Surah 2

Surah 2:248

"And their prophet said to them, ‘Surely the sign of his kingship is that the ark will come to you. In it is a Sakīna from your Lord, and a remnant of what the house of Moses and the house of Aaron left behind. The angels (will) carry it. Surely in that is a sign indeed for you, if you are believers.’"
Tafsir Ibn Kathir Verses 2:248
Show Full Scripture Context (2:248) — 1 Verse
Verse 248

وَقَالَ لَهُمۡ نَبِيُّهُمۡ إِنَّ ءَايَةَ مُلۡكِهِۦٓ أَن يَأۡتِيَكُمُ ٱلتَّابُوتُ فِيهِ سَكِينَةٞ مِّن رَّبِّكُمۡ وَبَقِيَّةٞ مِّمَّا تَرَكَ ءَالُ مُوسَىٰ وَءَالُ هَٰرُونَ تَحۡمِلُهُ ٱلۡمَلَـٰٓئِكَةُۚ إِنَّ فِي ذَٰلِكَ لَأٓيَةٗ لَّكُمۡ إِن كُنتُم مُّؤۡمِنِينَ

And their prophet said to them, ‘Surely the sign of his kingship is that the ark will come to you. In it is a Sakīna from your Lord, and a remnant of what the house of Moses and the house of Aaron left behind. The angels (will) carry it. Surely in that is a sign indeed for you, if you are believers.’

248 . And their Prophet said to them: "Verily! Tire sign of His kingdom is that there shall come to you At-Tabfit, 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:

Quoted Scripture
"wherein is Sakinah from your Lord"

meaning, peace (or grace) and reassurance. ‘Abdur-Razzaq stated that Qatadah said:

Quoted Scripture
"wherein is Sakinah"

means grace. In addition, Ar-Rabl‘ said that Sakinah means mercy. This is also the meaning given by Ibn ‘Abbas, as Al-‘Awfi narrated.

Allah then said:

Quoted Scripture
"...and a remnant of that which Musa (Moses) and Hdrun (Aaron) left behind,"

Ibn Jarir related that Ibn ‘Abbas said about this Ayah:

Quoted Scripture
"...and a remnant of that which Miisd (Moses) and Hdrun (Aaron) left behind ,"

Meaning, Moses’ staff and the remnants of the Tablets. This is the same Tafsir of Qatadah, As-Suddi, Ar-RabT bin Anas and Tkrimah, who added, “And also the Torah.” ‘Abdur-Razzaq said that he asked Ath-Thawri about the meaning of,

Quoted Scripture
"...and a remnant of that which Miisd (Moses) and Hdrun (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:

Quoted Scripture
"... 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 TalQt’s house, so the people believed in the prophethood of Sham Tin (Simeon) and obeyed Talut”

The Prophet then said:

Quoted Scripture
"Verily, in this is a sign far 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.”

— from Tafsir Ibn Kathir (Vol. 1, Page 689-691)

About this Source & Scholarly Authority (Tafsir Ibn Kathir)

Universal Sunni Consensus: Tafsir al-Qur'an al-Azim by Hafiz Ibn Kathir (701–774 AH / 1301–1373 AD) is universally regarded across all major schools of Sunni Islam (traditional, Salafi, Ash'ari) as the most authoritative classical exegesis. It is prized because it relies on Tafsir bil-Ma'thur—interpreting the Quran using the Quran itself, authentic Hadiths of Prophet Muhammad, and recorded statements of the early Companions (Sahabah).

Standard English Edition: This text is from the standard 10-volume English abridgment published by Dar-us-Salam Publications (supervised by Shaykh Safiur-Rahman Al-Mubarakpuri), which is the official, most widely distributed English Quranic commentary in mosques and Islamic libraries worldwide today.