seekeroftruth
Well-Known Member
Quran 7:152. Those who idolized the calf have incurred wrath from their Lord, and humiliation in this life. We thus requite the innovators.
153. As for those who commit sins, and then repent afterwards and believe—your Lord, thereafter, is Forgiving and Merciful.
154. When the anger abated in Moses, he took up the tablets. In their transcript is guidance and mercy for those in awe of their Lord.
155. And Moses chose from his people seventy men for Our appointment. When the tremor shook them, he said, “My Lord, had You willed, You could have destroyed them before, and me too. Will you destroy us for what the fools among us have done? This is but Your test—with it You misguide whomever You will, and guide whomever You will. You are our Protector, so forgive us, and have mercy on us. You are the Best of Forgivers.”
156. “And inscribe for us goodness in this world, and in the Hereafter. We have turned to You.” He said, “My punishment—I inflict it upon whomever I will, but My mercy encompasses all things. I will specify it for those who act righteously and practice regular charity, and those who believe in Our signs.”
157. Those who follow the Messenger, the Unlettered Prophet, whom they find mentioned in the Torah and the Gospel in their possession. He directs them to righteousness, and deters them from evil, and allows for them all good things, and prohibits for them wickedness, and unloads the burdens and the shackles that are upon them. Those who believe in him, and respect him, and support him, and follow the light that came down with him—these are the successful.
158. Say, “O people, I am the Messenger of God to you all—He to whom belongs the kingdom of the heavens and the earth. There is no god but He. He gives life and causes death.” So believe in God and His Messenger, the Unlettered Prophet, who believes in God and His words. And follow him, that you may be guided.
159. Among the people of Moses is a community that guides by truth, and thereby does justice.
160. We divided them into twelve tribal communities. And We inspired Moses, when his people asked him for something to drink: “Strike the rock with your staff.” Whereupon twelve springs gushed from it. Each group recognized its drinking-place. And We shaded them with clouds, and We sent down upon them manna and quails: “Eat of the good things We have provided for you.” They did not wrong Us, but they used to wrong their own selves.
161. And it was said to them, “Settle this town, and eat therein whatever you wish, and speak modestly, and enter the gate in humility—We will forgive your sins, and will promote the righteous.”
162. But the wicked among them substituted other words for the words given to them; so We sent down upon them a plague from the sky, because of their wrongdoing.
Oh there's strife in these verses. This is from the commentary.According to Exod. 32:19 Moses “brake them beneath the mountain” in his anger, and Exod. ch. 34 describes how the tablets were renewed. The Qur’ån differs from this narrative. It does not state that the tablets were broken or renewed, but mentions their being taken up by Moses after his anger had calmed and while the writing was still on them.
Exod. 24:1 speaks of Moses having taken up seventy elders of Israel along with him, though they were forbidden to “come near the Lord”, and on this occasion Moses was in the mountain forty days and forty nights (Exod. 24:18). Although he is also spoken of in the Bible as having gone into the mountains after the incident of the calf-worship and to have remained there for forty days and forty nights (Exod. 34:28), the allusion in the Qur’ån is to the first incident. There was no occasion for a second visit according to the Holy Qur’ån.
As for the fact that the Holy Prophet was unable to read or write before revelation came to him, there can be no two opinions. On this point the Qur’ån is conclusive: “And thou didst not recite before it any book, nor didst thou transcribe one with thy right hand”. There is a difference of opinion, however, as to whether he could read or write after revelation. Without entering into the details of this controversy I may remark that, while there is ground for believing that he could read, he still had his letters written by others; see 29:48a.
As against the various prophets spoken of in this chapter, every one of whom was sent to his people (qaumi-hß), the Prophet Muƒammad is here spoken of as having been sent to all people, to the whole of mankind. Thus the appearance of the Prophet Muƒammad was a turning point in the history of humanity. The day of the national prophet was over and a new era had dawned in which the whole of humanity was ultimately to be united under one spiritual head. Six hundred years before, Jesus Christ, the last of the national prophets, said to a non-Israelite woman that he was “not sent but unto the lost sheep of the house of Israel” (Matt. 15:24); and being pressed, only added: “It is not meet to take the children’s bread, and cast it to dogs” (Matt. 15:26). In the new era, however, the idea of nationality had to give place to the broader idea of one humanity, and the basis of it was laid by the Holy Qur’ån.
OK... the Unlettered Prophet....
This is a Prophet who was not educated but he could read. There is a little controversy about his being able to write, but he could read. He used talents that generally require formal education to achieve.
I stayed with my aunt back in the early 70's. I was working at NSA and I didn't own a car. I could get a ride from my aunt's house. One bright Saturday afternoon, some neighborhood kids came to see my cousins. Among them was a little boy, couldn't have been more than three or four years old. He was just barely past the toddler stage. My uncle handed that little boy a section of the Washington Post. That little boy read it!
People in the synagogue were surprised that Jesus of Nazareth knew the Old Testament verse for verse. Jesus wasn't a rich man. Jesus had no formal education. Jesus didn't hang out in Sunday School. Jesus was a surprise to the priests in the Temple.
Apparently, Muhammed had the same talent.
Unless, on the other hand, this is just for sake of argument. How could Moses know to read what was on the Tablets? The Tablets were written by God. God wrote them in a language Moses could understand. The church, back in the day, didn't have Bibles to hand out. The Quran was written a thousand years before the printing press, so people had to rely on the Priest or the Preacher to give them the scriptures truthfully. But there were [are] a lot of priests and preachers who really didn't have a clue. They were perverting the scriptures to make money. They were stirring the gold in the cauldron and the scripture they were blurting out was only to line their pockets.
National Salvation is another topic in these verses. The commentary here seems to say that Jesus was only here to offer Salvation to Israel. Actually, I would say the commentary misquotes the Bible. Yep, the commentary took verses out of context to make this opinion make sense. Jesus helped Gentiles as well. The Jews might have laid claim to Him, after they murdered Him, but in fact, He cared for Romans and Greeks as well as Israelites in the Bible. It was the church that shut the door on people. Just like they do today. Don't believe it? Show up at church stinking and dressed like you have no money to donate.
The more I read the Quran.... the more I can see Jesus is the Son of God.... but the church skewed the message. Priests and preachers depend on the money that comes from the church. They say what they need to say to stay in their homes.... and of course... only they are the expert witnesses.
Interesting topic.... the Unlettered Prophet.
