7:145 Al-A'raaf (The Heights)

وَكَتَبْنَا لَهُ فِي الألْوَاحِ مِنْ كُلِّ شَيْءٍ يحتاج إليه العباد مَوْعِظَةً ترغب النفوس في أفعال الخير، وترهبهم من أفعال الشر، وَتَفْصِيلا لِكُلِّ شَيْءٍ من الأحكام الشرعية، والعقائد والأخلاق والآداب فَخُذْهَا بِقُوَّةٍ أي: بجد واجتهاد على إقامتها، وَأْمُرْ قَوْمَكَ يَأْخُذُوا بِأَحْسَنِهَا وهي الأوامر الواجبة والمستحبة، فإنها أحسنها، وفي هذا دليل على أن أوامر اللّه - في كل شريعة - كاملة عادلة حسنة. سَأُرِيكُمْ دَارَ الْفَاسِقِينَ بعد ما أهلكهم اللّه، وأبقى ديارهم عبرة بعدهم، يعتبر بها المؤمنون الموفقون المتواضعون.

أخبر تعالى أنه كتب له في الألواح من كل شيء موعظة وتفصيلا لكل شيء قيل كانت الألواح من جوهر وأن الله تعالى كتب له فيها مواعظ وأحكاما مفصلة مبينة للحلال والحرام وكانت هذه الألواح مشتملة على التوراة التي قال الله تعالى "ولقد آتينا موسى الكتاب من بعدما أهلكنا القرون الأولى بصائر للناس" وقيل الألواح أعطيها موسى قبل التوراة فالله أعلم وعلى كل تقدير فكانت كالتعويض له عما سأل من الرؤية ومنع منها والله أعلم "وقوله فخذها بقوة" أي بعزم على الطاعة "وأمر قومك يأخذوا بأحسنها" قال سفيان بن عيينة ثنا أبو سعيد عن عكرمة عن ابن عباس قال: أمر موسى عليه السلام أن يأخذ بأشد ما أمر قومه وقوله "سأوريكم دار الفاسقين" أي سترون عاقبة من خالف أمري وخرج عن طاعتي كيف يصير إلى الهلاك والدمار والتباب قال ابن جرير: وإنما قال "سأوريكم دار الفاسقين" كما يقول القائل لمن يخاطبه سأريك غدا إلى ما يصير إليه حال من خالف أمري على وجه التهديد والوعيد لمن عصاه وخالف أمره نقل معنى ذلك عن مجاهد والحسن البصري وقيل معناه "سأريكم دار الفاسقين" أي من أهل الشام وأعطيكم إياها وقيل منازل قوم فرعون والأول أولى والله أعلم لأن هذا كان بعد انفصال موسى وقومه عن بلاد مصر وهو خطاب لبني إسرائيل قبل دخولهم التيه والله أعلم.

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.

And We inscribed for him in the Tablets that is the Tablets of the Torah — these were made from the Lote-tree of Paradise or of chrysolite or emerald and they were either seven or ten — about all things one needs in religion as an admonition and a detailing an explanation of all things li-kulli shay’in substitutes for the previous genitive construction min kulli shay’ ‘about all things’. ‘Take it then there is an implicit qulnā ‘We said’ before this fa-kudhhā ‘take it then’ firmly seriously and earnestly and enjoin your people to adhere to the fairest precepts in it. I shall show you the abode of the wicked of Pharaoh and his followers and that is Egypt that you may take an example from them.

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)

And in the tablets We wrote for him of everything an admonition, and a detailing of every- thing. “So take hold of them with strength, and command thy people to take their most beautiful. I shall show you the abode of the ungodly.” It has been mentioned in the traditions that one of the admonitions that the Exalted Lord wrote in the tablets for Moses and gave to him was this: “O Moses, if you want to be respected at the threshold of My exaltation and be specified for My nearness and proximity, act beautifully toward orphans and do not abase the poor. O Moses, I am the caresser and well-wisher of orphans, and the lovingly kind and bestower of bounty on the poor. Caress those whom I caress, and do not drive away those whom I call.” MuṣṬafā said about the poor, “The poor who remain patient will be the sitting companions of God on the Day of Resurrection.” Concerning the orphans he said, “When an orphan weeps, the Throne of the All-Merciful trembles at his weeping, so God says, 'If someone makes him approv- ing, I will make that person approving.'” “O Moses, if you want Me to brag about you among the angels, be without harm and keep stones and thorns away from the road of the submitted.” [MuṣṬafā said,] “Faith has seventy-some branches, the highest of which is 'There is no god but God,' and the least of which is removal of harm from the road.” “O Moses, if you want Me to answer your supplications, deal with people beautifully, learn knowledge, and teach others knowledge, for I have honored the knowers by giving them knowl- edge. For them I make the dust sweet, I illuminate and expand their graves, and tomorrow I will muster them among the troops of the prophets.” MuṣṬafā said, “Do you know what Gabriel said to me? He said, 'O MuḤammad, do not count as lowly a servant whom God has given knowledge, for God did not count him as lowly when He gave him knowledge. Surely God will gather the knowers in one place and say to them, 'I have deposited My knowledge with you only because of a good that I desired for you. I forgive you for what has come forth from you.