This is the translation
of the clear and obvious Quran interpretation, written in Arabic by the interpreter
of the Quran and the Bible, Mohammed-Ali Hassan Al-Hilly, who was an inspired
interpreter, and who interpreted both its plain and ambiguous ayat (or
revelations) of the Quran.
This was in spite of that
he did not graduate at any school, even not at any primary school; but he only
knew the reading and writing of Arabic.
The ambiguous ayat (the
Mutashabihat) of the Quran are a large number of the ayat (or revelations),
which none knows their meaning except only God – be glorified; such ayat, which
are as puzzles, like the abbreviated letters at the beginning of many soora’s
(or chapters) of the Quran, in addition to many other mysterious revelations.
This translation of the
Quran interpretation is meant to explain to the English reader the meaning of
the Glorious Quran, so that no obscurity or ambiguity may remain, and will
prove that the Quran is the authentic word of God which includes wisdom,
knowledge about the next life and the events heralding Doomsday, in addition to
extensive knowledge and light of guidance to anyone whom God may guide to the
right, straight and standard way of the ‘exclusive devotion to God alone’.
I add also that I have
made it an interpretation of groups of the ayat of the Quran: each group may
speak about a particular subject; and it should be known also that the Quran
was revealed as one aya or a group of ayat concerning a particular subject.
In the translation of the
Quran interpretation, you will find the meaning of the aya in the left column,
while in the right column you will see more explanation.
The
translator
E. A. Nassir
(In
the name of God, Most Gracious, Most Merciful)
Praise be to God, Lord of
nations and worlds, the Sender of the apostles (messengers) and prophets, Who revealed
the statements and laws in the books of the apostles, salam of God be on all of
them, as also be on Mohammed the truthful and honest man, and on the righteous
servants of God and on martyrs and true believers, and those who follow them
till Judgment Day.
However, after praising
God – be glorified – I say: I asked of God to let me succeed, so He guided me
to the right standard way; and I asked of Him the reward, so He gave to me the
knowledge about the Scripture; and I asked of Him the paradise (or Heaven) and
so He taught me the interpretation of the Quran. Therefore, I praise Him for
guiding me, and I thank Him for offering all that to me.
In my book, (The
Interpretation of the Ambiguous Ayat of the Quran), I promised that I will
write a book compiling in it the interpretation of the entire Quran, which is
to be entitled (The Quran Interpretation), and I have accomplished that which I
promised, with my Lord’s help and His assistance: by inspiring to me the
interpretation of the Quran, and giving to me the explanation; and He is the
Helper Who makes everything easy. So all praise is due to Him all the time and
everywhere.
By the pen of:
Mohammed-Ali, the son of Hassan, Al-Hilly
1388 AH (1968 AD)
Which he updated before his death in 1991 AD
God revealed the Quran in
two categories: plain and ambiguous.
The plain is known to
everybody, and does not need explanation or interpretation.
While the ‘ambiguous’:
none knows its interpretation and the explanation of its meaning but only God
alone.
The indication that the
Arab did not understand the meaning of the ambiguous ayat of the Quran, is the
admonition of Hassan Al-Basri with which he admonished the Caliph Omar son of
Abdul Aziz, when he said: “Work according to the plain ayat of the Quran, and
believe in the ambiguous ayat.”
It means: Believe in the
ambiguous ayat, even though you do not know their meaning.
God in fact, revealed the
Quran in two categories, as an argument against Quraish, because they said:
“This is only the words of human and not from God”, and they said: “Had we
willed, we could have brought similar words.”
Therefore, God – be
glorified – replied to them and said that:
“If what you are truthful
by claiming that Mohammed has forged the Quran of his own accord, then bring about
one soora like the plain ayat of the Quran with its fluency and eloquence, or
solve the puzzles of the ambiguous ayat of the Quran, and understand their
implication.
But if you are not able
to do either of these two acts, then you should know that the Quran is revealed
by God’s awareness, and that it is a revealed revelation.
Therefore, I am giving
you respite for one thousand years, and three hundred and sixty six years more,
so that if you are unable to solve its puzzles, then I will send you one of my
servants to explain to you that which you do not understand about its meaning,
and to expound to you that about which you are confused.
And then you will know
for certain that the Quran is revealed by God, and that Mohammed has not forged
it, as do you claim.”
This actually is the
meaning of His saying – be glorified – in the Quran 26: 6
(So now they have not believed [and
they mocked the ambiguous ayat of the Quran], but it will come to them [in the
future] the tidings [and the interpretation] of the [ambiguous ayat] at which
they mocked.)
