And the prophet said to them: Surely the sign of His kingdom is, that there shall come to you the chest in which there is tranquillity from your Lord and remainders from what the family of Musa and the family of Haroun have left, the angels bearing it; most surely there is a sign in this if you believe.
One of the questions we should pose ourselves when reading these verses is what is the significance of the family of Musa and the family of Harun?
The Quran has much verses about the chosen family concept.
Surely Allah chose Adam and Nuh and the family of Ibrahim and the family of Imran above the nations.
Offspring one of the other; and Allah is Hearing, Knowing. (3:33-34)
Is everyone relaed by blood part of the family of Ibrahim (as) said to be chosen above the worlds? The Quran regarding the chosen ones says: Say: Praise be to Allah and peace is upon His servants whom He has chosen: is Allah better, or what they associate (with Him)? (27:59)
In Suratal Hud we read:
And Nuh cried out to his Lord and said: My Lord! surely my son is of my family, and Thy promise is surely true, and Thou art the most just of the judges. (Quran, 11:45 )
He said: O Nuh! surely he is not of your family; surely he is (the doer of) other than good deeds, therefore ask not of Me that of which you have no knowledge; surely I admonish you lest you may be of the ignorant ( 11:46)
It is seen anyone who is other then good deeds cannot be included in the real family of Nuh (as). Ofcourse, physically, he was his son, but from the view of Nuh (as) real spiritual existence he had no inheriting qualities and was not born out of Nuh (as) spiritually. So from the view point of Nuh (as) Malakut, he is not his family, only with regards to the mulk, is he is son, and Nuh (as) is surely of the people that should be concerned with the Malakut and not the Mulk.
And We delivered him and his followers from the mighty distress.
And We made his offspring they being the ones who remain (al-Baqeen) ( 37:76-77)
The concept of Al-Baqeen is also discussed in Suratal Hud in singular, refered to as "Baqiyatallah", and it is the sign of "remainder from what the family of Musa and the family Harun have left".
That Spiritual inheriting is neccessary for to be included in the chosen family, we read:
Who should inherit me and inherit from the family of Yaqoub, and make him, my Lord, one in whom Thou art well pleased. (Quran 19:6)
And Sulaiman was Dawood's heir, and he said: O men! we have been taught the language of birds, and we have been given from all things; most surely this is the manifest grace. (27:16)
They made for him what he pleased of fortresses and images, and bowls (large) as watering-troughs and cooking-pots that will not move from their place; give thanks, O family of Dawood! and very few of My servants are grateful. (34:10-13)
We read in Suratal Hud that neither was one of the biological sons of Nuh (as) saved nor was the wife of Lut (as) saved. Yet we read the Angels (as) addressing Sarah (as):
They said: Do you wonder at Allah's bidding? The mercy of Allah and His blessings are on you, O people of the house, surely He is Praised, Glorious. (11:73)
So Sarah (as) should not wonder of such an act of God as God's blessings are upon them "The People of The House" while we read about Nuh (as) son and Lut (as) wife being damned despite being part of the normal definition of family. Surely this shows "People of THE house" are not just any from any family but "THE family" implying the chosen family. Because of her being one of the "People The House", she should not wonder such grace from God even near the end when it's against the normal rules of nature to recieve such blessing. Morever, there should be no wonder, since it's expected offspring be born from the chosen.The verse should also be remembered it was said after she was given news of Isaac (as) and that after Isaac (as), Yaqoub (as).
And certainly Our messengers came to Ibrahim with good news. They said: Peace. Peace, said he, and he made no delay in bringing a roasted calf.
But when he saw that their hands were not extended towards it, he deemed them strange and conceived fear of them. . They said: Fear not, surely we are sent to Lut's people.
And his wife was standing (by), so she laughed, then We gave her the good news of Ishaq and after Ishaq of (a son's son) Yaqoub.
She said: O wonder! shall I bear a son when I am an extremely old woman and this my husband an extremely old man? Most surely this is a strange thing.
They said: Do you wonder at Allah's bidding? (While) the mercy of Allah and His blessings are on you , O people of the house, surely He is Praised, Glorious.
So when fear had gone away from Ibrahim and good news came to him, he began to plead with Us for Lut's people. (11:69-74)
Sarah (as) thus is one of the chosen just as Mariam (as) was one of the chosen part of the family of Imran (as).
In short the chosen family consists of chosen ones related to one another both in physical and spiritual terms,
And thus will your Lord choose you (o Yusuf (Joseph) and teach you the interpretation of sayings and make His favor complete to you and to the family of Yaqoub, as He made it complete before to your fathers, Ibrahim and Ishaq; surely your Lord is Knowing, Wise. (12:6)
And from among their fathers and their descendants and their brethren, and We chose them and guided them the straight path (6:87)
God in his wisdom has chosen to guide mankind through chosen families through out history and this has been part of his mode and way and Quran displays the wisdom behind it. It is isn't a random decision but based on the knowledge and awareness and wisdom of Allah (swt).
Offspring one of the other; and Allah is Hearing, Knowing. (3:33-34)
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