Tafseer of The Cow · Al-Baqara · 2:247
And their prophet said to them, "Indeed, Allah has sent to you Saul as a king." They said, "How can he have kingship over us while we are more worthy of kingship than him and he has not been given any measure of wealth?" He said, "Indeed, Allah has chosen him over you and has increased him abundantly in knowledge and stature. And Allah gives His sovereignty to whom He wills. And Allah is all-Encompassing [in favor] and Knowing."
Important: The Arabic source text is always authoritative. This translation is a study aid and has not been verified by scholars — do not use it as a basis for religious proof or for deriving rulings (ahkam). When in doubt, always consult the Arabic text and a qualified scholar.
The explanation of the saying of the Exalted: وَقَالَ لَهُمْ نَبِيُّهُمْ إِنَّ اللَّهَ قَدْ بَعَثَ لَكُمْ طَالُوتَ مَلِكًا قَالُوا أَنَّى يَكُونُ لَهُ الْمُلْكُ عَلَيْنَا وَنَحْنُ أَحَقُّ بِالْمُلْكِ مِنْهُ وَلَمْ يُؤْتَ سَعَةً مِنَ الْمَالِ
(And their prophet said to them: "Verily, Allah has sent Ṭālūt to you as a king." They said: "How could the kingship over us be his, while we have more right to the kingship than he, and he has not been given abundance of wealth?")
Abū Jaʿfar says: The Exalted — praised be His remembrance — means by this: And their prophet Shamwīl (Samuel) said to the prominent ones (al-malaʾ) of the Children of Israel: "Verily, Allah has given you what you asked for, and He has sent Ṭālūt to you as a king." When their prophet Shamwīl said that to them, they answered: "How could the kingship over us belong to Ṭālūt, while he is from the tribe of Benjamin, the son of Jacob — and the tribe of Benjamin is a tribe among which there is neither kingship nor prophethood — and we have more right to the kingship than he, for we belong to the tribe of Judah, the son of Jacob?" "And he has not been given abundance of wealth" (wa-lam yuʾta saʿatan min al-māl) means: and Ṭālūt has not been given a great fortune, for he was a water-carrier — and it has been said: he was a tanner.
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And the cause of the fact that Allah made Ṭālūt king over the Children of Israel, and of their saying to their prophet Shamwīl: "How could the kingship over us be his, while we have more right to the kingship than he, and he has not been given abundance of wealth?", was the following:
5636 — Ibn Ḥumayd related it to us, saying: Salama ibn al-Faḍl related to us, saying: Muḥammad ibn Isḥāq related to me, saying: a scholar related to me, on the authority of Wahb ibn Munabbih, who said: When the prominent ones of the Children of Israel said to Shamwīl ibn Bālī what they said to him, their prophet Shamwīl asked Allah to appoint a king for them. Then Allah said to him: "Look at the horn in which the oil is, in your house; when a man comes in to you and the oil that is in the horn begins to hiss, then he is the king of the Children of Israel. Anoint his head with it and appoint him as king over them, and inform him of what has befallen him." So he kept waiting for the moment when that man would enter in to him. Ṭālūt was a tanner who worked leather, and he belonged to the tribe of Benjamin, the son of Jacob. And the tribe of Benjamin was a tribe among which there was neither prophethood nor kingship. Ṭālūt had gone out in search of a mount of his that he had lost, and with him was a lad of his. They passed by the house of the prophet — peace be upon him — and Ṭālūt's lad said to Ṭālūt: "Should we not go in to this prophet, so that we may ask him about the matter of our mount, that he may show us the way and make a good supplication for us about it?" Ṭālūt said: "There is nothing wrong with what you say!" So they went in to him, and while they were with him and were telling him the matter of their mount and asking him to pray for that, the oil that was in the horn began to hiss. The prophet — peace be upon him — stood up, took it, and then said to Ṭālūt: "Bring your head closer!" He brought it closer, and he anointed it with it. Then he said: "You are the king of the Children of Israel, whom Allah has commanded me to appoint as king over them!" The name "Ṭālūt" was in Syriac: Shāwūl (Saul), the son of Qays, the son of Abyāl, the son of Ḍarār, the son of Yaḥrub, the son of Afīḥ, the son of Āys, the son of Benjamin, the son of Jacob, the son of Isaac, the son of Abraham. He sat down with him, and the people said: "Ṭālūt has become king!!" Then the great ones of the Children of Israel came to their prophet and said to him: "How is it that Ṭālūt becomes king over us, while the kingship does not belong in the house of prophethood? For you know that prophethood and kingship lie in the lineage of Levi and the lineage of Judah!" Then he said to them: إِنَّ اللَّهَ اصْطَفَاهُ عَلَيْكُمْ وَزَادَهُ بَسْطَةً فِي الْعِلْمِ وَالْجِسْمِ (Verily, Allah has chosen him above you and given him an abundance in knowledge and bodily stature.)
