Fee raqqin manshoor (surah Tur: 3)

Tafseer Tafheem-ul-Quran by Syed Abu-al-A'la Maududi

(52:3) on fine parchment; *2

Fee raqqim manshoor

*2) In ancient times the books and writings which were meant to be preserved for long were written on the skin of dar instead of the paper. This skin was especially prepared for writing as a thin and fine parchment and was called raqq terminologically. The Jews and Christians in general wrote the Torah, Psalms, the Gospels and the Prophets' Books on this same raqq so that they would endure. Here, by "an open Book" is implied the same collection of the holy scriptures which the followers of the Book possessed. It has ban described as "an open Book" because it was not extinct; it was read and one could easily find out what was written in it.