The Holy Quran with Five Volume Commentary (Vol 3) — Page 618
CH. 17 BANI ISRĀ'ĪL PT. 15 therein or believe not, those to قُلْ أَمِنُوا بِةٍ أَوْ لَا تُؤْمِنُوا إِنَّ الَّذِينَ Say, “Whether you believe. 108 أوتُوا الْعِلْمَ مِنْ قَبْلِهِ إِذَا يُتْلَى عَلَيْهِمْ whom knowledge has been يَخِرُّونَ لِلْأَذْقَانِ سُجَّدًا وَ يَقُولُونَ سُبْحَنَ رَبَّنَا إِنْ كَانَ وَعْدُ رَبَّنَا لَمَفْعُولًا given before it, "do fall down prostrate on their faces when it is recited to them, '2036 109. And say, 'Holy is our Lord. Surely, the promise of our Lord is fulfilled. '2037 bound to be "19:59; 32:16; 38:25. '18:99; 19:62; 46:17; 73:19. was best suited for the needs of the period during which it was revealed and was arranged for permanent use in the order which was also best suited for humanity's permanent needs. The subject of the Quranic verses having been revealed in one order and subsequently arranged in a different order has been dealt with at some length in General Introduction. 2036. Commentary: order in which the Quran was originally revealed. But since the temporary needs of the immediate addressees of the Quran were different from the permanent requirements of mankind in general, the order in which the Quran was later compiled in the form of a book had naturally to be different from that in which it was originally revealed. It may be noted that the present order of the chapters of the Quran and of the verses was also made in accordance with Divine command. There are traditions which clearly relate that whenever a verse or a group of verses was revealed to the Holy Prophet, he would send for one of the recorders and direct him to record the revealed verse or verses indicating to him at the same time the chapter and the particular place in it to which they belonged. This shows that whenever the Holy Prophet received a certain revelation he was also divinely informed where the revealed verse or verses were to be placed. It is indeed an outstanding miracle of the Quran that it was revealed in an order which | Lord) show that it was inevitable that The words, those to whom knowledge has been given before it, refer to Muslims who had believed in the Quran before this verse revealed. They may also refer to the "People of the Book", who have been principally addressed in this chapter. was The words, fall down prostrate on their faces, symbolize the humblest form of devotion and prayer to God and incidentally represent a Muslim showing his uttermost humility and devotion in Prayer. 2037. Commentary: Holy is our سبحان ربنا The words 1826