Moreover, if you
calculate the numerical value of this sentence according to the ‘numerical
value of letters’ in the aya as it is in Arabic, the result will be 1325, which
is my birth date according to the Persian Hijri Calendar {Iranians calculate
their Hijri dating according to the solar months, while Iraqis calculate it
according to the lunar months}
If we add to this, 41
which is the difference between the solar and lunar months, i.e. the difference
between the Iranian calendar and the Iraqi calendar, the result will be 1366,
which is the date of publishing my Arabic book (The Universe and the Quran),
then my book (Man after Death, and Retorting the Atheist); my age was at that
time 41 years.
Then I published my book
(The interpretation of the Ambiguous Ayat of the Quran), while I have now
written the book (The Quran Interpretation), [which you are now reading its
English translation.]
The Arab before the Islam
were characterized by their fluency and eloquence of language; they had poets
and orators, but in spite of their fluency, eloquence and intelligence, they
did not say something like the Quran, even though with one aya, and they were
completely unable to do that; therefore, God – be glorified – revealed His
saying in the Quran 17: 88
(Say
[Mohammed, to these associaters]: "Even if the whole man-kind and
genie-kind were to cooperate together in accordance to produce the like of this
Quran [with its fluency, eloquence, telling about the past and foretelling
about the future], they could not produce its like, even though they were
assistants of each other [for this purpose.]")
Similarly, the Arab were
used to puzzles, particularly by their poets and orators, therefore, God
revealed the Quran according to their habits, and He said: Bring about one
soora like it in fluency, or solve one of its puzzles, if you are in doubt
about it.
But they were completely
unable to do either of these two things.
Among the famous puzzles
of the Arab is the will or bequest of Muhalhil when the two slaves intended to
kill him, so he said:
{Who tells the people that Muhalhil …}
{Good for you and for your father ...}
Then when Yamama his
nephew heard his bequest, she solved the puzzles of his poetry, and she said:
{Who tells the people
that Muhalhil … has been slain in the wilderness}
{Good for you and for
your father ... the two slaves have to be killed}
So they captured the two
slaves and killed them.
Similarly, one of the
Arab recommended his killer and said to him: “I know that my death is imminent,
but if you kill me go and stand by the door of my house and call out:
{O my two daughters, your father …}
So he had two daughters,
then after killing him, he returned to the city and passed by the slain’s house
and stood by the door and called as did the slain recommend him. Therefore, the
two daughters seized and took the man to the judge, who asked them: “How do you
know that he has killed your father?”
They said: “We know this
from his words and his confession.”
The judge said: “And what
did he say?”
So they told the judge
about his words, and the judge said: “There is no proof included in his words
about his murder.”
They said:
{O my two daughters, your
father … has been killed so take the revenge on the comer}
So this is the complement
of the poetry.
Then the judge
investigated him, and he confessed about his crime, so the judge commanded that
he should be killed in retaliation of killing their father.
However, the ambiguous
ayat of the Quran bewildered the minds of scholars and astonished the thinking
of the intelligent; for that they have not understood their meaning and
implication, from the time of their revelation till the present time.
Hence, commentators and
interpreters started to suppose randomly, so they changed their meaning with
their explanation, and altered their statements with their interpretation, and
many people have been misguided awat from the truth on account of their
explanation and denied the Creator because of their interpretation.
But God – be glorified –
did not leave the Quran forever without explanation, and He promised to explain
its ayat that are ambiguous to people, and ensured to solve its puzzles and
mysterious words, so He – be glorified – said in the Quran 75: 19, which means:
(Then, [after a long period of time] We will explain it [to
people.])
In addition, He – be
glorified – said in the Quran 38: 88
(And you
[people] shall surely come to know the explanation of [the ambiguous ayat of
the Quran], after [a long period of] time.)
So praise is
due to God Who fulfilled His promise, and He explained to and guided us, and
salam to Mohammed the seal of prophets.
[Counting
according to the numerical value of letters]
The Arabic
alphabetic letters according to their numerical value [are like the English
letters and] are as follows:
A=1, B=2,
C=3, D=4, E=5, F=6, G=7, H=8, I=9
J=10, K=20,
L=30, M=40, N=50, O=60, P=70, Q=80, R=90,
S=100,
T=200, U=300, V=400, W=500, X=600, Y=700, Z=800 …etc.
