The Holy Quran with Five Volume Commentary (Vol 4) — Page 533
PT. 20 AL-QAŞAŞ CH. 28 وَمَا كُنْتَ بِجَانِبِ الْغَرْبِي إِذْ قَضَيْنَا إِلَى And thou wast not on the. 45 مُوسَى الْأَمْرَ وَمَا كُنْتَ مِنَ الشَّهِدِينَ ) We committed the matter of western side of the Mount when prophethood to Moses, nor wast thou among the witnesses. 2907 46. But We brought forth generations after Moses, and Jjliai) ujjakykyješkog وَلكِنَّا أَنْشَأْنَا قُرُوْنًا فَتَطَاوَلَ عَلَيْهِمُ forth الْعُمُرُ وَمَا كُنْتَ ثَاوِيَّا فِي أَهْلِ مَدْيَنَ. life became prolonged for them تَتْلُوا عَلَيْهِمُ أيتِنَا ، وَلَكِنَّا كُنَّا ,among the people of Midian مُرْسِلِينَ Neither wast thou a dweller rehearsing Our Signs unto them; but it is We Who send Messengers. 2908 them right up to the threshold of His pleasure and nearness. In fact, all Divine Books possess these attributes and characteristics in a greater or lesser degree in keeping with their divine status and the scope and tenure of their message. 2907. Commentary: The verse purports to say that the prophecy of Moses about the advent of the Holy Prophet (Deut. 18:18) has been fulfilled so clearly and in such detail as if he was present in person with Moses and the latter was actually seeing him when he was making the prophecy. The verse possesses a double significance. It proves the truth of Moses himself, inasmuch as he made a prophecy about the advent of the Holy Prophet which was literally fulfilled, and it proves also the truth of the Holy Prophet, as the prophecy made by Moses about the advent of "a Prophet like unto him from among the brethren of the Israelites" was fulfilled in his person in letter and in spirit. 2908. Commentary: This verse alludes to two more significant facts: (1) Ages passed and a long line of Prophets appeared after Moses and they preached their messages, yet none of these Prophets ever claimed to be "that Prophet" about whom Moses had made the prophecy mentioned in Deut. 18:18, till the Quran was revealed and it claimed that the grand prophecy of Moses had been fulfilled in the person of the Holy Prophet of Islam (73:16). (2) The words "And thou wast not a dweller among the people of Midian, rehearsing Our signs unto them" refer to a striking resemblance of the Holy Prophet with Moses. According to the prophecy (Deut. 18:18) the Promised Prophet was to be like unto Moses, and what greater similarity there could be between these two noble Prophets than that Moses had to flee for life from Egypt, 2447