Reflections from the Qur’ān: The Conditional Covenant with the Children of Israel

It is often said by Zionists that Palestine is the promised land of the Jews by virtue of the fact that they are God’s chosen people. They imply that His chosen people have had favors bestowed upon them that others have not, and this is what entitles them to occupy other people’s land.

What they fail to mention, however, is that they were chosen to fulfill a covenant with God. And this is a covenant that by any measure, today’s Zionists have failed to uphold.

Allāh explicitly describes the covenant in Sūrat al-Baqarah:

وَإِذْ أَخَذْنَا مِيثَاقَكُمْ لاَ تَسْفِكُونَ دِمَاءكُمْ وَلاَ تُخْرِجُونَ أَنفُسَكُم مِّن دِيَارِكُمْ ثُمَّ أَقْرَرْتُمْ وَأَنتُمْ تَشْهَدُونَ

ثُمَّ أَنتُمْ هَـؤُلاء تَقْتُلُونَ أَنفُسَكُمْ وَتُخْرِجُونَ فَرِيقاً مِّنكُم مِّن دِيَارِهِمْ تَظَاهَرُونَ عَلَيْهِم بِالإِثْمِ وَالْعُدْوَانِ وَإِن يَأتُوكُمْ أُسَارَى تُفَادُوهُمْ وَهُوَ مُحَرَّمٌ عَلَيْكُمْ إِخْرَاجُهُمْ أَفَتُؤْمِنُونَ بِبَعْضِ الْكِتَابِ وَتَكْفُرُونَ بِبَعْضٍ فَمَا جَزَاء مَن يَفْعَلُ ذَلِكَ مِنكُمْ إِلاَّ خِزْيٌ فِي الْحَيَاةِ الدُّنْيَا وَيَوْمَ الْقِيَامَةِ يُرَدُّونَ إِلَى أَشَدِّ الْعَذَابِ وَمَا اللّهُ بِغَافِلٍ عَمَّا تَعْمَلُونَ

Wa idh akhadhnā mīthāqakum lā tasfikūna dimā’akum wa lā tukhrijūna anfusakum min diyārikum thumma aqrartum wa antum tashhadun.

Thumma antum hā’ulā’i taqtulūna anfusakum wa tukhrijūna farīqan minkum min diyārihim tadhāharūna ‘alayhim bil-ithmi wa l-‘udwāni wa in ya'tūkum usārā tufādūhum wa huwa muharramun ‘alaykum ikhrājuhum. Afatu’minūna biba‘di l-kitābi wa takfurūna biba‘d. Famā jazā’u man yaf‘alu dhālika minkum illā khizyun fī l-hayāti d-dunyā. Wa yawma l-qiyāmati yuraddūna ilā ashaddi l-‘adhāb. Wa mā Llāhu bighāfilin ‘ammā ya‘malūn.

(O Children of Israel, remember) when We made a Covenant with you, saying: “You shall not shed blood among yourselves, nor expel one another from your homes.” And you confirmed it, and were witnesses thereto.

But in spite of this (the solemn promise you made), you were slaying your own brethren and driving them out from their homes and helping others against them with sin and aggression. And when they come to you as captives you ransom them, although the expulsion (itself) was unlawful for you. Do you believe in one part of the Scripture and disbelieve in another part? Those of you that act thus shall only be rewarded with disagrace in this world, and with the most grievous punishment on the Day of Resurrection. Allah is not unaware of what you do.

(Qur’ān, Sūrat al-Baqarah, Āyahs 84-5)