2. Surah Al Baqarah
The Quranic Text & Ali’s Version:
وَظَلَّلْنَا
عَلَيْكُمُ
الْغَمَامَ
وَأَنزَلْنَا
عَلَيْكُمُ
الْمَنَّ
وَالسَّلْوَى...
2: 57. And We gave you the shade of clouds and sent down to you manna and quails,
C71. Manna: Hebrew, Manhu: Arabic Mahuwa? -
What is it?
In Exod. 16:14 it is described as
"a small round thing as small as the hoar frost on the ground."
It usually rotted if left over till next day; it melted in the hot sun; the amount necessary for each man was about an Omer, a Hebrew measure of capacity equal to about 2 quarts. This is the Hebrew account, probably distorted by traditional exaggeration.
The actual Manna found to this day in the Sinai region is a gummy saccharine secretion found on a species of Tamarisk. It is produced by the puncture of a species of insect like the cochineal, just as lac is produced by the puncture of the lac insect on certain trees in India.
As to quails, large flights of them are driven by winds in the Eastern Mediterranean in certain seasons of the year, as was witnessed during the Great War of 1914-1918. (R).
... كُلُواْ مِن طَيِّبَاتِ مَا رَزَقْنَاكُمْ...
saying: "Eat of the good things We have provided for you;"
... وَمَا ظَلَمُونَا وَلَـكِن كَانُواْ أَنفُسَهُمْ يَظْلِمُونَ ﴿٥٧﴾
(but they rebelled); to Us they did no harm, but they harmed their own souls.
2: 57
Asad And We caused the clouds to comfort you with their shade, and sent down unto you manna and quails, [saying,] “Partake of the good things which We have provided for you as sustenance.” And [ by all their sinning] they did not harm unto Us – but [only] against their own selves did they sin.
Pickthall And We caused the white cloud to overshadow you and sent down on you the manna and the quails, (saying): Eat of the good things wherewith We have provided you. We wronged them not, but they did wrong themselves.
Transliteration Wa zallalna_ 'alaikumul gama_ma wa anzalna_'alaikumul manna was salwa_, kulu_ min tayyiba_ti ma_ razaqna_kum, wa ma_ zalamu_na_ wa la_kin ka_nu_ anfusahum yazlimu_n(a).