وَءَاتَيْنَـٰهُمَا ٱلْكِتَـٰبَ ٱلْمُسْتَبِينَ 117
Translations
And We gave them the explicit Scripture [i.e., the Torah],
Transliteration
Wa ātaynāhumā al-kitāb al-mustabīn
Tafsir (Explanation)
This ayah refers to Allah granting Musa (Moses) and Harun (Aaron) the clear Book—the Torah (Tawrah)—as a guidance and criterion for distinguishing between truth and falsehood. Classical scholars like Ibn Kathir and Al-Tabari explain that 'al-mustabīn' (the clear/manifest) emphasizes the clarity and unambiguousness of the divine revelation given to these two prophets, which served as a complete guidance for the Children of Israel.
Revelation Context
This ayah appears in the Meccan surah As-Saffat within a passage praising the noble prophets and their steadfastness in delivering Allah's message. The context celebrates how Allah blessed Musa and Harun with the Tawrah to guide their people, establishing the theme of divine favor upon the messengers and the importance of revealed scriptures.
Related Hadiths
The Prophet Muhammad (ﷺ) said: 'The best speech is the speech of Allah, and the best guidance is the guidance of Muhammad.' (Jami' at-Tirmidhi) This relates to the importance of divine revelation as exemplified by the clarity of the Torah given to Musa and Harun.
Themes
Key Lesson
This ayah reminds believers that Allah grants clarity to His messengers and their messages so that guidance is unambiguous and accessible to those who seek truth. It emphasizes the responsibility of prophets to convey clear divine guidance and inspires confidence that Allah's revelations are inherently clear and just for all who earnestly seek understanding.