Surah al-A`raf (The Elevated Places) 7 : 145

Overview (Verse 145)

A Serious Approach to Divine Law

The sūrah then tells us how Moses was given the message and its contents: “We wrote for him on the tablets all manner of admonition, clearly spelling out everything.” (Verse 145) Reports and commentators give different accounts of these tablets. Some of them give very detailed descriptions which we imagine to have been taken from Jewish sources. Such accounts have found their way into commentaries on the Qur’ān. None of these details is authentically reported to have been given by God’s Messenger (peace be upon him). Therefore, we confine ourselves to the true Qur’ānic statement, not going an inch beyond it. Those descriptions neither add to, nor detract anything from the nature of those tablets. What were these tablets and how they were written are matters that do not concern us, since no authentic report has provided us with any details. What is important is the contents of those tablets. They included all aspects that were of the essence of the divine message, its aim of providing a true concept of God and details of His law, and the instructions needed to reform the Israelite community whose nature had been corrupted by enduring tyranny and humiliation for a long time.

“Implement them with strength and determination, and bid your people to observe what is best in them.” (Verse 145) This is a divine order to Moses (peace be upon him) to take those tablets and implement their contents with strength and determination. Moreover, he was to bid his people to fulfil their tough obligations because these were the best for them and the most certain to bring about a great transformation in their situation. The way this order is given suggests that this was the proper approach to reform the nature of the Israelites. They needed to show seriousness and determination to fulfil their obligations outlined to them in God’s message. But the order given to Moses also suggests that this is the approach to be followed by every community towards divine faith.

Faith is a matter of great importance in God’s view, and in as far as this universe is concerned and how God conducts its affairs by His will. It is also a matter of great importance in human history, man’s life on earth, and in the hereafter as well. The code of living detailed by the divine faith is based on the basic concept of God’s oneness, the only Lord in the universe, to whom all mankind are servants. It thus transforms human life in general, giving it a direction that is totally different from all courses chartered by ignorance that assign lordship in the universe to beings other than God.

What is viewed so seriously by God and enjoys such importance in the universe, human life and history must be taken seriously and cannot but have a strong effect on people. It simply cannot be trifled with or taken lightly. It is a serious matter in itself, and it demands serious action. But such seriousness cannot be tolerated by people who, by their nature, take everything very lightly. This does not mean any rigidity, complexity or extremism. None of these have anything to do with divine faith. It simply means that the approach must be serious and the implementation must be carried out with strength and determination.

The nature of the Children of Israel in particular required such a serious instruction after it had been corrupted by a long period of humiliation in Egypt. It is noted that all commandments given to the Children of Israel were coupled with added emphasis in order to train them to be serious, straightforward and determined. This applies to any community that may have suffered a long period of subjugation, humiliation and tyranny. After such a period, it is only natural that people should become devious in the way they approach all matters, because their priority has been to avoid trouble and do only that which is easy. We can see this very clearly in many contemporary communities which try to evade faith in order not to fulfil its obligations. They simply join the crowd, because being one of a crowd does not cost much.

In return for carrying out God’s orders, God promises Moses and his people to establish them in the land and to cause them to inherit the land which was then in the hands of a transgressor community: “I shall show you the abode of the transgressors.” (Verse 145)

Most probably this is a reference to the Holy Land which was at the time in the hands of a pagan community. Thus, this was happy news given to the Israelites that they were certain to take over the Holy Land. It is true that the Children of Israel did not enter the Holy Land in Moses’s lifetime, but that was because their reformation was as yet incomplete, and their nature not yet straightened. We should remember that they stood at its borders, saying to their Messenger: “Mighty people dwell in that land, and we will surely not enter it unless they depart from it. If they do depart, then we will enter.” (5: 22) When two believers who truly feared God urged them to force their way into the Holy Land, they spoke to Moses with all the rudeness only cowards can command, just like a mule that kicks its driver, saying: “We will never go in so long as they are in it. Go forth, then, you and your Lord, and fight, both of you. We shall stay here.” (5: 24) This describes their cowardly nature which cannot stand up to any serious obligation. The faith and the law given to the Prophet Moses (peace be upon him) and the divine commandment that he should take it seriously and implement it with strength and determination aimed at transforming that nature. Hence, he was also ordered to bid his people to stand up to the difficulties involved in implementing God’s law.