'Abdullāh Ibn 'Abbās / Muḥammad al-Fīrūzabādī
تفسير : (bethink thee) have you not been told (of the leaders of the children of israel after moses, how they said unto a prophet whom they had) the prophet is samuel (shamwil): (set up for us a king) show to us the king of this army (and we will fight) under his command against our enemy (in allah's way) in allah's obedience. (he said: would ye then) do you suppose then that you will (refrain from fighting if fighting) against your enemy (were prescribed for you?) made obligatory upon you. (they said: why should we not fight in allah's way when we have been expelled from our dwellings) from our homes (and separated from our children) who were taken as slaves? (yet, when fighting was prescribed for them) was made obligatory upon them, (they turned away) they refrained from fighting their enemy, (all save a few of them) 313 men. (and allah is aware of evil-doers) who shy away from fighting their enemy.
Jalāl al-Dīn al-Maḥallī
تفسير : have you not seen, the story and the tale of, the council, an assembly, of the children of israel, after, the death of, moses, when they said to a prophet of theirs, namely, samuel, ‘send, establish, for us a king, to unite us and to whom we can refer [matters], and we will fight, with him, in god’s way’. he, the prophet, said, to them: ‘might it be that (‘asaytum, or ‘asītum) if fighting is prescribed for you, you will not fight? (allā tuqātilū is the predicate of ‘asā, ‘might it be’; the interrogative is intended to confirm the expectation that follows [sc. that they will not fight]). they said, ‘why should we not fight in god’s way, when we have been expelled from our habitations and our children?’, as a result of these latter being taken captive or killed, that which they suffered at the hands of goliath and his men. the meaning is, ‘there is nothing to stop us fighting, provided the requirement [we demanded] is forthcoming’. god, exalted be he, says, yet when fighting was prescribed for them, they turned their backs, from fighting in cowardice, except a few of them, the ones that crossed the river with saul (tālūt), as will be mentioned; and god has knowledge of the evildoers, and will requite them accordingly. the prophet then asked his lord to send forth a king, and god responded by sending forth saul.
Sahl al-Tustari
تفسير : have you not seen the chiefs of the children of israel…sahl was asked who the chiefs were. he replied:he [god] means by this the leaders. take note of the saying of the messenger of god <img border="0" src="images/salatonmassenger.jpg" width="24" height="22"> when he heard a man after the battle of badr say, ‘on the day of badr we only killed bald, old men’, to which the messenger of god <img border="0" src="images/salatonmassenger.jpg" width="24" height="22"> replied, ‘they are the chiefs of quraysh’, meaning the notablesand leaders. sahl was asked about his words:
