Question:
Assalamu ‘alaykum.
In Qur’an 5:21, the Holy Land is described as being destined for the Children of Israel by Allah. After refusing to enter, do the children of Israel enter the land years late since it was destined for them?
Answer: Wa ‘alaykum assalam wa rahmatullah wa barakatuh.
I pray you are well.
The verse states the land was decreed for them, but since they refused to fight the tyrants who lived there – as per God’s command- it was forbidden for them for forty years (Qur’an 5:26). Scholars of tafsir differ on whether the prohibition was for all of them for this time period or a permanent prohibition for those who refused, coupled with this forty-year delayed entry for the rest. (Abu al Su’ud Emadi, Tafsir Abi Su’ud)
They did enter under the leadership of the Prophet Yusha’ b. Nun (peace and blessings be upon him). The wisdom of this is that those who refused the first time had been broken by years of slavehood to Fir’awn. The hard life of the desert toughened those who entered later, so they faced the tyrants.
May Allah grant you the best of both worlds.
[Shaykh] Abdul-Rahim
Checked and Approved by Shaykh Faraz Rabbani