Moses & the Injeel – A Case of Incorrect Reference in the Qur’an?

Moses & the Injeel – A Case of Incorrect Reference in the Qur’an?

Article:

In one of

his articles Mr. Jochen Katz has pointed out an inconsistency in Al-Aa`raaf

7: 157. The exact objection raised by Mr. Katz on this verse is:

Many verses in the Qur’an make clear that the Injil is given to

Jesus who was born several hundred years [about 1,400] after Moses.

But in Sura 7:155-157 is the problem that Moses prays to Allah and

in Allah’s response to Moses we read

Those who follow the Messenger, the unlettered Prophet,

whom they find mentioned in their own (Scriptures), –

in the Taurat and the Gospel – …. — Sura 7:157¹

The obvious problem is that the Gospel has not been revealed yet at that

time, and nobody was able to find anything in it a non-existing gospel.

Mr. Katz, in a

later addition to the above writing, quoted a bigger portion of the verses

and their translation. The translation quoted by Mr. Katz is as under:

… He said: “With My punishment I visit whom I will; but My mercy

extendeth to all things. That (mercy) I shall ordain for those who do

right, and practice regular charity, and those who believe in our

signs; – those who follow the messenger, the unlettered Prophet, whom

they find mentioned in their own (scriptures), – in the law and the Gospel; –

for he commands them what is just and forbids them what is evil; he allows

them as lawful what is good (and pure) and prohibits them from what is bad

(and impure); He releases them from their heavy burdens and from the yokes

that are upon them. So it those who believe in him, honor him, help him, and

follow the light which is sent down with him, – it is they who will

prosper.” (156b – 157)

Say: “O men! I am sent unto you all, as the Messenger of Allah, to

Whom belongeth the dominion of the heavens and the earth: there is no god but

He: it is He that giveth both life and death; So believe in Allah and His

Messenger, the Unlettered Prophet, who believeth in Allah and His words:

follow him that (so) ye may be guided.” (158)

At the end of these translations, Mr. Katz has written that in 156b and 157,

Allah’s response to Moses has been given in which: “Allah gives criteria

for the people whom he will be merciful with, introducing each criterion with

“those, who …” (1) do right, (2) believe, (3) follow the

messenger”. “Then”, according to Mr. Katz, “in 158 a new

discourse begins”.

I am certain that half of the confusion shall stand resolved only if the

quoted translation is replaced by the one that is more appropriate keeping in

view the the grammatical construction of the verses as well as the general

structure of the sentences that constitute the verses. Therefore it seems

imperative that before proceeding any further, we should first take a look at

the referred verses and their complete translation. The referred verse of the

Qur’an (Al-Aa`raaf 7: 157) with a part of its preceding and a succeeding

verses (156b – 158) reads as:

He [i.e. God] said: I will inflict my punishment upon whom I please, yet My

mercy encompasses all things. Thus, I will ordain it [i.e. My mercy] for those

who live within the prescribed limits, pay Zaka’h, and those who

believe in Our verses [revealed]. (156b)

[It is they] who are [now] following the messenger – the Unlettered Prophet

– whom they find mentioned in the Torah and the Gospel. He enjoins

righteousness upon them and forbids them from evil. He makes clean things

lawful to them and prohibits all that is foul. He relieves them of their

burdens and of the shackles that had weighed upon them. Thus, those who have

believed in him and have honored him and have aided him and have followed the

light sent down with him, are the ones that shall indeed triumph. Say [to them

O Prophet,]: O people! I am God’s messenger to you all. [The God] Who has

sovereignty over the kingdom of the heavens and the earth. There is no god but

Him. He ordains life and causes death. Therefore have faith in God and His

messenger, the Unlettered Prophet, who believes in God and His commandments.

Follow him so that you may be rightly guided. (157 – 158)

This, in my opinion, is the correct translation and construction of the

quoted verses. It should be obvious that according to this translation (and

construction), contrary to Mr. Katz’s understanding, Allah’s response to Moses

is given only in 156b. 157 and 158 are not a part of Allah’s response to Moses

but a timely insertion of a parenthetical clause (as is the case at a number of

instances in the Qur’an²) within the

narrative of the history of the Israelites. In this parenthetical clause, God

has reminded the people of the book of their duty at the advent of the Prophet (pbuh)

— 157 — and through the call of the Prophet has invited them to the path of

success — 158. Following are some of the main points which guide us to the

conclusion that 157 should be considered a part of the discourse which continues

in its succeeding verse rather than a continuation of 156b.

1. The Arabic words

   as should be clear for those who have a good sense of the Arabic language,

   should be accurately translated as: “He relieves them of their burdens

   and of the shackles that had weighed upon them“, or in the words

   preferred (by Yusuf Ali, quoted) by Mr. Katz as: “He releases them from

   their heavy burdens and from the yokes that were upon them“,

   rather than Yusuf Ali’s translation, which is quoted by Mr. Katz: “He

   releases them from their heavy burdens and from the yokes that are upon

   them“. The underlined part of the sentences should be translated in

   the past rather than the present tense. The past tense (although even the

   present tense) of these words is a clear evidence that the words are not a

   part of God’s speech to Moses (pbuh) but a part of the discourse that

   continues in the succeeding verse.

