I. Meaning & Morphology (الصرف و
اللغة)
1. ‘مُصَدِّقًا لِمَا مَعَكُمْ’
Farāhī has pointed out
that the verb ‘صَدَّقَ’ also means ‘to make something
true’ besides its other meaning of ‘to testify to the veracity of something’.
The Qur’ān uses this word in the former meaning thus:
وَلَقَدْ صَدَّقَ عَلَيْهِمْ إِبْلِيسُ ظَنَّهُ فَاتَّبَعُوهُ
إِلَّا فَرِيقًا مِّنَ الْمُؤْمِنِينَ (٣٤:
٢٠)
And Satan indeed made true his expectations regarding
them because they follow him – except some among the believers. (34:20)
A Hamāsī poet says:
فدت نفسي وما ملكت يميني
فوارس صدقت فيهم ظنوني
(I sacrificed my life and wealth for warriors who
proved my expectations regarding them to be true.)
Farāhī goes on to explain that if the various verses in
which this expression occurs in the Qur’ān are studied, it becomes evident it is
used in the former meaning. (see for example: 2:101, 4:47, 46:30, 61:6, 89:2).
Also becomes evident from these verses is the fact that the expression ‘مَا
مَعَكُمْ’ refers not to the Torah as a whole but to the verses of the
Torah which contain predictions of the advent of the Prophet Muhammad (sws).
2. ‘اَلظَّن’
Regarding the meaning of ‘اَلظَّن’,
Ghāmidī (footnote 22) writes: ‘In the Arabic language, just as it is used for
‘doubt’ in contrast to ‘certainty’, it is also used to mean ‘having a thought of
something and its fear’. In this second meaning, it does not have the sense of
doubt associated in the first meaning.’
It is used in this second meaning in the following verse:
إِنِّي ظَنَنتُ أَنِّي مُلَاقٍ حِسَابِي (٦٩
:٢٠)
I always thought that [one day] I shall have to face my
reckoning. (69:20)
The following couplets also corroborate this meaning:
Aws Ibn Hajr says:
ألا لمعى الذى يظن بك الظن
كان قد رأى وقد سمعا
(That intelligent person who when conjectures about you
seems that he does so after observing and listening.)
Durayd Ibn Summah says:
فقلت لهم ظنوا بألفى مدجج
سراتهم في الفارسي المسرد
(I told him to be certain of [the help of] two thousand
armed riders whose chiefs would be wearing finely intertwined armour)
3. ‘اَلصَّبر’
While alluding to the meaning of ‘اَلصَّبر’,
Ghāmidī writes (note 18): ‘In the Arabic language, the word ‘صَبْر’
(perseverance) is used to firmly set one’s self on one’s view while protecting
one’s self from worry, frustration and anxiety.’
While referring to this meaning, Farāhī writes:
الصبر عند العرب ليس من التذلل في شى كما يصبر المضطهد العاجز
بل هو أصل القوة والعزم و كثر في كلام العرب استعماله بهذا المعنى
To the Arabs, ‘صَبْر’ never
referred to what is frail and feeble – something accustomed to the weak and
meek. On the contrary, it is the basis of power and determination. It is
abundantly used in this meaning in classical Arabic.
Farāhī goes on to corroborate his claim by quoting from the
Qur’ān and from various classical poets:
وَلَمَن صَبَرَ وَغَفَرَ إِنَّ ذَلِكَ لَمِنْ عَزْمِ الْأُمُورِ
(٤٣:٤٢)
And indeed if anyone shows patience and forgive, that
would truly be an exercise of courageous. (42:43)
قال حاتم الطائي
وغمرة موت ليس
فيها هوادة
يكون صدور
المشرفي جسورها
صبرنا له في
نهكها و مصابها
بأسيافنا حتى
يبوخ سعيرها
(Many are the seas of death on which are bridges of
swords. We showed perseverance with our swords against all their torments and
tortures until they cooled down.)
وقال الأصبغ
يا بن الجحاجحة المداره
والصابرين على مكاره
(O progeny of noble chiefs and of people who persevere
in facing hardships.)
وقال زهير ابي سلمي
قود الجياد وأصهار
الملوك وصبر
في مواطن لو كانوا بها سئموا
(Riding well bread horses, being sons in law of kings
and [showing] perseverance in trenches where others lose inner strength.)
All these usages of the word ‘صَبْر’
show that it is referred to as a commendable trait and not something which
reflects weakness and frailty.
