سُوْرَةُ المَآئِدَةِ
Surah Al-Maaida (5) — Ayah 20
وَإِذْ قَالَ مُوسَىٰ لِقَوْمِهِۦ يَـٰقَوْمِ ٱذْكُرُوا۟ نِعْمَةَ ٱللَّهِ عَلَيْكُمْ إِذْ جَعَلَ فِيكُمْ أَنۢبِيَآءَ وَجَعَلَكُم مُّلُوكًا وَءَاتَىٰكُم مَّا لَمْ يُؤْتِ أَحَدًا مِّنَ ٱلْعَـٰلَمِينَ ﴿20﴾
Translation by Dr. Muhammad Muhsin Khan & Dr. Taqi-ud-Din al-Hilali
And (remember) when Mûsâ (Moses) said to his people: "O my people! Remember the Favour of Allâh to you when He made Prophets among you, made you kings and gave you what He had not given to any other among the ‘Âlamîn (mankind and jinn, in the past)."
Word by Word — Arabic, Transliteration & Meaning
وَإِذْ
wa-idh
And when
قَالَ
qāla
said
مُوسَىٰ
mūsā
Musa
لِقَوْمِهِۦ
liqawmihi
to his people
يَـٰقَوْمِ
yāqawmi
O my people
ٱذْكُرُوا۟
udh'kurū
remember
نِعْمَةَ
niʿ'mata
(the) Favor
ٱللَّهِ
l-lahi
(of) Allah
عَلَيْكُمْ
ʿalaykum
upon you
إِذْ
idh
when
جَعَلَ
jaʿala
He placed
فِيكُمْ
fīkum
among you
أَنۢبِيَآءَ
anbiyāa
Prophets
وَجَعَلَكُم
wajaʿalakum
and made you
مُّلُوكًۭا
mulūkan
kings
وَءَاتَىٰكُم
waātākum
and He gave you
مَّا
mā
what
لَمْ
lam
not
يُؤْتِ
yu'ti
He (had) given
أَحَدًۭا
aḥadan
(to) anyone
مِّنَ
mina
from
ٱلْعَـٰلَمِينَ
l-ʿālamīna
the worlds
Tafsir Ahsan al-Bayan — Hafiz Salahuddin Yusuf
Tafsir Ahsan al-Bayan is a well-known Quran commentary by Hafiz Salahuddin Yusuf, a renowned Salafi (Ahl al-Hadith) scholar from Pakistan. This tafsir explains the meanings of the Quran in accordance with the methodology of the Salaf (early righteous generations), relying on authentic sources and straightforward language. Due to its reliability and adherence to sound Islamic scholarship, the Saudi government publishes and distributes this tafsir among the Hujjaj (pilgrims) visiting the Haramain. The tafsir is originally written in Urdu, translated to English by tohed.com.
20. 1 Most of the prophets were from among the Children of Israel, whose chain was ended with ʿĪsā (Jesus) عليه السلام, and the last prophet was from the Children of Ismāʿīl. Similarly, many kings were also from the Children of Israel, and some prophets were also granted kingship by Allah, such as Sulaymān عليه السلام. This means that, like prophethood, kingship is also a blessing from Allah, and to consider kingship as absolutely evil is a grave mistake. If kingship were an evil thing, Allah would not have made any prophet a king, nor would He have mentioned it as a blessing, as He has done here. Nowadays, the nightmare of Western democracy is so deeply imposed on minds, and the cunning ones of the West have cast such a spell that not only politicians but also religious scholars are captivated by Western ideas. In any case, kingship or personal rule, if the king and ruler are just and God-fearing, is a thousand times better than democracy.
20. 2 This is a reference to those blessings and miracles with which the Children of Israel were favored, such as the descent of manna and quails, the shade of clouds, the parting of the sea for deliverance from Pharaoh, etc. In this respect, this nation held a position of excellence and high status in its time, but after the prophethood and mission of the last Prophet Muḥammad ﷺ, this position of excellence has now been granted to the Ummah of Muḥammad (كُنْتُمْ خَيْرَ اُمَّةٍ اُخْرِجَتْ للنَّاسِ) 3:110 You are the best nation produced for mankind. But this is also conditional upon fulfilling the purpose which is stated in the same verse: you enjoin what is right, forbid what is wrong, and believe in Allah. May Allah grant the Muslim Ummah the ability to work for this purpose so that it may maintain its honor of being the best nation.
20. 2 This is a reference to those blessings and miracles with which the Children of Israel were favored, such as the descent of manna and quails, the shade of clouds, the parting of the sea for deliverance from Pharaoh, etc. In this respect, this nation held a position of excellence and high status in its time, but after the prophethood and mission of the last Prophet Muḥammad ﷺ, this position of excellence has now been granted to the Ummah of Muḥammad (كُنْتُمْ خَيْرَ اُمَّةٍ اُخْرِجَتْ للنَّاسِ) 3:110 You are the best nation produced for mankind. But this is also conditional upon fulfilling the purpose which is stated in the same verse: you enjoin what is right, forbid what is wrong, and believe in Allah. May Allah grant the Muslim Ummah the ability to work for this purpose so that it may maintain its honor of being the best nation.
