﴿2-8﴾ “We gave Moses the Scripture and made it a guide for the Children of Israel—do not take anyone besides Me as a guardian * O descendants of those whom We carried with Noah! He was truly a grateful servant * We decreed for the Children of Israel in the Scripture: You will surely spread corruption in the land twice, and you will rise to great heights of arrogance * When the appointed time for the first of the two came, We sent against you servants of Ours possessed of great might, who overran your dwellings. It was a promise fulfilled * Then We restored your ascendancy over them, reinforced you with wealth and sons, and made you greater in manpower * If you do good, you do good for yourselves; and if you do evil, it is against yourselves. Then, when the appointed time for the latter came, they were to disgrace your faces, enter the Mosque as they had entered it the first time, and utterly destroy whatever they overran.”
The Creator frequently pairs the prophethood of Muhammad, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, with that of Moses, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, and likewise their two Scriptures and revealed laws. This is because their Scriptures are the finest of all Scriptures, their revealed laws the most perfect, their prophetic missions the most exalted, and their followers the most numerous among the believers.
Thus He says here, “We gave Moses the Scripture”—namely, the Torah—“and made it a guide for the Children of Israel,” by which they could find their way from the darkness of ignorance to knowledge of the truth.
“Do not take anyone besides Me as a guardian.” That is, We said this to them and revealed the Scripture to them for this purpose: that they might worship Allah alone, turn to Him in repentance, and take Him alone as their guardian and the One who directs their religious and worldly affairs, without attaching themselves to any created being who possesses nothing and can bring them no benefit whatsoever.
“O descendants of those whom We carried with Noah!” That is: O descendants of those upon whom We bestowed Our favor and whom We carried with Noah! “He was truly a grateful servant.” This extols Noah, peace be upon him, for duly giving thanks to Allah and being distinguished by gratitude. It also urges his descendants to follow his example in giving thanks and to continue upon his path, and to remember Allah’s blessing upon them, for (1) He preserved them, made them successors upon the earth, and drowned all others.
“We decreed for the Children of Israel”—that is, We forewarned them, made a covenant with them, and informed them in their Scripture that they would inevitably spread corruption in the land twice by committing sins, responding to Allah’s blessings with insolence, seeking dominance upon the earth, and behaving arrogantly therein. Whenever either instance occurred, Allah would give their enemies power over them and exact retribution from them. This was a warning and admonition to them, so that they might return and take heed.
“When the appointed time for the first of the two came”—that is, the first of the two occasions on which they would spread corruption. In other words, when they committed that corruption, “We sent against you”—bringing them forth by Our decree and giving them power over you as a divinely ordained punishment—“servants of Ours possessed of great might,” meaning men of courage, great numbers, and ample weaponry ⦗454⦘. Allah granted them victory over you, so they killed you, took your children captive, plundered your wealth, penetrated deep into your dwellings, broke into homes, entered the Sacred Mosque, and wrought corruption in it. “It was a promise fulfilled”: its occurrence was inevitable because its cause had arisen among them.
The commentators differed over the identity of those who were given power over them, although they agreed that they were a disbelieving people. They may have been from Iraq, al-Jazīra, or elsewhere. Allah gave them power over the Children of Israel when sins became widespread among them, they abandoned much of their revealed law, and they transgressed upon the earth.
“Then We restored your ascendancy over them”—that is, over those whom We had given power over you, and you expelled them from your lands. “We reinforced you with wealth and sons”—that is, We increased your provision and numbers and strengthened you against them—“and made you greater in manpower” than they were. This was because of your righteous conduct and submission to Allah.
“If you do good, you do good for yourselves,” because the benefit returns to you, even in this world, as you witnessed when you triumphed over your enemies. “And if you do evil, it is against yourselves”; that is, its harm returns to you, as Allah showed you by allowing your enemies to overpower you.
“Then, when the appointed time for the latter came”—that is, the latter occasion (2) on which you would spread corruption in the land—We gave your enemies power over you.
“They were to disgrace your faces” by defeating you and taking you captive, and to enter the Sacred Mosque as they had entered it the first time. What is meant here by the mosque is the mosque of the Temple in Jerusalem.
“And utterly destroy”—that is, devastate and demolish—“whatever they overran,” thus destroying your homes, mosques, and cultivated lands.