As-Sajda (The Prostration)

23. “And certainly We gave the Book (Torah) to Moses, so be not in doubt of his receiving it and We appointed it guidance for the Children of Israel.”

There should not be any doubt about the heavenly leader:

“So be not in doubt”.

However, the Torah was sent down for the guidance of the Children of Israel, not for mankind:

“…a guidance for the Children of Israel.”

This verse briefly points to the story of Moses (as) and the Children of Israel in order to console the Prophet of Islam (S) and the early Muslims, and to invite them to patience and perseverance in the face of the polytheists’ denials, rejections and hindering in the affairs.

It is also a glad tidings for the believers that at last they would overcome this group of obstinate disbelievers, as the children of Israel overcame their enemies and became leaders throughout the earth.

In view of the fact that Moses (as) is a great prophet in whom both the Jews and Christians believe, from this point of view this matter can be a motive for the People of the Book to move toward Qur’an and Islam.

At first the verse says:

“And certainly We gave the Book (Torah) to Moses, so be not in doubt of his receiving it…”

Then it continues saying:

“…and We appointed it guidance for the Children of Israel.”

Commentators have some discussions that to whom the pronoun in the Qur’anic phrase /min liqa’ihi/ returns, and there are seven probable interpretations about it.

That which seems nearer to the fact among them is that it returns to ‘Book’ (the Torah, the heavenly Book of Moses), and it is the object of the sentence and Moses is the subject of it.

Therefore, the whole sentence means:

“You should not be in doubt that Moses met the heavenly Book and he received it which had been revealed to him from the side of Allah.”

The vivid evidence for this commentary is that there are three sentences mentioned in the above holy verse.

The first and the last sentence surely speak about the Torah. Thus, it is appropriate that the middle sentence also follows the same meaning, not that it speaks about the Hereafter or the Qur’an, in this case it will be a parenthetical clause, and we know that a parenthetical clause is opposite to the apparent and it must not be mentioned unless it is needed.

The only question that remains in this commentary is the word /liqa’/ used concerning the heavenly Book, because this word has often been used in the Qur’an with the term ‘Allah’, or ‘Rabb’, or Hereafter and the like, and it refers to the Resurrection.

It is for this reason that some commentators have preferred this probability here to say that the above verse at first speaks about the descent of the Torah to Moses, and then it commands the Prophet of Islam (S) that he should not doubt in /liqa’allah/ and the subject of Resurrection, and again it returns to the subject of Torah.

But it should be admitted that, in this case, the relationship between the sentences of this verse will utterly be disturbed and it ruins the flowing of it.

It must be noted, however, that though the word /liqa’/ has not been used in the Qur’an about the receiving a heavenly Book, the words /’ilqa’/ and /talaqqi/ have repeatedly been used in this sense, as the Qur’an says:

“Has the reminder been made to light upon him (Muhammad) from among us?…”1

and in the story of Solomon and the Queen of Sheba we recite when Solomon’s letter reached her, she said:

“…Verily there has been thrown unto me a noble letter.”2

And in this very Surah, verse 6, concerning the Qur’an we recite:

“And most surely you receive the Qur’an from One All-Wise, All-knowing.”

And in Surah ’Isra’, No. 17, verse 13 we recite:

“…We shall bring out for him a book which he will find wide open.”

From the whole of what we said the preference of this commentary to other probabilities mentioned about the above verse is made clear.

But in any case, it is necessary to note this matter that the holy Prophet (S) had no doubt in these issues, but these kind of meanings are usually for emphasis upon the subject and also a lesson for others.