Surah Al-Maaida (5) — Ayah 12

(Ayah 12) {وَ لَقَدْ اَخَذَ اللّٰهُ مِيْثَاقَ بَنِيْۤ اِسْرَآءِيْلَ …… :} Earlier in Ayah (7) it was mentioned that O Muslims! Remember Allah’s favor upon you and your covenant when you made a firm pledge of hearing and obeying. Now it is stated that this covenant was not taken only from you, but a similar covenant was also taken from the Children of Israel before you, but they broke the covenant and became victims of humiliation and misery, so do not be like them. (Kabir) The Children of Israel had a total of twelve tribes; Allah Almighty appointed twelve chiefs from among them, so that they could oversee their affairs and keep reminding them to remain firm on their covenant. Some commentators have written that these chiefs were appointed to bring news about the Jabbarin (the mighty people), whose mention is coming in Ayahs (21 to 26). (Ibn Kathir) But from the apparent words, the first opinion seems Sahih. The Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) also, on the night of Aqabah, when he took the pledge of hearing and obeying, appointed twelve chiefs over them. (Qurtubi)

1. 12 When Allah Almighty emphasized to the believers the fulfillment of that covenant and pledge which He took through Muhammad ﷺ, and commanded them to uphold the truth and bear witness to justice, and reminded them of those favors which were bestowed upon them both outwardly and inwardly, and especially this matter that He granted them the ability to walk on the path of truth and reward, then at this point, the mention is being made of that covenant which was taken from the Children of Israel and in which they failed. This is, in a way, an indirect warning to the Muslims that you too should not begin to violate the covenant and pledge like the Children of Israel.

2. 12 This is the incident of the time when Musa (peace be upon him) was ready to fight against the tyrants, so he appointed twelve leaders from the twelve tribes of his nation so that they would prepare them for battle, lead and guide them, and manage other affairs as well.

12. And Allah certainly took a firm covenant from the Children of Israel, and We appointed twelve [33] leaders among them. And Allah said: “I am with you [34]. If you establish prayer, give zakah, believe in My messengers and support them, and lend Allah a goodly loan, I will surely remove your evil deeds [35] from you and admit you to gardens beneath which rivers flow. But whoever among you disbelieves after that has certainly strayed from the straight [36] path.”

[33]
The Twelve Chiefs of Bani Israel and Their Responsibilities:

The meaning of Naqeeb is one who supervises and investigates. There were twelve tribes of Bani Israel, and they existed during the time of Musa ؑ. When Bani Israel demanded water from Musa ؑ, Allah commanded Musa ؑ to strike a certain stone with his staff, and twelve springs gushed forth. Thus it happened, and each tribe recognized its own spring or place to drink water and took possession of it. From each of these twelve tribes, one Naqeeb was appointed. His duty was to supervise the morals and character of the people and to strive to save them from irreligion and immorality.

[34] This promise of Allah’s companionship was conditional upon four things:
(1) That Bani Israel should continue to establish prayer,
(2) Continue to pay zakat,
(3) Believe in the messengers who would be sent later and help them with their lives and wealth,
and (4) Continue to give people a goodly loan. In other words, among the responsibilities placed upon these Naqeebs, these four mentioned tasks were the most important, and the covenant with them was that if they continued to fulfill these responsibilities, then surely Allah would be with them and would help them in every matter.

[35] The removal of evils can have two meanings. One is that a person who remains engaged in the above-mentioned great acts of goodness does not even turn his mind towards evils, and he remains protected from them, and evils stay away from him. The second is that if some evils do occur from them, they are suppressed under such great acts of goodness, and Allah does not hold them accountable for them.

[36]
The Straight Path and Its Qualities:

By "sawaa’ as-sabeel" is meant the path that is balanced, moderate, and free from excess and deficiency. Because this path is shown by that All-Knowing and Wise Being who is fully aware of all realities, and all humans are equal in His sight. This is not a path shown by any human, upon which his own emotions, love for homeland and nation, or other economic and social factors have an effect, and he cannot even discover such a moderate, balanced, and pure path free from excess and deficiency. It is Allah’s special mercy that He Himself has shown this path to mankind, so that in this world they do not face any difficulty in searching for this way, and in the Hereafter they will also attain success.