The Process of Banī Isrā’īl’s Social Decline from the Viewpoint of Faḍl Allāh

Sayyid Muḥammad Ḥusayn Faḍl Allāh is one of the valiant Shī‘a interpreters and eminent scholars in Lebanon. What makes necessary for us to delve into his viewpoints is the plethora of exegetical data existing in the tafsīr of Min Waḥy al-Qur'ān.
It is attempted in this article to express Faḍl Allāh’s viewpoint concerning the historical process of the Banī Isrā’īl’s decline as stated in the Qur’ān. With reference to the verses 74 and 82 of Sūrat al-Baqara, Faḍl Allāh eloquently states the decline of Banī Isrā’īl in three stages of petrifaction, distortion, and hypocrisy. Maintaining that getting to know the enemy is a giant step toward victory, he tries to enlighten people’s minds that today’s Banī Isrā’īl are the same as those contemporary to the Prophet, who with their own hands distorted their own Scripture.