وَ لَقَدْ And verily اٰتَیْنَا We gave مُوْسَی Musa الْكِتٰبَ the Scripture مِنْۢ after [what] بَعْدِ after [what] مَاۤ after [what] اَهْلَكْنَا We had destroyed الْقُرُوْنَ the generations الْاُوْلٰی former بَصَآىِٕرَ (as) an enlightenment لِلنَّاسِ for the mankind وَ هُدًی and a guidance وَّ رَحْمَةً and mercy لَّعَلَّهُمْ that they may یَتَذَكَّرُوْنَ remember 28. Al-Qasas Page 391 وَ مَا And not كُنْتَ you were بِجَانِبِ on (the) side الْغَرْبِیِّ western اِذْ when قَضَیْنَاۤ We decreed اِلٰی to مُوْسَی Musa الْاَمْرَ the Commandment وَ مَا and not كُنْتَ you were مِنَ among الشّٰهِدِیْنَۙ the witnesses وَ لٰكِنَّاۤ But We اَنْشَاْنَا [We] produced قُرُوْنًا generations فَتَطَاوَلَ and prolonged عَلَیْهِمُ for them الْعُمُرُ ۚ the life وَ مَا And not كُنْتَ you were ثَاوِیًا a dweller فِیْۤ among اَهْلِ (the) people مَدْیَنَ (of) Madyan تَتْلُوْا reciting عَلَیْهِمْ to them اٰیٰتِنَا ۙ Our Verses وَ لٰكِنَّا but We كُنَّا [We] were مُرْسِلِیْنَ the Senders وَ مَا And not كُنْتَ you were بِجَانِبِ at (the) side الطُّوْرِ (of) the Tur اِذْ when نَادَیْنَا We called وَ لٰكِنْ But رَّحْمَةً (as) a mercy مِّنْ from رَّبِّكَ your Lord لِتُنْذِرَ so that you warn قَوْمًا a people مَّاۤ not اَتٰىهُمْ (had) come to them مِّنْ any نَّذِیْرٍ warner مِّنْ before you قَبْلِكَ before you لَعَلَّهُمْ so that they may یَتَذَكَّرُوْنَ remember وَ لَوْ لَاۤ And if not اَنْ [that] تُصِیْبَهُمْ struck them مُّصِیْبَةٌۢ a disaster بِمَا for what قَدَّمَتْ had sent forth اَیْدِیْهِمْ their hands فَیَقُوْلُوْا and they would say رَبَّنَا Our Lord! لَوْ لَاۤ Why not اَرْسَلْتَ You sent اِلَیْنَا to us رَسُوْلًا a Messenger فَنَتَّبِعَ so we (could have) followed اٰیٰتِكَ Your Verses وَ نَكُوْنَ and we (would) have been مِنَ of الْمُؤْمِنِیْنَ the believers فَلَمَّا But when جَآءَهُمُ came to them الْحَقُّ the truth مِنْ from Us عِنْدِنَا from Us قَالُوْا they said لَوْ لَاۤ Why not اُوْتِیَ he was given مِثْلَ (the) like مَاۤ (of) what اُوْتِیَ was given مُوْسٰی ؕ (to) Musa اَوَ لَمْ Did not یَكْفُرُوْا they disbelieve بِمَاۤ in what اُوْتِیَ was given مُوْسٰی (to) Musa مِنْ before قَبْلُ ۚ before قَالُوْا They said سِحْرٰنِ Two magic (works) تَظٰهَرَا ۥ۫ supporting each other وَ قَالُوْۤا And they said اِنَّا Indeed, we بِكُلٍّ in all كٰفِرُوْنَ (are) disbelievers قُلْ Say فَاْتُوْا Then bring بِكِتٰبٍ a Book مِّنْ from Allah عِنْدِ from Allah اللّٰهِ from Allah هُوَ which اَهْدٰی (is) a better guide مِنْهُمَاۤ than both of them اَتَّبِعْهُ that I may follow it اِنْ if كُنْتُمْ you are صٰدِقِیْنَ truthful فَاِنْ But if لَّمْ not یَسْتَجِیْبُوْا they respond لَكَ to you فَاعْلَمْ then know اَنَّمَا that only یَتَّبِعُوْنَ they follow اَهْوَآءَهُمْ ؕ their desires وَ مَنْ And who اَضَلُّ (is) more astray مِمَّنِ than (one) who اتَّبَعَ follows هَوٰىهُ his own desire بِغَیْرِ without هُدًی guidance مِّنَ from اللّٰهِ ؕ Allah اِنَّ Indeed اللّٰهَ Allah لَا (does) not یَهْدِی guide الْقَوْمَ the people الظّٰلِمِیْنَ۠ the wrongdoers
(28:43) After We had destroyed the earlier generations We bestowed the Book on Moses - a source of enlightenment for people and a guidance and mercy - that they may take heed.59
(28:44) (O Muhammad), you were then not on the western side60 when We bestowed this commandment (of Law), and you were not among its witnesses.61
(28:45) Thereafter We raised up many a generation and a long time passed.62 You were then not even present among the people of Midian to rehearse Our verses to them.63 But it is We Who are sending news about that.
