“Two men from among those who feared Allah, upon whom He had bestowed grace, said, ‘Enter upon them through the gate; once you enter it you will surely prevail. Put your trust in Allah, if you are truly believers.’ (23)
They answered, ‘Moses, we will never enter it so long as they remain inside. Go, you and your Lord, and fight; we will stay right here.’ (24)
Moses said, ‘My Lord, I have authority only over myself and my brother—so set a separation between us and these defiantly disobedient people.’ (25)
Allah said, ‘Then the land is forbidden to them for forty years; they will wander aimlessly on the earth. Do not grieve over the defiantly disobedient people.’ (26)” (al-Māʾidah 5:20–26)

The Prophet of Allah—Moses—reminded them of Allah’s favor and His kindness toward them, both in matters of religion and the world, and he ordered them to strive in Allah’s cause and fight His enemies. He said: “O my people, enter the Holy Land which Allah has prescribed for you, and do not turn back on your heels,” meaning, do not retreat or shrink from combatting your foes, “lest you become losers,” that is, lest you forfeit after having gained and decline after having reached completeness.

They replied, “Moses, within it live a people of great might,” meaning obstinate, rebellious unbelievers. “We shall never enter it until they leave it. If they do leave it, then we will enter.” They feared those tyrants, even though they had witnessed the destruction of Pharaoh—who was more tyrannical, more powerful, had a larger host, and a greater army. This shows that they were blameworthy (1) for such words and censured for displaying such humiliation in facing enemies and resisting those wicked rebels.

Many exegetes (2) have transmitted here reports that contain numerous outrageous and false exaggerations, opposed by both reason and revelation—such as claiming that the inhabitants were of incredibly gigantic forms. They even relate that when the envoys of the Children of Israel reached them, a messenger from among the giants met them and began taking them one by one, folding them (3) into the sleeves of his cloak and the waistband of his trousers (4). They were twelve men; he then scattered them before the king of the giants, who asked, “What are these?” and did not recognize that they were human until he was told. They further allege that the king sent back with them a cluster of grapes, each single grape sufficient for a man, along with some of their fruits, so that the Israelites might see the enormity of their stature. All of this is nonsense and fable, with no basis in fact.

They also claim that ʿŪj ibn ʿAnuq left the giants to destroy the Children of Israel, and that his height measured three thousand, three hundred thirty-three and one-third cubits; so report al-Baghawī and others. This, however, is incorrect, as we have already clarified (5) when citing the Prophet’s ﷺ statement: “Allah created Adam sixty cubits tall,” and mankind has been diminishing in stature ever since.

They say further that ʿŪj seized the summit of a mountain (6), uprooted it, and held it in his hands to hurl upon Moses’ army. A bird then pecked at the rock and perforated it, so that it became a collar around the neck of ʿŪj ibn ʿAnuq. Moses then came forward and leapt into the air