Due to Allah’s Favor, Moses and his people were saved from Pharaoh and his people, and from being enslaved by them. They went to their homeland which is Bait Al-Maqdis and its surroundings, and they were about to reach it. Before they reached it Allah the Almighty ordered them to enter into that land to fight against their enemies who lived there and to expel them from it.
The Prophet of Allah, Moses, reminded them of Allah’s blessings upon them and promised them that Allah, Exalted and Sublime be He, would grant them victory. He said to them: “O my people! Enter the Holy Land which Allah has destined for you ˹to enter˺.” (Al-Ma’idah 5 :21) Allah willed that they enter that land as victorious over their enemy, so that they would have no doubts of victory, and they would not fail to enter that land.
The people’s response to their Prophet, peace be upon him, indicates the weakness of faith in their hearts, and their recklessness to the Command of Allah and His Messenger. They claimed,( “There are strong and courageous people in that land, and this prevents us from entering it. If the people leave the land voluntarily, we will enter it.” “so we will never ˹be able to˺ enter it until they leave. If they do, then we will enter!” (Al-Ma’idah 5: 22)
The reason for not entering it is intense fear and lack of certainty in Allah Who promised them victory, although they saw a great Divine Sign indicating Allah’s Help to them, which was the destruction of Pharaoh and his soldiers in a few moments.
In the meantime, two men appeared who feared Allah, Exalted and Sublime be He, and glorified His Order, and they had experience in military war operations. They said to them: There is nothing between you and victory over them except that you surprise them through the gate. If you do so, you will certainly prevail, and the strongest means you have to defeat them is by putting your trust in Allah.
This did not work, and the people did not respond to the words of the Prophet, nor to the words of the two righteous men. Rather, they said something that no one before them had ever said. They said: “˹Yet˺ they said, “O Moses! ˹Still˺ we will never enter as long as they remain there. So go—both you and your Lord—and fight; we are staying right here!” (Al-Ma’idah 5: 24) Their response reflects disrespect to the Divine Character and the position of the Kalim Prophet (Kalim is the one whom Allah, Exalted and Sublime be He spoke to) Moses, peace be upon him.
How horrible their response was and their confrontation with their Prophet in that difficult situation, which required and necessitated their support to their Prophet, and defense of their sense of honor.
When Moses, peace be upon him, saw their disobedience to him and their lack of faith which made them unprepared neither religiously nor psychologically to sacrifice themselves for Allah’s Sake, he said: O Lord, I have no one to fight the enemy except my brother Aaron and I.
He expressed his apology to Allah the Almighty for not being able to convince his people to fight, and he asked Allah the Almighty to set him apart from his rebellious people and to send them punishment.
(O my people! Enter the Holy Land which Allah has destined for you ˹to enter˺. And do not turn back or else you will become losers.” They replied, “O Moses! There is an enormously powerful people there, so we will never ˹be able to˺ enter it until they leave. If they do, then we will enter!” Two God-fearing men—who had been blessed by Allah—said, “Surprise them through the gate. If you do, you will certainly prevail. Put your trust in Allah if you are ˹truly˺ believers.” ˹Yet˺ they said, “O Moses! ˹Still˺ we will never enter as long as they remain there. So go—both you and your Lord—and fight; we are staying right here!” Moses pleaded, “My Lord! I have no control over anyone except myself and my brother. So set us apart from the rebellious people.”) (Al-Ma’idah 5: 21-25)
لما امتن الله على موسى وقومه بنجاتهم من فرعون وقومه وأسرهم واستبعادهم، ذهبوا قاصدين لأوطانهم ومساكنهم وهي بيت المقدس وما حوله، وقاربوا وصول بيت المقدس، وكان الله قد فرض عليهم دخول تلك الأرض لمقاتلة عدوهم الذي سكن في تلك الديار ليخرجوه منها.
ذكرهم نبي الله موسى بنعم الله عليهم ووعدهم بنصر الله عز وجل لهم، فقال لهم: “يَا قَوْمِ ادْخُلُوا الأرْضَ الْمُقَدَّسَةَ الَّتِي كَتَبَ اللَّهُ لَكُمْ” (المائدة 5: 21) فقد كتب الله لهم دخولها، وانتصارهم على عدوهم؛ لئلا يكون في قلوبهم شك من الانتصار، أو يتقاعسوا عن الدخول إلى تلكم الأرض.
