Translation
We [God] gave Moses the book of revelation (the Torah), but they were in disagreement regarding its guidance. It is only because your Sustainer God had already provided a framework [word]to deal with such affairs, that their disagreement has not been dealt with (right away). They are in deep divide and doubt about the guidance (before and now). Your Sustainer God will certainly compensate them for their beliefs and conducts. He is fully aware of what they do. 510
You (prophet) should continue to follow the guidance that your Sustainer God had asked you to follow and those who are with your and who have aligned themselves with God, should do the same. (You all should know that) God sees all that you do. Do not associate with those who does wrong and acts unjustly, lest their evil consequences touch you as well. You have no protectors other than God and (if you incline to evil) you cannot be helped. 511
Be mindful of your worship of God at the two ends of the day (Fajr and Maghrib prayers) and the first hour of the night (Isha prayer). Good deeds always remove the effect of evil deeds. This is something you need to pay attention to if you wish to be mindful. Also, be patient in that God does not fail to reward those who are good people.512
Interpretation
510 Deep doubts and divisions regarding the guidance of God in books of revelations by the people of the books (for example, Jews and Christians) are well documented in the Torah, the Bible, and the Qur’an. Here references are being made to the followers of Moses, who showed doubt, disunity, and open rebellion against Moses and his teaching throughout his long presence with his community in Egypt, before the Exodus as well as after, even during the time of Prophet Jesus and Prophet Mohammad. God’s way to deal with such doubt and disagreement is to allow people the benefit of doubt and wait until they show persistent disregards and act openly against such guidance from God. Even then He allows the natural laws laid out by God of “causes and effects” (for example, evil acts only generate evils in the society and corrupt human lives) to take its course on this planet while the afterlife calls for his direct intervention and fair judgment. His “word” is considered by many to be His decree about punishment here in this life or the hereafter in relationship to people’s disregards and active opposition to God’s guidance. I prefer to think of His “word” as the framework of good and evil, the natural laws that contain evil and encourage good, and the timeframe that governs our life, the life of this planet, and the series of events to take place with resurrection, final judgment, and continuity of our lives beyond the life of this world.
511 Followed by the example of those who defied Moses and his guidance that he brought from God to the people of Egypt, implying that similar things have also happened with the followers of Jesus, the early Muslims who chose to follow Prophet Mohammad are reminded that they should remain steadfast with respect to the guidance that Prophet Mohammad brought from God through Angel Gabriel. Even the Prophet is reminded that his followers will act according to how he acts and how he himself follows the guidance, pointing also at the human origin of the Prophet, something that got lost on many followers of Jesus Christ. A strong reminder is given not only to avoid evils but also to avoid those who do evil to ensure that social norms and civic rules are formed based on good guidance and in association with good people. A further point is made that God never support evil or evil people, a point that is getting lost in the mind of many religious extremists today who do evil in the name of God and then expect God to succor them. This also applies to atheists, agnostics, corrupt politicians, greedy corporations, and abusers of other human beings, whose evils will, by the same token, not escape God’s displeasure and the effects of the natural laws of good and evil in this world and in the hereafter.
512 Having alluded to the failures of previous followers of the prophets and reminding the Muslims that they need to be mindful of their responsibilities to avoid misgivings of past generations and all forms of evil, a prescription is also provided on how to develop such mindfulness—it can only be developed when you initiate and build relationship with God first through prayers, supplications, and a mental and spiritual commitment to do good and repel evil. Such commitment then needs a consistent and persistent follow-through in our conducts with fellow human beings to demonstrate to God and to fellow human beings that we are genuine in our belief and in our conducts. Only such transparency and genuineness in our belief and in our conducts allow us to become good human beings, worthy of God’s creation and His rightful representatives on this planet. Another human trait that is essential for such goodness, as mentioned here, is patience, without which no good can be sustained or evils eradicated. As mentioned throughout the Qur’an, truthfulness, patience, and empathy are three essential qualities for the success of a human being in the eyes of God.
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REFLECTION
These few verses call for seriousness in our understanding of God’s guidance and teachings of the prophets and for establishing unwavering commitment to such guidance and to use prayer and patience as a means to keep us focused on our path to do good against all evils.
ACTION
The actions are very clear: gain good understanding of what is in the scripture, avoid doubts and divisions, make sincere commitments to do good and repel evil, establish genuine prayer, and practice enduring patience to achieve success in this life and in the life to come.