11. Surah Hud
The Quranic Text & Ali’s Version:
وَلَقَدْ آتَيْنَا
مُوسَى الْكِتَابَ
فَاخْتُلِفَ
فِيهِ...
11: 110. We certainly gave the Book to Moses, but differences arose therein:
...وَلَوْلاَ كَلِمَةٌ سَبَقَتْ مِن رَّبِّكَ لَقُضِيَ بَيْنَهُمْ...
had it not been that a Word had gone forth before from thy Lord, the matter would have been decided between them:
C1613. Cf. 10:19.
Previous revelations are not to be denied or dishonoured because those who nominally go by them have corrupted and deprived them of spiritual value by their vain controversies and disputes.
It was possible to settle such disputes under the flag, as it were, of the old Revelations, but Allah's Plan was to revive and rejuvenate His Message through Islam, amongst a newer and younger people, unhampered by the burden of age long prejudices.
...وَإِنَّهُمْ لَفِي شَكٍّ مِّنْهُ مُرِيبٍ ﴿١١٠﴾
but they are in suspicious doubt concerning it.
C1614. Cf. 11:62.
There, is always in human affairs the conflict between the old and the new,-the worn out system of our ancestors, and the fresh living spring of Allah's inspiration fitting in with new times and new surroundings.
The advocates of the former look upon this latter not only with intellectual doubt but with moral suspicion, as did the People of the Book upon Islam, with its fresh outlook and vigorous realistic way of looking at things.
11: 110
Pickthall And We verily gave unto Moses the Scripture, and there was strife thereupon; and had it not been for a Word that had already gone forth from thy Lord, the case would have been judged between them, and Lo! they are in grave doubt concerning it.
Yuksel We have given Moses the book, yet they disputed in it; and had it not been for a word which was already given by your Lord, their case would have been judged immediately. They are in grave doubt concerning it.
Transliteration Wa laqad a_taina_ mu_sal kita_ba fa-khtulifa fih(i), wa lau la_ kalimatun sabaqat mir rabbika laqudiya bainahum, wa innahum lafi syakkim minhu murib(in).
[[ Asad’s note 129 - ……….Thus the main point of this passage is the problem of immoral leadership and, arising from it, the problem of man’s individual, moral responsibility for wrongs committed I nobedience to a “higher authority”. The Quran answers this question emphatically in the affirmative: the leader and the led are equally guilty, and none can be absolved of responsibility on the plea that he was but blindly following orders given by those above him. This indirect tallusuion to man’s relative free will – i.e., his freedom of cloice between right and wrong – fittingly concludes the stories of the earlier prophets and their wrongdoing communities as narrated in this surah. ]]