And His—exalted is He—statement:
“O Moses, I have chosen you above the people by My messages and by My speaking to you” (al-Aʿrāf 7:144).
That means: in that particular age, not before it—for Abraham, the Friend, was superior to him, as was shown in the story of Abraham (1)—and not after it, for Muḥammad (peace and blessings be upon him) is superior to them both. His pre-eminence became evident on the Night Journey, when he outshone all the messengers and prophets, and it is soundly reported that he said:
“I shall stand in a station to which all creatures—even Abraham—will look with longing.” (2)
And His saying, exalted is He:
“So take what I have given you and be among the grateful” (al-Aʿrāf 7:144).
Meaning: receive what I have granted you of revelation and speech, seek no addition to it, and be of those who give thanks for it.
Allah, exalted is He, also says:
“And We inscribed for him upon the Tablets an exhortation concerning everything, and a detailed explanation of all things” (al-Aʿrāf 7:145).
The Tablets were made of a precious substance, and in the Ṣaḥīḥ it is stated that Allah wrote the Torah for him (3) with His own Hand. They contained admonitions about sins and a detailed clarification of everything the people needed regarding what is lawful and unlawful.
“Hold fast to them with strength” (al-Aʿrāf 7:145)—that is, with firm resolve and a sincere, powerful intention—“and command your people to adopt the best of them,” meaning: apply them in the most excellent manner and interpret them in the finest sense.
“I will show you the abode of the defiantly disobedient” (al-Aʿrāf 7:145)—you will behold the outcome of those who rebel against My obedience, oppose My command, and deny My messengers.
“I shall turn away from My signs”
—turn them away from understanding, pondering, and grasping the meaning I intend, as their wording indicates—
“those who behave arrogantly on the earth without right. Even if they were to see every sign, they would still not believe in it” (al-Aʿrāf 7:146); that is, no matter how many wonders and miracles they witness, they refuse to submit.
“And if they see the path of guidance, they do not take it as a path,” meaning, they neither tread nor follow it;
“but if they see the path of error, they take it as a path. That is because they denied Our signs” (al-Aʿrāf 7:146)—We turned them away because of their rejection of Our signs, their heedlessness toward them, their refusal to affirm them, to reflect on their meanings, and to act in accordance with them.
“As for those who denied Our signs and the meeting of the Hereafter, their deeds have come to nothing. Are they recompensed for anything except what they used to do?” (al-Aʿrāf 7:147).