This rule
and way of calculation was known to people in the past; so that when the soora
2 of the book of the Quran was revealed, and the Prophet – salam to him – read
(Alif Lam Miem), the Jews said: “How can we believe in a religion that will
last for 71 years?” That is because they calculated the numerical values of
these letters and they thought that the Islam religion will end after this
period.
Therefore,
the Prophet said: “We have other letters: (Alif Lam Ra)”
They said:
“These equal 231, so the total will be 302; so how can we believe in a religion
that will disappear after this period of time?”
The Prophet
said: “We have more letters: (Kaf Ha Ya Ayn Ssad), (Qaf), (Nuon) and (Ta Sein
Miem).”
The Jews
said: “The calculation has now become difficult to us, and we do not know for
how long your religion will last.”
The counting according to
the numerical value of the letters is of two kinds: the first is called the
apparent extrinsic letters, and the second is called the implicative intrinsic
letters.
So the first is
calculated simply as the numerical value of the letters: e.g. ABD = 1+2+4 = 7
While the second: the
implicative intrinsic letters; it is to calculate like this:
ABD = One + Two + Four
Then you come to each
word and calculate its numerical value:
One: O = 60, N = 50, E =
5; so the total of this word = 115.
Two: 200+500+60= 760
Four: 6+ 60+ 300+ 90= 456
Then you add the value of
the other words and find the total, like this
115+ 760+ 456=1313
As such the poets make
the date in their poetry and compile that in a sentence consisting of these words
to coincide with that event like a marriage of someone, the birth of a baby,
the death of a man, the publishing of a book, etc.
The interpreter mentioned
in the Arabic book some examples of such poetry, in which they state the date
so as not to forget it.
The
‘Ambiguous’ and the ‘similitude’
The ‘ambiguous’ is the
words that are mysterious to man, so that he does not know the implication
unless it is explained; like His saying – be glorified – in the Quran 21: 104,
which means:
(The day
when We will fold the [gaseous] heaven [into a blend of gases or: smoke]
as does the "sijill" fold [and
blend] the "writing-materials.")
So man does
not understand the meaning and implication of this aya, unless after explaining
it by the interpretation. And I have explained its interpretation in my book The
Universe and the Quran.
While the
similitude: it is that which simulates each other in meaning, but differ in the
words, like His saying – be glorified – in the Quran 69: 16, which means:
(And the
[gaseous layers of the] sky will split; for on that day the [sky] will be
shabby), and His saying in the Quran 84: 1 which means: (When the sky [: the
gaseous layers] shall tear apart.), and His saying in the Quran 82: 1 which
means: (When the heaven shall split open), and His saying in the Quran 78: 19
which means: (And the sky shall be torn and have many apertures); so these ayat
are similar to each other in meaning, but they differ in the words, and all of
them indicate that the gaseous heavens will tear up on Doomsday and mix with
each other to be like the smoke. Therefore, man will not understand the
implication of the ‘ambiguous’ and the ‘similitude’, and man may not understand
the aim from them unless after explanation and interpretation.
The
‘ambiguous’ ayat are too many in the Quran; among such ayat are the parables in
the Quran, like His saying – be glorified – in the Quran 6: 71, which means:
(Like one
deceived by the [human] devils in the earth, so he was perplexed);
and like His
saying – be glorified – in the Quran 2: 171, which means:
(As the
likeness of one who cries at that
which does not hear: nothing but calling and crying);
and like His
saying – be glorified – in the Quran 13: 14, which means:
(As one
[soul] who stretches out his hands to the water that it may reach his
[spiritual] mouth, but it reaches it not), and so on of the parables mentioned
in the Quran.
Moreover,
man may see some contradiction in some ayat, because he does not understand
their meaning, and therefore he thinks that they contradict each other; e.g.
His saying – be glorified – in the Quran 72: 15, which means:
("And as for
those [genies] that ascribed peers [to God], they became [the fuel
instead of the] firewood for Hell.")
While God –
be glorified – recommends His prophet to justice, in the Quran 5: 42, which
means:
(And if you
judge, judge justly between them; for God loves the just)
And He said
– be glorified – in the Quran 55: 9, which means:
(And
establish the judgment with justice, and do not be unjust by inclining
[to one of the two opponents.])
The words in
the these ayat are about alike in pronunciation, and if man contemplate these
ayat, he may see some contradiction in them, but in fact they are ayat of
similitude, and God – be glorified – promised to explain them and to expound
the true fact about their confusion.
