Tablets of Moses (a): Difference between revisions

Although the [[Qur'an]] is not explicit on the tablets being sent down in the "tryst" (mīqāt)<ref>The concept of "tryst" -"mīqāt" in Arabic"- is taken from the [[Qur'an 7]]:142.</ref>, it does say that when Prophet Moses (a) returned from the "mīqāt" and witnessed people worshiping a calf, he (a) threw down the tablets{{enote|When Moses returned to his people, angry and indignant, he said, 'Evil has been your conduct in my absence! Would you hasten on the edict of your Lord?' He threw down the tablets. Qur'an, v:150}}, and when he (a) calmed down, he (a) picked up the broken pieces of the tablets again{{enote|"When Moses' indignation abated, he picked up the tablets whose inscriptions contained guidance and mercy for those who are in awe of their Lord." Qur'an, 7:154.}}

Some [[Exegetes]] of the Qur'an such as [['Allama Tabataba'i]] believe that the tablets mentioned in the Qur'an are the same tablets mentioned in the Torah.<ref>Ṭabāṭabāyī, ''al-Mīzān'', vol. 8, p. 250.</ref> Others maintain that they were sent down before the revelation of the Torah.<ref>Qurṭubī, ''al-Jāmiʿ li-aḥkām al-Qurʾān'', vol. 7, p. 289.</ref> [[Rashid Rida]], the author of ''[[al-Minar]]'', says about the relationship between the tablets and the Torah: "The Tablets were the first part of [[shari'a]] (religious law). Indeed, they were a concise version of the Torah, and then detailed rulings regarding worships, transactions, and the like were gradually revealed on different occasions. The same type of [[revelation]] is true of the Qur'an as well".<ref>Rashīd Riḍā, ''al-Manār'', vol. 9, p. 164.</ref>

The tablets were kept in the Ark of the Covenant in the [[Solomon's Temple]]. Eventually, after [[Nebuchadnezzar]]'s invasion of [[Jerusalem]] and the destruction of the Temple, the Ark of the Covenant and tablets inside it were lost.<ref>Rashīd Riḍā, al-Manār, vol. 3, p. 131.</ref>

According to some [[hadith]]s, after his [[reappearance]], [[Imam al-Mahdi (a)]] will bring out the Ark of the Covenant and tablets inside it from a cave in [[Antioch]].<ref>Ibn Ṭāwūs, ''Al-Malāḥim wa l-fitan'', p. 142.</ref>

The [[Torah]] is explicit that there were two Tablets: "The two Tablets of the covenant"<ref>Exodus 32:15</ref>. The Qur'an talks about "alwah"{{enote|"Alwaḥ" is a plural noun in Arabic and the plural form in this language equals at least three.}} without referring to the number. Thus, there are different views among exegetes of the Qur'an with respect to the number of the tablets. Some of them believe that "alwaḥ", which is in plural form, was used instead of the dual form (muthanna), that is "lawḥayn" (Arabic:{{ia|لَوْحَیْن}}), so the tablets were two.<ref>Rashīd Riḍā, al-Manār, vol. 9, p. 164.</ref>

The Torah cites the whole content of the two Tablets which is known as the [[Ten Commandments]].<ref>Exodus, 20:1-18.</ref>

The Prophet [[Moses (a)]] spent 40 days in [[Mount Sinai]].<ref>Qurʾān, 2:51.</ref> When he returned, he brought with him the tablets on which the [[revelation]] was engraved. But when he witnessed the [[Children of Israel]] worshiping a calf, he was infuriated and threw down the tablets,<ref>Qurʾān, 7:150.</ref> and they broke.<ref>Ṭabarī, ''Jāmiʿ al-bayān'', vol. 2, p. 388.</ref> Some exegetes of the Qur'an believe that the reason why Moses (a) broke the Tablets was his anger of [[calf-worshiping]] by the Israelites.<ref>Ṭabarī, ''Jāmiʿ al-bayān'', vol. 9, p. 44.</ref>

centered pull quote|As soon as he came near the camp and saw the calf and the dancing, Moses' anger burned hot, and he threw the tablets from his hands and broke them at the foot of the mountain.

However, the [[Qur'an]] and other Islamic sources are not explicit about the second Tablets. Many [[exegetes]] of the Qur'an believe that the broken pieces of the first tablets survived among the Israelites and were kept in the [[Ark of the Covenant]].<ref>Ibn Kathīr, ''Tafsīr al-Qurʾān'', vol. 1, p. 508; Ṭabrisī, ''Jawāmiʿ al-jāmiʿ'', vol. 1, p. 136.</ref>

*Ibn Kathīr, Ismāʿīl b. ʿUmar. ''Tafsīr al-Qurʾān al-ʿAẓīm''. Edited by Muḥammad Ḥusayn Shams al-Dīn. Beirut: Dār al-Kutub al-ʿIlmīyya, 1419 AH.

*Ibn Ṭāwūs, ʿAlī b. Mūsā. ''Al-Malāḥim wa l-fitan''. Qom: Muʾassisat Ṣāḥib al-Amr, 1416 AH.

*Qurṭubī, Muḥammad b. Aḥmad al-. ''Al-Jāmiʿ li-aḥkām al-Qurʾān''. Tehran: Intishārāt-i Nāṣir Khusru, 1364 Sh.

 

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