Melaka Is the Promised Land

Part 4: The Great Bestowal of Allah Upon the Children of Israel

In the previous section, we discussed the words of Allah in Surah al-Mā’idah verse 20. Prophet Musa called his people to remember the blessings of Allah that elevated them from bondage to honour. They were no longer an oppressed nation, but had been made “mulūkan”, a restored sovereign people possessing dignity and wealth of their own.

However, the call of Prophet Musa did not end there. Let us revisit the verse:

وَإِذْ قَالَ مُوسَىٰ لِقَوْمِهِۦ يَـٰقَوْمِ ٱذْكُرُوا۟ نِعْمَةَ ٱللَّهِ عَلَيْكُمْ إِذْ جَعَلَ فِيكُمْ أَنۢبِيَآءَ وَجَعَلَكُم مُّلُوكًۭا وَءَاتَىٰكُم مَّا لَمْ يُؤْتِ أَحَدًۭا مِّنَ ٱلْعَـٰلَمِينَ

And (remember) when Musa said to his people, “O my people, remember the favour of Allah upon you, when He raised among you prophets and made you ‘mulūkan’, and granted you what He has not granted to anyone among all mankind.

Al-Mā’idah 5:20

A Bestowal Never Granted to Any Other Nation

Our discussion is not finished. Let us examine the closing phrase of this verse:

وَءَاتَىٰكُم مَّا لَمْ يُؤْتِ أَحَدًۭا مِّنَ ٱلْعَـٰلَمِينَ

“and granted you what He has not granted to anyone among all mankind.”

This is a very important question:

What is this bestowal?

What treasure is so great that Allah declares it was never given to any other human community?

Why did Allah draw such an enormous comparison?

We cannot uncover the answer to this question except through continuous tadabbur of the Qur’an until we become among the ulul albab. It requires very careful cross-examination. More importantly, the reading of the Book of Allah must be guided by the spirit of the Qur’an itself. The answer lies in the Qur’an, but it must be sought with patience.

We must understand that verse 5:20 is part of a conversation between Prophet Musa and the Children of Israel after their liberation from slavery in Egypt, but before the test of obedience to enter the Promised Land. The statement in verse 5:20 — “and granted you what He has not granted to anyone among all mankind” — had already been conveyed by Prophet Musa while they were still in the bondage of Pharaoh. His people understood it, but we may not necessarily understand it today.

While in Egypt, when Prophet Musa called them to freedom, what troubled the Children of Israel most was the question of land — where they would settle after liberation. If they left Egypt, where would they go?
This was the concern that dominated their minds as slaves. Allah, the Most Merciful, promised them a great bestowal: the entire eastern and western expanse of the earth.

This is the great gift referred to in 5:20, the bestowal that had never been given to anyone before. At that moment, the Children of Israel were granted inheritance over a portion of the earth, a gift of immense magnitude. Search through any source — you will not find any other nation granted inheritance of the earth except the Children of Israel.

The true answer is revealed in another verse of the Qur’an, Surah al-A‘rāf verse 7:137:

وَأَوْرَثْنَا ٱلْقَوْمَ ٱلَّذِينَ كَانُوا۟ يُسْتَضْعَفُونَ مَشَـٰرِقَ ٱلْأَرْضِ وَمَغَـٰرِبَهَا ٱلَّتِى بَـٰرَكْنَا فِيهَا ۖ وَتَمَّتْ كَلِمَتُ رَبِّكَ ٱلْحُسْنَىٰ عَلَىٰ بَنِىٓ إِسْرَٰٓءِيلَ بِمَا صَبَرُوا۟ ۖ وَدَمَّرْنَا مَا كَانَ يَصْنَعُ فِرْعَوْنُ وَقَوْمُهُۥ وَمَا كَانُوا۟ يَعْرِشُونَ

And We made the oppressed people (the Children of Israel) inherit the eastern lands of the earth and its western lands, which We had blessed. And the good word of your Lord was fulfilled upon the Children of Israel because of their patience, and We destroyed what Pharaoh and his people used to build and what they constructed.

Al-A‘rāf 7:137

This is the true meaning of “a bestowal never granted to anyone else” — the inheritance of the blessed eastern and western ends of the earth (مَشَارِقَ الْأَرْضِ وَمَغَارِبَهَا).

Allah does not mention Palestine.

Allah mentions “the East” and “the West” of the earth.

This indicates that their inheritance was far wider than a small land in the Levant (Syam). Palestine is only the northern segment of the region between the Nile (west) and the Euphrates (east), bounded by Syam/Syimal (right/north) and Yemen/Yamin (left/south). This quadrilateral is not the East of the earth — it is the central region, the gathering point of humankind. This is the Arabian Peninsula.

Thus, the great bestowal to the Children of Israel was not a small land in the centre of the world, nor a replacement for the sovereignty of the Arab peoples. It was clearly designated as the far ends of the East and the West, as stated in Al-A‘rāf 7:137. It was not merely liberation from slavery, but a divine trust of vicegerency on earth. This inheritance was Allah’s recognition that they were once a chosen nation entrusted with the responsibility of upholding His law upon a blessed land.

Why Not Palestine?

