Tafsir of Surah Al-A'raf - Verse 145

Allah chooses Musa and gives Him the Tablets

Allah states that He spoke to Musa directly and informed him that He has chosen him above the people of his time, by His Message and by speaking to him. Here we should mention that there is no doubt that Muhammad ﷺ is the chief of all the Children of Adam, the earlier and later ones among them. This is why Allah has chosen him to be the Final and Last Prophet and Messenger, whose Law shall remain dominant and valid until the commencement of the Last Hour. Muhammad's ﷺ followers are more numerous than the followers of all Prophets and Messengers. After Muhammad ﷺ, the next in rank of honor and virtue is Ibrahim upon him be peace,, then Musa, son of `Imran, who spoke to the Most Beneficent directly. Allah commanded Musa, saying,

فَخُذْ مَآ ءاتَيْتُكَ

(So hold to that which I have given you), of My Speech and conversation with you,

وَكُنْ مِّنَ الشَّـكِرِينَ

(and be of the grateful) , for it and do not ask for what is beyond your capacity to bear. Allah stated that He has written lessons and exhortation for all things and explanations for all things on the Tablets. It was said that in the Tablets, Allah wrote advice and the details of the commandments for lawful and prohibited matters. The Tablets contained the Tawrah, that Allah described;

وَلَقَدْ ءَاتَيْنَا مُوسَى الْكِتَـبَ مِن بَعْدِ مَآ أَهْلَكْنَا الْقُرُونَ الاٍّولَى بَصَآئِرَ لِلنَّاسِ

(And indeed We gave Musa -- after We had destroyed the generations of old -- the Scripture as an enlightenment for mankind)28: 43. It was also said that Allah gave Musa the Tablets before the Tawrah, and Allah knows best. Allah said next,

فَخُذْهَا بِقُوَّةٍ

(Hold unto these with firmness), be firm on the obedience,

وَأْمُرْ قَوْمَكَ يَأْخُذُواْ بِأَحْسَنِهَا

(and enjoin your people to take the better therein.) Sufyan bin `Uyaynah said, "Abu Sa`d narrated to us from `Ikrimah from Ibn `Abbas that "Musa, peace be upon him, was commanded to adhere to the toughest of what was ordained on his people." Allah's statement,

سَأُوْرِيكُمْ دَارَ الْفَـسِقِينَ

(I shall show you the home of the rebellious), means, you will witness the recompense of those who defy My order and deviate from My obedience, the destruction, demise and utter loss they will suffer.

The last sentence is سَأُرِ‌يكُمْ دَارَ‌ الْفَاسِقِين . "I will show you the abode of the sinners". This is a kind of promise by Allah that the Israelites shall soon take over Egypt or perhaps Syria, referred to as the abode of the sinners in this verse. There are two views about the reference to the abode of the sinners. The first holds that the reference has been made to Egypt while the second takes it to refer to Syria. The difference of opinion is, in fact, based on a question whether the Israelites had returned to Egypt after the destruction of Pharaoh and his people or not. If they went back to Egypt at that time and ruled the land, as has been indicated by the verse 137 saying that Allah made the Israelites inherit the land, then, this verse definitely has referred to Syria, as the abode of the sinners. It is because, in this case, the Israelites had taken over the land of Egypt before this event of Allah's light appearing to the Mount of Sinai. In case, they did not go to Egypt after the destruction of Pharaoh, the reference may be to Egypt and Syria, both.

The phrase وَكَتَبْنَا لَهُ فِي الْأَلْوَاحِ “ And we wrote for him everything on the Tablets” makes us understand that the Torah was given to the Prophet Musa علیہ السلام inscribed or written on the Tablets. (1)

(1) Another view with regard to these tablets is that these tablets were given to him prior to the revelation of the Torah and were not the part of the Torah. This has been cited by Allama Shabbir Ahmad Usmani under his comments on this verse. He has cited it from Ibn Kathir. (Translator)

A prophet is also a man like other men. He is not a supernatural creature. His only special characteristic is that he is successful in preserving his inborn abilities intact. Therefore he is chosen by God to become the bearer of His message and may be trusted to represent Him among the people. In this sense, Moses was the best person of his community. Therefore, God chose him as His prophet, and revealed His message to him. God’s revelation provides the necessary guidance for one’s life. But these divine messages come down in the form of words, and in the present world of trial, there is always the possibility of putting a wrong or distorted construction upon these words to suit one’s own desires. But one who is serious and sincere in this matter of guidance and fears God for His chastisement or censure, will be able to draw from those words the same meaning which God wanted to convey. Thus it is only one who is desirous of finding the True Path who will receive divine inspiration from God’s words. ‘Soon I shall show you the homes of the wicked.’ That is, during your journey you will pass through the ruins of those communities that had been destroyed. They had been given God’s guidance, but they transgressed in their ways. They could not stay strong and firm in their belief, for they failed to ignore the pressures of circumstances and succumbed to their own personal desires and ambitions. So they earned God’s displeasure and were destroyed. Likewise, if the Children of Israel also disobeyed God, they would meet the same fate. God is not partial to any community in the balance of Divine justice; there is no difference between one community and another. In this world one has the opportunity to interpret God’s words according to one’s own whims and fancies and even put distorted interpretations upon them. But this is the kind of insolence which places even those who profess to be obedient on the list of disobedient persons in the eyes of God.