رد القوم على نبيهم عليه السلام برد يدل على ضعف الإيمان في قلوبهم، وعدم اهتمامهم بأمر الله ورسوله، زعموا أن في المدينة قوم شديدي القوة والشجاعة، وهذا يمنع من دخولها، حت يخرج القوم من تلك الأرض طواعية، فإذا خرجوا طواعية دخلنا. “وَإِنَّا لَن نَّدْخُلَهَا حَتَّى يَخْرُجُوا مِنْهَا فَإِن يَخْرُجُوا مِنْهَا فَإِنَّا دَاخِلُونَ” (المائدة 5: 22)
وسبب ذلك الامتناع هو: الخوف الشديد وضعف اليقين بالله الذي وعدهم بالنصر، وقد رأوا آية مبهرة تدل على نصرة الله لهم وهي هلاك فرعون وجنوده في لحظات يسيرة.
ظهر في تلك الأثناء رجلان يخافون من الله عز وجل ويعظمون أمره ولهم خبرة في العمليات العسكرية الحربية، فقالوا لهم: ليس بينكم وبين الانتصار عليهم إلا أن تدخلوا عليهم الباب، فإذا دخلتموه عليهم فإنهم سينهزمون، وأقوى عدة لكم في ذلك هي التوكل على الله.
لم ينفع هذا الكلام ولم يستجب القوم لكلام النبي ولا لكلام الرجلين الصالحين بل قالوا قولاً لم يقل أحد قبلهم، قالوا: “يَا مُوسَى إِنَّا لَن نَدْخُلَهَا أَبَدًا مَّا دَامُوا فِيهَا فَاذْهَبْ أَنتَ وَرَبُّكَ فَقَاتِلا إِنَّا هَاهُنَا قَاعِدُونَ”، (المائدة 5: 24) وفي ذلك من تحقير الذات الإلهية ومقام النبي الكليم (معنى الكليم: الذي كلمه الله-عز وجل-) موسى- عليه السلام-
فما أشنع هذا الكلام منهم، ومواجهتهم لنبيهم في هذا المقام الحرج الضيق، الذي قد دعت الحاجة والضرورة إلى نصرة نبيهم، وإعزاز أنفسهم.
فلما رأى موسى عليه السلام عتوهم عليه وهذا الضعف وعدم وجود الاستعداد الديني أو الاستعداد النفسي للتضحية في سبيل الله قال: يا رب ليس من عندي يقاتل إلا أنا وأخي هارون،
وإنما قال اعتذارًا، ثم دعا الله أن يحكم بينه وبين قومه من بني إسرائيل، بأن تنزل فيهم من العقوبة ما اقتضته حكمتك.
يَا قَوْمِ ادْخُلُوا الْأَرْضَ الْمُقَدَّسَةَ الَّتِي كَتَبَ اللَّـهُ لَكُمْ وَلَا تَرْتَدُّوا عَلَىٰ أَدْبَارِكُمْ فَتَنقَلِبُوا خَاسِرِينَ ﴿٢١﴾ قَالُوا يَا مُوسَىٰ إِنَّ فِيهَا قَوْمًا جَبَّارِينَ وَإِنَّا لَن نَّدْخُلَهَا حَتَّىٰ يَخْرُجُوا مِنْهَا فَإِن يَخْرُجُوا مِنْهَا فَإِنَّا دَاخِلُونَ ﴿٢٢﴾ قَالَ رَجُلَانِ مِنَ الَّذِينَ يَخَافُونَ أَنْعَمَ اللَّـهُ عَلَيْهِمَا ادْخُلُوا عَلَيْهِمُ الْبَابَ فَإِذَا دَخَلْتُمُوهُ فَإِنَّكُمْ غَالِبُونَ ۚ وَعَلَى اللَّـهِ فَتَوَكَّلُوا إِن كُنتُم مُّؤْمِنِينَ ﴿٢٣﴾ قَالُوا يَا مُوسَىٰ إِنَّا لَن نَّدْخُلَهَا أَبَدًا مَّا دَامُوا فِيهَا ۖ فَاذْهَبْ أَنتَ وَرَبُّكَ فَقَاتِلَا إِنَّا هَاهُنَا قَاعِدُونَ ﴿٢٤﴾ قَالَ رَبِّ إِنِّي لَا أَمْلِكُ إِلَّا نَفْسِي وَأَخِي ۖ فَافْرُقْ بَيْنَنَا وَبَيْنَ الْقَوْمِ الْفَاسِقِينَ ﴿٢٥﴾
المائدة 5: 21-25