Rasul plus Nabi together – Moses,

19. Surah Maryam

The Quranic Text & Ali’s Version:

وَاذْكُرْ فِي الْكِتَابِ مُوسَى...   

19: 51.  Also mention in the Book (the story of) Moses:

...إِنَّهُ كَانَ مُخْلَصًا وَكَانَ رَسُولًا نَّبِيًّا ﴿٥١﴾

for he was specially chosen, and he was a Messenger (and) a Prophet.

C2503. Moses was;

-        especially chosen, and therefore prepared and instructed in all the wisdom of the Egyptians, in order that he might free his people from Egyptian bondage; there may also be a reference to Moses' title of Kalim Allah, the one to whom Allah spoke without the intervention of angels: see 4:164, and n. 670;

-         He was a prophet (nabi), in that he received inspiration; and

-         he was a messenger (rasul) in that he had a Book of Revelation, and an Ummah or organized Community, for which he instituted laws. (R).

وَنَادَيْنَاهُ مِن جَانِبِ الطُّورِ الْأَيْمَنِ وَقَرَّبْنَاهُ نَجِيًّا ﴿٥٢﴾

19: 52.  And We called him from the right side of Mount (Sinai), and made him draw near to Us, for mystic (converse).

C2504. The incident here I think refers to the incidents described more fully in 20:9-36; a reference may also be made to Exod. 3:1-18 and 4:1-17.

The time is when Moses (with his family) was traveling and grazing the flocks of his father-in-law Jethro, just before he got his commission from Allah. The place is somewhere near Mount Sinai (Jabal Musa).

Moses sees a Fire in the distance, but when he goes there, he hears a voice that tells him it is sacred ground. Allah asked him to put off his shoes and to draw near, and when he went near, great mysteries were revealed to him. He was given his commission, and his brother Aaron was given to him to go with him and aid him. It is after that, that he and Aaron went and faced Pharaoh in Egypt, as narrated in 7:103-144, etc.

The right side of the mountain may mean that Moses heard the voice from the right side of the mountain as he faced it; or it may have the figurative meaning of "right" in Arabic, i.e., the side which was blessed or sacred ground. (R).

Other versions:

19: 51 [Maryam, Mecca 44 ]

Asad And call to mind, through this divine writ, Moses. Behold, he was a chosen one, and was an apostle [of God], a prophet.

Yusuf Ali Also mention in the Book (the story of) Moses: for he was specially chosen and he was an apostle (and) a prophet.

Pickthall And make mention in the Scripture of Moses. Lo! he was chosen, and he was a messenger (of Allah), a Prophet.

Transliteration Wadz kur fil kita_bi musa_ in nahu_ ka_na mukhlashaw wa ka_na rasu_lan nabiy ya_

[Asad’s note 37: The mention of Moses and other prophets in this context serves to reinforce the statement that all of them—like Jesus—were but mortal servants of God whom He had inspired with His message to man (cf. verse 30 above). As regards the distinction between the tems “prophet” and (nabi) and apostle (rasul), see the opening clause of 22:52 and the corresponding note 65: ( According to most of the commentators, the designation “ apostle” (rasul) is applied to bearers of divine revelations which comprise a new doctrinal system of dispensation; a “prophet” (nabi), on the other hand, is said to be one whom God has entrusted with the enunciation of ethical principle on the basis of an already-existing dispensation, or a of principles common to all divine dispensations. Hence, every apostle is a prophet as well, but not every prophet is an apostle.]

[ Ali’s notes: 2503 Moses was (1) especially chosen, and therefore prepared and instructed in all the wisdom of the Egyptians, in order that he might free his people from Egyptian bondage; there may also be a reference to Moses's title of Kalimullah, the one to whom Allah spoke without the intervention of angels: see iv. 164, and n. 670; (2) he was a prophet (nabi), in that he received inspiration; and (3) he was a messenger (rasul) in that he had a Book of Revelation, and an Ummat or organized Community, for which he instituted laws. (19.51)

19: 52

Yusuf Ali And We called him from the right side of Mount (Sinai) and made him draw near to Us for mystic (converse).

Pickthall We called him from the right slope of the Mount, and brought him nigh in communion.

Transliteration Wa na_daina_hu min ja_nibit thu_ril aimani wa qar rabna_hu najiy ya_

[Asad’s note 38: …….it is much more probable that the term “right-side” has here, as elsewhere in the Quran, the abstract connotation of “blessedness”…..]

[Ali’s note: 2504 The incident here I think refers to the incidents described more fully in xx. 9-36; a reference may also be made to Exod. iii. 1-18 and iv. 1-17. The time is when Moses (with his family) was travelling and grazing the flocks of his father-in-law Jethro, just before he got his commission from Allah. The place is somewhere near Mount Sinai (Jabal Musa). Moses sees a Fire in the distance, but when he goes there, he hears a voice that tells him it is sacred ground. Allah asked him to put off his shoes and to draw near, and when he went near, great mysteries were revealed to him. He was given his commission, and his brother Aaron was given to him to go with him and aid him. It is after that, that he and Aaron went and faced Pharaoh in Egypt, as narrated in vii. 103-144, etc. The right side of the mountain may mean that Moses heard the voice from the right side of the mountain as he faced it; or it may have the figurative meaning of "right" in Arabic, i.e., the side which was blessed or sacred ground. (19.52) ]