5637 — Al-Muthannā related to us, saying: Isḥāq related to us, saying: Ismāʿīl related to us, on the authority of ʿAbd al-Karīm, on the authority of ʿAbd al-Ṣamad ibn Maʿqil, on the authority of Wahb ibn Munabbih, who said: The Children of Israel said to Ashmwīl: "Appoint a king for us, so that we may fight in the way of Allah!" He said: "Allah has spared you the fighting!" They said: "We fear those who surround us; so let there be for us a king to whom we may take refuge!" Then Allah revealed to Ashmwīl: "Appoint Ṭālūt for them as king, and anoint him with the holy oil." Now the donkeys of the father of Ṭālūt had strayed, so he sent him and a lad of his out to look for them. They came to Ashmwīl to ask him about it, and he said: "Verily, Allah has sent you as king over the Children of Israel." He said: "I?" He said: "Yes!" He said: "But do you not know that my tribe is the lowliest of the tribes of the Children of Israel?" He said: "Yes indeed." He said: "And do you not know that my lineage is the lowliest of the lineages of my tribe?" He said: "Yes indeed!" He said: "Do you not know that my house is the lowliest of the houses of my lineage?" He said: "Yes indeed!" He said: "By what sign, then?" He said: "By the sign that you will return while your father has already found his donkeys, and when you are at such-and-such a place, the revelation will descend upon you!" Then he anointed him with the holy oil. After that he said to the Children of Israel: "Verily, Allah has sent Ṭālūt to you as a king." They said: "How could the kingship over us be his, while we have more right to the kingship than he, and he has not been given abundance of wealth?" He said: "Verily, Allah has chosen him above you and given him an abundance in knowledge and bodily stature."
5638 — Mūsā ibn Hārūn related to me, saying: ʿAmr ibn Ḥammād related to us, saying: Asbāṭ related to us, on the authority of al-Suddī, who said: When the Children of Israel called Shamʿūn a liar and said to him: "If you are truthful, then appoint a king for us so that we may fight in the way of Allah — as a sign of your prophethood." Shamʿūn said to them: "Will it perhaps not be the case that, if fighting is prescribed for you, you will not fight?" قَالُوا وَمَا لَنَا أَلا نُقَاتِلَ فِي سَبِيلِ اللَّهِ (They said: "And why should we not fight in the way of Allah?") — to the end of the verse. He called upon Allah, and a staff was brought to him that had the measure of the height of the man who would be sent as king among them. He said: "Verily, your companion will have the height of this staff." Then they measured themselves by it, but they were not equal to it. Ṭālūt was a water-carrier who carried water on a donkey of his; his donkey had strayed, so he went to look for it on the road. When they saw him, they called him and measured him by it, and he was equal to it. Then their prophet said to them: "Verily, Allah has sent Ṭālūt to you as a king." The people said: "Never have you been a greater liar than now! We belong to the tribe of kingship, and he does not belong to the tribe of kingship, and he has not been given abundance of wealth that we should follow him for that reason!" Then the prophet said: إِنَّ اللَّهَ اصْطَفَاهُ عَلَيْكُمْ وَزَادَهُ بَسْطَةً فِي الْعِلْمِ وَالْجِسْمِ (Verily, Allah has chosen him above you and given him an abundance in knowledge and bodily stature.)
5639 — Aḥmad ibn Isḥāq al-Ahwāzī related to us, saying: Abū Aḥmad al-Zubayrī related to us, saying: Sharīk related to us, on the authority of ʿAmr ibn Dīnār, on the authority of ʿIkrima, who said: Ṭālūt was a water-carrier who sold water.
