And when the Companions, may Allah be pleased with them, wished in the honored Mecca for permission to confront the disbelievers to repel them from the harm, misguidance, and blindness they were upon, he was astonished by the state of the Children of Israel when they asked for the matter of fighting, then they did not act fairly when they were commanded, as a warning against a similar state for them. This illustrates the astonishing power of Allah in overturning intentions and changing hearts, and it informs about the great measures of the Prophets and their ability in divine knowledge. It is a proof of the conclusion of the verse that preceded it, as he said, turning towards the highest of creation, indicating that the souls have from the subtleties of whispers what only the insightful understand: "Did you not see?"

Al-Harali said: I see in the first instance the state of the people who are cautious of death due to the anxiety within themselves that this nation has been warned against. Then I see in this the opposite of that, which is the throwing oneself into seeking war, and they are two extremes of deviation in the souls. The Prophet, blessings and peace be upon him, said: "Do not wish to meet the enemy and ask Allah for safety. But if you meet them, be patient and know that Paradise is under the shadows of swords." In this, there is an indication for this nation that they should not seek war initially, but rather defend themselves from preventing the establishment of their religion, as He, glorified and exalted is He, said: "Permission is given to those who are fought because they have been wronged" [Al-Hajj: 39]. And he, blessings and peace be upon him, said: "And the polytheists have transgressed against us when they desired fitnah, we refused."

So it is the right of the believer to refuse war and not seek it. For if he seeks it and is given it, he will be incapacitated just as these were incapacitated when they turned away, except for a few. These narratives are not intended to be a discussion about the past, but rather an informing about what the coming ones will face. Beware! I mean you, and listen, O neighbor! Therefore, the Quran is not heard by one who does not take it as a whole, addressing this nation with all that it has narrated from the stories of the ancients - this has ended.

And it is permissible that the address is for everyone who listens while being present.

And when the neglect from the noble is the ugliest, He said: "to the elite," meaning the nobles.

Al-Harali said: Those who fill the eyes with delight and the hearts with awe - this has ended.

And when that was from the offspring of the righteous, it was more disgraceful, He said: "from the Children of Israel." And when it was from those who had firmly established their religion and the miracles were clear to them, and divine matters were known to them, it was more severe, He said: "after Moses," meaning the one who came to them with signs that filled the earth with abundance and filled the hearts with greatness, and He left among them a wondrous book, after the Quran, from the heavenly books like it.

Al-Harali said: And in it is an indication that the nation will deviate after their Prophet due to what accompanies them from his light during his existence with them. They said: We did not shake off the dust of the Messenger of Allah, blessings and peace be upon him, until we denied our hearts - this has ended.

"When they said..." And when the breaking of promises with the elders, especially with the Prophets, is more horrific, He said: "to a Prophet among them," and He made it indefinite due to the lack of a need for its identification.

Al-Harali said: Because their appointed Prophet who commands them is none other than Musa, blessings and peace be upon him, and after him, 'Isa, blessings and peace be upon them. They are Prophets in the position of leaders and guides for them, like the scholars in this nation, executing and knowledgeable about what was revealed to Musa, blessings and peace be upon him. Likewise, they were until the time of the revelation of the Injil. Just as it has narrated at the beginning of the Surah about their state with Musa, blessings and peace be upon him, it has narrated at its conclusion about their state after Musa, so that this nation may take heed of its state with its Prophet, blessings and peace be upon him, and after him it has ended.

And when they had such stubbornness that they would not submit except for the attainment of kingship, and since fighting cannot be established except under a unifying leader, so that the word would be one, they said: "Send to us a king" meaning specifically, "who will establish for us the matter of war"; "we will fight" meaning for his matter "in the way of Allah" meaning the Most High King.

(p-409) Al-Harali said in his informing that they took the matter with a sense of self-interest, where there was no indication in their saying attributed to Allah, glorified and exalted is He, whose deeds are not valid except by attributing them to Him. (p-410) What was based on piety was established, and what was based on the claim of oneself collapsed. "He said" meaning that Prophet, "Is there"? This word indicates the realization of the inquiry, and it suffices in meaning without the hamzah - it has ended.

