Tafseer of The Stories · Al-Qasas · 28:46
And you were not at the side of the mount when We called [Moses] but [were sent] as a mercy from your Lord to warn a people to whom no warner had come before you that they might be reminded.
Important: The Arabic source text is always authoritative. This translation is a study aid and has not been verified by scholars — do not use it as a basis for religious proof or for deriving rulings (ahkam). When in doubt, always consult the Arabic text and a qualified scholar.
The word of Allah, the Exalted: وَمَا كُنْتَ بِجَانِبِ الطُّورِ إِذْ نَادَيْنَا وَلَكِنْ رَحْمَةً مِنْ رَبِّكَ لِتُنْذِرَ قَوْمًا مَا أَتَاهُمْ مِنْ نَذِيرٍ مِنْ قَبْلِكَ لَعَلَّهُمْ يَتَذَكَّرُونَ (46)
Allah, the Exalted, says: And you were not, O Muḥammad, at the side of the mountain when We called out to Mūsā with the word: فَسَأَكْتُبُهَا لِلَّذِينَ يَتَّقُونَ وَيُؤْتُونَ الزَّكَاةَ وَالَّذِينَ هُمْ بِآيَاتِنَا يُؤْمِنُونَ * الَّذِينَ يَتَّبِعُونَ الرَّسُولَ النَّبِيَّ الأُمِّيَّ ... — the verse.
As ʿĪsā ibn ʿUthmān ibn ʿĪsā al-Ramlī narrated to us, he said: Yaḥyā ibn ʿĪsā narrated to us, on the authority of al-Aʿmash, on the authority of ʿAlī ibn Mudrrik, on the authority of Abū Zurʿa, concerning the word of Allah: وَمَا كُنْتَ بِجَانِبِ الطُّورِ إِذْ نَادَيْنَا — he said: "It was called out: O community of Muḥammad, I have given you before you asked Me, and I have answered you before you called upon Me."
Bishr ibn Muʿādh narrated to us, he said: Yazīd narrated to us, he said: Saʿīd narrated to us, on the authority of Qatāda, concerning his word: وَمَا كُنْتَ بِجَانِبِ الطُّورِ إِذْ نَادَيْنَا — he said: "It was called out: O community of Muḥammad, I have given you before you asked Me, and I have responded to you before you called upon Me."
Ibn Wakīʿ narrated to me, he said: Ḥarmalah ibn Qays al-Nakhaʿī narrated to us, he said: "I heard this report from Abū Zurʿa ibn ʿAmr ibn Jarīr, on the authority of Abū Hurayra: وَمَا كُنْتَ بِجَانِبِ الطُّورِ إِذْ نَادَيْنَا — he said: It was called out: O community of Muḥammad, I have given you before you asked Me, and I have responded to you before you called upon Me."
Al-Qāsim narrated to us, he said: al-Ḥusayn narrated to us, he said: al-Muʿtamir narrated to us on the authority of Sulaymān, and Sufyān on the authority of Sulaymān, and Ḥajjāj on the authority of Ḥamza al-Zayyāt, on the authority of al-Aʿmash, on the authority of ʿAlī ibn Mudrrik, on the authority of Abū Zurʿa ibn ʿAmr, on the authority of Abū Hurayra, concerning his word: وَمَا كُنْتَ بِجَانِبِ الطُّورِ إِذْ نَادَيْنَا — he said: "It was called out: O community of Muḥammad, I have given you before you asked Me, and I have responded to you before you called upon Me." This is in accordance with His word: when Mūsā said: وَاكْتُبْ لَنَا فِي هَذِهِ الدُّنْيَا حَسَنَةً وَفِي الآخِرَةِ — the verse.
He said: al-Ḥusayn narrated to us, he said: Ḥajjāj narrated to me, on the authority of Ibn Jurayj — in accordance with that.
His word: وَلَكِنْ رَحْمَةً مِنْ رَبِّكَ — Allah, the Exalted, says: You witnessed none of all that, O Muḥammad, so as to know it. But We made it known to you, and sent it down to you, and related to you all of this therein in Our Book, and We sent you with what We have sent down to you as a messenger to those of the creatures to whom We sent you — as a mercy from Us to you and to them.
As Bishr narrated to us, he said: Yazīd narrated to us, he said: Saʿīd narrated to us, on the authority of Qatāda: وَلَكِنْ رَحْمَةً مِنْ رَبِّكَ — "what We have related to you" — لِتُنْذِرَ قَوْمًا — the verse.
Al-Qāsim narrated to us, he said: al-Ḥusayn narrated to us, he said: Ḥajjāj narrated to me, on the authority of Ibn Jurayj, on the authority of Mujāhid: وَلَكِنْ رَحْمَةً مِنْ رَبِّكَ — he said: "the prophethood was the mercy of your Lord."
His word: لِتُنْذِرَ قَوْمًا مَا أَتَاهُمْ مِنْ نَذِيرٍ مِنْ قَبْلِكَ — Allah, the Exalted, says: But We sent you with this Book and this religion to warn a people to whom no warner had come before you. These are the Arabs to whom the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, was sent. Allah sent him to them as a mercy to warn them against His might because of their worship of idols and their ascribing partners to Him in the form of idol-images and rivals.
His word: لَعَلَّهُمْ يَتَذَكَّرُونَ — that is: so that they may remember the error of the unbelief (kufr) toward their Lord that they adhere to, and return to acknowledging Allah's oneness (al-waḥdāniyya) and to worshipping Him alone to the exclusion of all gods besides Him.
In accordance with what we have said about this, the exegetes spoke.
Mention of who said that:
Yūnus narrated to me, he said: Ibn Wahb informed us, he said: Ibn Zayd said concerning: وَلَكِنْ رَحْمَةً مِنْ رَبِّكَ — "what We have sent down to you of the Qurʾān." لِتُنْذِرَ قَوْمًا مَا أَتَاهُمْ مِنْ نَذِيرٍ مِنْ قَبْلِكَ .
