Shammil

Shammil — the Prophet Samuel — led the Israelites during the critical transitional period between the era of judges and the era of kings, and it was through him that Allah responded to the people's demand for a king to lead them in battle. Ibn Kathir presents Shammil as a prophet navigating the tension between what the people wanted and what Allah ordained: the people demanded a king; Allah appointed Talut, a man they considered beneath the dignity of kingship. Shammil's role was to communicate the divine appointment clearly despite the people's initial resistance and to confirm it through the miraculous sign of the Ark of the Covenant's return. His story raises the question of how prophets serve peoples who resist even divinely ordained decisions.

As understood in the classical tradition of Ibn Kathir and the scholars of his school.