۞ وَإِذِ ٱسْتَسْقَىٰ مُوسَىٰ لِقَوْمِهِۦ فَقُلْنَا ٱضْرِب بِّعَصَاكَ ٱلْحَجَرَ ۖ فَٱنفَجَرَتْ مِنْهُ ٱثْنَتَا عَشْرَةَ عَيْنًا ۖ قَدْ عَلِمَ كُلُّ أُنَاسٍ مَّشْرَبَهُمْ ۖ كُلُوا۟ وَٱشْرَبُوا۟ مِن رِّزْقِ ٱللَّهِ وَلَا تَعْثَوْا۟ فِى ٱلْأَرْضِ مُفْسِدِينَ 60
Translations
And [recall] when Moses prayed for water for his people, so We said, "Strike with your staff the stone." And there gushed forth from it twelve springs, and every people [i.e., tribe] knew its watering place. "Eat and drink from the provision of Allāh, and do not commit abuse on the earth, spreading corruption."
Transliteration
Wa-idhi istasqa Musa liqawmihi faqulna idrib bi-'asaka al-hajara finfajarat minhu ithna 'ashrata 'aynan qad 'alima kullu unasin mashrababum kulu wa-ashrabu min rizqi Allah wa-la ta'thaw fi al-ardi mufsideen
Tafsir (Explanation)
This ayah recounts the miracle of Moses striking the rock with his staff, from which twelve springs gushed forth—one for each tribe of the Israelites—demonstrating Allah's provision and care for His people in the wilderness. Classical scholars like Ibn Kathir note this as evidence of Allah's power and the fulfillment of His promise to sustain the believers, while the command to eat and drink from Allah's rizq (provision) while abstaining from corruption emphasizes both divine bounty and human responsibility.
Revelation Context
This ayah appears in the Medinan section of Surah Al-Baqarah and recalls an episode from the Israelite narrative to remind the Muslim community of Allah's historical support for the faithful. The context serves to reinforce lessons about trusting in divine provision and maintaining moral conduct, relevant to the developing Muslim society in Medina.
Related Hadiths
The event is referenced in Sahih Bukhari (hadith on the journey of Bani Israel) and Sunan Ibn Majah, where the Prophet (peace be upon him) mentions the twelve springs corresponding to the twelve tribes as a sign of Allah's knowledge of each group's needs. Thematically, hadiths on trusting in Allah's rizq (provision) are abundant in the Sunnah.
Themes
Key Lesson
This ayah teaches that Allah's provision is abundant and abundantly distributed with perfect justice—each person receives what they need—and that receiving divine blessings obligates us to use them responsibly and refrain from causing corruption on earth. It reminds believers that gratitude for Allah's gifts is best expressed through ethical conduct and obedience.
Related Ayahs
وَإِذَا قِيلَ لَهُ ٱتَّقِ ٱللَّهَ أَخَذَتْهُ ٱلْعِزَّةُ بِٱلْإِثْمِ ۚ فَحَسْبُهُۥ جَهَنَّمُ ۚ وَلَبِئْسَ ٱلْمِهَادُ
And when it is said to him, "Fear Allāh," pride in the sin takes hold of him. Sufficient for him is Hellfire, and how wretched is the resting place.
قَالَ إِنَّهُۥ يَقُولُ إِنَّهَا بَقَرَةٌ لَّا ذَلُولٌ تُثِيرُ ٱلْأَرْضَ وَلَا تَسْقِى ٱلْحَرْثَ مُسَلَّمَةٌ لَّا شِيَةَ فِيهَا ۚ قَالُوا۟ ٱلْـَٔـٰنَ جِئْتَ بِٱلْحَقِّ ۚ فَذَبَحُوهَا وَمَا كَادُوا۟ يَفْعَلُونَ
He said, "He says, 'It is a cow neither trained to plow the earth nor to irrigate the field, one free from fault with no spot upon her.'" They said, "Now you have come with the truth." So they slaughtered her, but they could hardly do it.
وَإِذَا طَلَّقْتُمُ ٱلنِّسَآءَ فَبَلَغْنَ أَجَلَهُنَّ فَلَا تَعْضُلُوهُنَّ أَن يَنكِحْنَ أَزْوَٰجَهُنَّ إِذَا تَرَٰضَوْا۟ بَيْنَهُم بِٱلْمَعْرُوفِ ۗ ذَٰلِكَ يُوعَظُ بِهِۦ مَن كَانَ مِنكُمْ يُؤْمِنُ بِٱللَّهِ وَٱلْيَوْمِ ٱلْـَٔاخِرِ ۗ ذَٰلِكُمْ أَزْكَىٰ لَكُمْ وَأَطْهَرُ ۗ وَٱللَّهُ يَعْلَمُ وَأَنتُمْ لَا تَعْلَمُونَ
And when you divorce women and they have fulfilled their term, do not prevent them from remarrying their [former] husbands if they [i.e., all parties] agree among themselves on an acceptable basis. That is instructed to whoever of you believes in Allāh and the Last Day. That is better for you and purer, and Allāh knows and you know not.
إِنَّ فِى خَلْقِ ٱلسَّمَـٰوَٰتِ وَٱلْأَرْضِ وَٱخْتِلَـٰفِ ٱلَّيْلِ وَٱلنَّهَارِ وَٱلْفُلْكِ ٱلَّتِى تَجْرِى فِى ٱلْبَحْرِ بِمَا يَنفَعُ ٱلنَّاسَ وَمَآ أَنزَلَ ٱللَّهُ مِنَ ٱلسَّمَآءِ مِن مَّآءٍ فَأَحْيَا بِهِ ٱلْأَرْضَ بَعْدَ مَوْتِهَا وَبَثَّ فِيهَا مِن كُلِّ دَآبَّةٍ وَتَصْرِيفِ ٱلرِّيَـٰحِ وَٱلسَّحَابِ ٱلْمُسَخَّرِ بَيْنَ ٱلسَّمَآءِ وَٱلْأَرْضِ لَـَٔايَـٰتٍ لِّقَوْمٍ يَعْقِلُونَ
Indeed, in the creation of the heavens and the earth, and the alternation of the night and the day, and the [great] ships which sail through the sea with that which benefits people, and what Allāh has sent down from the heavens of rain, giving life thereby to the earth after its lifelessness and dispersing therein every [kind of] moving creature, and [His] directing of the winds and the clouds controlled between the heaven and earth are signs for a people who use reason.