Al-Qasas (The Stories)

44. “And you were not on the western side of (Mount Tur) when We passed to Moses the commandment, and you were not one of the witnesses.”

Reiterating the story and adventure of Moses’ prophethood with all its qualities from the tongue of a prophet who did not present at those times, is a sign of legitimacy and inimitability of the Qur’an.

Some of the stories of the Qur’an are among the heavenly news, not taken and narrated from eyewitnesses.

Therefore, in this verse the fact is stated, saying that whatever was said about Moses and Pharaoh, with all its details, is a proof for the legitimacy of your Qur’an, because you did not attend in these scenes and did not see these events by your eyes. It was only the Grace of Allah that He sent down these verses unto you for the guidance of people.

The verse says:

“And you were not on the western side of (Mount Tur) when We passed to Moses the commandment, and you were not one of the witnesses.”

It is necessary to note this point that on his way from Madyan to Egypt, which was in the land of Sinai, Moses (as) was going just from East towards West, and, on the contrary, when the Children of Israel came from Egypt towards Syria and passed Sinai, they were coming from West to Egypt. (That is why some of the commentators believe that the sentence:

“Then they (Pharaoh’s hosts) pursued them at sunrise”,1

which is about the hosts of Pharaoh in pursuance of the Children of Israel, points to this meaning.)

Finally the author of Atyab-ul-Bayan in the following of the verse says:

“Some Islamic narrations indicate that the objective of executorship has been Yusha‘-ibn-Nun- and that every prophet that was sent his executor of testament was appointed by Him and the appointment of executor of testament is in His hand.

That is, you, O’ Messenger of Allah, too, should appoint your executor of testament. Some of these narrations denote that the purpose was ‘going’ toward Pharaoh, but it apparently means if you were there and saw the affairs of Moses and inform them to the Ummat, this would not be a miracle for them.

They would say that he has seen it and informs of it; but now that you inform them of these affairs by means of the Qur’an, this is itself a miracle that without seeing them you inform of Moses’ affairs as well as other prophets and their nations.

The Qur’an also informs of the future events because Allah (s.w.t.) has the knowledge of everything from beginning to the end of arriving in Hereafter; and this itself is a great miracle.¹