Moreover,
man may deny some ayat, thinking they are some of a human words, because the
sentence is ambiguous to him and he cannot understand its meaning and
implication; e.g. His saying – be glorified – in the Quran 18: 77, which means:
(And they
found therein a [leaning] wall, [the neighbor of which] was intending to swoop
down [on it, to demolish it and take the treasure under it], so the
[knowledgeable one] set it up [with building and restoring the fallen bricks]);
so the one that hears it may say: how can the wall have any will, while it is
inanimate?
Most of such
ambiguous ayat, you may know their implication of some of their words, by some
other words before or after that particular word. And this way was the custom
of the poets and orators in their poetry and literature.
This way was
familiar to them, so the Quran came according to their familiarities and
habits.
Or you may
find the bringing of a late word forwards or making the first word late after
completing the sentence; and therefore, man who has not heard such sentences
may be confused.
This way was
to them part of the fluency and concise language which was common in their
poetry and parables; this way is still in common use in Mosil: they call Abbo
the one whose name is Abdullah, and they call Qaddo the one whose name is
Qadir, and Hammo the one whose name is Hamid.
[In English,
in the same manner people may call Ben the one whose name is Benjamin, or Dan
the one whose name is Daniel, etc.]
Moreover,
there is some difference in some words and naming of things in different cities
and countries, while God – be glorified – did not reveal the Quran with the
language of any particular Arabic country, but in the original Arab language.
Therefore,
the concise words were considered by them as part of the eloquence and fluency
of language; God – be glorified – revealed the Quran concise, particularly the
ambiguous ayat of the Quran. But in spite of the fluency, eloquence of language
of the Arab and in spite of their intelligence, they could not solve its
puzzles.
Among the
ayat which are ambiguous to people in meaning, is His saying – be glorified –
describing the Zaqqum tree, in the Quran 37: 64-65, which mean:
(It is a
tree growing in the bottom of Hell. Its produce is as it were the heads of
serpents.)
So they
said: This is not logical; for how can any tree grow in the fire, which burns
the dry and the wet? The Prophet – salam to him, said: “It has been revealed as
such.”
However,
this is only one among hundreds of ambiguous ayat, about which people do not
know neither the meaning nor the implication.
It has been
narrated that Abu Bakr asked the Prophet: “God’s messenger, has now your hair
grown white?”
He said:
“This is because of [thinking about and contemplating] such soora’s of the
Quran as:
Soora 81
starting with: (When the sun shall be "divided into many spheres"), soora 100
starting with: ([I swear] by [the black birds of ravens] that rushed forth [on
the Host of the Elephant], crying out [their glorification of God]!) and soora
86 starting with (I swear] by the sky [of Nineveh] and [its] "night
visitant"!)”
In another
narration, he said: “My hair has grown white because of the soora 11 of the
Quran.”
That is
because he went on thinking about and contemplating its meaning, until his hair
became white, and he did not reach to its exact interpretation.
It is also
narrated from Âyshah, wife of the Prophet, that she said: “God’s
messenger did not explain more than a little number of ayat, taught to him by
Gabriel.”
Now, when
you read this interpretation of mine, you will not see in it any ambiguity, but
you will find it as a whole clearly understood without confusion or doubt.
While if you read the interpretation of the interpreters before me, it will be
obvious to you the much ambiguity in their interpretation, and you will know
that they did not understood the true explanation of the Quran, and before me
there has been none who explained the ambiguous ayat of the Quran, as have I
explained them, but this is only out of the favor of my Lord on me, for His
favor on me is so tremendous.
Mohammed-Ali Hassan
The oath (or swearing) in the Quran
The oath in the Quran divides into two groups: in present
tense and in past tense; i.e. God - be celebrated His
praise – swears once by an event happened in the past; while other times, He
swears by an event that has not occurred yet, but which will take place later
on.
The
oath, generally, is a "threatening" one, so that:
(1) The past [oath] means:
If you do not believe, I will punish you, just as had I punished those [nations] before you [when they denied their apostles.]
This is every oath preceded by the Arabic letter æ ) ( i.e. the word ‘By’, like His saying - be
exalted - in the Quran 86: 1-3, which mean:
(1. [I swear] by the sky [of Nineveh] and [its] "night
visitant"!
2. But can you imagine what
such "night visitant" was!?
3. It was the comet with
bright light.)
The "comet with bright light "; God sent it on the
inhabitants of Nineveh, when they did not believe.
The interpretation: If you do not believe in My messenger, I will
send on you one of the comets, just as did I send – in the past – on the people
of Nineveh, when they disbelieved and denied Prophet Jonah.]