5640 — Bishr ibn Muʿādh related to us, saying: Yazīd related to us, saying: Saʿīd related to us, on the authority of Qatāda, who said: Allah sent Ṭālūt as king, and he belonged to the tribe of Benjamin, a tribe among which there was neither kingship nor prophethood. Among the Children of Israel there were two tribes: a tribe of prophethood and a tribe of kingship. The tribe of prophethood was the tribe of Levi, to which Moses belonged, and the tribe of kingship was Judah, to which David and Solomon belonged. So when someone was now sent from outside the tribe of prophethood and kingship, they rejected that and were astonished at it and said: "How could the kingship over us be his, while we have more right to the kingship than he?" They said: "And how could the kingship over us be his, while he belongs neither to the tribe of prophethood nor to the tribe of kingship?!" Then Allah said — praised be His remembrance: إِنَّ اللَّهَ اصْطَفَاهُ عَلَيْكُمْ (Verily, Allah has chosen him above you.)
5641 — Al-Ḥasan ibn Yaḥyā related to us, saying: ʿAbd al-Razzāq informed us, saying: Maʿmar informed us, on the authority of Qatāda concerning His saying: ابْعَثْ لَنَا مَلِكًا (Appoint a king for us), he said: their prophet said to them: "Verily, Allah has sent Ṭālūt to you as a king." They said: "How could the kingship over us be his?" He said: he belonged to a tribe among which there was neither kingship nor prophethood, so he said: إِنَّ اللَّهَ اصْطَفَاهُ عَلَيْكُمْ وَزَادَهُ بَسْطَةً فِي الْعِلْمِ وَالْجِسْمِ (Verily, Allah has chosen him above you and given him an abundance in knowledge and bodily stature.)
5642 — Al-Muthannā related to me, saying: Isḥāq related to us, saying: Abū Zuhayr related to us, on the authority of Juwaybir, on the authority of al-Ḍaḥḥāk concerning His saying: "And their prophet said to them: Verily, Allah has sent Ṭālūt to you as a king." Among the Children of Israel there were two tribes: a tribe of prophethood and a tribe of the regency (khilāfa). Therefore they said: "How could the kingship over us be his?" They say: "And from where could the kingship over us be his, while he belongs neither to the tribe of prophethood nor to the tribe of the regency?" He said: إِنَّ اللَّهَ اصْطَفَاهُ عَلَيْكُمْ وَزَادَهُ بَسْطَةً فِي الْعِلْمِ وَالْجِسْمِ (Verily, Allah has chosen him above you and given him an abundance in knowledge and bodily stature.)
5643 — It was related to me on the authority of al-Ḥusayn ibn al-Faraj, saying: I heard Abū Muʿādh say: ʿUbayd ibn Sulaymān related to us, saying: I heard al-Ḍaḥḥāk ibn Muzāḥim say concerning His saying: "How could the kingship over us be his?" — and he mentioned something similar.
5644 — It was related to me on the authority of ʿAmmār ibn al-Ḥasan, saying: Ibn Abī Jaʿfar related to us, on the authority of his father, on the authority of al-Rabīʿ, who said: When the Children of Israel said to their prophet: "Ask your Lord to prescribe fighting for us!", that prophet said to them: هَلْ عَسَيْتُمْ إِنْ كُتِبَ عَلَيْكُمُ الْقِتَالُ (Will it perhaps not be the case that, if fighting is prescribed for you...) — to the end of the verse. He said: then Allah sent Ṭālūt as king. He said: among the Children of Israel there were two tribes: a tribe of prophethood and a tribe of kingship, and Ṭālūt belonged neither to the tribe of prophethood nor to the tribe of kingship. So when a king was sent for them, they rejected that and were astonished and said: "How could the kingship over us be his, while we have more right to the kingship than he, and he has not been given abundance of wealth?" They said: "And how could the kingship over us be his, while he belongs neither to the tribe of prophethood nor to the tribe of kingship?" Then He said: إِنَّ اللَّهَ اصْطَفَاهُ عَلَيْكُمْ (Verily, Allah has chosen him above you) — to the end of the verse.
