BAQARA
57. And We made the cloud a shade over you and sent down manna and quails: "Eat from the pure provisions We have given you." But they did not wrong Us; rather, they wronged their own souls.
58. And We said: "Enter this city and eat freely from wherever you wish. Enter the gate in humility, prostrating, and say, 'Forgive us,' so that We may forgive your mistakes. We will grant even more to those who act with goodness and produce beauty."
59. Yet, those who deviated into wrongdoing altered the words given to them with something different. So We sent down upon those wrongdoers a torment from the sky as a consequence of their corruption.
60. And when Moses prayed for water for his people, We said, "Strike the rock with your staff." And from it, twelve springs gushed forth. Each group among them knew its drinking place. We said: "Eat and drink from Allah's provision, but do not spread corruption on the earth by causing harm to others."
61. Yet you said: "O Moses, we cannot endure a single type of food. Call upon your Lord for us, so He may bring forth for us from the earth its produce—its beans, cucumbers, garlic, lentils, and onions." Moses replied: "Do you seek to exchange that which is superior for that which is inferior? Descend to a town, and there you will have what you ask for." And so humiliation, disgrace, and poverty were stamped upon them, and they incurred the wrath of Allah. This happened because they rejected Allah's signs and unjustly killed the prophets. They faced this fate because they persisted in transgression and rebellion.
Here, the Israelites rejected the extraordinary divine food, Manna, specially provided for them, and instead desired lower-quality foods.
To some, this might seem like a desire for variety and abundance, but no—just as a hundred tents do not compare to a luxurious villa or a castle, choosing a hundred tents over a castle is not a choice of wealth but a choice of poverty and suffering.
"Exchanging a superior blessing for something inferior" is an act of self-oppression.
Abandoning happiness and pleasure for suffering and injustice is misguidance.
Thus, self-oppression is not a virtue but an act of cruelty.
For this reason, we must choose goodness, beauty, and happiness—not only for ourselves but for all of humanity.
The path to Paradise in the Hereafter lies in spreading goodness and beauty in this world.
In other words, it also means avoiding suffering and evil.
The Quran shows people their true interests and provides the path to attaining them and achieving lasting salvation.
Some commands and prohibitions may seem like sacrifices at first glance, but in the long run, they serve as sources of pleasure and benefit both in this world and the Hereafter.
Anyone who plays chess knows this well—you might sacrifice a queen as bait, only to checkmate your opponent a few moves later. At that moment, capturing the queen might seem like a gain for your opponent, but in just a few moves, it will lead to great suffering for them.
Similarly, the Quran warns against such traps and teaches the way to ultimate success and freedom from suffering.
Peace and love to all
Emre Karaköse
