Exegesis of the saying of Allah the Exalted: “And [recall] when you said, ‘O Moses, we will not be patient with one kind of food, so call upon your Lord for us to bring out for us from what the earth grows: its herbs, its cucumbers, its leeks, its lentils, and its onions.’”

Manna and salwa are among the best foods, the most beneficial for the body, the most delicious in taste, and among the finest things that exist. However, the Children of Israel, due to their baseness, did not have the patience for this. We do not want only manna and salwa; we want varied foods. But these foods are lower in status compared to the foods they were provided with; they are base compared to them, meaning they are not noble, refined, or high in rank, but are considered very poor in quality compared to that. If someone were to say, “One kind of food? They are two foods: manna and salwa,” we would say that manna is generally used for drinking; it is mixed with water and drunk. Or it is said: the intended meaning of “food” here is the genus, meaning we cannot bear this genus; we have nothing but manna and salwa. There is no doubt about the second interpretation. This was their seeking nearness to Allah through Moses so that he would supplicate to Allah the Exalted for them. And the word: indicates great rudeness on their part. They did not say, “Call upon our Lord for us,” nor did they say, “Call upon Allah,” but rather they said, “Call upon your Lord for us,” as if they were disavowing Him, may Allah protect us from that. This is part of their foolishness, arrogance, and pride. “Bring out” is the answer to the request “Call.” “Bring out” is as if they are saying that by your mere calling or supplication, this thing will come out. For this reason, they made it the answer to the request. We do not want what descends from the sky, the manna and salwa; we do not want it. They are earth-bound, not heavenly. “Bring out for us from what the earth grows,” and we do not want what descends from the sky. And His saying: “From its herbs.” First, what does the first “from” mean? The first “from” is for beginning, meaning the beginning of the bringing out, and the place from which it is brought out is what the earth grows. And His saying: “From” is a preposition of specification. What does it specify? The relative pronoun “what,” because the relative pronoun is ambiguous and needs specification.
Yes, they are strange. Baqil is the plant that has no stalk, such as leeks and the like; this is baqil. It is garlic; it is called thum and also fum. It was said that fum is wheat. Yes? The first opinion is closer: that fum means garlic. Lentils, I think, are well known... well known, also well known, also cucumbers are well known, the small watermelons. All of these are nothing in comparison to manna and salwa, which is why Musa (peace and blessings be upon him) rebuked them and said: