20. Is there a decree to commit suicide?

The verse 2:54 says Prophet Musa decreed that people from his community kill themselves, most of the exegesis give a direct meaning to this. 

The people belonging to the community of Prophet Musa should kill themselves as punishment for treating an idol as God is the explanation given by these exegetes.

When Prophet Musa witnessed people of his community placing an ox idol in the place of monotheistic God, he was infuriated to the extent of throwing the scripture he brought and started beating his counterpart Prophet Haroon who doubles as his sibling by holding his beard, and in anger he uttered the words ‘it’s better you die’, towards his people. This expression of anger, normally by an extremely infuriated person, cannot be taken as a genuine wish. 

Prophet Musa’s this statement should be viewed from this angle, because prophets could never have decreed to commit suicide. And the exegetes also cite the verse ‘We brought you to life after death’ as a continuation to prove his people did commit suicide. This is a misconception. 

If we pay attention to the two verses following 2:54 it could be understood that that they did not commit suicide. In 2:55 it is said since they demanded God’s appearance a deadly thunder struck them. 

In 2:56 it says, ‘We brought you to life after death’ From the three verses of the Quran, it can be observed they were killed by a thunder strike when they demanded God’s appearance, resulting in their death. Only after this the declaration ‘We brought them to life’, and not after they committed suicide.

Hence, we can conclude they did not commit suicide nor were they decreed to do so by Prophet Musa but were killed by thunder strike for demanding God’s appearance.