Walaqad atayna moosa alkitaba fakhtulifa feehi walawla kalimatun sabaqat min rabbika laqudiya (surah Fussilat: 45)

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

(41:45) And in the past We gave Moses the Book and yet it became an object of dispute. *56 If your Lord's decree had not gone forth before, a decisive judgement would have been made among them, once and for all. *57 Surely they are in a disquieting doubt about it. *58

Wa laqad aatainaa Moosal Kitaaba fakhtulifa fee; wa lawlaa Kalimatun sabaqat mir Rabbika laqudiya bainahum; wa innahum lafee shakkim minhu mureeb

*56) That is, some people had believed in it and some others had made up their minds to oppose it.
*57) It has two meanings' (1) If Allah had not already decreed that the people would be given enough respite for consideration the disputants would have long been destroyed; (2) if AIlah had not already decreed that the disputes would finally be decided on the Day of Judgement, the reality would have been made plain as to who is in the right and who is in the wrong.
*58) In this brief sentence the spiritual disease of the disbelievers of Makkah has been clearly diagnosed. It says that they are involved in doubt about the Qur'an and the Holy Prophet Muhammad (upon whom be Allah's peace ), and this doubt has caused them great anguish and confusion. That is, although apparently they deny the Qur'an's being Allah's Word and the Holy Prophet's being His Messenger very vehemently, yet this denial is not based on any conviction, but their minds arc afflicted with great vacillation, and doubt. On the one hand, their selfish motives, their interests and their prejudices demand that they should belie the Qur'an and the Prophet Muhammad (upon whom be Allah's peace) and oppose them strongly; on the other, their hearts are convened from within, that the Qur'an is, in fact, a unique and un-paralleled Word the like of which has never been heard from any literary man or poet. Neither can the insane utter such things in their madness, nor can devils come to teach God-worship, piety and righteousness to the people. Likewise, when they say that Muhammad (upon whom be Allah's peace) is a liar, their heaps from within put them to shame, and ask: Can such a person ever be a liar? When they brand him a madman, their hearts cry out from within and ask: Do you really think that he is mad? When they accuse that Muhammad (upon whom be Allah's peace) is not interested in the truth but is working for selfish motives, their hearts from within curse them and ask: Do you call this virtuous man selfish, whom you have never seen striving for the sake of wealth and power and fame, whose life has been free from every tract of self-interest, who has always been working to bring about goodness and piety, but has never acted from any selfish motives.