A Discussion of the Narrations

The Punishment for Not Believing After the Descent of the Table

From Abū l-Ḥasan al-Riḍā (a.s.) who said: The elephant is a transformed being (maskh) - it was a king who committed adultery; the wolf is a transformed being - it was a Bedouin who was a cuckold (dayyūth); the rabbit is a transformed being - it was a woman who betrayed her husband and did not perform ritual ablution (ghusl) after menstruation; the bat(276) is a transformed being - it used to steal people’s dates; the apes and swine were a people from the Children of Israel who transgressed on the Sabbath; the sand fish (jarrīth) and the lizard (ḍabb) were a group from the Children of Israel who did not believe when the table descended upon Jesus son of Mary, so they went astray; one group fell into the sea and another group on land; the mouse is the wicked one (fuwaysaqa) and the scorpion was a tale-bearer (nammām); the bear and the hornet were a butcher who used to steal with false scales. (277)

From ʿAmmār ibn Yāsir who said: The Messenger of God (s.a.w.) said: The table was sent down from heaven with bread and meat, and they were commanded not to betray trust and not to store for the next day, but they betrayed trust and stored and kept for the next day, so they were transformed into apes and swine. (278)

From Ibn ʿAbbās who said: Quraysh said to the Prophet: Call upon your Lord to make al-Ṣafā gold for us and we will believe in you. He said: Will you do so? They said: Yes. So he called upon God, and Gabriel came to him and said: Your Lord sends you greetings and says: If you wish, I will make al-Ṣafā gold in the morning; “but should any of them disbelieve after this, I will indeed punish him with a punishment such as I do not punish anyone in all creation” (al-ʿālamīn); and if you wish, I will open for them the door of repentance (tawba) and mercy (raḥma). He said: Rather the door of repentance and mercy. (279)

Note: It appears as though accepting the first and second narrations is problematic, because it is stated in the verse that if someone disbelieves after the descent of the heavenly table and does not believe in God’s signs, God will punish him with a punishment that He has not afflicted anyone with; if the verse means that in the future He will not punish anyone with this punishment, the narration is acceptable; however, it is not known that God has not transformed anyone into an ape after that; but if the meaning of the verse is absolute - which apparently it is, and the phrase “I will not punish anyone in all creation” (al-ʿālamīn) is absolute and includes both past and future - meaning He punishes with a punishment that has no equal and will have no equal; neither in the past nor in the future, consequently this narration contradicts the verses of Sūrat al-Baqara which said about the Jews: “And certainly you know those of you who violated the Sabbath, whereupon We said to them, ‘Be you spurned apes’.”(280)

In any case, since verifying the authenticity of the chain of transmission (sanad) of such reports is not easy, one cannot disregard the apparent meaning of the verse under discussion without reliable evidence.