Tazkirul Quran, Qur’an 2:249–251

Translation

(249) When Talut set out with his forces, he said to them, ‘God will test you with a river: whoever drinks from it is not with me and whoever does not drink is with me. There will, however, be no blame upon one who sips only a handful from it.’ But, except for a few of them, they all drank from it. When he and those who believed along with him had crossed the river, they said, ‘We have no strength today against Goliath and his warriors.’ But those of them who believed that they would meet God replied, ‘Many a small group, by God’s command has prevailed against a large group. God is indeed with the steadfast.’ (250) When they met Goliath and his warriors, they said, ‘Our Lord, bestow patience upon us, make us stand firm, and help us against those who deny the truth.’ (251) And so by the command of God they defeated them. David killed Goliath, and God gave him kingship and wisdom, and imparted to him the knowledge of whatever He willed. Had it not been for God’s repelling some people by means of others, the earth would have been filled with corruption. But God is bountiful to His creatures.

Commentary

(a) About three hundred years after Moses and about one thousand years before Christ the Philistines attacked the Israelites and annexed most of the region of Palestine. After a period of time the Israelites wished to take some action against the Philistines, so that they might recover their lands from them. At that time there was a prophet called Samuel among them. Living in an ancient city in Syria, known as Rama, Samuel was in charge of the community matters of the Israelites. Therefore, a delegation met him and said to him, ‘Now that you have aged, you should appoint a king from amongst us, in order that we may wage war against our enemies under the command of our leader.’

Although Samuel did not have a good opinion of the character of the Israelites, he agreed to their request and promised to appoint a King for them. Therefore, he appointed a brave youth, Saul, who belonged to the tribe of Benjamin.

Saul (Talut) set forth with the army to meet the enemy. On the way they had to cross the river Jordan. Since Saul was aware of the weaknesses of the Israelites, he employed a simple method to test them. He gave the order that, while crossing the river, no one was to drink more than a handful of water from it. The majority of the Israelites failed the test. However, God was with them and they emerged victorious under the leadership of Saul. A decisive role was played in this battle by David, a young Israelite soldier who was one of those who had full confidence in God. The feat he performed was to kill the enemy’s supreme commander, Goliath (Jalut). Upon the fall of Goliath, the Philistine army broke ranks and fled.

(a) What is essential to gain a victory in any such encounter is that the participants must have the capacity to persevere, whatever the odds, and must obey their leader. Saul forbade his soldiers to drink water from the river in order to test their obedience and perseverence. According to the Bible, only 600 out of the whole army were able to refrain from drinking water. Those who could not resist drinking it were confirmed in their moral weakness. That was why they were all the more terrified at the sight of the apparently strong army of their enemies. But those who had not drunk the river water had by their obedience confirmed their patience and endurance. Then they realized that God alone brought defeat or granted victory. In the words of the Bible, ‘Then all this assembly shall know that the Lord does not save with sword and spear, for the battle is the Lord’s and He will give you into our hands’ (1 Samuel, 17:47).

(b) Power makes people arrogant and consequently they start committing injustice. If power continued to remain with one individual or one group for a long time, the earth would be filled with corruption and injustice. That is why God compensates for this by changing the people invested with power and giving it by turns to different groups or individuals. He removes the group in power, investing power in a new group, raised from amongst the powerless. Thus whenever the group in power transgresses all limits in oppression, the oppressed group knows that the time of God’s succour is at hand. Then, provided they fulfill the conditions of patience and obedience and join in the divine plan, they will prevail against a larger group by God’s succour, despite their being smaller in number and with less resources. The fear of God is not something negative. It is in fact a kind of knowledge which illumines people’s minds and enables them to see things in their real form.