Introduction
Q: What is the main theme of verses 47-61?
A: These verses continue the direct address to the Children of Israel, reciting specific historical instances of God’s unparalleled favor to them and their subsequent ingratitude and rebellion. The tone becomes more forceful, using their own history as evidence against their current arrogance and rejection of Prophet Muhammad (ﷺ).
Verse 47
Q: What does verse 47 say?
القرآن: يَا بَنِي إِسْرَائِيلَ اذْكُرُوا نِعْمَتِيَ الَّتِي أَنْعَمْتُ عَلَيْكُمْ وَأَنِّي فَضَّلْتُكُمْ عَلَى الْعَالَمِينَ
Translation: O Children of Israel! Remember My favour which I bestowed upon you, and that I preferred you over all other peoples (of your time).
Q: What does “I preferred you over all other peoples” mean according to Maududi?
A: This refers to a specific historical period following their exodus. God chose them to be the bearers of His revelation and granted them political and religious supremacy for a time, making them the guiding nation. This was not due to any inherent superiority but a divine trust, making their subsequent corruption a greater betrayal.
Verse 48
Q: What warning does verse 48 give?
القرآن: وَاتَّقُوا يَوْمًا لَّا تَجْزِي نَفْسٌ عَن نَّفْسٍ شَيْئًا وَلَا يُقْبَلُ مِنْهَا شَفَاعَةٌ وَلَا يُؤْخَذُ مِنْهَا عَدْلٌ وَلَا هُمْ يُنصَرُونَ
Translation: And fear a Day when no soul will suffice for another soul at all, nor will intercession be accepted from it, nor will compensation be taken from it, nor will they be aided.
Q: What false belief does this verse dismantle?
A: It dismantles their false sense of collective security and ancestral privilege. On the Day of Judgment, no one can bear another’s burden, no mediation will be accepted without God’s permission, no ransom will be taken, and no worldly power will help. This erases any notion of salvation through ethnicity or lineage.
Verses 49-50: Deliverance from Pharaoh
Q: What favor is mentioned in verse 49?
القرآن: وَإِذْ نَجَّيْنَاكُم مِّنْ آلِ فِرْعَوْنَ يَسُومُونَكُمْ سُوءَ الْعَذَابِ يُذَبِّحُونَ أَبْنَاءَكُمْ وَيَسْتَحْيُونَ نِسَاءَكُمْ ۚ وَفِي ذَٰلِكُم بَلَاءٌ مِّن رَّبِّكُمْ عَظِيمٌ
Translation: And [remember] when We delivered you from the people of Pharaoh, who afflicted you with the worst torment, slaughtering your sons and sparing your women. And in that was a great trial from your Lord.
A: Their national salvation: deliverance from the genocidal oppression of Pharaoh. This immense blessing was also a test of their gratitude and fidelity.
Q: What miracle is described in verse 50?
القرآن: وَإِذْ فَرَقْنَا بِكُمُ الْبَحْرَ فَأَنجَيْنَاكُمْ وَأَغْرَقْنَا آلَ فِرْعَوْنَ وَأَنتُمْ تَنظُرُونَ
Translation: And [remember] when We parted the sea for you and saved you and drowned the people of Pharaoh while you were looking on.
A: The parting of the sea—a clear, supernatural act of divine intervention. The phrase “while you were looking on” emphasizes they were eyewitnesses to God’s power and their enemies’ destruction.
Verses 51-52: The Golden Calf
Q: What sin did they commit in verse 51?
القرآن: وَإِذْ وَاعَدْنَا مُوسَىٰ أَرْبَعِينَ لَيْلَةً ثُمَّ اتَّخَذْتُمُ الْعِجْلَ مِن بَعْدِهِ وَأَنتُمْ ظَالِمُونَ
Translation: And [remember] when We made an appointment with Moses for forty nights. Then you took the calf [for worship] in his absence, and you were wrongdoers.
A: Almost immediately after their miraculous salvation, while Moses was receiving the Torah at Mount Sinai, they fell into idolatry by worshipping the golden calf. This was outright polytheism (Shirk) at the very moment of covenant-making.
Q: How did God respond according to verse 52?
القرآن: ثُمَّ عَفَوْنَا عَنكُم مِّن بَعْدِ ذَٰلِكَ لَعَلَّكُمْ تَشْكُرُونَ
Translation: Then We forgave you after that so that perhaps you would be grateful.
A: Despite their gross act, God accepted their repentance. This pattern—great favor, sin, divine forgiveness—was meant to instill profound gratitude and loyalty.
Verse 53: The Torah
Q: What gift is mentioned in verse 53?
القرآن: وَإِذْ آتَيْنَا مُوسَى الْكِتَابَ وَالْفُرْقَانَ لَعَلَّكُمْ تَهْتَدُونَ
Translation: And [remember] when We gave Moses the Scripture and the Criterion that perhaps you would be guided.
A: The gift of the Torah (Al-Kitab), which contained the Criterion (Al-Furqan) to distinguish truth from falsehood. Guidance was provided in the clearest form.
Verses 54-56: Repentance and Revival
Q: What severe command did they receive in verse 54?
القرآن: وَإِذْ قَالَ مُوسَىٰ لِقَوْمِهِ يَا قَوْمِ إِنَّكُمْ ظَلَمْتُمْ أَنفُسَكُم بِاتِّخَاذِكُمُ الْعِجْلَ فَتُوبُوا إِلَىٰ بَارِئِكُمْ فَاقْتُلُوا أَنفُسَكُمْ ذَٰلِكُمْ خَيْرٌ لَّكُمْ عِندَ بَارِئِكُمْ فَتَابَ عَلَيْكُمْ ۚ إِنَّهُ هُوَ التَّوَّابُ الرَّحِيمُ
Translation: And [remember] when Moses said to his people, “O my people, you have wronged yourselves by your taking of the calf [for worship]. So repent to your Creator and kill yourselves [the guilty among you]. That is best for [all of] you in the sight of your Creator.” Then He accepted your repentance; indeed, He is the Accepting of repentance, the Merciful.
A: This was a prescribed ritual of atonement for idolatry—a symbolic act where the guilty would be killed by the innocent, demonstrating collective repentance. Their willingness to submit led to God’s forgiveness.
Q: What arrogant demand did they make in verse 55?
القرآن: وَإِذْ قُلْتُمْ يَا مُوسَىٰ لَن نُّؤْمِنَ لَكَ حَتَّىٰ نَرَى اللَّهَ جَهْرَةً فَأَخَذَتْكُمُ الصَّاعِقَةُ وَأَنتُمْ تَنظُرُونَ
Translation: And [remember] when you said, “O Moses, we will never believe you until we see Allah outright,” so the thunderbolt struck you while you were looking on.
A: They demanded a direct, physical vision of God—an impossible and arrogant request. This met with a punitive lightning bolt as a lesson in humility.
Q: What happened in verse 56?
القرآن: ثُمَّ بَعَثْنَاكُم مِّن بَعْدِ مَوْتِكُمْ لَعَلَّكُمْ تَشْكُرُونَ
Translation: Then We revived you after your death that perhaps you would be grateful.
A: Even after punishment, God restored them to life, continuing the cycle: sin, punishment, mercy, and repeated opportunity for gratitude.
Verse 57: Sustenance in the Wilderness
Q: What provision did God give them in verse 57?
القرآن: وَظَلَّلْنَا عَلَيْكُمُ الْغَمَامَ وَأَنزَلْنَا عَلَيْكُمُ الْمَنَّ وَالسَّلْوَىٰ ۖ كُلُوا مِن طَيِّبَاتِ مَا رَزَقْنَاكُمْ ۖ وَمَا ظَلَمُونَا وَلَٰكِن كَانُوا أَنفُسَهُمْ يَظْلِمُونَ
Translation: And We shaded you with clouds and sent down upon you manna and quails, [saying], “Eat from the good things with which We have provided you.” And they wronged Us not, but they were [only] wronging themselves.
A: Sustenance and protection in the wilderness: cooling clouds and miraculous food (manna and quail). The verse emphasizes that their disobedience didn’t harm God but only corrupted their own souls.
Verses 58-59: Entering the City
Q: What command were they given in verse 58?
القرآن: وَإِذْ قُلْنَا ادْخُلُوا هَٰذِهِ الْقَرْيَةَ فَكُلُوا مِنْهَا حَيْثُ شِئْتُمْ رَغَدًا وَادْخُلُوا الْبَابَ سُجَّدًا وَقُولُوا حِطَّةٌ نَّغْفِرْ لَكُمْ خَطَايَاكُمْ ۚ وَسَنَزِيدُ الْمُحْسِنِينَ
Translation: And [remember] when We said, “Enter this city and eat from it wherever you will in [ease and] abundance, and enter the gate bowing humbly and say, ‘Relieve us of our burdens,’ (Hittah). We will [then] forgive your sins for you, and we will increase the doers of good [in goodness].”
A: Upon reaching the Promised Land, they were to enter the city gate in prostration, uttering words of penitence (“Hittah”). This was a test of obedience and humility.
Q: How did they respond in verse 59?
القرآن: فَبَدَّلَ الَّذِينَ ظَلَمُوا قَوْلًا غَيْرَ الَّذِي قِيلَ لَهُمْ فَأَنزَلْنَا عَلَى الَّذِينَ ظَلَمُوا رِجْزًا مِّنَ السَّمَاءِ بِمَا كَانُوا يَفْسُقُونَ
Translation: But those who wronged changed [those] words to other than what they were told. So We sent down upon those who wronged a punishment from the sky because they were defiantly disobeying.