This question may spark long debates if we rely on opinion. What we understand does not necessarily match what Allah states in the Qur’an. Therefore, what must be followed is the Qur’an itself, not stories or interpretations inherited from external sources — especially from Israelite narrations that have deviated and distorted their own lineage’s history.

We must return to the Qur’an as the primary source of truth. To understand why Palestine was no longer their land, we must examine the story of Prophet Ya‘qub, the trials that befell the Children of Israel, the punishments Allah placed upon them, and the Qur’anic concept of human vicegerency as revealed step by step.

Before the era of Pharaoh’s slavery, the Children of Israel had already left their original land. This migration occurred during the time of Prophet Yusuf.

فَلَمَّا دَخَلُوا عَلَىٰ يُوسُفَ آوَىٰٓ إِلَيْهِ أَبَوَيْهِ وَقَالَ ٱدْخُلُوا۟ مِصْرَ إِن شَآءَ ٱللَّهُ ءَامِنِينَ

When they entered upon Yusuf, he welcomed his parents and said, “Enter Egypt, if Allah wills, in security.”

Yūsuf 12:99

This verse shows that the family of Ya‘qub moved and settled in Egypt. This explains why, when Musa called them to freedom, their question was “Where shall we go?”
They were no longer residing in Palestine at that time.

The Qur’an depicts the Children of Israel as a large community living together. They are described as qawm (a people) and ummah (a community). When a migrant group becomes large, strong, and distinct, it often triggers fear and suppression from the ruling power. The Qur’an does not specify their numbers, but the term qawm indicates a sizeable and well-defined community.

The Qur’an explicitly describes Pharaoh’s paranoia and fear of any group that might challenge his power. Allah says:

إِنَّ فِرْعَوْنَ عَلَا فِى ٱلْأَرْضِ وَجَعَلَ أَهْلَهَا شِيَعًۭا يَسْتَضْعِفُ طَآئِفَةًۭ مِّنْهُمْ يُذَبِّحُ أَبْنَآءَهُمْ وَيَسْتَحْىِۦ نِسَآءَهُمْ ۚ إِنَّهُۥ كَانَ مِنَ ٱلْمُفْسِدِينَ

Pharaoh exalted himself in the land and divided its people into factions. He oppressed one group among them by slaughtering their sons and letting their women live. Indeed, he was among the corrupters.

Al-Qasas 28:4

The group oppressed was the Children of Israel.

Why were they targeted?

Because they were not natives of Egypt,
they grew rapidly,
they had strong family structures,
they carried a legacy of prophethood,
and the legacy of Prophet Yusuf lingered in Egyptian memory.

These factors made them difficult for a tyrant to control.

This was enough to trigger political fear, and thus they were enslaved. As Allah says:

يُسُومُونَكُمْ سُوٓءَ ٱلْعَذَابِ

“They afflicted you with severe torment.”

Al-Baqarah 2:49

From this, we understand their long history — leaving their land, migrating, and eventually becoming slaves. The Children of Israel no longer possessed any land, and therefore they asked: “Where shall we go?”

From a Displaced Nation to a Nation Given Inheritance

You now understand, to some extent, the long story of the Children of Israel. While they were still enslaved in Egypt, it is no surprise that their greatest fear was:

“Where will we go after liberation?”

They had no land to call their own, and their future depended entirely on whatever command Allah would reveal to Prophet Moses.

Then came the promise of Allah through the revelation to Musa — something far greater than Palestine: inheritance of the blessed eastern and western ends of the earth, as stated in Surah al-A‘rāf 7:137.

This inheritance was a restoration of their dignity after Pharaoh’s humiliation. It was no small gift. It was a declaration that they would become a nation entrusted with divine stewardship on earth, replacing the wicked nation that preceded them.

Thus, the bestowal mentioned in Surah al-Mā’idah 5:20 is the inheritance of the blessed lands at the far East and the far West — a magnificent bestowal never granted to any other nation before them.

But it remained conditional. When they returned to disbelief, disobedience, and division, the inheritance could be transferred elsewhere. Lands once entrusted to them would no longer remain theirs, for any inheritance abandoned will be seized by Allah and handed to a people more deserving.

Conclusion

With this, our discussion of Surah al-Mā’idah verse 20 is complete. We have examined the meaning of Allah’s favour, the station of mulūkan, the migration of Ya‘qub’s family, the trials and humiliations suffered by the Children of Israel, and how they eventually became slaves in Egypt. All of this leads us to a crucial truth: Allah never mentioned Palestine as their inherited land in this verse.

Instead, the Qur’an clearly explains that the extraordinary bestowal mentioned in Surah al-Mā’idah 5:20 is clarified in Surah al-A‘rāf 7:137 — the inheritance of the blessed East and West of the earth. This is a bestowal never granted to any other nation.

Thus, the entire discussion directs us to the East, and when we speak of the blessed and inherited East, we are speaking of the far Eastern archipelago of Nusantara, a region aligned with the features of ardh mubārakah in the Qur’an. In this context, the term mulūkan bestowed upon the Children of Israel reveals its meaning when connected to the ancient, strategic, and enduring centre of Eastern sovereignty — Melaka.

With this, we close the discussion of Surah al-Mā’idah 5:20 and open the door to the next wisdom, while asking:
Why, between the West and the East, did Musa choose the East?

To be continued.

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