The Israelites have been criticized many times in the Qur’an. Because they have generally not fulfilled the issue of assuming the responsibilities assigned to them. When we look at the stories in the Qur’an, it is seen that the punishments given to the Children of Israel are a lesson and a lesson for the next societies. One of these punishments is the conversion of a group of Jews who violated the ban into monkeys. People transformed into monkeys are called Sabbath people or Ashabu’s Sabbath.
The meanings of the verses about the “monkeying” incident described in the 65th and 66th verses of Surat al-Baqara are as follows;
“Of course, you know of those among you who transgressed on Saturday. “Be a vile monkey!” we said. We have made this a lesson both for those who witnessed this event and for generations to come, and as an advice to those who will be protected.”(Baqara, 2/65-66).
This chilling event occurred in the 9th century BC. It took place in the town of Eyle (Elath) during the reign of the prophet David. The town of Eyle is known as a fishing settlement. According to estimates, approximately 70,000 people lived in this city where the Israelites lived. This city, where the extraordinary events mentioned in the Qur’an took place, is located on the shore of the Gulf of Aqaba.
Calling the Sabbath People Saturday People
The dictionary meaning of the word “Sabbath” means rest and rest. The “Sabbath” people are also known as the “Saturday people.” The fact that this day is called the “sabbath” is explained as the way that Allah started the work of creation on Saturday and ended the creation on this day and ordered the Israelites to take a break from work on this day. In a hadith, it is said: “Allah created the land on Saturday, the mountains on Sunday, the trees on Monday, the abominations on Tuesday, the light on Wednesday, and He created the mounts on Thursday and spread them throughout the world. Hz. He created Adam as the last creature at the last hour of the day after the afternoon time on Friday.”
According to a different narration; The work of creation began on Sunday, the first day of the week, and continued until Friday, and Allah created the earth on Sunday and Monday, the heavens on Tuesday and Wednesday, and those in between on Thursday and Friday. On Saturday, which corresponds to the seventh day, the work of creation was terminated with the completion of creation. According to some, this day is called “sabbath” because it is the seventh and last day of the week. However, there are also those who say that the sabbath is the first of the days. The Hebrew word for sabbath is sabbath. Shabbat, which refers to the weekly rest day of the Jews from Friday sunset to Saturday sunset, and the verb form of the word shavat, means to take a break, stop, end, rest, celebrate.
The Story of the Sabbath Tribe Turning into Monkeys
The Sabbath people had heavy obligations regarding Saturday. On Saturday they had to stay away from all worldly affairs. This included working and hunting, for which they made a living. At first everything seemed to be going well. However, Saturday was a test for them and they were unaware of what would happen to them. They were working 6 days a week, shopping, doing their daily work, and when Saturday came, all the people were resting. Therefore, they also stopped fishing, just praying. However, in the city, which continues its life by fishing, some interesting things started to emerge gradually.
The number of fish caught is decreasing day by day. The sea had weakened so much in terms of fish productivity that it was no longer sufficient for the town itself, let alone the trade of fish to distant cities. The people were restless and trying to understand what had happened. Then a villager walking by the seaside on a Saturday saw an interesting activity in the water. When he looked closely, he was astonished at what he saw. The sea, which can be seen even with the normal eye, was boiling with fish. It was as if all the fish of the gulf had gathered by mutual agreement and approached the shore of the town.
This news quickly spread among the fishermen in the city. But when the next day came, the fish had disappeared. Fishermen did not catch the fish on Saturday, as there was a ban on fishing. However, they were confused as to how the fish could know about this ban. The anglers, who were able to catch very few fish during the week, saw fish again on the coast of town when the next Saturday arrived. Moreover, the fish were bouncing around on the water, knowing that no one could harm them. At midnight, however, they were all vanishing away from shore.
Breaking the Saturday Ban
The fishermen began to get frustrated that the fish appeared on Saturday and then disappeared, and they decided that this was not the case. Meanwhile, the devil stepped in and put a tactic in a fisherman’s ear. The tactic suggested that they set a trap for the fish from Friday and trap the fish that arrived on Saturday and collect them all on Sunday so that they would not violate the Saturday ban. This idea was accepted by other fishermen, and they thought they had found a way not to circumvent the Saturday ban indirectly.
The fishermen, who immediately got to work, started digging ponds by the sea and connected these ponds to the sea with the water channels they opened. In this way, the fish that came and approached the shore on Saturday would pass through the channels and enter the ponds. When the fish came together in the ponds, the mouth of the channels would be closed and the fish would be kept stuck in the ponds. On Saturday, the fish would not be collected, but on Sunday the fish entering the ponds would be caught and collected. Knowing that this strategy was not in accordance with Allah’s command, the fishermen decided to implement it for their own benefit.
Division of the Sabbath People into Groups
The people were divided into three groups regarding the trapping of the fish. The first group expressed that they did not want to follow the plan, considering that this method violated the Saturday ban. They got angry with the fishermen, gave them advice and then cut their ties. The second group was the group that wanted to cheat Allah’s order and accepted this cunning method. The third group, on the other hand, preferred to watch what was going on silently without making a sound to both sides.
The separation of the townspeople into groups in this way ignited the conflicts that would arise between them. The people were divided and fights broke out. Some of them were reacting to the fishermen by saying, “There will be bad luck in our city because of you.” Those who did not agree to break the ban and were loyal to their religion finally decided to put a big barrier between themselves and the other section.
Those who did not break the ban began to have difficulties in finding food and making a living. Those on the other side of the wall began to enrich their wealth with the large sums they earned from fishing. They started to build a new rich city of the period by developing a large trade network with the fish they trapped every Saturday.
Turning Thousands of People into Monkeys
While everything seemed to be going well, one day the people who followed Allah’s orders sensed that something was wrong on the other side of the wall. The fishermen did not go out to sea, as always. The people were intrigued and could not stand it any longer, so they decided to go to the other side of the wall and find out what was going on. But an unexpected sight awaited them.
Those who went to the other side of the wall were shocked by what they witnessed. On the other side, where 12 thousand people lived, monkeys were everywhere. They appear to have ape-like bodies, but their movements are not ape-like, moreover, they are dressed in human clothing. Seeing the people crossing the wall, the monkeys immediately ran up to them, sniffed them and were fluttering here and there as if they were trying to tell them something.
Thousands of people living on the other side of the embankment had suddenly turned into monkeys. Even though they still knew themselves and had their old minds, there was nothing they could do. Moreover, they could neither eat nor drink water. Seeing that thousands of people who thought they could ignore Allah’s prohibition by cunning, had turned into monkeys, the townspeople decided to leave the city. They hastily gathered their belongings and left, leaving behind people who had turned into monkeys. The monkeys, given a period of 3 days by Allah, died en masse at the end of the third day.
