Surah 11. Hud, Ayah 110

Lit., "and it was disagreed upon", or "discordant views came to be held about it": meaning that, like Muhammad's early contemporaries, some of Moses' people accepted the divine writ, whereas others refused to submit to its guidance.

Lit., "it would indeed have been decided between them" - i.e., they would have been punished, like those communities of old, by utter destruction, had it not been for God's decree (kalimah, lit., "word") that their punishment should be deferred until the Day of Resurrection (cf. the last sentence of 10:93 and the corresponding note [114]).

Cf. 2:55 - "O Moses, indeed we shall not believe thee until we see God face to face!"

 That He will delay their judgment until the Hereafter.

Cf. x. 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.

Cf. xi. 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.