4. ‘مَوْت’ in ‘مَوْتِكُمْ
ثُمَّ بَعَثْنَاكُمْ مِنْ بَعْدِ’
A figurative use of the word ‘مَوْت’
(death) is ‘unconsciousness’ and ‘sleep’. This usage is very apparent in the
Prophet’s prayer which he used to recite when he would wake up from sleep:
اَلْحَمْدُ
للهِ الَّذِیْ
أَحْـيَانَا
بَعْدَ
مَا أَمَاتَـنَا
وَ إِلَـيْـهِ
النُّشُوْرُ
(بخارى: رقم
٥٨٣٧)
All gratitude is for Allah who
gave us life after he had given death and towards Him is the return. (Bukhārī,
No: 5837)
Here, in this expression, as
pointed out by Ghāmidī (note 40), the word is used in this very sense. The verb
‘بَعَثْنَاكُمْ’ has also been used in the Qur’ān in
the meaning ‘to wake up someone from sleep’:
وَكَذَلِكَ بَعَثْنَاهُمْ لِيَتَسَاءَلُوا بَيْنَهُمْ (١٨:١٩)
And in the same way we woke
them up so that they could question one another. (18:19)
5. The word ‘ا
سُجَّدً’ in ‘وَادْخُلُوا الْبَابَ سُجَّدًا’
The word ‘ا
سُجَّدً’ is the plural of ‘سَاجِد’ and the way
it is used in this expression is conclusive evidence that the verb ‘سَجَدَ’
also means to bow one’s head. (See Ghāmidī’s note 48). After all, the Israelites
could not have entered the city while in a state of prostration.
6. The particle ‘ب’
in ‘وَإِذْ فَرَقْنَا بِكُمْ الْبَحْرَ’
Technically the ‘ب’
in Ghāmidī’s translation is that of ‘مُصَاحِبَه’. The
implied meaning is pointed out by Zamakhsharī
by the words ‘فَرَقْنَاهُ مُلْتَبِسا بِكُمْ’ (We
parted the sea taking you along).
7. ‘الْقَرْيَة’
As pointed out by Ghāmidī (note
45), in the Arabic language, the word ‘الْقَرْيَة’ is
not only used for villages, it is also used for large cities as well.
Consequently, Makkah the central city of Arabia is referred to by this name in
the Qur’ān (6:92; 42:7; 47:13). Similarly, 34:18 refers to the cities of Syria.
8. ‘آلَ’
While explaining the meaning of
this word, Ghāmidī writes: ‘It does not merely connote children; in fact, if
there exist an indication, it also connotes the children of a great personality,
his followers, his tribe and his nation.’ (note 29)
This usage is apparent in the
following section of verses as well:
وَلَقَدْ أَخَذْنَا آلَ فِرْعَونَ بِالسِّنِينَ وَنَقْصٍ مِّن
الثَّمَرَاتِ لَعَلَّهُمْ يَذَّكَّرُونَ فَإِذَا جَاءتْهُمُ الْحَسَنَةُ قَالُواْ
لَنَا هَذِهِ وَإِن تُصِبْهُمْ سَيِّئَةٌ يَطَّيَّرُواْ بِمُوسَى وَمَن مَّعَهُ
أَلا إِنَّمَا طَائِرُهُمْ عِندَ اللّهُ وَلَكِنَّ أَكْثَرَهُمْ لاَ يَعْلَمُونَ
وَقَالُواْ مَهْمَا تَأْتِنَا بِهِ مِن آيَةٍ لِّتَسْحَرَنَا بِهَا فَمَا نَحْنُ
لَكَ بِمُؤْمِنِينَ فَأَرْسَلْنَا عَلَيْهِمُ الطُّوفَانَ وَالْجَرَادَ
وَالْقُمَّلَ وَالضَّفَادِعَ وَالدَّمَ آيَاتٍ مُّفَصَّلاَتٍ فَاسْتَكْبَرُواْ
وَكَانُواْ قَوْمًا مُّجْرِمِينَ وَلَمَّا وَقَعَ عَلَيْهِمُ الرِّجْزُ قَالُواْ
يَا مُوسَى ادْعُ لَنَا رَبَّكَ بِمَا عَهِدَ عِندَكَ لَئِن كَشَفْتَ عَنَّا
الرِّجْزَ لَنُؤْمِنَنَّ لَكَ وَلَنُرْسِلَنَّ مَعَكَ بَنِي إِسْرَآئِيلَ فَلَمَّا
كَشَفْنَا عَنْهُمُ الرِّجْزَ إِلَى أَجَلٍ هُم بَالِغُوهُ إِذَا هُمْ يَنكُثُونَ
فَانتَقَمْنَا مِنْهُمْ فَأَغْرَقْنَاهُمْ فِي الْيَمِّ بِأَنَّهُمْ كَذَّبُواْ
بِآيَاتِنَا وَكَانُواْ عَنْهَا غَافِلِينَ وَأَوْرَثْنَا الْقَوْمَ الَّذِينَ
كَانُواْ يُسْتَضْعَفُونَ مَشَارِقَ الأَرْضِ وَمَغَارِبَهَا الَّتِي بَارَكْنَا
فِيهَا وَتَمَّتْ كَلِمَتُ رَبِّكَ الْحُسْنَى عَلَى بَنِي إِسْرَآئِيلَ بِمَا
صَبَرُواْ وَدَمَّرْنَا مَا كَانَ يَصْنَعُ فِرْعَوْنُ وَقَوْمُهُ وَمَا كَانُواْ
يَعْرِشُونَ (٧:
١٣٠-٧)
We afflicted Pharaoh’s people with dearth and famine so
that they might take heed. When good things came their way, they said: ‘It is
our due’, but when evil befell them they ascribed it to Moses and his people.