A: They failed the test. In mockery and defiance, they altered the words of penitence to something insolent, entering crawling on their buttocks while saying words of ridicule. This brought swift punishment (likely a plague).
Verse 60: Water from the Rock
Q: What miracle is described in verse 60?
القرآن: وَإِذِ اسْتَسْقَىٰ مُوسَىٰ لِقَوْمِهِ فَقُلْنَا اضْرِب بِّعَصَاكَ الْحَجَرَ ۖ فَانفَجَرَتْ مِنْهُ اثْنَتَا عَشْرَةَ عَيْنًا ۖ قَدْ عَلِمَ كُلُّ أُنَاسٍ مَّشْرَبَهُمْ ۖ كُلُوا وَاشْرَبُوا مِن رِّزْقِ اللَّهِ وَلَا تَعْثَوْا فِي الْأَرْضِ مُفْسِدِينَ
Translation: And [remember] when Moses prayed for water for his people, so We said, “Strike the stone with your staff.” And there gushed forth from it twelve springs, and every people knew its drinking place. “Eat and drink from the provision of Allah, and do not commit abuse on the earth, spreading corruption.”
A: The miracle of twelve springs from the rock, providing structured sustenance for all tribes. The command that follows links material provision to moral responsibility—they were not to use their sustenance for tyranny and corruption.
Verse 61: The Climax of Ingratitude
Q: What complaint did they make in verse 61?
القرآن: وَإِذْ قُلْتُمْ يَا مُوسَىٰ لَن نَّصْبِرَ عَلَىٰ طَعَامٍ وَاحِدٍ فَادْعُ لَنَا رَبَّكَ يُخْرِجْ لَنَا مِمَّا تُنبِتُ الْأَرْضُ مِن بَقْلِهَا وَقِثَّائِهَا وَفُومِهَا وَعَدَسِهَا وَبَصَلِهَا ۖ قَالَ أَتَسْتَبْدِلُونَ الَّذِي هُوَ أَدْنَىٰ بِالَّذِي هُوَ خَيْرٌ ۚ اهْبِطُوا مِصْرًا فَإِنَّ لَكُم مَّا سَأَلْتُمْ ۗ وَضُرِبَتْ عَلَيْهِمُ الذِّلَّةُ وَالْمَسْكَنَةُ وَبَاءُوا بِغَضَبٍ مِّنَ اللَّهِ ۗ ذَٰلِكَ بِأَنَّهُمْ كَانُوا يَكْفُرُونَ بِآيَاتِ اللَّهِ وَيَقْتُلُونَ النَّبِيِّينَ بِغَيْرِ الْحَقِّ ۗ ذَٰلِكَ بِمَا عَصَوا وَّكَانُوا يَعْتَدُونَ
Translation: And [remember] when you said, “O Moses, we can never endure one [kind of] food. So call upon your Lord to bring forth for us from the earth its green herbs, its cucumbers, its garlic, its lentils, and its onions.” He [Moses] said, “Would you exchange what is better for what is inferior? Go down to any settlement and indeed you will have what you have asked.” And they were covered with humiliation and poverty and returned with wrath from Allah. That was because they [repeatedly] disbelieved in the signs of Allah and killed the prophets without right. That was because they disobeyed and were [habitually] transgressing.
Q: What does this complaint symbolize?
A: Despite receiving heavenly manna, they complained and longed for the base vegetables of Egypt—the land of their bondage. This symbolizes preferring the lowly comforts of subservience to falsehood over the noble but simple sustenance of freedom under God.
Q: What was Moses’ response?
A: “Would you exchange what is better for what is inferior?”—highlighting their spiritual decline in trading spiritual elevation for worldly desire.
Q: What was their lasting fate?
A: Perpetual humiliation and poverty and divine wrath. This was the historical consequence of their accumulated crimes: rejecting God’s signs, killing prophets, persistent disobedience, and transgression.
Overall Summary from Tafheemul Quran
Q: What is the purpose of this historical recitation according to Maududi?
A: It serves multiple purposes:
- Dismantles pride: Divine favor in the past is no guarantee if the covenant is broken
- Defines ingratitude (Kufr): The arrogance to demand different signs, mock commands, prefer the low over the high, and rebel despite blessings
- Establishes a universal law: Great Blessing → Ingratitude & Arrogance → Chastisement & Humiliation
- Warns the Muslim nation: To learn from this history and avoid the traps of arrogance, ingratitude, and preferring worldly gain over divine truth
VERSES WITH TRANSLATION & TAFSEER
Messages from Quran 