Author: Muhammad Asim Ismailzahi
The Appearance of the Jews in the Holy Quran (Part two)
The Forty Years of Moses’ Life in Egypt
During Moses’ 40-year stay in Egypt, many things happened, and Pharaoh, despite all the miracles he saw, such as the defeat of his magicians and the repentance and inclination of the magicians towards Moses, still tried to prevent the people from gathering around Moses; but many believed in Moses and the people of the Children of Israel became strong; so Pharaoh decided to attack the Children of Israel and Allah Almighty ordered Moses to leave Egypt with the Children of Israel at night: “وَأَوْحَیْنا إِلی مُوسی أَنْ أَسْرِ بعِبادی إِنَّکُمْ مُتَّبَعُونَ“ Translation: “And We revealed to Moses, saying, “Set out with My servants by night, because enemies will surely follow you”. [1]
The next morning, when Pharaoh was informed of this incident, he marched with his army towards the Children of Israel, and Children of Israel were in front of the waves of the Nile, and behind Pharaoh’s army, saying, “We are doomed.”
“فَلَمَّا تَراءَا الْجَمْعانِ قالَ أَصْحابُ مُوسی إِنَّا لَمُدْرَکُونَ“ Translation: “When the two groups saw each other, the companions of Moses said: We will surely fall into their hands.” [2]
And a great miracle occurred, and the Children of Israel crossed the water, and this incident was a turning point for the Children of Israel. [3]
The fate of the Children of Israel after crossing the water
After crossing the water and the issues they had, the children of Israel were destined to enter the land of Palestine. There was a government in the land of Palestine that oppressed its people. Moses (peace be upon him) commanded the Children of Israel by divine command to enter this city and, with divine trust, fight against the oppressive ruler and live a comfortable life there. But the Children of Israel said with complete boldness: We will never enter this city unless these oppressors leave this city.
“قالُوا یا مُوسی إِنَّا لَنْ نَدْخُلَها أَبَداً ما دامُوا فیها فَاذْهَبْ أَنْتَ وَرَبُّکَ فَقاتِلا إِنَّا هاهُنا قاعِدُونَ.” Translation: “They said, O Moses! “We will never set foot in it as long as they are in it. You and your Lord (go) and fight, while we remain here.” [4]
And Allah Almighty, in response to this rude treatment, imposed a severe punishment on them and banned the land of Palestine for 40 years and they wandered in the desert for 40 years. It was during this difficult period that Moses (peace be upon him) passed away and strange events occurred. We will only mention some of these events during the 40-year period of wandering in the desert:
Events during the forty-year period of wandering in the desert of the Children of Israel
A: The descent of the ten tablets
It was during this period that Moses (peace be upon him) received a mission and separated from his people and went to Mount Sinai with a group and appointed Aaron (peace be upon him) as his successor: “وَ واعَدْنا مُوسی ثَلاثینَ لَیْلَةً وَأَتْمَمْناها بِعَشرٍ فَتَمَّ میقاتُ رَبِّهِ أَرْبَعینَ لَیْلَةً وَقالَ مُوسی لِأَخیهِ هارُونَ اخْلُفْنی فی قَوْمی وَأَصْلِحْ وَلا تَتَّبِعْ سَبیلَ الْمُفْسِدینَ“ Translation: “And We appointed for Moses thirty nights (for special worship and receiving the Torah) and We completed it with ten nights. So the appointment with his Lord was forty nights. And Moses (when he was going to the appointment) said to his brother Aaron: Be my successor among my people and stand for righteousness and do not follow the way of the corrupters.” [5]
And during the forty days and nights of worship and supplication to Allah, the Revelation came down to him, which he wrote on tablets for the Children of Israel. The original Torah is these tablets, which contained the Ten Commandments, which were:
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Do not set up for yourselves any god besides Me;
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Do not prostrate to idols;
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Do not take the name of Allah in vain;
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Honor Saturdays;
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Honor your parents;
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Do not kill anyone;
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Do not commit adultery or indecency;
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Do not steal;
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Do not bear false witness against your neighbors;
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Do not covet the property and honor of your servants and neighbors. [6]
B: The story of the cow of the Children of Israel
Among other events of these days is the story of the cow of the Children of Israel, which is told in verses 67 to 75 of Surah Al-Baqarah. In addition to showing the Children of Israel’s excuses and efforts to escape from their divine responsibility and duty, this story also shows one of Allah’s miracles and once again, it has explained the ground for the guidance, return, and exaltation of the Children of Israel. But did this miracle not affect their stony hearts?!
C: The worship of Calf
Among other events that occurred during this period, during the 30 to 40 days that Moses (peace be upon him) had gone to Mount Tur, those who remained, under the temptations of the Samaritans, turned to worship of calf, and this led to the wrath of Allah, and if it were not for the intercession of Moses (peace be upon him), they would have been completely destroyed. The Quran refers to this process in several places; such as: Surah Al-Baqarah, verse 92, Taha, verses 85-98, Al-Nisa, verse 153, Al-A’raf, verses 148-152.
D: The story of Prophet Moses (peace be upon him) and Prophet Khezr (peace be upon him)
Prophet Moses (peace be upon him) encountered a servant of Allah’s servants at the confluence of two seas, and the wise story of the companionship of Moses and Khezr (peace be upon them) is narrated in Surah Al-Kahf, verses 65-82, and it has very instructive points.
E: The Children of Israel’s Request to See Allah
The people accompanying Moses (peace be upon him) requested to see Allah Almighty, and a lightning strike occurred, and Moses’ companions (peace be upon him) perished, and Moses himself (peace be upon him) fainted, and Moses (peace be upon him) asked Allah Almighty to give them new life, and they came to life.
F: The Death of Moses (peace be upon him)
Moses (peace be upon him) passed away, and since Aaron (peace be upon him) had passed away before him, Prophet Joshua (peace be upon him) preached his law, and after Prophet Moses (peace be upon him), the Children of Israel entered the land of Palestine under the leadership of Prophet Joshua (peace be upon him). So the Children of Israel were not originally from Palestine, and gradually their governmental organization became stronger, and Allah the Almighty gave them superiority over the worlds by the grace of Allah and in the shadow of following the law of Moses (peace be upon him): “یا بَنی‌إِسْرائیلَ اذْکُرُوا نِعْمَتِیَ الَّتی أَنْعَمْتُ عَلَیْکُمْ وَأَنِّی فَضَّلْتُکُمْ عَلَی الْعالَمینَ“ Translation: “O Children of Israel, remember My favors which I have bestowed upon you and that I have preferred you above the worlds.” [7]
And this superiority and superiority that Allah the Almighty states was due to following Moses (peace be upon him) and worshipping and serving Allah the Almighty. Not in the sense of their racial superiority, and therefore, by losing faith and opposing the divine prophets and turning to racism, not only was this virtue taken away from them; rather, this same racism caused their downfall, and they stood against the prophets (peace be upon them), denied many of them, and killed many of them.
The confrontation of the Children of Israel with the prophets (peace be upon them) lasted a long time, until during the time of Talut (peace be upon him), Hazrat Davoud (peace be upon him), who was one of Talut’s forces, was sent as a prophet and killed Jalut. After Talut’s death, the most powerful government of the Children of Israel was formed, and after him, his son Suleiman (peace be upon him) continued that government that had no equal. In addition to animals and jinn, even natural elements were under the control of Suleiman (peace be upon him). But unfortunately, the Jews and the Children of Israel even got into a fight with Suleiman (peace be upon him) and accused him of disbelief and witchcraft: “وَاتَّبَعُوا مَا تَتْلُو الشَّيَاطِينُ عَلَىٰ مُلْكِ سُلَيْمَانَ ۖ وَمَا كَفَرَ سُلَيْمَانُ وَلَٰكِنَّ الشَّيَاطِينَ كَفَرُوا يُعَلِّمُونَ النَّاسَ السِّحْرَ وَمَا أُنْزِلَ عَلَى الْمَلَكَيْنِ بِبَابِلَ هَارُوتَ وَمَارُوتَ ۚ وَمَا يُعَلِّمَانِ مِنْ أَحَدٍ حَتَّىٰ يَقُولَا إِنَّمَا نَحْنُ فِتْنَةٌ فَلَا تَكْفُرْ ۖ فَيَتَعَلَّمُونَ مِنْهُمَا مَا يُفَرِّقُونَ بِهِ بَيْنَ الْمَرْءِ وَزَوْجِهِ ۚ وَمَا هُمْ بِضَارِّينَ بِهِ مِنْ أَحَدٍ إِلَّا بِإِذْنِ اللَّهِ ۚ وَيَتَعَلَّمُونَ مَا يَضُرُّهُمْ وَلَا يَنْفَعُهُمْ ۚ وَلَقَدْ عَلِمُوا لَمَنِ اشْتَرَاهُ مَا لَهُ فِي الْآخِرَةِ مِنْ خَلَاقٍ ۚ وَلَبِئْسَ مَا شَرَوْا بِهِ أَنْفُسَهُمْ ۚ لَوْ كَانُوا يَعْلَمُونَ.“ Translation: “And they followed that which the devils taught during the reign of Suleiman. And Suleiman did not disbelieve, but the devils disbelieved, teaching people magic. And (they also followed which was revealed to the two angels, Harut and Marut, at Babylon, while they were not teaching anyone.” Except that they said: “We are only a trial (and teach you the knowledge of magic to fight against the magicians and nullify their magic), so do not disbelieve (by using it in cases that are forbidden). But they used to learn from the two angels that (magic) by which they would cause separation between a man and his wife, while they had no power thereby to harm anyone except by the permission of Allah; and they used to learn that which harmed them and did not benefit them; and they (the Jews) certainly knew that whoever buys magic will have no share in the Hereafter. And evil indeed is that for which they have sold themselves, if they only knew.” [8]
Continues…
References:
- Surah Al-Sho’ara, verse: 52.
- 2. Surah Al-Sho’ara, verse: 61.
- 3. Nadwi, Sayyed Abul-Hasan Ali, Stories of the Prophets, vol. 3, p. 45, year of publication: 1397 AH, Ihsan Tehran Publishing House.
- 4. Surah Al-Ma’idah, verse: 24.
- 5. Surah Al-A’raf, verse: 142.
- 6. In the Torah, in chapter 20 of “Exodus”, ten commandments are seen that are known as the Ten Commandments among the Jews.
- 7. Surah Al-Baqarah, verse: 47.
- 8. Wajdi Encyclopedia Quoted from: Sayyed Ali Akbar Qureshi, Tafsir Ahsan Al-Hadith, Islamic Research Unit of the Be’ath Foundation, first edition, 1366, vol. 2, p. 214.
