Ma`rifat Adyan

This study examines the concept of the “wish for death” (tamannā al-mawt) in Qur’an 62:6 and explains the reasons behind the Jews’ refusal to accept this Qur’anic challenge. The main question is why the Jews of Medina—despite claiming exclusive divine favor and closeness to God—refrained from wishing for death, and what rational logic underlies this behavior at both individual and collective levels. The study aims to provide an interdisciplinary rereading of the verse and clarify the underlying logic of this behavior through Mancur Olson’s collective action theory, employing an analytical–comparative approach and a mixed methodology (exegetical, historical, and theory-driven). Data were collected from library sources, Sunni and Shiʿi exegetical works, and classical lexicons, then analyzed within the framework of collective action theory. Findings indicate that the “wish for death” can be interpreted through four exegetical patterns: (1) assessing worldly attachment and sincerity of intention; (2) a divine test of genuine faith; (3) critique of claims to religious superiority; and (4) a form of quasi-mubāhala exposing unsupported claims. According to Olson, the Jews’ refusal exemplifies a “free-rider problem” and “individual rational calculation” under high collective-action costs. By raising the cost of claiming exclusive divine favor to the level of life itself, the Qur’an reveals the underlying logic of their collective behavior. Thus, the “wish for death” serves as a tool for understanding religious group behavior in relation to social-science theories.