As such is every oath preceded by the Arabic letter ( æ )
i.e. the word ‘By.’
(2) The future [oath]:
While the second type is a threatening by an event of a torment which will take place later on.
A- It is every oath preceded by the Arabic word ÝóáÇ i.e.
(But no) or (But should not) or a similar translation; like His saying
-be exalted - in the Quran 81: 15-16, which mean:
(15. But I [should] not swear by [the comets] that [now]
slink [away from our sight!]
16. The moving along [:
floating in the space], the swept [before Doomsday] into their dens [inside the
earth!])
And like His saying -be exalted - in the Quran 56: 75-76, which
mean:
(75. But, no! I swear by the falling [sites] of comets [in
the future.]
76. And it is surely an
awesome oath, did you but know [that.])
This, also, is a threatening oath, which means: If you do not
believe in My messenger, I will send on you some of the future torment that I
have told you about.
B- Or the oath is preceded by the word áÇ i.e. (No), like His
saying - be exalted - in the Quran 75: 1-2, which means:
(1. No, but I [: God] swear by the Doomsday!
2. And no, but I [:
God] swear by the "censuring soul" [: the Comforter!])
This is a threatening oath and a promise by the occurrence of the
torment in the future; because Doomsday has not come yet.
C- Or the Arabic word ÅÐÇ i.e.
(when), is mentioned after the oath; like His saying - be glorified - in the
Quran 91: 1-2, which mean:
(1. [I swear for the future] by the sun and the severe heat of its
noon-time!
2. And by the moon when
it will follow the [sun!])
And like His saying -be exalted - in the Quran 92: 1-2, which
mean:
([I swear] by the night, when it shall enshroud [that
region of the earth!]
And [by] the day, when it shall clear away [the
darkness from another region of the earth!] )
And like His saying -be exalted - in the Quran 93: 1-2, which
mean:
(1. [I swear] by the night, when it shall enshroud [that
region of the earth]!
2. And [by] the day, when
it shall clear away [the darkness from another region of the earth]!)
The word ‘heavens’ is
mentioned in the Quran in three ways, each has its special and particular
meaning.
First:
The heaven (or sky) is mentioned in singular, which means the atmosphere of the
earth or the gaseous layers; e.g. His saying – be glorified – in the Quran 34:
2, which means:
([God] knows what [animal] goes inside the earth
and what [animal] comes out of it, and
what [birds] descend from the sky and what [flying animals] ascend
through it [seeking after provision.])
So (and what [flying animals] ascend through
it [seeking after provision]) indicates that the sky is the atmosphere of the
earth and not any solid material layer. If it were a hard layer, then He
might say: what [flying animals] ascend to it; but God – be exalted –
said: (and what [flying animals] ascend through it); it means: while he
is ascending, he is in the sky from the beginning of his ascension till he
reaches to where he wants.
And God – be glorified - said also in the Quran 30: 48,
which means:
(God is He Who sends the winds and they stir up [and
collect] clouds which He spreads in the sky as He pleases.)
So if there were solid layers above us, then He would say:
And spreads them under the sky as He pleases.
To explain more, I say that the space is not empty, but it
contains gaseous layers, ethereal layers and material objects.
So if the word ‘heaven’ or ‘sky’ is mentioned in singular,
it means the atmosphere of the earth i.e. the gaseous layers; like His saying –
be glorified – in the Quran 2: 144, which means:
(We have seen the turning
of your face in the heaven [: looking forward to receiving a revelation about
the Qibla]), so the ‘heaven’ here means the gaseous layers which are above the
earth.
And His saying – be
glorified – in the Quran 82: 1, which means:
(When the heaven shall split open),
He means by it the gaseous heavens which are above the earth.
As such if the word
‘heavens’ is mentioned in plural, associated with mentioning the earth, He – be
glorified – means by it the gaseous heavens or gaseous layers, on condition
that there should be another word intervening between the ‘earth’ and the
‘heavens’. E.g. His saying – be glorified – in the Quran 14: 48
(On the day [of Doom]
when the earth shall be exchanged by another earth, and the [gaseous] heavens
too [shall be exchanged by other gaseous heavens]);
so He means by the
‘heavens’ here the gaseous layers.
And God – be glorified – said
in the Quran 19: 90
(Because of [their
serious word]; the [gaseous] heavens are about to crack, the earth split
asunder [or break up to become meteorites])
The ‘heavens’, here,
means the gaseous layers because He intervened between the ‘heavens’ and the
‘earth’ by many words: (are about to crack), then He mentioned the ‘earth’.
