سُوْرَةُ البَقَرَةِ
Surah Al-Baqara (2) — Ayah 55
وَإِذْ قُلْتُمْ يَـٰمُوسَىٰ لَن نُّؤْمِنَ لَكَ حَتَّىٰ نَرَى ٱللَّهَ جَهْرَةً فَأَخَذَتْكُمُ ٱلصَّـٰعِقَةُ وَأَنتُمْ تَنظُرُونَ ﴿55﴾
Translation by Dr. Muhammad Muhsin Khan & Dr. Taqi-ud-Din al-Hilali
And (remember) when you said: "O Mûsâ (Moses)! We shall never believe in you until we see Allâh plainly." But you were seized with a thunder-bolt (lightning) while you were looking.
Word by Word — Arabic, Transliteration & Meaning
وَإِذْ
wa-idh
And when
قُلْتُمْ
qul'tum
you said
يَـٰمُوسَىٰ
yāmūsā
O Musa
لَن
lan
Never
نُّؤْمِنَ
nu'mina
(will) we believe
لَكَ
laka
in you
حَتَّىٰ
ḥattā
until
نَرَى
narā
we see
ٱللَّهَ
l-laha
Allah
جَهْرَةًۭ
jahratan
manifestly
فَأَخَذَتْكُمُ
fa-akhadhatkumu
So seized you
ٱلصَّـٰعِقَةُ
l-ṣāʿiqatu
the thunderbolt
وَأَنتُمْ
wa-antum
while you
تَنظُرُونَ
tanẓurūna
(were) looking
Tafsir Taiseer ul-Quran — Maulana Abdul Rahman Kilani
Tafsir Taiseer ul-Quran (Facilitation of the Quran) is a comprehensive Quran commentary by Maulana Abdul Rahman Kilani, a renowned Salafi (Ahl al-Hadith) scholar from Pakistan. Known for his eloquent and accessible writing style, Kilani authored this tafsir with a focus on clarity — making Quranic meanings understandable to the common reader. The tafsir provides detailed historical context for verses related to battles and expeditions, and firmly refutes modernist ideologies using strong scriptural evidence. It is widely regarded as an invaluable resource for understanding the Quran and countering deviant interpretations. The tafsir is originally written in Urdu, translated to English by tohed.com.
55. And (remember) when you said to Moses, "We will never believe you until we see Allah openly." [71] So the thunderbolt struck you while you were looking on.
[71] These Children of Israel were so ill-natured that they did not even trust the words of Musa (Moses) ؑ. When Musa ؑ returned from Mount Tur with the Torah and presented the Book before his people, they said, "How can we know that this Book is truly from Allah, and that Allah actually spoke to you?" Musa ؑ was greatly distressed by this situation, so Allah commanded him to take seventy men with him to Mount Tur. Accordingly, Musa ؑ selected seventy men from his people and took them with him to Mount Tur so that they could hear the Divine speech with their own conscious senses. Then, when they heard the Divine speech, they said, "Musa, we do not trust what we hear from behind a veil, and we will not believe you until we see Allah clearly with our own eyes."
The Death and Resurrection of the Selected Seventy Men:
Now, it is obvious that their demand was impossible to fulfill and based on extreme ignorance. When even Musa ؑ himself could not bear the manifestation of Allah and fell unconscious, and the mountain was shattered to pieces, then who were they to withstand it? At their demand, a thunderbolt struck them—perhaps this too was a form of Allah's manifestation—and in an instant, it incinerated them.
[71] These Children of Israel were so ill-natured that they did not even trust the words of Musa (Moses) ؑ. When Musa ؑ returned from Mount Tur with the Torah and presented the Book before his people, they said, "How can we know that this Book is truly from Allah, and that Allah actually spoke to you?" Musa ؑ was greatly distressed by this situation, so Allah commanded him to take seventy men with him to Mount Tur. Accordingly, Musa ؑ selected seventy men from his people and took them with him to Mount Tur so that they could hear the Divine speech with their own conscious senses. Then, when they heard the Divine speech, they said, "Musa, we do not trust what we hear from behind a veil, and we will not believe you until we see Allah clearly with our own eyes."
The Death and Resurrection of the Selected Seventy Men:
Now, it is obvious that their demand was impossible to fulfill and based on extreme ignorance. When even Musa ؑ himself could not bear the manifestation of Allah and fell unconscious, and the mountain was shattered to pieces, then who were they to withstand it? At their demand, a thunderbolt struck them—perhaps this too was a form of Allah's manifestation—and in an instant, it incinerated them.
