Overview (Verse 61)

Unhappy with God’s Bounty

Let us recall the scene. The Israelites have fled from persecution and have journeyed into a desert of sand and rocks. The sun beats down all day and the sky will yield no rain. While they endure these desperate and hostile conditions, water springs out of the rocks, honey-tasting manna falls from the sky and quails begin to arrive in multitudes.

But despite all this, the people’s minds remained closed, their hearts intractable and their attitude rigid. They could not rise to the occasion or appreciate the purpose of their flight from Egypt. God had delivered them from the humiliation and persecution of the Pharaoh in order to restore their honour, dignity and freedom. Needless to say, there was a price to be paid. They were to inherit the holy city of Jerusalem; but they had to capture it first.

The Israelites did not seem to appreciate that honour or to be ready to make the necessary sacrifices. They simply were not up to the commitment and the responsibility that God had entrusted them with. They were not prepared even to sacrifice the most mundane of their daily needs and habits, so that they might undertake the brief but harsh journey across the desert, on their way to glory, freedom and dignity.

The Qur’ān reminds the Jews of Madinah of what their forefathers had asked of Moses and addresses the early Israelites, saying: “[And remember] when you said, Moses! We can no longer put up with one kind of food. Pray to your Lord, then, to bring forth for us some of what the earth produces of green herbs, cucumber, garlic, lentils and onions.’ He said, ‘Would you take a lesser thing in exchange for what is much better? Go down to any land and you shall have what you asked for.’ Ignominy and humiliation were stamped upon them and they incurred the wrath of God, because they denied His revelations and slew prophets against all right, and because they persisted in their disobedience and transgression.” (Verse 61)

It is clear that Moses himself was aghast at their ignoble demands. His response was that what they were asking for was worthless and could be found anywhere. In its Arabic form, Moses’s response could be interpreted in one of two ways. It could mean that their request is so mundane and available everywhere. So wherever they wish to stay, they could find what they asked for. Alternatively, Moses is telling them to go back to Egypt and resume their servile, humble, humdrum life where they can have their cucumber, lentils, garlic and onion. They would not, it seems, be strong enough for the great and noble task God had called on them to undertake.

Contrary to some commentators, I favour this second meaning because it reminds the Israelites of their misery and humiliation in Egypt, as it says: “Ignominy and humiliation were stamped upon them and they incurred the wrath of God.” (Verse 61) Historically, this came later as a result of their disbelief in God’s revelations, their killing of some of their prophets, and their general disobedience. These developments occurred several generations after Moses, but “ignominy and humiliation” are mentioned here because they fit the context of their condescension and insolence. Moses reminded them of the suffering and the distress they had undergone in Egypt and of God’s kindness in delivering them from the Pharaoh.