As such is also every aya
in which the ‘heavens’ are mentioned together with mentioning the ‘earth’, on
condition that there should be another word intervening between them, it means
the gaseous layers.
Second:
The word ‘heavens’ mentioned in the Quran in plural, without mentioning the
‘earth’ with it; in this case He means by it the ethereal heavens, i.e. the
paradises which are the habitation of angels and the righteous and pious souls.
E.g. His saying – be
glorified – in the Quran 53: 26
(And how many angels are
in the [spiritual] heavens whose intercession avails naught), so He means by
the ‘heavens’ here the seven ethereals; the indication is His saying – be
glorified - (And how many angels), so He – be glorified – explained that these
‘heavens’ are those inhabited by angels.
Therefore, any aya in
which the ‘heavens’ are mentioned in plural, without mentioning the ‘earth with
them, they are the ethereal heavens, with exception of two ayat: one in soora
65: 12, which means:
(God [is He] Who had
created seven [ethereal] heavens [in the ancient time], and [He then created,
out] of the earth the equal [number of gaseous heavens); so these ‘heavens’ too
means the seven paradises or Gardens.
The second aya is His
saying – be glorified – in the Quran 17: 44, which means:
(The seven [ethereal]
heavens, and the earth [as a whole] and all those therein, do praise Him); so
this aya also, is not without mentioning the earth, but He also means by it the
seven Gardens and those who dwell in them.
Third:
the ‘heavens’ are mentioned together with mentioning the ‘earth’ and there is
the word ‘and’ joining them; e.g. His saying – be glorified – in the Quran 46:
3, which means:
(We created not the
heavens and the earth and [all moons, meteorites and meteors] that are between
them, save with the true [promise of destruction])
So the ‘heavens’ here
means the planets, because God – be glorified – mentioned them together with
the ‘earth’; i.e. the heavens that are of the same kind as the earth.
In addition, God – be
glorified – said in the Quran 42: 29
(And of His signs is the creation of
the heavens and the earth, and what He has spread abroad therein of beasts [:
creatures moving on these planets], and He is All-Able to gather them if He
wills.)
That is because beasts do
not move but only on earths.
Therefore, this is a
summary about the meaning of the word ‘heavens’.
Anyone wants more
explanation, let him read my book The Universe and the
Quran and he will find much information included in it that
will delight him.
By God’s help, I will
explain each aya in its place.
The repetition in the
stories of the Quran
The reader
of the story in the Quran notices that there is no consecutive event
succession, but the purpose from telling the story is the important.
Therefore,
some of the Quran stories are presented with complete succession of events as
in the story of Joseph – salam be to him; while others are presented in
segments, and each segment has some special display which is required of this
story in particular; which is for admonition, instruction, warning or
thrilling.
Example: His
saying – be glorified – in the Quran 73: 15-16, which mean:
(15. Surely,
We have sent to you [Mohammed as] a messenger to witness against you [on
Doomsday], even as had We sent [Moses son of Amram as] a messenger to Pharaoh.
16. But
Pharaoh rebelled against the messenger [and did not believe]; and,
consequently, We seized him with a severe consecutive [kinds of] punishment.)
So here,
Pharaoh and his folk have been cited as an example of the punishment and
chastisement for any who disbelieve the signs of God.
Moreover, it
is mentioned in the Quran 17: 101, which means:
(We did give
to Moses nine obvious miracles.
Do but ask
the Children of Israel [about that] and how [Moses] came to them, then Pharaoh
said to him: "I think you are bewitched, O Moses!")
Here, the
story is cited to indicate that the miracles which Quraish demanded are useless
with the associaters [of Quraish], as had Moses brought to Pharaoh nine
miracles, but Pharaoh did not believe in them, and he said: This is only an
obvious magic.
In fact,
they demanded of him ("We will not believe you [Mohammed] till you cause,
for us, a [water] spring to gush forth from the earth."
"Or you
have a garden of date palms and grapes, and cause rivers to flow, amidst its
[trees, after] gushing forth [of the springs] " and the rest of miracles
which they demanded of him.
Therefore,
as such have the stories in the Quran cited repeated and in piecemeal as an
indication of the words of the associaters, their refusal of the Quran, their
denial of the apostle-hood of Mohammed – salam to him, or for warning of the
punishment or thrilling for Paradise (Heaven) and the reward.
