Saturday, February 7, 2026

English Translation of Surah As-Saff Ayah 5–9 The Story of Messenger Moses with the Children of Israel

English Translation of Surah As-Saff Ayah 5–9 The Story of Messenger Moses with the Children of Israel


61:5 And mention, when Moses said to his people, ‘O my people, why do you hurt me though you know well that I am the Messenger of Allah to you?’ When they deviated, Allah made their hearts deviate. And Allah does not guide the disobedient people.

61:6 And mention, when Jesus, son of Maryam, said, ‘O Children of Israel, surely I am the Messenger of Allah to you, confirming what came before me of the Torah, and giving good news of a Messenger who shall come after me, whose name shall be Ahmad.’ Then, when he brought them the clear proofs, they said, ‘This is manifest magic.’

61:7 And who is more unjust than one who fabricates against Allah a lie while he is being invited to Islam? And Allah does not guide the wrongdoing people.

61:8 They want to extinguish the light of Allah with their mouths, but Allah will perfect His light even though the disbelievers hate it.

61:9 It is He who has sent His Messenger with the guidance and the religion of truth, that He shall make it prevail over all religion, even though the disbelievers hate it.

Relationship with the Previous Part

The first part of Surah As-Saff urges the believers to fight firmly for the sake of Allah in ranks. Then, the second part refers to the story of Messenger Moses and his people, the Children of Israel, who refused to obey their Messenger Moses when he commanded them to fight against their enemy. The implied meaning is a warning to the believers lest they should act as the Children of Israel did with their Messenger Moses.

This part also refers to the story of Messenger Jesus, who brought clear miracles to the Children of Israel and gave them good news of the coming of a Messenger whose name would be Ahmad. However, the Children of Israel disobeyed Messenger Jesus.

Moreover, this part of Surah As-Saff strongly condemns those who refuse to accept the message of Islam that Messenger Muhammad brought to guide people to what brings them happiness in this world and the Hereafter. They also fabricate lies against Allah by claiming that the miracles of the Messengers of Allah were magic, which is a sheer lie. Their goal is only to extinguish the religion of Allah, but Allah will make His religion prevail over all other religions, even though the disbelievers hate this.

Tafsir

61:5 And mention, when Moses said to his people, ‘O my people, why do you hurt me though you know well that I am the Messenger of Allah to you?’ When they deviated, Allah made their hearts deviate. And Allah does not guide the disobedient people.

Allah, Exalted be He, warns the believers lest they should be like the Children of Israel, who disobeyed the commands of their Messenger Moses [peace be upon him].

‘O my people, why do you hurt me though you know well that I am the Messenger of Allah to you?’

O noble Messenger Muhammad, mention to your people the story of Messenger Moses and his people. Messenger Moses said to the Children of Israel, ‘O my people, why do you hurt me by disobeying my commands, which Allah has commanded you to follow? Why do you hurt me by insulting and abusing me, though you are certain that I am the Messenger of Allah to you? You have seen the miracles that Allah has given me, which necessitate that you should acknowledge and accept my message.’

This implies an instruction to the believers that they should not abuse or hurt their Messenger Muhammad [peace be upon him], as the Children of Israel did with Messenger Moses [peace be upon him]. Moreover, it implies consolation to Messenger Muhammad concerning the abuse he suffered at the hands of the disbelievers and a command to him to be patient.

‘When they deviated, Allah made their hearts deviate. And Allah does not guide the disobedient people.’

When the Children of Israel deviated from the right path, refused to follow the path of guidance, and hurt their Messenger Moses, Allah made their hearts deviate. Their hearts were filled with doubts and perplexity, which was a fitting punishment for their evil deeds. Allah does not guide to the right path the disobedient people who disobey His commands and the commands of His Messengers.

61:6 And mention, when Jesus, son of Maryam, said, ‘O Children of Israel, surely I am the Messenger of Allah to you, confirming what came before me of the Torah, and giving good news of a Messenger who shall come after me, whose name shall be Ahmad.’ Then, when he brought them the clear proofs, they said, ‘This is manifest magic.’

O noble Messenger Muhammad, mention to your people the story of Messenger Jesus and his people, that they may learn lessons from it. Messenger Jesus said to his people, ‘O Children of Israel, I am the Messenger of Allah to you. Allah has sent me to bring you out of the darkness of worshipping other gods besides Allah to the light of faith and belief in the Oneness of Allah. Allah has given me the Gospel, and I confirm the Torah that Allah gave to Messenger Moses, whom Allah sent before me. Thus, you should believe in the message that Allah sent me to convey. I have not brought a new message; rather, my message confirms what came before it. O Children of Israel, Allah sent me to give you the good news of a Messenger who shall come after me, whose name shall be Ahmad.’

‘Surely I am the Messenger of Allah to you.’

This statement confirms that Allah sent Messenger Jesus as His Messenger and that he is not the son of Allah, as the deviated people claim.