"Perhaps you are close" meaning you are nearing. And since the concern was for the discipline of the questioners in this matter, he preceded his saying: "If it is written" meaning it is prescribed - thus they said, and the better in my opinion, as will come, if Allah, the Most High wills, to realize it in Surah At-Tawbah, is to mean: Do you fear for yourselves? And since the intention was to alert to the request for well-being and to distance from exposure to calamity due to the seriousness of the situation, that when the matter becomes obligatory, there remains no allowance in it. So whoever falls short in it will perish. He placed between 'perhaps' and its connection his saying: "Fighting is obligatory upon you" as a necessary obligation, and he built it for the passive to protect the name of the doer from a contradiction that is expected to be their shortcoming in it. "Should you not fight"? This would place you in disobedience. Al-Harali said: With the breaking of the 's' in 'perhaps' and its opening, there are two dialects. The habit of grammarians is not to seek differing meanings from the middle of the forms and their beginnings. In understanding the language and realizing it, there is inflection in the middles and beginnings, just as the inflection of the endings is well-known among the general grammarians. So the breaking where (p-411) it was based on weakness and collapse, and the opening indicates strength and stability - it has ended.

So it is as if he, blessings and peace be upon him, understood that some of them would abandon fighting out of weakness, while some would abandon it out of strength. Therefore, he negated the action and did not say: that you become unable.

Al-Harali said: So he informed them of what their matter had come to, and they did not turn away from him but argued with him and responded to him with the same previous saying of theirs. Thus, in his indication, there is news of what they were upon from the harshness of their nature and the lack of quick awareness - it has ended.

And when the content of this question was: 'I fear that you will refrain from fighting,' Allah informed us of their response by His saying: ﴿They said﴾, meaning to Musa in opposition. And since the conjunction is directed towards something not mentioned, the implication is: 'What necessitates our refraining, while we do not fear that for ourselves? Rather, we are certain that we will fight with the fiercest of fighting!' They added to this their saying: ﴿And what﴾, meaning 'and what is there for us in ﴿that we should not fight﴾?' And when the soul finds in what is for Allah, I find it compelling to rise to it, they said: ﴿In the way of Allah﴾, meaning that which has no equal in its fervor and excitement. ﴿And indeed﴾, meaning while we have already ﴿been expelled﴾, is more general than to be with the expulsion of distance or not. And it is built for the unknown because the cause of preservation and expulsion is the act of expulsion itself, not a relation to a specific limit ﴿from our homes﴾, which are for our bodies as our bodies are for our souls.

And when in ﴿We have been expelled﴾ there is the meaning of 'We have been removed,' they added to it ﴿and our children﴾, mixing thereby what is for Allah with what is for others, while He is the Rich, who accepts only what is pure.

Al-Harali said: So He informed, glorified and exalted is He, that they attributed that to the anger of the souls over the expulsion. And indeed, only he fights in the way of Allah who fights for the word of Allah to be the highest - this has ended.

And when breaking the promise, along with the proximity of the covenant, is more disgraceful, He said: ﴿So when﴾, with the 'fa' indicating consequence, ﴿fighting was prescribed for them﴾, meaning specifically ﴿the fighting﴾ which they asked for, just as it was prescribed for you after you had wished for it when you were in Makkah, as will be clarified, if Allah wills, in Al-Nisa at His saying: ﴿Have you not seen those﴾ [Al-Nisa: 77] ﴿who were told: 'Hold back your hands'﴾. ﴿They turned away﴾, hastening to retreat after the intensity of that advance, ﴿except for a few of them﴾, meaning 'So fight,' and Allah is All-Knowing of them. ﴿And Allah﴾, meaning the One who encompasses all perfection, ﴿is Knowing﴾ of those who turn away. Thus was the original, but He said: ﴿against the wrongdoers﴾, indicating that they sought hardship, while it was their right to seek ease. Then when they were answered to what they asked for, they turned away from it, so they held back where it was necessary to proceed and proceeded where it was necessary to hold back. Thus, they disobeyed Allah, who made it obligatory upon them. They combined between the disgrace of breaking the promise and the shame of disobedience, the disgrace of retreating from their peers, and the ugliness of abandoning their brothers.