- Peace and blessings upon him -

Everybody knows more or less the content of the famous Ten Commandments of the Old Testament. What does however attract a muslim's special attention, is the fact that the Prophet Muhammad ﷺ peace and blessings upon him - has reported an explanation of it from God Himself, referring to the following quranic verse, where God says to Moses - peace be upon him:

And We ordained for him in the tablets admonition of every kind and clear explanation of all things; so take hold of them with firmness and enjoin your people to take hold of what is best thereof; I will show you the abode of the transgressors.
Qur'ān 7, 145

In fact this is not really an explication or commentary, but more a divine information concerning the fortunate or unfortunate consequences for those who either live by the Ten Commandments or those who offend them. Now, only a divinely inspired Messenger (rasūl) or a Prophet (nabī) is capable of telling or reporting from God such precise (items of) information on the consequences of human acts in both this and the future life. Therefore this interest in the study of the Ten Commandments according to the Islamic Tradition. Not to forget that these commandments are found in differents Surahs in the Qur'ān.

Furthermore we want to point out that - in Arabic - these commandments are called by the term of abwāb, which means ”gates or chapters” . This implies that these commandments are synthectic in their nature, summarizing other ”chapters” as subdivisions.

According to Jābir ben Abd Allah who reported: ”I have heard the Messenger of Allah ﷺ may Allah spread on him His unitative graces and His salvific peace - say:”

Among what had been given to Moses in the Tables were ten chapters (abwāb):

1- ”O Moses, do not associate anything to My cult [of worship] (lā tushrik bī shai'an)! For My word will prove itself to be true, the Fire will strike the faces of those who associate [anything in their worship] (these are the polytheists, al-mushrikūn)”.

2 - ”Be thankful to Me and to your parents! I shall preserve you from ruin, lengthen your life-span, provide you (down here) with a life of comfort and I shall lead you towards a greater good.”

3 - Do not kill any soul which God has forbidden [to you ], except what is justified (by the divine law)! Otherwise you will see the whole earth squeezing upon you (meaning that you will be in great fear and despair whereever you are), and the heavens will close upon you completely and you will turn to hell with My anger.”

4 - ”Do not swear falsely by My name! Because I shall neither sanctify, nor purify those who neither honour Me (lam yunazzih-Nī) nor magnify My Names (lam yu'azzim Asmā'ī).”

5 - ”Do not envy anyone because of the favours someone has been granted by God! Because the envier is the enemy of My grace, as he opposes My decree and is angry at how I have distributed the good things in life among My servants.

6 - ”Do not witness [falsely] of what your eyes have not seen nor your heart retained! For, on the day Resurrection, I shall paralyse those who have witnessed falsely (ahl al-shahādāt) and I shall call them speedily to account (hathīthan)”.

7 - ”Do not commit a sexual sin; do not steal! Otherwise I shall veil My face and close the gates of heaven for you”.

8 - ”Love for the other (lit. for the people), what you love for yourself”.

9 - ”Do not sacrifice for anyone else but Me! For I shall not accept as sacrificial animals except those on which My Name has been pronounced sincerely, having intended My Face”.

10 - ”Sanctify for Me the Saturday, you and all of your family”.

The Prophet Muhammad ﷺ peace and blessing be upon him - has said: ”God has instituted for Moses this day of Saturday as a holiday and day of recollection (`idan); for us He has chosen the day of Friday and made it for us a holiday and day of recollection (`idan)”.