“Moses, we shall never enter it so long as they remain there. Go, you and your Lord, and fight; we will sit right here.”
How appalling were these words of theirs, and how appalling that they should address their prophet in this manner at such a critical and difficult moment, when necessity demanded that they support their prophet and uphold their own honor!
This and similar incidents reveal the disparity between all other nations and the nation of Muhammad, may Allah bless him and grant him peace. When the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, consulted his Companions about fighting on the day of Badr—even though he had not made it binding upon them—they said: “O Messenger of Allah, if you plunged into this sea with us, we would plunge into it with you. If you took us as far as Bark al-Ghimād, not one of us would remain behind. We will not say to you what Moses’s people said to him: ‘Go, you and your Lord, and fight; we will sit right here.’ Rather, go, you and your Lord, and fight; we shall fight alongside you—in front of you and behind you, on your right and on your left.”
When Moses, peace be upon him, saw their defiance toward him, “he said, ‘My Lord, I have no control over anyone except myself and my brother.’” That is, we have no power to fight them, and I cannot compel these people. “So judge between us and the defiantly disobedient people”—that is, judge between us and them by sending down upon them whatever punishment Your wisdom requires. This indicates that their words and conduct were among the gravest major sins, entailing rebellious disobedience.
Allah said in answer to Moses’s supplication: “Then it shall be forbidden to them for forty years, during which they will wander through the land.” That is, part of their punishment was that We forbade them from entering this town, which Allah had ordained for them, for forty years. Throughout that period, they would also wander through the land, unable to find a road or remain settled in peace. This was a worldly punishment; perhaps Allah Most High made it an expiation for them and spared them a greater punishment. This shows that punishment for sin may take the form of removing a blessing already present, averting an affliction whose cause has already arisen, or postponing it until another time.
Perhaps the wisdom behind this period was that most of those who had made this statement—which proceeded from hearts devoid of patience and steadfastness—would die. Their hearts had grown accustomed to subjugation by their enemy, and they lacked aspirations that could raise them to advancement and eminence. It may also have been so that a new generation would emerge, their minds nurtured to seek the defeat of their enemies and to reject enslavement and the humiliation that bars one from happiness.
Allah Most High knew that His servant Moses was exceedingly merciful toward creation, especially his own people, and that he might feel tenderness toward them and be moved by compassion to grieve over them because of this punishment or to pray for its removal, even though Allah had irrevocably decreed it. He therefore said: “So do not grieve over the defiantly disobedient people.” That is, do not sorrow or grieve over them. They had indeed rebelled, and their rebellion warranted what befell them; it was not any injustice on Our part.