(28:46) Nor were you on the side of the Mount (Sinai) when We called out to Moses (in the first instance). But it is out of Mercy from your Lord (that you are being informed of all this)64 so that you may warn a people to whom no warner came before you.65 Maybe they will take heed.
(28:47) (We did so) lest a calamity might seize them because of the misdeeds they committed whereafter they would say: "Our Lord, why did you not send a Messenger to us that we follow Your revelation and become among those who believe?"66
(28:48) But when the Truth reached them from Us, they said: "Why was he not given that which was given to Moses?"67 But did they not reject before what had been given to Moses?68 They said: "Both are magic,69 each supporting the other!" And they said: "We deny each of these."
(28:49) Tell them, (O Prophet): "Then do bring a Book from Allah which is a better guide than either of them, and I will follow it!70 Do so if you are truthful!"
(28:50) But if they do not hearken to this, know well that they only follow their lusts and who is in greater error than he who follows his lusts without any guidance from Allah? Allah does not guide those given to wrong-doing.
59. After previous generations had met with the evil consequences of turning away from the teachings of the Prophets and had been subjected to the tragedy that befell Pharaoh and his army, God bestowed His Book on Moses in order that humanity could embark on a new era in the light of Divine Guidance.
60. The “western side” here signifies Mount Sinai where Moses was given the Torah. Mount Sinai lies to the west of Hijaz.
61. This alludes to the 70 elders of Israel who were summoned along with Moses for the Covenant. (This is mentioned in Sarah al-A ‘raf 7:155 as well as in Exodus 24.)
62. The Prophet (peace be on him) had no direct means of obtaining this information. These events which had taken place two thousand years earlier are now being narrated in the Qur’an as though they were eyewitness accounts. There could be no other source for all this information except God’s Revelation.
63. Moses arrived in Midian and spent ten years there during which period a number of important events took place, and then he departed. Now, as we know well, the Prophet Muhammad (peace be on him) was born much later. Hence, it was out of the question for him to know firsthand what had happened. His narration of these events with such vividness was not on the basis of his personal observation. Rather, it was based entirely on the information he received through Revelation.
64. These three things are presented by way of proof of Muhammad’s Prophet hood. At the time of the revelation of these verses, the unbelievers, in general, and the leaders of Makka, in particular, were bent upon proving that Muhammad (peace be on him) was a false claimant to Prophet hood. In this vicious campaign they enjoyed the support of Jewish scholars and Christian monks who lived in various parts of Hijaz. At the same time, the fact was that the Prophet Muhammad (peace be on him) had not suddenly appeared among them as if from nowhere. He was a resident of the same city, and the Makkans knew about each and every aspect of his life.
For this reason, when these three proofs of his Prophet hood were presented with an open challenge to any detractors, no one from Makka, Hijaz or the rest of the Arabian Peninsula stood up to level the vile charge that is presently being made by Orientalists. True, the unbelievers then showed little reluctance in inventing lies and false accusations. But how could they fabricate such a stupid lie that would not even stand the test of critical scrutiny for a single day? How could they say that Muhammad (peace be on him) had obtained all his information from this or that Jewish scholar or such and such a monk when they would have been unable to identify a single person in that regard? For as soon as they mentioned anyone specifically, it would be immediately apparent to all that they were lying. Nor could they have accused Muhammad of owning a library of ancient books which he consulted and which were the source of his discourse.
They could not have said so because they would not have been able to find a single scrap of paper around the unlettered Prophet (peace be on him).
Moreover, no one could contend that the Prophet (peace be on him) had obtained the services of translators specializing in Hebrew, Aramaic and Greek works. Nor could even the most brazen liars among them have the temerity to accuse the Prophet Muhammad (peace be on him) of obtaining all his information during his journeys through Syria and Palestine. It was impossible for them to do so for the simple reason that on those journeys he was not alone; he was one among a large caravan.
Hence, if they brought such a charge against him, there would have been hundreds of first-hand witnesses — fellow travelers on those journeys —- who would have instantly refuted and dismissed their accusations as absolutely baseless.
