Tafseer of The Dunes · Al-Ahqaf · 46:12
And before it was the scripture of Moses to lead and as a mercy. And this is a confirming Book in an Arabic tongue to warn those who have wronged and as good tidings to the doers of good.
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 explanation of the statement of the Exalted: وَمِن قَبْلِهِ كِتَابُ مُوسَىٰ إِمَامًا وَرَحْمَةً ۚ وَهَٰذَا كِتَابٌ مُّصَدِّقٌ لِّسَانًا عَرَبِيًّا لِّيُنذِرَ الَّذِينَ ظَلَمُوا وَبُشْرَىٰ لِلْمُحْسِنِينَ (46:12)
The Exalted, whose praise is exalted, says: and before this Book was the Book of Mūsā, namely the Torah, as a guide for the Banū Isrāʾīl by which they were directed, and as a mercy for them did We send it down upon them. The sentence is formulated as a report about the Book without the report being fully stated, because the sense of the sentence already indicates the completion; the full sense is: and before him was the Book of Mūsā as a guide and a mercy, which We sent down upon him, and this is a Book which We have sent down in an Arabic tongue.
There has been disagreement concerning the explanation of this, and concerning what grammatically governs the accusative لِّسَانًا عَرَبِيًّا (lisānan ʿarabiyyan), the linguists have held differing opinions. Some grammarians of Basra said: "tongue" and "Arabic" are in the accusative because they are a description of the Book, and it is thus in the accusative as a circumstantial qualifier (ḥāl), or on account of an implied verb, as though He said: I mean: an Arabic tongue. He said: and some of them said that it takes the accusative on account of "confirming" (muṣaddiq), making the Book the confirmer of the tongue. According to the view of the one who takes "tongue" as the accusative of circumstance and makes it a description of the Book, the explanation of the sentence ought to be: and this is a Book in an Arabic tongue confirming the Torah, the Book of Mūsā, namely that Muḥammad is the Messenger of Allah, and that what he has brought from Allah is true.
As for the second view which we have related from some of them — that he makes "confirming" the governor of the accusative of "tongue" — that is a statement without meaning, for if one explains it thus, it leads to the conclusion that the thing which the Qurʾān confirms is the Qurʾān itself; and there is no sense in saying: and this is a Book that confirms itself, because the Arabic tongue is this very Book — unless one takes the Arabic tongue to mean Muḥammad, peace and blessings be upon him, and directs its explanation to: and this is a Book, namely the Qurʾān, that confirms Muḥammad, and he is the Arabic tongue; then that would be a possible explanation.
And some grammarians of Kufa said: His statement لِّسَانًا عَرَبِيًّا is a qualification of the Book, and it stands in the accusative only because what is meant is: and this is a Book that confirms the Torah and the Gospel in an Arabic tongue, so that "in an Arabic tongue" proceeds from "confirms," because that is a verb, as you say: I passed by a man doing good standing, and: I passed by a standing man doing good. He said: and if one were to put "an Arabic tongue" in the nominative, that would be permissible as a qualification of the Book.
It has been mentioned that in the reading of Ibn Masʿūd it runs: "and this is a Book confirming that which preceded it, in an Arabic tongue"; according to this reading the accusative in His statement لِّسَانًا عَرَبِيًّا may be directed in two ways: one as I have explained, namely that "tongue" proceeds from His statement "confirming" (muṣaddiq); and the other: that it is a severance (qaṭʿ) from the pronoun in "before it" (bayna yadayhi).
And the correct of what may be said about this is, in my view, that it stands in the accusative as a circumstantial qualifier of the pronoun contained in "confirming" which refers to the Book, for His statement "confirming" is a verb. The explanation of the sentence is, if that is so: and this Qurʾān confirms the Book of Mūsā, namely that Muḥammad is a sent prophet, in an Arabic tongue.
And His statement لِّيُنذِرَ الَّذِينَ ظَلَمُوا — He says: so that this Book which We have sent down to Muḥammad, peace and blessings be upon him, may warn those who have wronged themselves through their disbelief in Allah and through their worshipping something other than Him.
And His statement وَبُشْرَىٰ لِلْمُحْسِنِينَ — He says: and it is glad tidings for those who obeyed Allah and thus did good in their faith (īmān) and their obedience to Him in this worldly life, so that the reward of Allah for them in the Hereafter is good for their obedience to Him. In His statement وَبُشْرَىٰ (wa-bushrā) there are two inflectional possibilities: the nominative, as a conjunction with "the Book," in the meaning: and this is a confirming Book and glad tidings for those who do good; and the accusative, in the meaning: to warn those who do wrong and to bring glad tidings; when one then puts in place of "to bring" "and glad tidings" (bushrā) or "and a good message" (bishāra), it stands in the accusative, as you say: I came to you to visit you and out of honoring you, and to fulfill your right — in the meaning: to visit you and to honor you and to fulfill your right — where you put "honoring" and "fulfillment" in the accusative on account of an implied verb.
The reciters differed in the reading of لِّيُنذِرَ (li-yundhira): most of the reciters of the Ḥijāz read it as "li-tundhira" with a tāʾ, in the meaning: so that you may warn, O Muḥammad; and most of the reciters of Iraq read it with a yāʾ, in the meaning: so that the Book may warn. And with whichever of the two readings the reciter reads it, he is correct.
