“a king so that we may fight in the path of Allah.” He replied, “Is it possible that, if fighting is prescribed for you, you will not fight?” They said, “Why should we not fight in the path of Allah when we have been driven from our homes and our children?” Yet when fighting was prescribed for them, they turned away—except for a few of them—and Allah knows well the wrongdoers. (2:246)
Their prophet then said to them, “Allah has appointed Ṭālūt to be king over you.” They said, “How can he have sovereignty over us when we are more entitled to sovereignty than he, and he has not been granted abundant wealth?” He answered, “Allah has chosen him over you and has increased him greatly in knowledge and stature. Allah grants His dominion to whom He wills, and Allah is All-Encompassing, All-Knowing.” (2:247)
He further said to them, “The sign of his kingship is that the Ark will come to you, containing tranquility from your Lord and relics left by the families of Moses and Aaron, borne by the angels. Surely in that is a sign for you, if you are believers.” (2:248)
When Ṭālūt marched forth with the troops he said, “Allah is going to test you with a river. Whoever drinks from it is not of me; but whoever does not taste it is indeed of me—except for the one who scoops up but a handful with his hand.” Yet they drank from it, all but a few of them. Then, after he had crossed it—he and those who believed with him—they said, “We have no strength today against Jālūt and his forces.” But those who were certain they would meet Allah said, “How many a small company has overcome a large company by Allah’s permission; and Allah is with the steadfast.” (2:249)
When they advanced to face Jālūt and his armies they prayed, “Our Lord, pour upon us patience, make firm our feet, and grant us victory over the disbelieving people.” (2:250)
So they defeated them, by Allah’s leave, and David killed Jālūt. Allah granted him kingship and wisdom, and taught him what He willed. Were it not that Allah checks some people by means of others, the earth would be corrupted; but Allah is ever-bounteous to all creation. (2:251)
Most of the exegetes hold that the prophet of the people mentioned in this story was Shamuʾil (Samuel). Others say it was Shimʿūn; still others maintain that the two names refer to the same person. A further opinion is that he was Yūshaʿ (Joshua)—but this is unlikely, for Imām Abū Jaʿfar ibn Jarīr records in his History that four hundred and sixty years elapsed between Joshua’s death and the mission of Shamuʾil. Allah knows best.
The upshot is that, when war had exhausted these people and the enemy had subdued them, they asked the Prophet of Allah who lived among them at that time to appoint a king under whose command they could assemble, so that they might fight behind him, with him, and in front of him against their foes.
He said to them, “Would you perhaps refuse to fight if fighting were prescribed for you?” They replied, “Why should we not fight in the path of Allah…”—meaning, What could possibly prevent us from fighting when we have been driven from our homes and our children?
In other words, they were saying, “We have been plundered and wronged; it is only right that we fight on behalf of our sons—those who have been attacked, weakened, and are now captive in the enemy’s hands.”
Allah, Exalted is He, says: “Yet when fighting was prescribed for them they turned away—save a few of them; and Allah knows well the wrongdoers.” As He relates at the end of the story, only a few crossed the river with the king; the rest turned back and shirked combat.
“And their prophet said to them, ‘Allah has appointed Ṭālūt to be king over you.’”
Al-Thaʿlabī said: He is Ṭālūt son of Qays son of