‘And giving good news of a Messenger who shall come after me, whose name shall be Ahmad.’

Messenger Jesus gave the good news of the coming of Messenger Muhammad and stated that his name was Ahmad, which is one of the names of Messenger Muhammad. Ahmad is a noun that means someone who praises Allah abundantly. It may also refer to someone whom people praise greatly because of his praiseworthy characteristics.

The fact that Messenger Jesus gave the good news of the coming of Messenger Muhammad is conclusively confirmed in the Quran, even if some copies of the Gospel do not mention this fact because they underwent distortion by scholars of the People of the Scripture.

‘Then, when he brought them the clear proofs, they said, “This is manifest magic.”’

This part of the Ayah refers to the attitude of the Children of Israel toward the Messengers of Allah.

When Muhammad, the Messenger of Allah, brought the disbelievers clear proofs confirming his truthfulness, they said, ‘This is nothing but manifest magic.’ Their attitude is a clear sign of their stubbornness and denial.

In sum, the Children of Israel disbelieved in their Messenger Jesus, and they also disbelieved in Messenger Muhammad, though they knew that Allah had sent him as His Messenger, as stated in their Scripture.

61:7 And who is more unjust than one who fabricates against Allah a lie while he is being invited to Islam? And Allah does not guide the wrongdoing people.

The interrogation in the Ayah is for criticism and denunciation. Fabrication means inventing false information to deceive people.

No one is more unjust than a person who fabricates a lie against Allah and His religion while being invited to believe in Islam and follow the path of guidance.

And Allah does not guide the wrongdoing people.

Allah does not guide the wrongdoers to the right path because they favor the path of misguidance over the path leading to happiness in this world and the Hereafter.

61:8 They want to extinguish the light of Allah with their mouths, but Allah will perfect His light even though the disbelievers hate it.

Those who say that Messenger Muhammad is a magician want to extinguish the light of Allah, namely Islam, with their mouths by claiming that what Messenger Muhammad brought is nothing but magic. However, Allah will perfect His light and make His religion prevail over all other religions, even though the disbelievers hate it.

Indeed, Allah is able, and nothing can stand before His perfect will. No matter how much the disbelievers try to end Islam, and no matter how much they hate it, Allah will make Islam prevail over all other religions.

Extinguishing the light of Allah refers to their attempts to end Islam through false statements and by trying to distort and eliminate its sublime teachings.

The Ayah implies sarcasm and ridicule against the disbelievers, as it likens their unsuccessful attempts to someone who tries to extinguish the light of the sun with a puff of air from the mouth, which is impossible.

61:9 It is He who has sent His Messenger with the guidance and the religion of truth, that He shall make it prevail over all religion, even though the disbelievers hate it.

This Ayah confirms that the religion of Allah will prevail over all other religions. Islam is the true religion of Allah.

Allah, Exalted be He, has sent His Messenger Muhammad with the guidance, namely the Quran, and the religion of truth, Islam. Allah shall make Islam prevail over all religions, even though the disbelievers hate it.

Indeed, Allah has fulfilled His promise, as He has made Islam prevail over all religions through its clear proofs demonstrating that Islam is the religion of truth.

The Learned Lessons from Surah As-Saff Ayah 5–9

·        Violation of the commands of the Prophets and Messengers is punishable. When Messenger Muhammad commanded the believers to fight for the sake of Allah, some were reluctant. Thus, Allah commanded him to remind them of the attitude of the people of Messenger Moses and Messenger Jesus, who refused to obey their Messengers and were punished. This shows that disobedience to the Messengers of Allah is punishable.

·        Allah, Exalted be He, wants good for His slaves and does not mislead anyone without a valid reason. He does not mislead those who follow the right path, but only the wrongdoers and the disobedient. When the Children of Israel deviated, Allah made their hearts deviate.

·        Allah, Exalted be He, gave Messenger Jesus the Gospel, which complemented the Torah revealed to Messenger Moses. Messenger Jesus did not bring anything that contradicted the Torah, which gave good news of his coming. Likewise, Messenger Jesus gave good news of the coming of Messenger Muhammad. This is logical, as all divine messages complete one another, since they originate from the same source and aim at one goal: inviting people to worship Allah alone and to believe in the Messengers, the angels, the divine scriptures, and the Hereafter.

·        Messenger Muhammad was named Ahmad in the Quran. Ahmad means someone who praises Allah greatly. All the Prophets praise Allah, and Messenger Muhammad is the most praising among them.

·        Messenger Jesus and Messenger Muhammad brought clear proofs confirming their truthfulness.

·        Disbelief in Messenger Jesus and Messenger Muhammad after witnessing their proofs is remarkable and indicates stubbornness and arrogance on the part of the disbelievers.

·        Allah, Exalted be He, shall make His religion, Islam, prevail over all other religions, even though the disbelievers hate it.

·        Allah, Exalted be He, sent Messenger Muhammad with the Quran and Islam, the religion of truth, in order to make them prevail over all religions.

 


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