God – be
glorified – expounded in each of these sooras, part of the story of Moses and
Pharaoh, which was related to the events, happened to God’s messenger with his
people: whether they were believers or associaters.
The story of Moses in
the Quran
First: it is
noted that the Quran sites where the story of Moses were cited with his people
or with Pharaoh or others, are eleven sooras or chapters, which are: Soora 2,
5, 7, 10, 18, 20, 26, 27, 28, 40, 79.
Second: it
is noticed that the story of Moses – salam to him – in soora 2, is mentioned
within the story of the Children of Israel throughout a long history with Moses
or with others; so that a part of Moses’ story is cited during the admonishing
of God for them and reminding them how he had honored them and how they had
been stubborn and contradicting of God’s religion, and their ingratitude of
God’s bounties, and their stand against God’s prophets and their challenging
them to the extent of killing some of them.
Third: it is
noticed that the chapter or sooras in which Moses story was cited, have
displayed the story in twenty parts, which are:
1-The birth
of Moses and the act of Pharaoh of killing the newly born boys of the Children
of Israel.
2 – The fearing
of Moses’ mother about her neonate; and what God revealed to her in this
respect.
3- Pharaoh
picked Moses and the situation of Pharaoh’s wife about Moses.
4- His
mother feared and sought after him.
5- Returning
the baby Moses to his mother to give suck to him, after he refused the nurses.
6- Moses
attained adulthood, and supported the Israelite and killed the Copt, then he
fled the folk of Pharaoh when he knew about their plotting against him.
7- His going
to Midian and meeting with Reuel the old man of Midian and marrying one of his
daughters.
8 – His
return together with his family, and what he faced in his return journey.
9- He was
tasked with the apostle-hood, and his fear about meeting Pharaoh, so he
requested God to assist him with his brother Aaron to cooperate with him in
accomplishing the mission.
10- Moses
facing Pharaoh.
11- The
converting of the wizards.
12- The
exodus of Moses and the Children of Israel out of Egypt, and then Pharaoh
pursued after them.
13- The Children
of Israel demanded from Moses to make an idol for them.
14- Inviting
them to conquer the Holy Land.
15 –
Punishing them with the bewildering in the wilderness.
16- The
going of Moses to the appointment with his Lord, and leaving Aaron in his place
to rule his people.
17- The
speaking of Moses with his Lord and his return.
18 – The
wrath of Moses for that the Children of Israel worshipped the calf statue.
19- They
demanded to see God openly.
20- Moses
prayed for water to his people.
Therefore,
this is the story of Moses with the Children of Israel from its start to its
end, and as you see, it was not cited completely in one site of the Glorious
Quran, but was contained in eleven sooras or chapters, so that each soora is
specified by some of its scenes as required by the context, so [in total] it
appears as one peculiar and complete story.
So that if
you take each of such rings of this chain and compiled it with the rest, you
will find the total story of Moses’ life as a whole with the Children of Israel,
as one unified story in spite of its distribution in all these chapters, which
is superior to any creature to do anything similar to it.
Some people
think that the Quran includes some abrogated ayat. The reason for this is that
they do not know the implication of such ayat; and therefore, they say: This
aya has abrogated that aya.
Among these
was the son of Khozaima, who said that among the abrogating ayat is the aya 9:
29, which means:
(Fight
against those given the Scripture; such of them as believe not in God [alone]
nor the Last Day [: the Doomsday] … etc)
So he
abrogated with it nine ayat:
>> 2:
109, which means: (But forgive [their offensive words] and pardon [them, as
long as they do not harm or fight you]
till God brings
His "Am"r" [: the Mahdi or the Comforter.])
>> 3:
111, which means: (They [: Jews] will never do you any harm [with their acts]
but only some annoyance [with their words])
>> 3: 120, which means: (But if you
forbear [their annoyance] and ward off [their friendship], their guile will
never harm you)
>> 3:
186, which means: (But if you persevere [about that] and ward off [the
disobedience of God], then such [moral traits] are among the firm morale of
am"rs [: angels])
>> 5:
13, which means: (Yet, forgive them [their fault] and pardon [them, this
time.])
>> 7:
51, which means: (Those who took their religion as amusement and diversion …)
>> 29: 46, which means: (But [O believers,] dispute
not [concerning the religion] with the People of the Scripture unless it be in
[a way] that is better [than theirs])
>> 42: 15, which means: (We have our deeds, and you
have your deeds; there is no argument between us and you.)