2. The portion of 157 quite correctly translated by Yusuf Ali (and quoted by

   Mr. Katz) as: “… he commands them what is just and forbids

   them what is evil; he allows them as lawful what is good (and pure)

   and prohibits them from what is bad (and impure); He releases

   them from their heavy burdens and from the yokes…”³

   is a clear evidence of the fact that the words are not spoken to Moses by

   God, but are a part of the discourse which continues in the succeeding

   verse. Obviously, if these words were a part of God’s speech to Moses, they

   should have been in the future rather than the present tense.

3. The last part of 157 also should literally be translated in the past

   tense. The translation of this part should be: “Thus, those who have believed

   in him (i.e. the unlettered Prophet) and have honored him and have aided

   him and have followed the light sent down with him, are the ones that

   shall indeed triumph”. Once again, it is obvious that these words are a

   part of the parenthetical clause in the narrative of the history of the

   Israelites rather than a part of God’s speech to Moses.

In view of the above mentioned linguistic bases, it is quite clear that 157

is a part of the discourse that continues in the succeeding verse, rather than a

part of the God’s speech to Moses which has been reported in the previous verse.

In the later

addition to his article Mr. Katz has briefly considered an explanation that

is close to the one given above. Mr. Katz writes:

… I heard from one Muslim, responding to the problem by claiming: Since

the verses 157 & 158 both contain the word “ummi” (unlettered)

and the present tense in the word “follow”, this shows that 7:157 is

really directed to Muhammad just like verse 158. But this obviously tortures

the structure of the text beyond reasonableness on grammatical grounds as well

as destroying the very argument 157 tries to present namely that the earlier

prophet Moses already knew about this unlettered prophet to come.

In my response above I have given the grammatical basis of interpreting 157

as part of the discourse that continues in 158. I have also explained how an

interpretation which considers 157 a part of God’s speech to Moses (pbuh)

‘obviously tortures the structure of the text beyond reasonableness on

grammatical grounds’. However, Mr. Katz believes that on the contrary,

interpreting 157 as a part of the discourse that follows in 158 would ‘obviously

tortures the structure of the text beyond reasonableness on grammatical

grounds’. I would, therefore, request Mr. Katz to kindly point out the ‘torture’

that the structure of the text is subjected to if 157 is considered a part of

the discourse that continues in 158.

Mr. Katz has also pointed out that my interpretation also refutes “the

very argument 157 tries to present namely that the earlier prophet Moses already

knew about this unlettered prophet to come”. This is quite a strange line

of reasoning. It is obvious that whether the verse is (incorrectly) taken to be

a part of God’s speech to Moses (pbuh) or that of the discourse that continues

in the succeeding verse, in both the cases, the implication that the advent of

Unlettered Prophet was mentioned in the Torah and the Gospel remains unaltered.

Mr. Katz further writes:

There are prophecies about future prophets, particularly about “the

prophet like Moses”, but the Qur’an gives one and only one distinctive

characteristic by which we may recognize which prophecy is meant and this

characteristic is that the prophet is referred to as unlettered. But that is a

false statement since nowhere in the Torah or the Gospel is a (future or any)

prophet called “unlettered”.

I really do not think that this point has anything to do with any internal

contradiction or any logical inconsistency within the Qur’an. Therefore, it

seems more reasonable that this point be taken up while replying to the external

contradictions pointed out by Mr. Katz. 

© Copyright February 2000. All Rights Reserved with the Author

1- Although the quoted translation of the referred

verse is not incorrect, yet all those who know the Arabic language would readily

accept that the related part can be translated a little differently as well. In

my opinion, the correct literal translation of the quoted part of the verse is:

Those who are following the messenger – the Unlettered Prophet –

whom they find mentioned in the Torah and the Gospel.

2- This is especially the case where the Qur’an

has given accounts of past incidents. Such incidents are generally not narrated

by the Qur’an merely to inform its addressees of these incidents. On the

contrary, incidents from the past have generally been narrated by the Qur’an for

the specific purpose of establishing a point (which can be determined from the

context of these narratives). Thus, during the course of these narratives, the

Qur’an, in a parenthetical clause, would generally add a comment, which would

not only specify the relationship of the narrative with the point that the

Qur’an wants to establish but would also make the narrative of the historical

incident more concordant with the conditions of the present. This is precisely

the case in the verses under consideration. When the narrative of the history of

the Israelites reached the stage where Moses (pbuh) prayed for their forgiveness

and in return, God informed Moses (pbuh) of those who shall deserve His mercy

and forgiveness — i.e. those who abide by the prescribed limits [i.e. Taqwa]

pay Zaka’h and believe in the verses revealed by God — the narration is

made coherent with the present through a parenthetical clause, which explains

that after the advent of the Prophet (pbuh), only those who have believed in the

Prophet (pbuh) can safely consider themselves deserving of the mercy and the

forgiveness which was promised to Moses (pbuh) in return of his prayer. Thus,

‘those who have believed in him [i.e. the Prophet (pbuh)] and have honored him

and have aided him and have followed the light sent down with him, are the ones

that shall indeed triumph’ according to the promise made to Moses (pbuh).

Then in verse 158, as a continuation of this parenthetical clause, the

Prophet (pbuh) is directed to call the people to believe in him and thereby to

make themselves deserving of being rightly guided and thus the promised mercy of

their Creator.

3- Note the present tense in which all the

attributes of the Prophet (pbuh) are being mentioned. Had this been a part of

God’s speech to Moses, all these attributes of the Prophet (pbuh) should have

been referred to in the future rather than the present tense. It should also be

observed that although the present and the future tenses in the Arabic language

are written in the same way, yet the construction of the complete sentence is

such that these attributes cannot be translated in the future tense.