The Quran

246

أَلَم تَرَ إِلَى المَلَإِ مِن بَني إِسرائيلَ مِن بَعدِ موسىٰ إِذ قالوا لِنَبِيٍّ لَهُمُ ابعَث لَنا مَلِكًا نُقاتِل في سَبيلِ اللَّهِ ۖ قالَ هَل عَسَيتُم إِن كُتِبَ عَلَيكُمُ القِتالُ أَلّا تُقاتِلوا ۖ قالوا وَما لَنا أَلّا نُقاتِلَ في سَبيلِ اللَّهِ وَقَد أُخرِجنا مِن دِيارِنا وَأَبنائِنا ۖ فَلَمّا كُتِبَ عَلَيهِمُ القِتالُ تَوَلَّوا إِلّا قَليلًا مِنهُم ۗ وَاللَّهُ عَليمٌ بِالظّالِمينَ

Muhammad Asad

Art thou not aware of those elders of the children of Israel, after the time of Moses, how they said unto a prophet of theirs,¹ "Raise up a king for us, [and] we shall fight in God's cause"?Said he: "Would you, perchance, refrain from fighting if fighting is ordained for you?" They answered: "And why should we not fight in God's cause when we and our children have been driven from our homelands?"² Yet, when fighting was ordained for them, they did turn back, save for a few of them; but God had full knowledge of the evildoers.

The prophet referred to here is Samuel (cf. Old Testament, I Samuel viii ff.).
Obviously a reference to the many invasions of their homelands by their perennial enemies, the Philistines, Amorites, Amalekites and other Semitic and non-Semitic tribes living in and - around Palestine; and, by implication, a reminder to believers of all times that "fighting in God's cause" (as defined in the Qur'an) is an act of faith.