Translation
From the followers of Moses, there is a community who guide themselves to truth and establish justice with such guidance. We grouped them into twelve tribes, as communities. When his people asked Moses for water, We revealed to him: “Strike the rock with your stick”; so out came twelve springs, and each community knew its source of water. We made the cloud to comfort them with shade, sent for them manna and quails, and said: “Eat of the good provisions We have provided for you.” Yet, when they did make wrong choices, they did Us no harm. (Recollect) what was said to them: “Live in this town and benefit from its resources as you wish; but seek forgiveness and show humility as you enter it. We (God) will forgive your wrongs and give plenty to those who do good.” But those who were prone to do evil changed the instructions for a word different from what they were told. So We sent a calamity from above on account of their evilness (see also in the Bible, Numbers 25:1–3, 8–9).
Inquire of them about the town by the sea. There they violated the spirit of the Sabbath—on the Sabbath day, fish will come to the surface, but on other days, they will not surface. This is how We (God) tried them for their repeated failures (to follow the guidance of Moses). A group among them said: “Why should we attempt to guide a people whom God will destroy or bring severe punishment?” The group (offering such guidance) replied: “To avoid the blame of not doing so in the presence of our Sustainer God and in the hope that they might become aware and responsible.” So We protected those who reminded others to avoid evil and took to account those who failed to pay attention to such reminders and who were steeped in evil—an evil punishment befitting their transgression. When they persisted in doing what they were advised against, We (God) declared: “Be as apes, despised” (see also Ezekiel 22:8–15). 383
And remember when your Sustainer announced that He will send against them, to the Day of Resurrection, people who will subject them to severe torment. Surely God is quick in taking account, but He is ever Forgiving, Merciful! We cause them to divide into groups—some of them drawn to good and some of them otherwise (to evil). We tried them with good fortune as well as misfortune to see if they would turn around.
After these people, came in their posterity another evil generation who inherited the divine revelation but opted for the vanities of life on this earth and boasted: “We will be forgiven.” They were ready to do the same at the next turn of vanities (without any change of heart, despite repeated opportunities to amend). Yet a commitment was taken from them in their book (of revelation, to which they claim inheritance) that they would speak nothing about God but the truth, and they studied what was in the book. Certainly, the life after is better for those who are mindful and responsible. Do they not then understand? Those who remain true to the Book (of Revelations) and sustain devotion to God—for them, We do not waste the effort of those who continue to reform themselves. (Remember also) when We [God] shook the mountain towering over them and casting its shadow, they thought it was going to crush them. (We said): “Commit firmly what you have been given and become fully aware of what it contains, so that you can become mindful and be responsible (human beings).” 384
Interpretation
383 The grace of God Almighty to the followers for Moses—saving them from the tyranny of the Pharaoh and his people, bringing Moses up in the house of the Pharaoh while he was killing their sons, bringing them to the land blessed and of plenty, showering them with heavenly gifts of manna and quails, directing natural resources such as clouds and wind to provide them safety and comfort, and so on are all well documented in the Qur’an and the Bible. Even in the face of repeated lapses, God continued to shower His mercy and forgiveness. To earn God’s forgiveness and mercy, they were also subjected to a variety of trials; there were groups within the followers of Moses who always rose to the occasion, while other groups failed to uphold the teachings and guidance that Moses brought. The same turn of events is also true of the followers of Jesus and Mohammad as we review history in the twenty-first century. The devastation of the Holocaust and the Spanish Inquisition, slavery and apartheid against Africans on the American continent and southern Africa, the horrors of two world wars, and Bosnian ethnic cleansing are some examples of lapses in the followers of Jesus. The rise of religious extremism within Muslim communities such as ISIS and Al-Qaeda, unparalleled political and religious corruption in many Muslim countries, and lack of democratic governance in many Muslim communities are some of the lapses that are apparent in the followers of Mohammad. But the more appropriate analysis would be that had they been true followers of Moses, Jesus, and Mohammad, they would have never committed such crimes in the name of God.
The performance of those who advocate secular views and deny God is no better, as demonstrated in Russia and China in the name of communism and socialism. The same is true of the secular states in the West that perpetuated colonial rule over a larger part of the known world, and many of their current postures around the world and the institutions that have been built reflect the same mind-set. We all need to recognize our failures and our lapses in upholding truth and justice for mankind and work together rather than point fingers at one another.
384 The divisions among the various sects in each faith group and our inability to reconcile our differences are a continuous challenge for mankind. The continued rise of religious polarization among major faith groups and within each faith, our lack of compassion and mutual respect, our lack of ability and moral will to dispense goodness in the face of evil in all corners of the world, and our incapacity to take lessons from good times and difficult times are creating a tsunami of hatred and miscalculations leading to unparalleled discomfort among people in general about our very existence and essence as human beings and as human societies. The description in the Qur’an about our downward spiral toward evil and divisiveness is reaching catastrophic proportions, and people of faith and good conscience have to rise to the occasion to align with those who are spoken about in the above verses “to avoid the blame of not doing so in the presence of our Sustainer God and in the hope that they might become aware and responsible.”
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REFLECTION
The rise and fall of the human condition in terms of evil and good, good fortune and difficult times, faith in God and doubts in such faith, confidence in our future and despair at our current condition are not new phenomena. These are turns of events that continually challenge us as the human race to demonstrate patience, reflect with humility, and reorient ourselves to truth and justice at every fork in the road.
ACTION
Let’s take to heart the promise of God when He said: “We do not waste the effort of those who continue to reform themselves (moslehin).” As Jesus would have asked, Who are my helpers? Perhaps we should ask ourselves: Who are the takers, among us, of this promise from God?
Key Arabic Term
118. moslehin (reformers)