The Hebrew Bible, encompassing the Torah, Prophets' books, and more, is seen as historical text which contains the stories of previous nations, written by a third-party and includes commandments and laws which are considered still relevant. Conversely, the Gospels, written in Greek, are translations of Jesus and his companions' Aramaic words, primarily influenced by Paul's understanding despite his not having met Jesus. Both Jews and Christians regard their scriptures as the "living word" of God, containing enduring wisdom and commandments.
However, the Qur'an is much different. It is preserved as the word of God, the first-hand account, His speech that he inspired the Prophet Mohammed (PBUH & His Family) with. And we have explained in our articles that the Qur'an is the meaning that was placed into the heart of the Prophet Mohammed and the Prophet Mohammed, the best of interpreters, perfectly translated the words of God this meaning and will that was placed into his heart, into the Arabic language to the people.
And when we look at the substance, what is in the Qur'an itself, we also find many narrations from the books of hadith, that specify how the Qur'an was brought down into three thirds and it's split into three thirds.
On the authority of Al-Asbagh ibn Nubata, he said: I heard the Prince of the Believers (PBUH) saying: “The Qur’an was revealed in thirds: a third about us and our enemy, a third about Sunnahs and proverbs, and a third about duties and rulings.”
- Tafsir Al-Ayashi, Mohammed ibn Masoud Al-Ayashi, Vol. 1, p. 9
And the truth is that the Qur'an is a living book that applies to all times.
And Abdullah Hashem Aba Al-Sadiq (From Him Is Peace) says in the episode about the Qur'an being alive:
“This is really important for people to understand because the Ahlul-Bayt (alayhum salam) they said that for every day and age, the verses in the Qur'an apply to somebody because if they applied to only a particular individual and then that individual died, well then the verse would die with that individual. And so it would no longer be the living word of God. So in order that it be the living word of God, if the verse, for example, or a surah came down about Abu Lahab, this surah comes down, condemning, cursing the enemy of Islam Abu Lahab, and Abu Lahab dies, they considered that this surah would become a dead surah because it's about somebody who's dead. And now it's no longer significant, it dies with the person that died. And so the verse would have to change, the surah would have to change, not in its words, but in who it's talking about that because God is perfect and because His words are alive, because he himself is life. Everything that He says must apply to all ages.
So if he chooses to bring down a verse which condemns Abu Lahab, it's because there will always be an Abu Lahab-type character that this surah of the Qur'an would be speaking about. There would always be a Pharaoh and a Haman and a Nimrod. And an Iblis that these verses would apply to, even if their names were not 'Pharaoh', 'Haman', 'Abu Lahab', et cetera.
And as such, the verses that came down concerning the Prophet Mohammed (sall Allahu alayhi wa alihi), if these verses died with the Prophet, when he dies, and they don't apply to Imam Ali (alayhi salam) after him, and then apply to Al-Hassan and Al-Hussein after him, then these verses of the Qur'an would die with the Prophet Mohammed. And that would be two-thirds of the Qur'an now that would be pointless. There's no point of it anymore. It's talking about characters that have gone. And so that experience that the Muslims had at the time of the Prophet Mohammed, when had these verses that were living, that were speaking about events that were ongoing around them would be lost forever. It would only be limited to a specific time. And this is not possible with God, because God just as He was alive in the time of the Prophet Mohammed He's alive today. So if these verses went away with the going away of the Prophet Mohammed (sall Allahu alayhi wa alihi), then it would necessitate that God is constantly renewing the Qur'an with new verses. And it would be an ongoing thing until the Day of Judgment. But the verses of the Qur'an are alive and they apply to every day and age.
