In the name of God, the Merciful, the Beneficent

Indeed We vouchsafed to Moses and Aaron the standard by which to distinguish right from wrong, a guiding light and a reminder for the God-conscious who fear their Lord in their most secret thoughts, and are weary of the Last Hour.

And this one, too, is a blessed reminder which We have bestowed from on high: will you, then, reject it?

We formerly bestowed on Abraham his consciousness of what is right, and We were aware of him when he said to his father and his people, ‘What are these images to which you are so devoted?’

(The Prophets: 21: 48-52)

These verses begin the third passage of the Surah, which speaks about the communities that followed God’s messengers, but it does not mention them all. Some of them are mentioned only in passing, while others are mentioned in some detail, with varying length. We see in these references how God takes care of His messengers and bestows His grace on them. We also see the fate of those who continued to accuse their messengers of being liars, even though clear proof was given to them. We also see in this passage how God tests His messengers, with delightful pleasures at times and with much affliction at others, and how they pass these tests.

Clear also in this passage is the wisdom behind sending human messengers. The oneness of the faith and the way to be followed by all messengers, at all times, is also clearly apparent. We feel that they belong to a single community, despite the fact that they lived at widely different places and in greatly different times. All this forms evidence testifying the oneness of the Maker and the will behind all events, and the consistency of the overall law that governs and unites all detailed laws that operate in the universe, directing them all to one end, serving one God worthy of worship: "I am your only Lord. So, worship Me alone."

"Indeed We vouchsafed to Moses and Aaron the standard by which to distinguish right from wrong, a guiding light and a reminder for the God-conscious who fear their Lord in their most secret thoughts, and are weary of the Last Hour. And this one, too, is a blessed reminder which We have bestowed from on high: will you, then, reject it?"

We have seen earlier in the Surah that the unbelievers in Arabia used to ridicule God’s messenger (peace be upon him) on account of his being human. They also denied God’s revelations and described them as sorcery, poetry or mere fabrication. Now the Surah shows that sending human messengers is a consistent norm. Examples of those human messengers are given. Bestowing books revealed from on high to God’s messengers is not a strange occurrence. Moses and Aaron were given a book by God. Their book is called here ‘Al-Furqan’, which is the same description of the Qur’an. Thus, the unity is seen even in the names of the revealed books, because all these books are revealed by God so as to serve as a standard distinguishing right from wrong, truth from falsehood, guidance from deviation. They also make clear the difference between ways of life. As such, each of them is a criterion for judgment. This is the quality which applies to both the Torah and the Qur’an.

The Torah is also described as a ‘guiding light’ which dispels all darkness that may engulf the human mind, leading to errant beliefs. It also dispels the darkness that leads people astray and the darkness of falsehood.

In such types of darkness both reason and conscience may find themselves at a loss. Indeed, human heart remains in darkness until the light of faith is kindled within it.

It sets it aglow, clearly setting up its approach, correcting the path it should follow, so that it will not be confused by divergent values and concepts.

The Torah is further described as ‘a reminder for the God-conscious,’ reminding them of their true Lord and ensuring that they would gain esteem and be always remembered by other people. One only needs to ask: what was the status of the Children of Israel before the revelation of the Torah? They were enduring much humiliation under Pharaoh who slaughtered their men and spared their women, and put them to hard labor and torture.

But from among the God-conscious people a certain group is singled out. These are the ones ‘who fear their Lord in their most secret thoughts.’ This is because those who feel the fear of God in their hearts when they have not seen Him; those who ‘are weary of the Last Hour’, working hard and preparing themselves for its arrival, are indeed the ones who benefit by the light and follow its guidance. To them, God’s book provides an important reminder. Hence, they always remember God, and they are often favorably mentioned by other people.

That is as far as Moses and Aaron are concerned here. A brief reference to the Qur’an follows: "And this one, too, is a blessed reminder which We have bestowed from on high." It is not a new invention. It is nothing to wonder about since reminders were frequently revealed from on high. They are rhetorically asked: ‘Will you, then, reject it?’ How can you do that, and on what basis, since earlier messages were vouchsafed to God’s messengers in the past?

Having made this very brief reference to the Prophets Moses and Aaron, as well as the book revealed to them, the Surah now provides a fully detailed episode from the life of Abraham, the first grandfather of the Arabs. It was Abraham who built the Kaaba in which they now placed their idols and worshipped them. In fact he was the one who destroyed idols worshipped by his own people. Hence, the Surah portrays a scene showing him standing up to idolatry and destroying its symbols.

The episode narrated here is that of Abraham’s message, given in a sequence of scenes that leave short gaps.

It starts with mentioning the fact that Abraham was initially given a sense of what is right, which here means God’s oneness. In fact, it is the most important aspect of guidance which is clearly understood here as the referent of the phrase, ‘what is right’: "We formerly bestowed on Abraham his consciousness of what is right, and We were aware of him when he said to his father and his people, ‘What are these images to which you are so devoted?’"

We will pick up our commentary on the story of Abraham next week, God willing.