Yet it was God who had ordained their ills, though most of them did not know it.
They said: ‘Whatever miracles you work to enchant us, we will not believe in
you.’ So We plagued them with floods and locusts, with lice and frogs and blood:
clear miracles, yet they scorned them all, for they were a wicked nation. And
when each plague smote them, they said: ‘Moses, pray to your Lord for us: invoke
the promise He has made you. If you lift the plague from us, we will believe in
you and let the Israelites go with you.’ But when We had lifted the plague from
them and the appointed time had come, they broke their promise. So We took
vengeance on them and drowned them in the sea, for they had denied Our signs and
paid no heed to them. We gave the persecuted people dominion over the eastern
and the western lands which We had blessed. Thus was your Lord’s gracious word
fulfilled for the Israelites, because they had endured with fortitude; and We
destroyed the edifices and the towers of Pharaoh and his people. (7:130-7)
The underlined part at the end of these verses makes it
amply clear that the Pharaoh and his people are referred to by the words ‘آلَ
فِرْعَونَ’ occurring at the very beginning.
9. ‘اَلْبَارِى’
Writes Ghāmidī in note 36: ‘Although, there is a slight
difference between it and the word ‘خَالِقْ’,
generally the two are used synonymously.’
While pointing the above difference between ‘بَارِى’
and ‘خَالِقْ’, Farāhī writes:
واعلم أن البرء ليس مرادف الخلق إلا على التجوز‘ فإن الخلق
أصله: التقدير‘ كما مر. والبرء إصلاحه ‘ والتصوير إتمامه. ولذلك قال تعالى: (هو
الله الخالق البارئ المصور) ‘ كما قال: (الذي خلق فسوى).
You should know that ‘البرء’
is not of the same meaning as ‘الخلق’ except when used
in a broad sense. The real meaning of ‘الخلق’ is ‘to
design something’ and ‘البرء’ means ‘to better
something’. The word ‘التصوير’ is used to mean ‘to
perfect something’. On this very basis, the Almighty says: ‘هو
الله الخالق البارئ المصور’ just as He says ‘الذي خلق
فسوى’.
II Syntax & Declensions (النحو
و الاعراب)
1. ‘قُولُوا
حِطَّةٌ’
In the words of Ghāmidī (note 48):
‘The actual Qur’ānic words used are ‘قُولُوا حِطَّةٌ’.
The word ‘حِطَّة’ has come in place of a whole
sentence to the effect ‘مَسْئَلَتُنَا حِطَّة’. It is
from the verb ‘حَطَّ يَحُطُّ’ which means ‘to brush
away’. Here it means ‘to brush away sins’.’
Technically, this can be explained
in the words of Zamakhasharī as follows:
(حِطَّةّ) فعلة من الحط كالجلسة والركبة ‘ وهي خبر مبتدا محذوف
‘ أي مسألتنا حطة ‘ أو امرك حطة. والأصل : النصب بمعني : حط عنا ذنوبنا حطة.
2. The Accusative ‘مُفْسِدِينَ’
in ‘وَلَا تَعْثَوْا فِي الْأَرْضِ مُفْسِدِينَ’
Technically, the accusative case
of the word ‘مُفْسِدِينَ’ is because of being a ‘َالحَالُ
الْمُؤَكَّدة’.