5645 — Muḥammad ibn Saʿd related to me, saying: my father related to me, saying: my uncle related to me, saying: my father related to me, on the authority of his father, on the authority of Ibn ʿAbbās, who said: As for the mention of Ṭālūt, when they said: "How could the kingship over us be his, while we have more right to the kingship than he, and he has not been given abundance of wealth?" — verily, they said that only because among the Children of Israel there were two tribes: in the one was prophethood, and in the other kingship; and no prophet was sent except from the tribe of prophethood, and no one ruled over the land except who belonged to the tribe of kingship. And when He sent Ṭālūt — when He sent him — he belonged to neither of the two tribes, and He chose him above them and gave him an abundance in knowledge and bodily stature. And therefore they said: "How could the kingship over us be his, while we have more right to the kingship than he?" — while he belonged to neither of the two tribes? He said: so إِنَّ اللَّهَ اصْطَفَاهُ عَلَيْكُمْ (Verily, Allah has chosen him above you) — up to: وَاللَّهُ وَاسِعٌ عَلِيمٌ (And Allah is all-encompassing, all-knowing.)
5646 — Al-Qāsim related to us, saying: al-Ḥusayn related to us, saying: Ḥajjāj related to me, on the authority of Ibn Jurayj, who said: Ibn ʿAbbās said concerning His saying: أَلَمْ تَرَ إِلَى الْمَلإِ مِنْ بَنِي إِسْرَائِيلَ مِنْ بَعْدِ مُوسَى (Have you not seen the prominent ones of the Children of Israel after Moses?) — to the end of the verse: this was when the Torah was taken away and the people of faith were driven out; the tyrants had already expelled them from their dwellings and separated them from their children. "So when fighting was prescribed for them" — and that was when the ark (al-tābūt) came to them. He said: among the Children of Israel there were two tribes: a tribe of prophethood and a tribe of the regency, and the regency could only be in the tribe of the regency, and prophethood could only be in the tribe of prophethood. Then their prophet said to them: "Verily, Allah has sent Ṭālūt to you as a king." They said: "How could the kingship over us be his, while we have more right to the kingship than he?" — while he belongs to neither of the two tribes: neither to the tribe of prophethood nor to the tribe of the regency? قَالَ إِنَّ اللَّهَ اصْطَفَاهُ عَلَيْكُمْ (He said: "Verily, Allah has chosen him above you") — to the end of the verse.
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And it has been said: the meaning of "the kingship" (al-mulk) in this place is: the command over the army.
* Mention of who said that:
5647 — Al-Qāsim related to us, saying: al-Ḥusayn related to us, saying: Ḥajjāj related to me, on the authority of Ibn Jurayj, who said: Mujāhid said concerning His saying: "Verily, Allah has sent Ṭālūt to you as a king", he said: he was the commander of the army.
5648 — Muḥammad ibn ʿAmr related to me, saying: Abū ʿĀṣim related to us, on the authority of ʿĪsā, on the authority of Ibn Abī Najīḥ, on the authority of Mujāhid, with something similar — except that he said: he was commander over the army.
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Abū Jaʿfar says: We have already earlier set forth the meaning of "annā" (how/from where) and the meaning of "al-mulk" (the kingship), so that this relieves us from repeating it in this place.
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The explanation of His saying: قَالَ إِنَّ اللَّهَ اصْطَفَاهُ عَلَيْكُمْ وَزَادَهُ بَسْطَةً فِي الْعِلْمِ وَالْجِسْمِ
(He said: "Verily, Allah has chosen him above you and given him an abundance in knowledge and bodily stature.")
Abū Jaʿfar says: The Exalted — praised be His remembrance — means by His saying "Verily, Allah has chosen him above you": their prophet Shamwīl said to them: "Verily, Allah has chosen him above you", that is to say: He has preferred him above you, as:
5649 — Muḥammad ibn Saʿd related to me, saying: my father related to me, saying: my uncle related to me, saying: my father related to me, on the authority of his father, on the authority of Ibn ʿAbbās: "He has chosen him above you": He has preferred him.
5650 — Al-Muthannā related to me, saying: Isḥāq related to us, saying: Abū Zuhayr related to us, on the authority of Juwaybir, on the authority of al-Ḍaḥḥāk: "Verily, Allah has chosen him above you", he said: He has preferred him above you.
5651 — Yūnus related to me, saying: Ibn Wahb informed us, saying: Ibn Zayd said: "Verily, Allah has chosen him above you": He has preferred him.