Furthermore, we know that within two years of the Prophet’s death, Muslims were engaged in warfare against the Romans. Now, if there had been a Christian monk or a Jewish rabbi in Syria or Palestine with whom the Prophet (peace be on him) had had any interchange on the matters mentioned in these narratives, the Romans would have created a great fuss about this. They would have argued quite fiercely that Muhammad (peace be on him), who had visited their country during the earlier part of his life, had obtained information from several of their citizens. After obtaining this information, he then returned to Makka claiming to be a Prophet on the basis of the knowledge he had thus collected. At that time, the unbelievers were in dire need of refuting the challenge presented by the Qur’4n. Yet not a single person came forward with anything which proved that the Prophet (peace be on him) had drawn his information from any identifiable source other than that of Revelation.
It is also pertinent to point out that the Qur’an does not make this challenge in this verse alone; there are several other instances which contain similar statements. For instance, after narrating the story of the Prophet Zechariah (peace be on him) and Mary, the Qur’an says: (O Muhammad)! We reveal to you this account from a realm which lies beyond the reach of your perception for you were not with them when they drew lots with their pens about who should be Mary’s guardian, and you were not with them when they disputed about it (A/ ‘Imran 3:44).
After narrating the story of Joseph (peace be on him), the Qur'an says the following: (O Muhammad!) This. is some news from the unseen that We reveal to you for you were not present with them when Joseph’s brothers jointly resolved on a plot (Yusuf 12:102)?
Likewise, after narrating the story of Noah (peace be on him) in some detail, the Qur’an says: We reveal to you these accounts of matters that are beyond the reach of human perception. Neither you nor your people knew about them before this. Be, then, patient. Surely, the good end is for the God-fearing (Hud 11:49). M The fact that the Qur’an frequently returns to this theme shows that it is one of the major arguments continuing its Divine origin: that hundreds of years after these events occurred, an unlettered person was narrating them in detail. Obviously no source for that information was available to him except that of Revelation.
It will also be noted that this challenge — to identify any other source for this information other than Revelation - was one of the main reasons for Muhammad’s (peace be on him) acceptance by his contemporaries as a Prophet. They could appreciate that since there was no possible source from which the relevant information could have been drawn, the only possible explanation was Revelation.
Just imagine how important it would have been for the opponents of the Islamic Movement at that time to refute this Qur’anic contention. It stands to reason that they would have explored all possible avenues to challenge it. One can also understand that had there been any weakness in the Qur’an, it would not have been difficult for the Prophet’s contemporaries to prove it to be wrong.
65. A Prophet had not come to Arabia for about two thousand years, not since the days of Ishmael and Shu ‘ayb. During this long interregnum, the Arabs had heard about Moses, Solomon and Jesus (peace be on them), and about their Messages, delivered as they were outside Arabia, but during this time no Prophet was raised in their own land.
66. The Qur’an mentions this on several occasions as the reason behind the raising of the Prophets. It would be incorrect, however, to deduce from this that there must always be a Prophet in every land. As long as the means for the correct transmission of a Prophet’s Message are available, there is no need to raise a new Prophet. Not unless it is felt that something needs to be added to that previous Message, or that an altogether new Message needs to be delivered. There are times, however, when the teachings of the Prophets disappear altogether from the scene or become exceedingly distorted, lost in a heap of error and falsehood.
On such occasions they cease to have the potential to guide people. In such times, people may argue that since no one has explained to them the distinction between Truth and falsehood, it is not possible for them to be directed to the Right Path. It is on such occasions that God sends His Prophets to mitigate this excuse: thereafter, if anyone follows the wrong path, he will be held responsible for his wrong choice.
67. Their question was: Why was Muhammad (peace be on him) not given all the miracles which were given to Moses (peace be on him)? Like Moses, it should also have been possible for Muhammad (peace be on him) to demonstrate his staff turning into a serpent. His hand, too, like Moses’ hand should have become radiant like the sun. Those who denied him should have been struck with storms and plagues from the earth and the sky, and he too should have brought Commandments from God inscribed on stone tablets.
68. This answers those objections. People had failed to believe in Moses (peace be on him) despite the miracles given to him. What, then, was their justification for asking for more miracles? Many of those who questioned why Muhammad (peace be on him) had not been given miracles were the same people who had denied Moses or who followed a different path. In Surah Saba’, too, the Makkan unbelievers are mentioned as having said the following: “We will neither believe in this Qur’4n, nor in that which came before” (34:31).
69. That is, the Qur'an and the Torah.
70. The Prophet (peace be on him) had, in any case, to follow the True Guidance, as long as it truly constituted Revelation from God. If they had a Book of God better than the Qur’an and the Torah, then why were they hiding it? They ought to bring it out for all to see, and then the Prophet (peace be on him) would certainly follow it.