Tafseer Ibn Kathir of AL BAQARAH [248]

248. And their Prophet said to them: ”Verily! The sign of His kingdom is that there shall come to you At-Tabut, wherein is Sakinah (peace and reassurance) from your Lord and a remnant of that which Musa (Moses) and Harun (Aaron) left behind, carried by the angels. Verily, in this is a sign for you if you are indeed believers. Their Prophet then proclaimed, ”The sign of the blessings of Talut's kingship over you is that Allah will give you back the Tabut (wooden box) that has been taken from you.'' Allah said:

(wherein is Sakinah from your Lord) meaning, peace (or grace) and reassurance. `Abdur-Razzaq stated that Qatadah said:

(wherein is Sakinah) means grace. In addition, Ar-Rabi` said that Sakinah means mercy. This is also the meaning given by Ibn `Abbas, as Al-`Awfi narrated. Allah then said:

(...and a remnant of that which Musa (Moses) and Harun (Aaron) left behind,) Ibn Jarir related that Ibn `Abbas said about this Ayah:

(...and a remnant of that which Musa (Moses) and Harun (Aaron) left behind, ) Meaning, Moses' staff and the remnants of the Tablets. This is the same Tafsir of Qatadah, As-Suddi, Ar-Rabi` bin Anas and `Ikrimah, who added, ”And also the Torah.'' `Abdur-Razzaq said that he asked Ath-Thawri about the meaning of,

(...and a remnant of that which Musa (Moses) and Harun (Aaron) left behind,) Ath-Thawri said, ”Some said that it contained a pot of manna and the remnants of the Tablets, while some others said that it contained (Moses') staff and two shoes (and refer to 20:12).'' Allah then said:

(...carried by the angels.) Ibn Jurayj stated that Ibn `Abbas said, ”The angels came down while carrying the Tabut between the sky and the earth, until they placed it before Talut while the people were watching.'' As-Suddi said, ”The Tabut was brought to Talut's house, so the people believed in the prophethood of Sham`un (Simeon) and obeyed Talut'' The Prophet then said:

(Verily, in this is a sign for you) testifying to my truth in what I was sent with, my prophethood, and my command to you to obey Talut,

(if you are indeed believers. ) in Allah and the Hereafter.' '