وَكَتَبْنَا لَهُۥ فِى ٱلْأَلْوَاحِ مِن كُلِّ شَىْءٍۢ مَّوْعِظَةًۭ وَتَفْصِيلًۭا لِّكُلِّ شَىْءٍۢ فَخُذْهَا بِقُوَّةٍۢ وَأْمُرْ قَوْمَكَ يَأْخُذُوا۟ بِأَحْسَنِهَا ۚ سَأُو۟رِيكُمْ دَارَ ٱلْفَٰسِقِينَ
And We wrote for him on the tablets [something] of all things - instruction and explanation for all things, [saying], "Take them with determination and order your people to take the best of it. I will show you the home of the defiantly disobedient."
Introduction
This is āyah 145 of Sūrat Al-A'raaf (The Heights), the 39th sūrah in the traditional order of revelation. It was revealed in the Meccan period and sits within Juzʾ 9. Meccan verses tend to address faith, the oneness of God, and the hereafter.
This introduction is a starting point — the community and Bilal will enrich it over time.
Revelation & occasion
- Period
- Meccan
- Order revealed
- 39 of 114
- Surah
- Al-A'raaf (7)
And in the tablets We wrote for him of everything an admonition, and a detailing of every- thing. “So take hold of them with strength, and command thy people to take their most beautiful. I shall show you the abode of the ungodly.” It has been mentioned in the traditions that one of the admonitions that the Exalted Lord wrote in the tablets for Moses and gave to him was this: “O Moses, if you want to be respected at the threshold of My exaltation and be specified for My nearness and proximity, act beautifully toward orphans and do not abase the poor. O Moses, I am the caresser and well-wisher of orphans, and the lovingly kind and bestower of bounty on the poor. Caress those whom I caress, and do not drive away those whom I call.” MuṣṬafā said about the poor, “The poor who remain patient will be the sitting companions of God on the Day of Resurrection.” Concerning the orphans he said, “When an orphan weeps, the Throne of the All-Merciful trembles at his weeping, so God says, 'If someone makes him approv- ing, I will make that person approving.'” “O Moses, if you want Me to brag about you among the angels, be without harm and keep stones and thorns away from the road of the submitted.” [MuṣṬafā said,] “Faith has seventy-some branches, the highest of which is 'There is no god but God,' and the least of which is removal of harm from the road.” “O Moses, if you want Me to answer your supplications, deal with people beautifully, learn knowledge, and teach others knowledge, for I have honored the knowers by giving them knowl- edge. For them I make the dust sweet, I illuminate and expand their graves, and tomorrow I will muster them among the troops of the prophets.” MuṣṬafā said, “Do you know what Gabriel said to me? He said, 'O MuḤammad, do not count as lowly a servant whom God has given knowledge, for God did not count him as lowly when He gave him knowledge. Surely God will gather the knowers in one place and say to them, 'I have deposited My knowledge with you only because of a good that I desired for you. I forgive you for what has come forth from you.
Tafsir
Hafiz Ibn Kathir
Chains of transmission
Oral — isnād
- ~610–632 CERevelation & memorisation
Received by the Prophet ﷺ and preserved by the ḥuffāẓ (memorisers) among the Companions.
- 1st century AHMutawātir transmissionawaiting curation
Carried by mass-transmission through the generations of qurrāʾ.
- TodayLiving chainsawaiting curation
Continuous ijāzah chains link reciters today back to the Prophet ﷺ.
Verified isnād chains for this āyah will be added by curators.
Written — the manuscript record
- ~650 CEʿUthmānic codicesawaiting curation
The standardised muṣḥaf sent to the great cities (e.g. the Topkapı and Samarqand codices).
- 8th–10th c.Early Ḥijāzī & Kūfic foliosawaiting curation
Surviving leaves in Birmingham, Sanaa, Paris (BnF) and beyond.
- Modern printModern printawaiting curation
The 1924 Cairo edition → today: the standard printed muṣḥaf used worldwide.
A curated chain of manuscript images for this exact āyah — roughly one per century — is coming. Help us source and verify them.
And now — what do you think?
The text, its history and the classical commentary are laid out above. Share your own understanding, ask a question, or reason with others.
Community resources
No community resources for this verse yet.