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KFGQPC HAFS

Mahmoud Khaleel Al-Husary

Ibn Kathir (Abridged)

Malak Faris Abdalsalaam

Imām Ibn al-Jawzī (d. 597/1201) summarized the scholars' opinions in his book "Zād al-Masīr" as follows:

1. Rāfiʿ ibn Ḥuraymilah and Wahb ibn Zayd said to the Messenger of Allah: "Bring us a book that we can read, which you send down from the sky upon us, and cause rivers to flow for us so that we may follow you." Thereupon, the verse was revealed. [Ibn ʿAbbās]
2. Quraysh asked the Prophet (ﷺ) to turn Mount Ṣafā into gold for them. He said: "It will be for you like the table spread (al-māʾidah) was for the Children of Israel [if you disbelieve]." So they refused. [Mujāhid]
3. A man said: "O Messenger of Allah, if only our atonement were like those of the Children of Israel." The Prophet (ﷺ) replied: "O Allah, we do not seek it. What Allah has given you is better than what He gave the Children of Israel. When one of them committed a sin, he would find it written on his door along with its atonement. If he atoned for it, it was a disgrace for him in this world, and if he did not, it would be a disgrace for him in the Hereafter. Allah has given you what is better than that." Then he recited: “And whoever does evil or wrongs himself then seeks forgiveness from Allah will find Allah Forgiving and Merciful” (Al-Nisāʾ 4:110), and said: “The five daily prayers and Jumuʿah to Jumuʿah are expiations for what occurs between them.” Then this verse was revealed. [Abū al-ʿĀliyah]
4. ʿAbdullāh ibn Abī Umayyah al-Makhzūmī came to the Prophet (ﷺ) with a group from Quraysh and said: "O Muḥammad, by Allah, I will not believe in you until you bring Allah and the angels before us, face to face." At that, the verse was revealed. [Ibn al-Sāʾib]
5. A group of polytheists came to the Prophet (ﷺ), and some of them said: "We will not believe in you until you cause a spring to gush forth from the earth for us." Another said: "I will not believe in you until you cause the mountains of Makkah to move for us." ʿAbdullāh ibn Abī Umayyah said: "I will not believe in you until you bring a book from the sky that says: From Allah, the Lord of the Worlds, to Ibn Abī Umayyah: Know that I have sent Muḥammad to mankind." Another said: "Why didn’t you bring your book all at once, as Moses brought the Torah?" Then this verse was revealed. [Muḥammad ibn al-Qāsim al-Anbārī]

What is the context of revelation for this āyah?

Imām Ibn al-Jawzī (d. 597/1201) summarized the scholars' opinions in his book "Zād al-Masīr" as follows:

1. The Quraysh. [Ibn ʿAbbās, Mujāhid]
2. The Jews. [Muqātil]
3. The Arabs. [Abū Sulaymān al-Dimashqī]

Imām Ibn al-Jawzī (d. 597/1201) summarized the scholars' opinions in his book "Zād al-Masīr" as follows:

As for the messenger in this verse, it refers to Muḥammad (ﷺ), and as for what Moses was asked before, it is their statement: "Show us God in plain sight." (4:153). Did they ask this of our prophet or not? There are two opinions:

1. They did indeed request this. They said: "We will not believe you until you bring Allah and the angels before us, face to face" (17:92). [Ibn ʿAbbās]
2. They excessively asked questions, so this verse was revealed, implying: "Perhaps you wish to ask Muḥammad (ﷺ) to show you Allah openly?" [Abū Sulaymān al-Dimashqī]

What is it that Moses was asked before, and did they ask the same of the Prophet Muḥammad (ﷺ)?