His saying, Exalted is He: "He said, 'Indeed, Allah is testing you with a river'"

[The first interpretation]

2497 - 'Ali b. al-Husayn narrated to us, al-Haytham b. Yaman reported to us, a man whose name he mentioned reported to us, from al-Suddi, from Abu Malik, from Ibn 'Abbas regarding "Indeed, Allah is testing you with a river," he said: With thirst.

2498 - Al-Hasan b. Ahmad narrated to us, Ishaq b. Isma'il reported to us, Yazid b. Zuray' reported to us, Sa'id narrated to me, from Qatada, regarding His saying: "So when Saul went forth with the soldiers, he said, 'Indeed, Allah is testing you with a river'"—Allah tests His creation with whatever He wills, in order to know who obeys Him from those who disobey Him.

2499 - Muhammad b. Sa'd al-'Awfi informed us in what he wrote to me, my father reported to us, my uncle al-Husayn reported to us, from his father, from his grandfather, from 'Abd Allah b. 'Abbas, regarding His saying: "Indeed, Allah is testing you with a river," the river with which the Children of Israel were tested was the river of Palestine. Something similar was narrated from al-Suddi.

And the second interpretation:

It is one of the narrations from Ibn 'Abbas.

2500 - 'Ali b. al-Husayn narrated to us, al-Haytham b. Yaman reported to us, a man whose name he mentioned reported to us, from al-Suddi, from Abu Malik, from Ibn 'Abbas regarding "Indeed, Allah is testing you with a river," he said: When they arrived at the river—which is the Jordan River—the general public stooped into it and drank, and drinking did not increase anyone except in thirst. Something similar was narrated from Ibn Shawdhab.

And the third interpretation:

2501 - Al-Hasan b. Abi al-Rabi' narrated to us, 'Abd al-Razzaq reported to us, Ma'mar reported to us, from Qatada, regarding His saying: "Indeed, Allah is testing you with a river," he said: It is a river between the Jordan and Palestine. Something similar was narrated from al-Rabi' b. Anas and 'Ikrimah.

His saying: "So whoever drinks from it is not of me, and whoever does not taste it, then he is of me"

2502 - Abu Zur'ah narrated to us, 'Amr b. Hammad b. Talha reported to us, Asbat reported to us, from al-Suddi: "So whoever drinks from it is not of me, and whoever does not taste it, then he is of me." It is the river of Palestine, so they drank from it out of fear of Goliath, and four thousand crossed with him, and seventy-six thousand turned back, and whoever drank from it became thirsty.