Surah Al-A'raaf (7) — Ayah 160

160. And We divided the Children of Israel into twelve tribes, as distinct communities [162]. And when his people asked Moses for water, We revealed to him, "Strike the rock with your staff." Then twelve springs gushed forth from it, and each tribe knew its drinking place. And We shaded them with clouds and sent down upon them manna and quails [163], (saying), "Eat of the good things We have provided for you." And they did not wrong Us, but they were wronging themselves [164].

[162]
The Twelve Tribes of Bani Israel and the Responsibility of the Chiefs:

The census of Bani Israel, and then the task of organizing them into twelve tribes according to their descent from the sons of Sayyiduna Yaqub ؑ, was carried out by Sayyiduna Musa ؑ. Then, from each of these tribes, a chief or leader was appointed. The responsibility of this chief was to supervise the religious, social, and economic affairs of his tribe and to make every possible arrangement to keep the people on the right path. Then, over all of them, the chief of the tribe of Levi was assigned the duty that, in addition to supervising the affairs of his own tribe, he would also oversee the conditions of all the other tribes. And this was the same tribe to which Sayyiduna Musa ؑ and Sayyiduna Harun ؑ themselves belonged.

[163]
The Blessings Upon Bani Israel in the Desert of Sinai: The Descent of Clouds, Manna and Quails, and the Gushing Forth of Twelve Springs:

In this verse, Allah Almighty has mentioned three favors upon Bani Israel, and these are incidents from the period when Bani Israel were detained in the desert of Sinai for a long period of forty years, because they had refused to fight in jihad and had displayed extreme cowardice. In that plain, there was no sign of water to be seen anywhere far and wide, nor was there anything to eat or drink, nor was there any shade or shelter to be found where they could take refuge from the sun. In other words, all three of these things are related to the basic needs of a human being. If even one of these things had not been granted to them there, all of them would have perished right there. Allah Almighty arranged for these needs in such a way that for the entire period of forty years, whenever the sun became intense, clouds would cover the sky and protect them from the sun. Moreover, these clouds would not rain so that they would not have to seek shelter from the rain. In this way, the problem of shelter for these hundreds of thousands of people was solved. When they could not find water to drink, Allah Almighty commanded Sayyiduna Musa ؑ to strike the rock with his staff, and twelve separate springs gushed forth from it, and these springs continued to flow throughout that long period. Each tribe was given control over a separate spring so that there would be no dispute over the distribution of water among them. In this way, the problem of their water needs was solved. Then, for food, manna and quails were sent down. Reflect on how much of this manna and quails would have been needed daily for this army of hundreds of thousands, and it was sent down in exactly that amount. In this way, the problem of their food was solved. Then also consider that if any king or government had to arrange for the needs of this army of hundreds of thousands, how much expense would have been incurred, especially in the case where this arrangement had to be made for the entire period of forty years. Furthermore, during this forty-year period, Bani Israel themselves were being trained so that, during this time, the germs of calf-worship would be removed from within them, and, being grateful for these favors of Allah, they would worship Him alone, and that cowardice would be removed from them which had become ingrained in their very veins due to the long life of slavery. And because of this desert life, some courage and bravery would develop in them, and the old cowardly generation would perish, and a new generation would be born courageous in the atmosphere of freedom, so that they would be ready for the jihad which they had been commanded to undertake.

[164] But instead of being grateful for these favors of Allah, these people began to disobey Him, and despite the emphatic command, they started hoarding manna and quails and depriving others of their rights. Then they themselves had to suffer the punishment for these disobediences. What harm could their disobedience possibly cause to us?