3. The ‘وَ’
in ‘وَإِذْ آتَيْنَا مُوسَى الْكِتَابَ وَالْفُرْقَانَ’
As pointed out by Ghāmidī (note
35), this ‘وَ’ is for explication (لِلْتَفْسِيْر
). The Torah has been explicitly called the ‘الْفُرْقَانَ’
in the following verse as well:
وَلقَد آتَيْنَا مُوسَى وَهَارُونَ الْفُرْقَانَ وَضِيَاءً
وَذِكْرًا لِلْمُتَّقِينَ (٤٨:٢١)
We granted to Moses and Aaron the Criterion and a Light
and a Message for the God fearing. (21:48)
4. The ‘ال’
in ‘الْبَاب’
Regarding the connotation of the
word ‘الْبَاب’ in the expression ‘وَادْخُلُوا
الْبَابَ سُجَّدًا’, Ghāmidī, while refuting the interpretation of Islāhī,
writes: ‘The way the word ‘الْبَاب’ occurs after ‘الْقَرْيَة’,
linguistic considerations show that it refers to the door of the city and cannot
be taken to mean the ‘door of the tabernacle’.
Technically, the ‘ال’
is ‘عوض عن المضاف اليه’ (the implied expression being
‘باب القرية’) and cannot be taken to connote anything
else.
III Style & Eloquence (الاساليب و
البلاغة)
1. The Style in ‘وَلَا
تَكُونُوا أَوَّلَ كَافِرٍ بِهِ’
Writes Ghāmidī in note 9: ‘Here
the governed noun (مُضَاف اِلِيه) of the superlative
is singular and hence implies a specification (تَمْيِيز).’
Other examples of the annexed noun
in the singular which are a specification (تَمْيِيز)
can be seen in the following verses:
قُلْ إِنِّيَ أُمِرْتُ أَنْ أَكُونَ أَوَّلَ مَنْ أَسْلَمَ
وَلاَ تَكُونَنَّ مِنَ الْمُشْرِكَينَ (١٤:٦)
إِنَّ أَوَّلَ بَيْتٍ وُضِعَ لِلنَّاسِ لَلَّذِي بِبَكَّةَ
مُبَارَكًا وَهُدًى لِّلْعَالَمِينَ (٩٦:٣)
2. The Stress in ‘وَإِيَّايَ
فَارْهَبُونِ’ and ‘وَإِيَّايَ فَاتَّقُونِ’
It is pointed out by Ghāmidī (note
7): ‘…the letter ‘ف’ appended to the verb incorporates
in it an emphasis similar to the one found in the construction ‘اَمَّا’
and its apodosis (جَزَا).’
Further examples of this style of
stress and emphasis can be found in all these three initial verses of Sūrah
Muddathir:
وَرَبَّكَ فَكَبِّرْوَثِيَابَكَ فَطَهِّرْوَالرُّجْزَ فَاهْجُرْ
(٧٥:
١-٣)
The implied meaning, for example,
in the first of these being: ‘وَ امّا َرَبَّكَ فَكَبِّرْ’
A similar construction can be
seen in the following couplet of ‘Adī Ibn Zayd:
و بالعدل فانطق ان نطقت و لا تلم
و ذا ذم فاذممه و ذا الحمد فاحمد
3. Negation by Negating the Outcome
Consider the verse:
وَاتَّقُوا يَوْمًا لَا تَجْزِي نَفْسٌ عَنْ نَفْسٍ شَيْئًا
وَلَا يُقْبَلُ مِنْهَا شَفَاعَةٌ وَلَا يُؤْخَذُ مِنْهَا عَدْلٌ وَلَا هُمْ
يُنصَرُونَ (٢:٤٨)
And guard yourselves against
the day when no soul shall be of use to another in anyway and no intercession
shall be accepted and no compensation be taken from it and nor will people be
helped. (2:48)
There is a negation of three
things in this verse: intercession, compensation and help. However, this is just
the negation of the outcome: actually the negation is of the existence of
someone who can intercede, compensate or help. In other words, what is implied
is that on that day there will be no intercession, compensation and help because
there will be no person who would do these. This style is similar to what
Imru’u’l-Qays has said while describing a path in the desert by the words ‘لا
يَهتَدِي بِمَنَارِهِ’ (Its tombs cannot provide guidance [to a
traveler])’. The reason of course being that there are no tombs in a desert.
