The Holy Quran with Five Volume Commentary (Vol 2) — Page 597
PT. 9 AL-A'RĀF 145. God said, 'O Moses, I have chosen thee above the people CH. 7 Tonlé النَّاسِ بِرِسُليْ وَ بِكَلامِي فَخُذُ of thy time by My messages and by My word. So take hold of that which I have given thee and مَا أَتَيْتُكَ وَكُنْ مِّنَ الشَّكِرِينَ be of the grateful. '1034 وَكَتَبْنَالَهُ فِي الْأَلْوَاحِ مِنْ كُلِّ شَيْءٍ ,And We wrote for him. 146 upon the tablets about "6:155. when he recovered his senses, Moses cried, Holy art Thou, I turn towards Thee, and I am the first to believe. These words meant that he had realized that he did not possess the capacity for that perfect manifestation of Divine glory which was to take place through the Promised Prophet and that he was the first believer in the great spiritual eminence which that Prophet was destined to attain. This belief of Moses in the Holy Prophet has also been referred to in 46:11. Moses was The words, He broke it into pieces, should not be taken literally, for the Mount was not actually broken into pieces. The words are used figuratively to express the great severity of the earthquake. It may be also noted here that told to look at the mountain, and he was also told that he would see God if it remained in its place. The laying down of this condition shows that Moses had not asked for an impossible thing; for the laying down of a condition for an impossible thing is evidently meaningless. The words, look at the mountain, implied that he should look outside himself because the manifestations could not take place within him. The fact that Moses fell down in a swoon shows that he did witness some manifestation, though only partly and imperfectly. The manifestation that takes place in the heart is permanent and lasting, while that which takes place outside is only temporary and passing. A reference to this request of Moses to see God is to be found in Exod. 33:18. 1034. Commentary: The words of this verse were addressed to Moses by way of consolation after God had made him realize that he could not attain to that high spiritual rank to which the Great Prophet of the House of Ishmael was destined to attain. He was asked not to covet the high dignity which was reserved for "that Prophet" but to remain content with, and be grateful for, the rank that God had bestowed upon him. The words, So take hold of that which I have given thee and be of the grateful, definitely prove that it 1037