2. Surah Al Baqarah

The Quranic Text & Ali’s Version:

وَإِذْ قُلْتُمْ ...

2: 55. And remember ye said:

C70. We have hitherto had instances from the Jewish traditional Tawrah (or Pentateuch). Now we have some instances from Jewish traditions in the Talmud, or body of exposition in the Jewish theological schools.

They are based on the Jewish scriptures, but add many marvelous details and homilies.

As to seeing Allah, we have in Exod. 33:20:

"And He said "Thou canst not see My face: for there shall no man see Me and live."

The punishment for insisting on seeing Allah was therefore death; but those who rejected faith were forgiven, and yet they were ungrateful.

... يَا مُوسَى لَن نُّؤْمِنَ لَكَ حَتَّى نَرَى اللَّهَ جَهْرَةً...

"O Moses! we shall never believe in thee until we see Allah manifestly,"

... فَأَخَذَتْكُمُ الصَّاعِقَةُ وَأَنتُمْ تَنظُرُونَ ﴿٥٥﴾

but ye were dazed with thunder and lightning even as ye looked on.

ثُمَّ بَعَثْنَاكُم مِّن بَعْدِ مَوْتِكُمْ لَعَلَّكُمْ تَشْكُرُونَ ﴿٥٦﴾

2: 56. Then We raised you up after your death; ye had the chance to be grateful.

Other versions:

2: 55

Asad And [remember] when you said, “O Moses, indeed we shall not believe thee unto we see God face to face!” – whereupon the thunderbolt of punishment overtook you before your very eyes.

Yusuf Ali And remember ye said: "O Moses! we shall never believe in thee until we see Allah manifestly" but ye were dazed with thunder and lightning even as ye looked on.

Pickthall And when ye said: O Moses! We will not believe in thee till we see Allah plainly; and even while ye gazed the lightning seized you.

Transliteration Wa iz qultum ya_ mu_sa_ lan nu'mina laka hatta_ naralla_ha jahratan fa akhazathumus sa_'iqatu wa antum tanzuru_n(a).

[ Asad’s note 40: The Quran does not state what form this “thunderbolt of punishment” (as-sa iqah) took. …….but all agree on the element of vehemence and suddenness inherent in it. ]

[ Ali’s note: 70 We have hitherto had instances from the Jewish traditional Taurat (or Pentateuch). Now we have some instances from Jewish traditions in the Talmud, or body of exposition in the Jewish theological schools. They are based on the Jewish scriptures, but add many marvelous details and homilies. As to seeing God, we have in Exod. xxxiii 20: "And He said, Thou canst not see My face: for there shall no man see Me and live." The punishment for insisting on seeing God was therefore death; but those who rejected faith were forgiven, and yet they were ungrateful. (2.55) ]

2: 56

Asad But We raised you again after you had been as dead (note 41), so that you might have cause to be grateful.

Yusuf Ali Then We raised you up after your death; ye had the chance to be grateful.

Pickthall Then We revived you after your extinction, that ye might give thanks.

Transliteration Summa ba'asna_kum mim ba'di mautikum la'allakum tasykuru_n(a).

[ Asad’s note 41: Lit., “after your death”. The expression ‘mawt’ does not always denote physical death. Arab philologists – e.g., Raghib – explain the verb ‘mata’ (lit., “he died”) as having, in certain contexts, the meaning of “he became deprived of sensation, dead as to the senses”; and occasionally as “deprived of the intellectual faculty, intellectually dead” and sometimes even as “he slept” (see Lane vii) 2741). ]

[ Ruby’s note: It could be also literal death. God raised the people after their death. ]