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As for His saying: "and He has given him an abundance in knowledge and bodily stature" — He means by this that Allah gave him ampleness in knowledge and in bodily stature, and gave him in knowledge a superiority above what He gave to others of those to whom this address was directed. And that is because it was mentioned that a revelation from Allah befell him. And as for "in bodily stature": he was given in his height a superiority above them that no other of them received. As:
5652 — Al-Muthannā related to me, saying: Isḥāq related to us, saying: Ismāʿīl ibn ʿAbd al-Karīm related to us, saying: ʿAbd al-Ṣamad ibn Maʿqil related to me, on the authority of Wahb ibn Munabbih, who said: When the Children of Israel said: "How could the kingship over us be his, while we have more right to the kingship than he, and he has not been given abundance of wealth?" — He said: "Verily, Allah has chosen him above you and given him an abundance in knowledge and bodily stature." He said: and the Children of Israel gathered together, and Ṭālūt towered above them from his shoulders upward.
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And al-Suddī said: to the prophet — peace and blessings be upon him — a staff was brought that had the measure of the height of the man who would be sent as king among them. He said: "Verily, your companion will have the height of this staff." Then they measured themselves by it, but they were not equal to it. Then they measured Ṭālūt by it, and he was equal to it.
5653 — Mūsā related that to me, saying: ʿAmr related to us, saying: Asbāṭ related to us, on the authority of al-Suddī.
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And others said: the meaning of that is rather: "Verily, Allah has chosen him above you and given him" — in addition to His choosing of him — "an abundance in knowledge and bodily stature." He means by this: He gave him in addition to that ampleness in knowledge and bodily stature.
* Mention of who said that:
5654 — Yūnus related to me, saying: Ibn Wahb informed us, saying: Ibn Zayd said: "Verily, Allah has chosen him above you and given him an abundance in knowledge and bodily stature" — afterward.
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The explanation of His saying: وَاللَّهُ يُؤْتِي مُلْكَهُ مَنْ يَشَاءُ وَاللَّهُ وَاسِعٌ عَلِيمٌ (247)
(And Allah gives His kingship to whom He wills, and Allah is all-encompassing, all-knowing.)
Abū Jaʿfar says: The Exalted — praised be His remembrance — means by this: that the kingship belongs to Allah and lies in His hand, and not in that of another, that He gives it. "He gives it", that is to say: He gives that to whom He wills, and appoints it with him and assigns it to him, and withholds it from whom He wills of His creatures. He says: So do not reject, O assembly of the prominent ones of the Children of Israel, that Allah sends Ṭālūt over you as a king, even though he does not belong to the house of kingship; for the kingship is not an inheritance of the fathers and the forefathers, but it lies in the hand of Allah, who gives it to whom He wills of His creatures. So do not set yourselves above the judgment of Allah.
And in accordance with what we have said about that, a group of the exegetes spoke.
* Mention of who said that:
5655 — Ibn Ḥumayd related to us, saying: Salama related to us, saying: Ibn Isḥāq related to me, saying: a scholar related to me, on the authority of Wahb ibn Munabbih: "And Allah gives His kingship to whom He wills": the kingship lies in the hand of Allah; He places it where He wills; it does not belong to you to make a choice in that.
5656 — Al-Qāsim related to us, saying: al-Ḥusayn related to us, saying: Ḥajjāj related to me, saying: Ibn Jurayj said: Mujāhid said: "His kingship" is His dominion (sulṭān).
5657 — Muḥammad ibn ʿAmr related to me, saying: Abū ʿĀṣim related to us, on the authority of ʿĪsā, on the authority of Ibn Abī Najīḥ, on the authority of Mujāhid: "And Allah gives His kingship to whom He wills": His dominion.
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As for His saying: "and Allah is all-encompassing, all-knowing" — He means by this: "and Allah is all-encompassing" through His bounty, with which He does good to whom He loves, and which He wishes to bestow upon whom He wills; "all-knowing" of who is worthy to receive the kingship that He gives, and the bounty that He grants; He gives him that because of His knowledge concerning him, and because he, when He gave it to him, was worthy of it — whether for the benefit of setting the condition right thereby, or so that he himself would derive benefit from it.