So these are some of the
ayat that are abrogated according to the words of the son of Khozaima, as was
cited in the magazine (Al-Risala Al-Islamia) issue no. 114, page 42.
I [the interpreter] say
there is no ‘abrogation’ in the Quran, but all of it is validated.
The indication of this is
His saying – be glorified – in the Quran 6: 115, which means:
(Your Lord"s word [of
promising you, Mohammed and the believers with victory] has been fulfilled in
truthfulness and justice.
None can change His words;
He is the All-Hearing,
the All-Knowing.)
And in the aya 6: 34,
which means:
(There is none that can alter the
words of God)
And He – be glorified –
said in the Quran 10: 64, which means:
(For them is the good
tidings [that they will be admitted into Paradise, as is it declared by the
Quran] in the life of this World,
and [angels will give
them good tidings] in the Next Life [of their admission into Paradise.]
There can be no change in
the word of God.
Such [reward and good
tidings, indeed,] is the supreme success [in the Next Life.])
Moreover, God – be
glorified – said in the Quran 50: 29, which means:
(The sentence passed
by Me cannot be changed, and I am not in the least unjust to My servants.)
Therefore, the
‘abrogated’ are only some statements of the Torah, and the ‘abrogating’ one is
the Quran.
As in His saying – be
glorified – in the Quran 2: 106
(Such of the revelations
[of the Torah] as We may annul [in the Quran] or preserve, We will bring [in
the Quran] one better than it or one similar to it. Don"t you know that God has
the power to do all that He wills?)
The reason for revealing
this aya was that some Jews said to some Muslims: “Our Book is better than your
Book and includes more statements and laws.”
Therefore, this aya was
revealed to reassure the heart of the Prophet – salam to him.
The interpretation:
>> (Such of the
revelations [of the Torah] as We may annul [in the Quran] or preserve) as it
is,
>> (We will bring
[in the Quran] one better than it or one similar to it.)
The meaning: Whatever
statement of any aya in the Torah that We may abrogate or invalidate, We will
bring in the Quran a better statement [than that of the Torah], or keep it in
the Quran similar to the statement of the Torah without changing it for
Muslims.
>> (Don"t you know
that God has the power to do all that He wills?)
So the ‘abrogating’ one
is the Quran, it abrogated or invalidated some statements of the Torah, and the
‘abrogated’ one is the Torah.
Now, these are some
statements of the Torah that are abrogated by the Quran, which brought better
statements than them:
Some of such statements
is the isolation of the wife in the time of menstruation and seven days
afterwards, so the isolation period will be about fourteen days. The Quran
abrogated this statements and made the isolation of the woman is only for the
time of the menstruation and until she is pure, i.e. about seven days, so that
this statement is better for the Muslim woman than the previous statement.
The second statement is
the fasting of 23 hours for Jews, which the Quran abrogated making it from dawn
till night, so this statement is better than the previous one.
The third statement is
about the clothes of Jews if they are patched with blood, they will not be
clean unless the place of the blood is cut off by the cutter and is removed;
and the Quran abrogated this statement when it allowed the washing of the place
patched with blood, and such washing will be sufficient for the cleaning.
Moreover, the forbidding
of the fat of some cattle, as in His saying – be glorified – in the Quran 6:
146, which means:
(To
Jews We forbade every [animal] with undivided hoof [and chews the cud.]
And of oxen
and sheep forbade We to them the fat thereof save what [fat] the backs of both
do bear, or the rectum, or what is mixed up with bone [: it is not forbidden.])
So this
statement is also abrogated by the Quran.
And as such has the Quran
abrogated some statements of the Torah, and brought better than them in the
Quran; while the Quran has kept some other statements without abrogating them.
The statements which the
Quran has brought similar to those of the Torah are: like the retaliation, the
washing of the sexual intercourse, the washing of the dead, the forbidding of
eating the meat of the swine, the forbidding of the wine and the usury, and
others.
Concerning His saying –
be glorified – in the Quran 16: 101, which means:
(When
We substitute one revelation [of the Torah] for [another] revelation [in the
Quran] – and God knows best what He reveals [of statements proper
for every nation] – the [Jews] say [to our messenger Mohammed]: "You are
only a forger." But most of them are not acquainted [about the truth.])
The interpretation:
(When We substitute one
revelation [of the Torah] for [another] revelation [in the Quran]); it means:
If we alleviate or ameliorate, for Muslims, one of the Torah statements, and We
prescribe it [in its ameliorated form] in the Quran, the Jews say to Our
messenger Mohammed: You are a forger.