Al-Alwah
Definition
Al-alwah — the tablets — are the stone tablets upon which the Torah was inscribed and given to Musa on Mount Sinai, containing guidance and a detailed specification of religious law for the Israelites. Ibn Kathir describes Musa's return from Sinai to find his people worshipping the golden calf, and his casting of the tablets down in anger — a physical shattering that mirrored the covenant the people had just broken. The tablets were gathered and restored, and the Torah they contained became the foundational scripture of the Israelite prophetic tradition. Their breaking and restoration is itself a theological narrative: even when the people have violated the covenant, Allah's guidance is not permanently destroyed — it can be and must be returned to.
As understood in the classical tradition of Ibn Kathir and the scholars of his school.
How the scholars use Al-Alwah.
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"this, except that he cast them when he observed what he observed. Among the people of the book, it is said that there were two tablets. tablets. Yet the apparent meaning in the Quran is that there were multiple tablets. He was not affected purely by God's message about the worship of the calf, so he was commanded to witness it himself."
— Ibn Kathir, The Story of Musa
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"Allah said that is the nation of Ahmad Moses then said oh my lord I find in the tablets a nation who are intercessors an intercession is granted to them. Oh my lord. Make them my nation Allah responded that is the nation of Ahmad Qatada mentioned that Moses peace be upon him cast down the tablets saying Oh Allah make me among the nation of Ahmad Many have recounted what was said in the private conversation of Moses Peace be upon him bringing forth many things without basis We will mention what is easy to recall from the Hadiths and reports with the help Guidance and support of Allah the Hadith scholar Abu Hatim Muhammad Ibn Hibban said in his Sahih"
— Ibn Kathir, The Story of Musa
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"and not ask for more, while being grateful for them. Allah, the exalted, further said, And we wrote for him on the tablets of everything, admonition and details for everything. These tablets were made from precious material, and it is authentically reported that Allah wrote the Torah with his hand for him, containing admonitions about sins and details of lawful and unlawful matters. Take it with determination, means with firm resolve and sincere strong will, and order your people to adhere to its best aspects, meaning to apply the best interpretations and finest applications. I will show you the land of the ungodly, indicating the outcome for"
— Ibn Kathir, The Story of Musa
Appears in
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