(61) “And remember when you said, ‘O Moses, we cannot endure one kind of food. So call upon your Lord on our behalf to bring forth for us some of what the earth produces—its herbs, cucumbers, garlic, lentils, and onions.’ He said, ‘Would you exchange what is better for what is inferior? Go down to any town, and you will have what you asked for.’ They were struck with humiliation and poverty and incurred wrath from Allah. That was because they rejected Allah’s signs and killed the prophets without right. That was because they disobeyed and habitually transgressed.”

That is: Remember when you said to Moses, out of weariness with Allah’s blessings and contempt for them, “We cannot endure one kind of food,” meaning one category of food. Although, as previously mentioned, it consisted of several kinds, they did not vary. “So call upon your Lord on our behalf to bring forth for us some of what the earth produces—its herbs,” meaning plants that are not trees standing upon trunks; “its cucumbers,” namely cucumbers; “and its garlic.” Lentils and onions are well known.

Moses said to them, “Would you exchange what is inferior”—the foods just mentioned—“for what is better,” namely manna and quail? This is unbefitting of you. You could find the foods you requested in any town you entered. As for the food Allah graciously bestowed upon you, it is the finest and noblest of foods. How, then, can you seek a substitute for it?

Since what they did was the clearest evidence of their lack of patience and their contempt for Allah’s commands and blessings, He requited them in kind, saying, “They were struck with humiliation,” visible upon their outward appearance, “and poverty” within their hearts. Their souls possessed no dignity, nor did they have lofty aspirations. Rather, their souls were abased, and their aspirations were the basest of all. They “incurred wrath from Allah”; that is, the only prize they brought back and attained was His displeasure with them. Wretched indeed was their prize, and wretched was their condition.

They deserved His wrath “because they rejected Allah’s signs,” which pointed to the truth and made it clear to them. When they rejected those signs, He punished them with His wrath, and also because they “killed the prophets without right.”

The words “without right” make their crime still more heinous. It is well known that killing a prophet can never be rightful; the words were added so that it would not be assumed that they acted out of ignorance or lack of knowledge.

“That was because they disobeyed,” by committing acts of disobedience to Allah, “and habitually transgressed” against Allah’s servants. Sins lead to one another: heedlessness gives rise to a minor sin, which then gives rise to a major sin, from which arise various forms of religious innovation, unbelief, and other evils. We therefore ask Allah for protection from every affliction.

Know that the address in these verses is directed to the community of the Children of Israel who were alive when the Quran was revealed. They were addressed concerning these deeds ⦗54⦘ even though their forefathers had committed them, and the deeds were attributed to them for numerous reasons.

One is that they used to boast and declare themselves pure, claiming superiority over Muhammad and those who believed in him. Allah therefore related circumstances of their forefathers that were firmly established among them, thereby making clear to everyone [among them] that they were not people of patience, noble character, or lofty deeds. If that was the condition of their forefathers—although they would be presumed worthier and of a higher standing than those who came after them—what, then, should one think of those being addressed?

Another is that Allah’s blessing upon their earlier generations was a blessing extending to their later generations. A blessing upon the fathers is also a blessing upon their children. They were therefore addressed concerning those blessings because they encompassed and included them as well.

Another is that addressing them concerning the deeds of others indicates that a community united upon one religion shares responsibility and assists one another in securing its common interests. It is thus as though its earlier and later generations existed at one and the same time, and whatever happened through some of them happened through them all. The good done by some benefits everyone, while the evil done by some harms everyone.

Another is that they did not repudiate most of those deeds, and whoever approves of a sin shares in the guilt of the sinner. There are still other wisdoms that none knows but Allah.