Wahb, Ibn Ishaq, al-Kalbi, and others said: The reason they made this request of him was as follows. When Moses, peace be upon him, died, Joshua son of Nun succeeded him among the Children of Israel, upholding among them the Torah and the command of Allah Most High, until Allah Most High took him in death. Then Caleb succeeded him among them in the same way, until Allah Most High took him in death. Then Ezekiel succeeded him, until Allah took him in death.

Thereafter, upheavals among the Children of Israel grew grave, and they forgot their covenant with Allah until they worshipped idols. So Allah sent Elijah to them as a prophet, and he called them to Allah Most High. After Moses, the prophets among the Children of Israel were sent to renew for them what they had forgotten of the Torah. Elisha then succeeded Elijah and remained among them for as long as Allah willed, after which Allah took him in death.

Then degenerate successors came after them, and sins grew widespread. An enemy called al-Bilshatha arose against them. They were the people of Goliath, dwelling along the Mediterranean coast between Egypt and Palestine, and they were the Amalekites. They prevailed over ⦗42/A⦘ the Children of Israel, conquered much of their land, carried off many of their descendants as captives, and took 440 young sons of their kings prisoner. They imposed upon them a jizya (tribute tax) and took away their Torah. The Children of Israel suffered from them affliction and hardship, and they had no prophet to administer their affairs.

The tribe from which prophets came had died out, and only one pregnant woman of them remained. They confined her in a house, fearing that she might give birth to a girl and exchange her for a boy, because of what she saw of the Children of Israel’s desire for her child. The woman began to supplicate Allah to grant her a boy, and she gave birth to a boy. She named him Ishmu'il, saying, “Allah Most High has heard my supplication.”

When the boy grew up, she entrusted him to study the Torah at the Holy House. An elderly scholar among them took him into his care and adopted him. When the boy reached maturity, Gabriel came to him while he was sleeping beside the elder, who would entrust him to no one. Gabriel called him in the elder’s voice: “O Ishmu'il!” The frightened boy rose and went to the elder, saying, “My father, did you call me?” The elder did not wish to tell him otherwise, lest the boy be alarmed, so he said, “My son, go back and sleep.” The boy returned and slept. Then Gabriel called him a second time, and the boy said, “My father, did you call me?” He replied, “Go back and sleep. If I call you a third time, do not answer me.” (He returned and slept.) (1)

On the third occasion, Gabriel appeared to him and said: “Go to your people and convey to them the message of your Lord, for Allah, Exalted is He, has sent you among them as a prophet.” When he came to them, they denied him and said, “You have hastened to claim prophethood, though it has not been granted to you.” They said to him, “If you are truthful, appoint for us a king, as a sign of your prophethood, so that we may fight in the cause of Allah.”

The affairs of the Children of Israel were maintained through their unity under their kings and through their kings’ obedience to their prophets. The king would lead the multitudes, while the prophet would set his affairs in order, counsel him towards right guidance, and bring him tidings from his Lord.

Wahb son of Munabbih said: Allah Most High sent Ishmu'il as a prophet, and they remained for forty years in the best of circumstances. Then there occurred the matter of Goliath and the Amalekites which occurred, and they said to Ishmu'il: “Appoint for us a king, and we will fight in the cause of Allah.” The verb is in the jussive as the response to the command. When they said this to him, he said, “Could it be...” This is a question expressing doubt.

Nafiʿ recited ʿasītum, with a kasrah on the sin, throughout the Quran, while the rest recited ʿasaytum, with a fathah; the latter is the more eloquent form, as indicated by the words of Allah Most High: “Perhaps your Lord...” “If fighting is prescribed for you”: that is, made an obligation upon you alongside that king. “That you would not fight”: that is, that you would not fulfill what you say together with him. “And what is the matter with us that we should not fight in the cause of Allah?”

If it is asked: Why is the particle an used in this instance, when the Arabs do not say the equivalent of, “What is the matter with you to not do it?” but rather, “What is the matter with you that you do not do it?” The answer is that using an and omitting it are both sound Arabic usages.