وَإني زَعِيمٌ إنْ رَجَعْتُ مُمَلَّكاً
بسَيْرٍ تَرَى مِنْهُ الفُرَانِقَ أزْوَرَا
عَلى لاحِبٍ لا يَهتَدِي بِمَنَارِهِ
إذا سافَهُ العَوْدُ النُّبَاطيُّ جَرْجَرَا
4. Use of ‘ثَمَنًا قَلِيلًا’ in ‘وَلَا
تَشْتَرُوا بِآيَاتِي ثَمَنًا قَلِيلًا’
The words ‘ثَمَنًا قَلِيلًا’
(paltry price) do not refer to the fact that verses of the Qur’ān can be sold
for a high price. These qualifying words actually point to the intensity of the
sin. To take an example from the Qur’ān, consider the following verse:
وَلَا تُكْرِهُوا فَتَيَاتِكُمْ عَلَى الْبِغَاءِ إِنْ أَرَدْنَ
تَحَصُّنًا لِتَبْتَغُوا عَرَضَ الْحَيَاةِ الدُّنْيَا وَمَنْ يُكْرِهُّنَّ فَإِنَّ
اللَّهَ مِنْ بَعْدِ إِكْرَاهِهِنَّ غَفُورٌ رَحِيمٌ (٣٣:٢٤)
Force not your slave-girls into
prostitution that you may seek pleasures of the life of the world, if they would
preserve their chastity. (24:33)
Obviously, this verse does not
mean that if the slave-girls are willing, prostitution may be allowed. It merely
points out the intensity of the sin of those who force such slave-girls to
prostitution as wish to avoid the despicable crime.
5. Change in Address
Change in address sometimes conveys the emotions of the
addresser. Consider this shift in address in the verse:
كُلُوا مِنْ طَيِّبَاتِ مَا رَزَقْنَاكُمْ وَمَا ظَلَمُونَا
وَلَكِنْ كَانُوا أَنفُسَهُمْ يَظْلِمُونَ (٢ :٥٧)
‘Eat these pure things We have provided you’ [Alas!
Those on which We bestowed this favour disregarded it] and [in this way], they
did not do injustice to Us, but they had been doing injustice to their own
souls. (2:57)
Writes Ghāmidī (note 45) regarding this shift which has
occurred in the underlined portion: ‘this sentence of the discourse has not been
uttered while addressing the Jews as was the case of the previous ones. It has
been uttered in an indirect manner while turning away from them. Such a shift
normally occurs in the Qur’ān when the addresser wants to express his disgust
for the addressees.’
Another example of a similar change which expresses the
unworthiness of the addressee by the addresser is:
أَتَى أَمْرُ اللَّهِ فَلَا
تَسْتَعْجِلُوهُ سُبْحَانَهُ وَتَعَالَى عَمَّا يُشْرِكُونَ (١٦:١)
The [Inevitable] command of God has arrived. Seek not [O
Idolaters] to hasten it: glory to Him, and far is He above having the partners
they ascribe unto Him! (61:1)
The idolaters are addressed directly to warn them that the
inevitable punishment is certain to arrive (the past tense is used in the verse
to express the certainty of the event) and then the discourse shifts to a
mention of their beliefs in the indirect narrative form as if their belief has
made them unworthy of being directly addressed.
IV. Exegesis and Explanation (الشرح و
التفسير)
1. ‘قِيام’
and ‘سَجْدَه’ connote Al-Salāh
In note 19, Ghāmidī writes: ‘At other places in the Qur’ān
also, the Salāh has been named after its constituent practices like ‘قِيام’
and ‘سَجْدَه’. Here in these verses, it has been
called after another of its constituent practice: ‘رُكُوْع’
(bowing down).’