And that's why you find many narrations where the Prophet Mohammed compares himself to Moses, or Imam Ali (alayhi salam) after the death of the Prophet Mohammed (sall Allahu alayhi wa alihi) and after Abu Bakr and Omar attacked his house and burnt down the door, and they forced him to come out and the whole incident took place where they took him out of his house, in the presence of Salman and his Household. What did the narrations state? It says that Imam Ali (alayhi salam) when he ends up speaking to God, he ends up reciting the verse in the Qur'an where he says, "inna alqawma istadAAafoonee wakadooyaqtuloonanee". (إِنَّ ٱلْقَوْمَ ٱسْتَضْعَفُونِى وَكَادُوا۟ يَقْتُلُونَنِى”)
So, "Verily, the people have oppressed me, they've weakened me and they almost killed me."
Well, this verse in the Qur'an was the response that Aaron gave to Moses when Moses came back from his meeting with God. And Moses questions Aaron, "Why did you allow the people to worship the golden calf?" Aaron responds and says, "Verily, the people oppressed me and they almost killed me."
So Imam Ali (alayhi salam) recites the same verse, because the archetype for Aaron, the verses that apply to Aaron, the situation that came upon Aaron, during the time of the absence of Moses, is exactly what repeated itself in the time of Imam Ali (alayhi salam) where he was forced to go along with the pledging of allegiance of the people to Abu Bakr and Omar, and them to worship those two as the people worship to the calf in the time of Moses. Because he was oppressed in the land just like Aaron was oppressed.
“And so we find that these verses and these stories are repeating themselves. The same thing that took place, the same story that took place in the time of Moses is taking place again in the time of the Prophet Mohammed (sall Allahu alayhi wa alihi). And so the stories now of the Torah, of the Qur'an are living stories, and the verses are living verses that apply in every day and age. So then what happens? Then Imam Ali (alayhi salam), he gets martyred eventually. And now Prophet Mohammed's gone, Imam Ali (alayhi salam) is gone. Abu Bakr and Omar are gone. But the verses of the Qur'an are still alive. And so it repeats itself once again, in the new age because in every age these verses are alive, the stories are alive, the archetypes are alive. And so now what happens now, it changes names. There's still Pharaoh and Haman, but now it's Muawiyah and Yazid. And now there's Moses and Aaron. And there's Al-Hassan and Al-Hussein (alayhum salam). And the story repeats itself and it continues to repeat itself in every day and age until it gets down to the day and age of Imam Al-Mahdi (alayhi salam). And all of the verses that have to do with the hypocrites and the non-believers, as they once applied to those who had doubt in the Prophet Mohammed (sall Allahu alayhi wa alihi), or who had fought the Prophet Mohammed. And now they apply to whoever doubts and fights Imam Ali (alayhi salam), or whoever doubts in and fights against any of the Imams coming towards... until this current time Imam Al-Mahdi (alayhi salam).
So the central character becomes the living Hujjah of every time and his vicegerents they play a role. And the believers, they play a role and the Qur'an is alive. And the enemies of the believers and the enemies of the Hujjah in every day and age, they become what these verses are speaking about. And for that reason, we find that there is a plethora of narrations from Mohammed and the Family of Mohammed that basically state that the meaning of particular verses in the Qur'an are speaking about the Qaim and his companions, over and over and over again. You find these narrations in the writings of Mohammed in the Family of Mohammed, so much so that you would think that the entire Qur'an was written about them. And in fact the Qur'an is written about them. And so you would have verses like "Itha jaa nasru Allahiwalfath," (إِذَا جَآءَ نَصْرُ ٱللَّهِ وَٱلْفَتْحُ ) "If the victory of Allah and the opening comes." Well, this verse came down and it was when the Prophet Mohammed (sall Allahu alayhi wa alihi) had opened Mecca. And so the Prophet was victorious. In the time of Imam Ali (alayhi salam) when he was victorious in certain battles, this also would've been applicable to him. And in the times of the Imams that were oppressed, the Ahlul-Bayt (alayhum salam) state in the narrations that the fulfilment of these surahs in their time was delayed until a future time, which was the time of the Qaim and his companions.”
The School of Divine Mysteries Series, How to Understand the Quran