Tafseer of The Most High · Al-A'laa · 87:19
The scriptures of Abraham and Moses.
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.
Yūnus related to me, saying: Ibn Wahb informed us, saying: Ibn Zayd said, concerning His words: إِنَّ هَذَا لَفِي الصُّحُفِ الأُولَى * صُحُفِ إِبْرَاهِيمَ وَمُوسَى ("Indeed, this is in the former scriptures, the scriptures of Ibrāhīm and Mūsā") (87:18-19): He said: In the scriptures that Allah sent down to Ibrāhīm and Mūsā, namely that the Hereafter is better than the former (worldly) life.
And the most correct of the views concerning that is the view of the one who said: that His words قَدْ أَفْلَحَ مَنْ تَزَكَّى * وَذَكَرَ اسْمَ رَبِّهِ فَصَلَّى * بَلْ تُؤْثِرُونَ الْحَيَاةَ الدُّنْيَا * وَالآخِرَةُ خَيْرٌ وَأَبْقَى ("Truly, successful is he who purifies himself, and remembers the name of his Lord and then prays. But nay, you prefer the worldly life, while the Hereafter is better and more lasting") (87:14-17) are indeed in the former scriptures: the scriptures of Ibrāhīm, the intimate friend of the Most Merciful, and the scriptures of Mūsā ibn ʿImrān.
And I have said only that this is more correct than another view, because "this" (hādhā) refers to something present; so that it refers to what stands near is more correct than that it would refer to something else. As for the scriptures (al-ṣuḥuf): that is the plural of ṣaḥīfa (scripture), and by it are meant: the writings of Ibrāhīm and Mūsā.
Bishr related to us, saying: Yazīd related to us, saying: Saʿīd related to us, on the authority of Qatāda, on the authority of Abū al-Khald, who said: The scriptures of Ibrāhīm were sent down on the first night of Ramadan, the Tawra was sent down when six nights of Ramadan had passed, the Zabūr was sent down after twelve nights, the Injīl was sent down after eighteen nights, and the Furqān (the Qurʾān) was sent down after twenty-four nights.
End of the exegesis of Surah "Sabbiḥ isma rabbika al-aʿlā" (Sura 87).
