Clouds, Manna and Quails

Allah (swt), as we have seen, punished Banū Isrāʾīl for their refusal to enter the Holy Land by making them wander in the wilderness for forty years. It was a punishment from Allah. But Allah (swt) is very merciful and forgiving. So even though it was a punishment for them, they were asking Allah (swt), and Allah was accepting. They wanted food, they wanted water, they wanted shade, and Allah (swt) was providing for them.

Allah (swt) says: and We shaded you with clouds, and sent down on you al-mann and al-salwā. So Allah (swt) provided them with clouds — that is the shade, to protect them from the sun — and then Allah (swt) provided them with food and drink. So Allah (swt) provided shade for them, and provided al-mann and al-salwā for them.

Al-mann and al-salwā — the mufassirūn have tried to explain exactly what they are, but they were a blessing from Allah (swt), something special that Allah (swt) sent for them. Some of them said that al-mann is a kind of extract that comes out of trees and tastes like honey, and some of them have said that it is honey. As for al-salwā, most of the mufassirūn say it is a bird.

Banū Isrāʾīl were going through a stage of punishment — this was supposed to be a punishment for them. Why? Because they refused to enter al-Arḍ al-Muqaddasah, the Holy Land. But Allah (swt) yatūbu ʿalā tāʾibīn: Allah (swt) accepts the repentance of those who repent. And Allah (swt) gives human beings many chances. Allah (swt) sent Firʿawn nine ayat — tisʿ āyāt — one ayah after another, giving Firʿawn a chance. But in the end, when Firʿawn refused to accept any of them, the punishment of Allah (swt) came; and when the punishment of Allah comes down, nothing can release it.