Surah Yunus (10) — Ayah 93

(Ayah 93) ➊ The attribution of {وَ لَقَدْ بَوَّاْنَا بَنِيْۤ اِسْرَآءِيْلَ مُبَوَّاَ صِدْقٍ …: ’’ مُبَوَّاَ ‘‘} (abode) to {’’ صِدْقٍ ‘‘} means its praise, that is, the best and most honorable abode. The people of Arabia, when they want to praise something, attribute it to {’’صِدْقٌ‘‘ }, as they say: {’’رَجُلُ صِدْقٍ‘‘} "A true man." Allah said: «{ اَنَّ لَهُمْ قَدَمَ صِدْقٍ }» [ یونس:۲ ] and He said: «{ وَ قُلْ رَّبِّ اَدْخِلْنِيْ مُدْخَلَ صِدْقٍ }» [ بنی إسرائیل : ۸۰ ] meaning We granted the Children of Israel a most honorable abode, authority, and abundant pure provisions to eat. It is difficult to take 'the Children of Israel' here to mean the companions of Musa (Moses), because they, as a result of their outright refusal to go out for jihad at the command of Musa (Moses), wandered in the desert of Sinai for forty years. However, after them, under the leadership of Yusha bin Nun (Joshua), the new generation conquered Palestine and Syria according to Allah’s promise. The promise was: «{ يٰقَوْمِ ادْخُلُوا الْاَرْضَ الْمُقَدَّسَةَ الَّتِيْ كَتَبَ اللّٰهُ لَكُمْ }» [ المائدۃ : ۲۱ ] "O my people! Enter the holy land which Allah has written for you." Then the Children of Israel also established rule over Egypt, as He said: «{ كَذٰلِكَ وَ اَوْرَثْنٰهَا بَنِيْۤ اِسْرَآءِيْلَ }» [ الشعراء : ۵۹ ] "Thus it happened, and We made the Children of Israel its inheritors." Then there came many periods of rule and subjugation over the Children of Israel; sometimes great rulers like Dawud (David) and Sulaiman (Solomon) came, and sometimes they were trampled by Nebuchadnezzar and other disbelievers. The cause of this humiliation was always their discord, which was not due to ignorance, but knowingly they made their rabbis and monks as lords and split into various political and religious sects. In the hadiths, their seventy-two (72) sects are mentioned; who among them was right and who was wrong! Now this decision will be made by the Lord Almighty on the Day of Resurrection.

➋ Another interpretation of {’’ فَمَا اخْتَلَفُوْا حَتّٰى جَآءَهُمُ الْعِلْمُ ‘‘} is that, according to the clear prophecy of Allah’s Book, the Torah, there was consensus among the Children of Israel that the Seal of the Prophets, Muhammad (peace be upon him), was to come; there was no disagreement, nor was anyone unaware of it, rather all were awaiting his arrival and prayed for his coming, as He said: «{ وَ كَانُوْا مِنْ قَبْلُ يَسْتَفْتِحُوْنَ۠ عَلَى الَّذِيْنَ كَفَرُوْا }» [ البقرۃ : ۸۹ ] "Although before this they used to seek victory over those who disbelieved." But when he came, after recognizing him, merely out of stubbornness and jealousy, their consensus turned into discord. Some said, he is not the one who was promised to come. Some said, he is not ours but only the Messenger of the unlettered. Some fortunate ones did accept faith, but in any case, after knowledge, the decision of their discord will now be made by the Lord Almighty.

93. 1. That is, instead of expressing gratitude to Allah, they began to dispute among themselves, and this dispute was not due to ignorance or lack of knowledge, but rather after knowledge had come to them, which clearly means that this dispute was based purely on stubbornness and arrogance.

93. And We certainly settled the Children of Israel in a good place and provided them with pure things to eat. Then they differed among themselves after knowledge [103] had come to them. Surely, your Lord will judge between them on the Day of Resurrection concerning that over which they used to differ.

[103]
The Occupation of the Region of Shaam by Bani Israeel and Sectarianism:

That is, they were given dominance in the land of Egypt as well as in Shaam, and both are fertile and lush lands where all kinds of fruits and grains are abundantly produced. Then, in addition to these material blessings, they were also given the Torah, in which complete guidance for every aspect of their lives was present. But later, these very people split into many sects. The reason for this was not that the Torah was insufficient to guide them correctly, but rather that they began to create new philosophical debates, then disagreed among themselves, then formed sects, and for the sake of their own leadership, they nurtured these divisions. The love of status among the scholars and elders created such prejudice in these sects that there remained no possibility of unity among them, even though if they had turned towards the Book of Allah, they could have become united once again.

The Reason for Sectarianism and Its Remedy:

Today, Muslims too are afflicted by the same curse of sectarianism that the Jews and Christians had fallen victim to, and remain so to this day. The sects among Muslims are also victims of the same stubbornness and obstinacy, and each sect is content and absorbed in its own state. The love of wealth and desire for status among the leaders of these sects, and their unwillingness to relinquish their positions, remain obstacles to the unity of these sects even today. Yet, even today, the Book of Allah and the Sunnah of the Messenger are present. If one turns towards them, unity is still possible. In fact, the only possible way for unity is to turn towards the Book of Allah and the Sunnah of the Messenger, and not to consider the statements of imams, scholars, and elders as worthy of attention in comparison to the Book and Sunnah.