Period of Revelation
As already mentioned in the introduction to Sura An Naml
according to Ibn Abbas and Jabir bin Zaid
Suras Ash-Shuaraa
An-Namland Al- Qasaswere sent down one after the other. The language
the style and the theme also show that the period of the revelation of these three Suras is nearly the same. Another reason for their lose resemblance is that the different parts of the Prophet Moses story as mentioned in these suras together make up a complete story. In Sura Ash-Shuaraa
excusing himself for not accepting the office of Prophethood the Prophet Moses submits
The people of Pharaoh have the charge of a crime against me; therefore
I fear that they will put me to death.
Then
when lie goes before Pharaoh
the latter says
Did we not bring you up as a child in our house? You lived quite a few years of your life among us
and then you did what you did.
Nothing more of this has been mentioned there
but in this Sura the other details have been supplied. Similarly
in Sura An-Namlthe story starts abruptly from the time when the Prophet Moses was journeying with his family and suddenly saw a fire at a distance. In that Sura nothing has been said about the nature of his journey
or the place he was coming from
or his destination
but this Sura supplies all the necessary details. Thus
the three Suras read together complete the story of the Prophet Moses (Allah's peace be upon him).
Theme and Topics
The main theme is to remove the doubts and objections that were being raised against the Prophethood of the Holy Prophet Muhammad (upon whom be Allah's peace and blessings) and to invalidate the excuses which were being offered for not believing in him. For this purpose
first the story of the Prophet Moses has been related
which
by analogy with the period of revelation
impresses the following points in the listener's mind automatically: First
Allah provides the means and motives of whatever He wills to do
in imperceptible ways. Thus
Allah so arranged things that the child through whom Pharaoh had to be removed from power
was bred and brought up in his own house
and he could not know whom he was fostering. Who can then fight God and frustrate Him by his machinations. Secondly
Prophethood is not granted to a person amid festivities by issuing a proclamation from the earth and heavens. You wonder how Muhammad (upon whom be Allah's peace) has been blessed with Prophethood unexpectedly
all of a sudden
but Moses whom you yourselves acknowledge as a Prophet (v. 48) had also become a Prophet unexpectedly
while on a journey
and nobody had known what event had occurred in the desolation at the foot of Mt. Sinai. Even Moses himself did not know a moment before what he was going to be blessed with. He
in fact
had gone to bring a piece of the fire but had returned with the gift of Prophethood Thirdly
the person from whom Allah wants to take some service comes out without any army and armour and without an apparent helper or force at his back
yet he puts to rout much stronger and better equipped opponents. The contrast that existed between the strengths of Moses (peace be upon him) and Pharaoh was much more prominent and glaring than that which existed between Muhammad (peace be upon him) and the quraish; yet the world knows who had come out victorious in the end and who had been routed. Fourthly
you refer to Moses again and again and say
Why has Muhammad not been given the same which was given to Moses? i. e. miracles of the staff
the shining liand
etc. as if to suggest that you would readily believe only if you were shown the kind of the miracles that were shown by Moses to Pharaoh. But do you know what sort of response was made by those who were shown those miracles? They had not believed even after seeing the miracles
and had only said
This is magic"
for they were involved in stubbornness and hostility to the Truth. The same malady afflicts you today. Will you believe only when you are slowly the same kind of miracles?Then
do you know what fate the disbelievers had met even after seeing the miracles? They were annihilated by Allah. Do you now wish to meet the same doom by asking for the miracles in your obstinacy? These were the things which were automatically impressed in the mind of every listener who heard this story in the pagan environment of Makkah
for a similar conflict was going on at that time between the Holy Prophet and disbelievers of Makkah as had already taken place between the Prophet Moses and Pharaoh before. This was the background against which the story of the Prophet Moses was narrated so that a perfect analogy was established automatically in every detail between the conditions prevailing then in Makkah and those existing in the time of the Prophet Moses. Then
from vcrse 43 onward the discourse turns to the real theme. In the first place
the narration of a two thousand year old historical event by the Holy Prophet with such accuracy and detail
is presented as a proof of his Prophethood although he was un-lettered and the people of his city and clan knew full well that he had no access to any source of such information as they could point out. Then his appointment as a Prophet is put forward as Allah's mercy to them
for they were heedless and Allah had made this arrangement for their guidance. Then their oft-repeated objection
Why has not this Prophet brought the miracles which Mos