Some verses which refer to the prayer by its constituent
practices are:
إِنَّ الَّذِينَ عِندَ رَبِّكَ لاَ يَسْتَكْبِرُونَ عَنْ
عِبَادَتِهِ وَيُسَبِّحُونَهُ وَلَهُ يَسْجُدُونَ (٢٠٦:٧)
مُّحَمَّدٌ رَّسُولُ اللَّهِ وَالَّذِينَ مَعَهُ أَشِدَّاء
عَلَى الْكُفَّارِ رُحَمَاء بَيْنَهُمْ تَرَاهُمْ رُكَّعًا سُجَّدًا يَبْتَغُونَ
فَضْلًا مِّنَ اللَّهِ وَرِضْوَانًا (٢٩:٤٨)
وَمِنَ اللَّيْلِ فَاسْجُدْ لَهُ وَسَبِّحْهُ لَيْلًا طَوِيلًا
(٢٦:٧٦)
وَالَّذِينَ يَبِيتُونَ لِرَبِّهِمْ سُجَّدًا وَقِيَامًا
(٦٤:٢٥)
V. Scriptures and Testaments (العهود
و الصحف)
The following parallel Biblical
verses can be quoted in relation to some of the major events that the Qur’ān has
alluded to in this section of verses:
‘وَأَنِّي فَضَّلْتُكُمْ عَلَى الْعَالَمِينَ’
(I exalted you above the people of the world) (2:47 )
And the LORD has declared this day that you are his
people, his treasured possession as he promised, and that you are to keep all
his commands. He has declared that he will set you in praise, fame and honor
high above all the nations he has made and that you will be a people holy to the
LORD your God, as he promised. (Deuteronomy, 26: 18-19)
For you are a people holy to the LORD your God. The LORD
your God has chosen you out of all the peoples on the face of the earth to be
his people, his treasured possession. (Deuteronomy, 7:6)
ii. ‘وَأَغْرَقْنَا آلَ فِرْعَوْنَ’
(And We drowned Pharaoh’s people) (2:50)
The Egyptians pursued them, and all Pharaoh’s horses and
chariots and horsemen followed them into the sea. During the last watch of the
night the LORD looked down from the pillar of fire and cloud at the Egyptian
army and threw it into confusion. He made the wheels of their chariots come off
so that they had difficulty driving. And the Egyptians said, ‘Let’s get away
from the Israelites! The LORD is fighting for them against Egypt.’ Then the LORD
said to Moses, ‘Stretch out your hand over the sea so that the waters may flow
back over the Egyptians and their chariots and horsemen.’ Moses stretched out
his hand over the sea, and at daybreak the sea went back to its place. The
Egyptians were fleeing toward it, and the LORD swept them into the sea. The
water flowed back and covered the chariots and horsemen-the entire army of
Pharaoh that had followed the Israelites into the sea. Not one of them survived.
(Exodus, 14:23-8)
iii. ‘ثُمَّ اتَّخَذْتُمْ الْعِجْلَ’
( You made that calf …) (2:51)
When the people saw that Moses was so long in coming
down from the mountain, they gathered around Aaron and said, ‘Come, make us gods
who will go before us. As for this fellow Moses who brought us up out of Egypt,
we don’t know what has happened to him.’ Aaron answered them, ‘Take off the gold
earrings that your wives, your sons and your daughters are wearing, and bring
them to me.’ So all the people took off their earrings and brought them to
Aaron. He took what they handed him and made it into an idol cast in the shape
of a calf, fashioning it with a tool. Then they said, ‘These are your gods, O
Israel, who brought you up out of Egypt.’ When Aaron saw this, he built an altar
in front of the calf and announced, ‘Tomorrow there will be a festival to the
LORD.’ So the next day the people rose early and sacrificed burnt offerings and
presented fellowship offerings. Afterward they sat down to eat and drink and got
up to indulge in revelry. Then the LORD said to Moses, ‘Go down, because your
people, whom you brought up out of Egypt, have become corrupt. They have been
quick to turn away from what I commanded them and have made themselves an idol
cast in the shape of a calf. They have bowed down to it and sacrificed to it and
have said, ‘These are your gods, O Israel, who brought you up out of Egypt.’
(Exodus, 32:1-8)
iv. ‘فَاقْتُلُوا أَنفُسَكُمْ’
(Slay the people …) (2:54)
Then he said to them, “This is what the LORD, the God of
Israel, says: ‘Each man strap a sword to his side. Go back and forth through the
camp from one end to the other, each killing his brother and friend and
neighbor.’ The Levites did as Moses commanded, and that day about three thousand
of the people died. (Exodus, 32:7-28)
v. ‘وَإِذْ اسْتَسْقَى مُوسَى لِقَوْمِهِ’
(And recall when Moses prayed for water for his people) (2:60)
But the people were thirsty for water there, and they
grumbled against Moses. They said, ‘Why did you bring us up out of Egypt to make
us and our children and livestock die of thirst?’ Then Moses cried out to the
LORD, ‘What am I to do with these people? They are almost ready to stone me.’
The LORD answered Moses, ‘Walk on ahead of the people. Take with you some of the
elders of Israel and take in your hand the staff with which you struck the Nile,
and go. I will stand there before you by the rock at Horeb. Strike the rock, and
water will come out of it for the people to drink.’ So Moses did this in the
sight of the elders of Israel. (Exodus, 17:3-6)
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