Tafsir Ibn Abbas: Al-Baqara, Ayah 243
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Other Scholars on This Ayah
Tafsir
Have you not seen an interrogative to provoke amazement and a longing to hear what will follow that is ‘Has your knowledge not attained’ those thousands four eight ten thirty forty or seventy thousand who went forth from their habitations fearful of death? hadhara’l-mawt an object denoting reason. These were a people from among the Children of Israel who fled their homeland after it was afflicted with plague. God said to them ‘Die!’ and they did. Then He gave them life after eight days or more as a result of the supplication of their prophet Ezekiel Hizqīl and they lived on for a while with the effects of death still upon them such that when they wore garments these turned into shrouds for the deceased; and this phenomenon remained with their descendants. Truly God is bounteous to people such as when He gave life back to those just mentioned but most people that is disbelievers are not thankful. The purpose of mentioning the story of these people is to encourage believers to fight in the way of God which is why the following statement is supplemented to it
Ibn Abbas Commentary
Then Allah mentioned the story of the fighters among the Children of Israel, saying: (Bethink thee (O Muhammad)) have you not been informed, O Muhammad, (of those of old, who went forth from their habitations) to fight their enemies (in their thousands) eight thousand in total, but they proved too cowardly to fight, (fearing death) out of fear of being killed, (and Allah said unto them: Die) Allah killed them on the spot, (and then He brought them back to life) after eight days. (Lo! Allah is the Lord of Kindness to mankind) to these people for He brought them back to life, (but most of mankind give not thanks) for life.