(154–157) “Then We gave Moses the Scripture, completing Our favor upon those who did good, as an explanation of all things and as guidance and mercy, so that they might believe in the meeting with their Lord. * And this is a blessed Book which We have sent down, so follow it and be mindful of Allah, so that you may receive mercy. * Lest you say, ‘The Scripture was sent down only to two groups before us, and we were indeed unaware of their study of it,’ * or lest you say, ‘Had the Scripture been sent down to us, we would have been better guided than they.’ Clear evidence has now come to you from your Lord, as well as guidance and mercy. Who, then, is more unjust than one who denies Allah’s signs and turns away from them? We shall requite those who turn away from Our signs with a terrible punishment because they used to turn away.”
At this point, “then” does not indicate chronological sequence, for the time of Moses, peace be upon him, preceded the Messenger Muhammad’s recitation of this Book—may Allah bless him and grant him peace. Rather, it indicates the sequence of the account. Allah thus informs us that He gave “Moses the Scripture,” namely the Torah, “completing” His blessing and perfecting His beneficence “upon those who did good” ⦗281⦘ among the nation of Moses. Allah bestowed innumerable blessings upon those among them who did good. Among those blessings, and completing them, was the sending down of the Torah to them. Allah’s blessing upon them was thereby made complete, and it became incumbent upon them to give thanks for it.
“As an explanation of all things” that they needed to have explained, including what is lawful and unlawful, commands and prohibitions, doctrines, and similar matters; “and as guidance and mercy”—that is, it guides them to good and acquaints them with evil in both fundamental and subsidiary matters. It is also “mercy” through which they attain happiness, mercy, and abundant good. “So that they,” through Our sending down the Scripture and clear proofs to them, “might believe in the meeting with their Lord.” It contains conclusive proofs of resurrection and recompense for deeds, sufficient to require them to believe in meeting their Lord and to prepare for it.
“And this”—the glorious Quran and the wise Reminder—“is a blessed Book which We have sent down.” That is, it contains abundant good and immense knowledge. All other branches of knowledge draw from it, and blessings are derived from it. There is no good to which it does not call and encourage, while mentioning the wisdom and benefits that impel people toward it; and there is no evil which it does not forbid and warn against, while mentioning the causes that deter people from committing it and its dire consequences. “So follow it” by obeying its commands and prohibitions, and base both the fundamentals and subsidiary matters of your religion upon it. “And be mindful” of Allah Most High, lest you disobey any of its commands, “so that,” if you follow it, “you may receive mercy.” The greatest means of attaining Allah’s mercy is to follow this Book in knowledge and practice.
“Lest you say, ‘The Scripture was sent down only to two groups before us, and we were indeed unaware of their study of it.’” That is, We sent this blessed Book down to you to leave you without an excuse, lest you say that the Scripture had been sent down only to two groups before you—namely, the Jews and Christians.
“And we were indeed unaware of their study of it.” That is, you might say: “You did not send down a scripture to us, and we have neither knowledge nor acquaintance with the scriptures You sent down to those two groups.” We therefore sent down to you a Book more comprehensive, lucid, and clear than any other Book ever sent down from heaven.
“Or lest you say, ‘Had the Scripture been sent down to us, we would have been better guided than they.’” That is, you might either plead that the very basis of guidance had not reached you, or plead [the lack of] its perfection and completeness. Through your Book, however, you have received both the basis of guidance and its perfection. He therefore says: “Clear evidence has now come to you from your Lord.” This is a generic expression encompassing everything that makes the truth clear, together with “guidance” away from misguidance “and mercy”—that is, happiness for you in your religious and worldly lives. This requires you to submit to its rulings and believe its reports. Whoever pays it no heed and denies it is therefore among the most unjust of all people. Thus He says: “Who, then, is more unjust than one who denies Allah’s signs and turns away from them?”—that is, turns away and holds himself aloof from them.
“We shall requite those who turn away from Our signs with a terrible punishment”—that is, a punishment that causes its recipient misery and hardship—“because they used to turn away,” turning both themselves and others away. This will be their recompense for their evil deeds, “and your Lord is never unjust to His servants.”
These verses prove that knowledge of the Quran is the noblest, most blessed, and most comprehensive form of knowledge. Through it, one receives complete guidance to the straight path, requiring neither the conjectures of the theologians, the ideas of the philosophers, nor any other knowledge of earlier or later generations.
They also show that revealed Scripture was known to have been sent down only to the two groups—[those] of the Jews and Christians. Thus, when the expression “People of the Book” is used without qualification, it refers to them. No other communities are included, neither the Magians nor anyone else.
They also describe the condition of the people of the pre-Islamic Age of Ignorance before the Quran was revealed: their profound ignorance, their lack of knowledge concerning what was possessed by the People of the Book, who had the sources of knowledge, and their neglect of the study of those scriptures.