full and appears الملاء الاعلى. to be properly attended means, the community of high placed angels (Aqrab). Commentary: The Quran now proceeds to give the story of how the different tribes of Israel were welded into one great nation, also noting incidentally the weaknesses displayed by them, so that their example may serve as a lesson to Muslims. The incident mentioned in the verse 389 indicates an improvement in the condition of the Israelites in the time to which this verse relates over that of the time of Moses himself. In 5:25 the Quran relates that when Moses exhorted his followers to fight the enemy in the cause of Allah, they replied, Go thou and thy Lord and fight, and here we sit. On the contrary, in the present verse the Israelites are reported to have said, What reason have we to abstain from fighting in the cause of Allah when we have been driven forth from our homes and our sons? The improvement, however, was more verbal than real; for when the time of actual fighting came, many of these people wavered and refused to fight. The incident thus serves as a grim warning to Muslims to beware of treading the same path.