Verses 29–42
This set of verses contains yet another section of the story of Moses. It contains a summary of the events relating to Moses which occurred from the time he began his journey from Midian towards Egypt, accompanied by his family. It also includes mention of him being sent to the Pharaoh and his people as a divinely ordained messenger in order to rescue the Children of Israel as well as the account of the Pharaoh and his people belying him, up until God drowned them in the sea. This section then terminates with the mention of Moses being given the Book, giving the sense that it is the mainstay of this episode.
Commentary
فَلَمَّا قَضَىٰ مُوسَى الْأَجَلَ وَسَارَ بِأَهْلِهِ آنَسَ مِنْ جَانِبِ الطُّورِ نَارًا قَالَ لِأَهْلِهِ امْكُثُوا إِنِّي آنَسْتُ نَارًا لَعَلِّي آتِيكُمْ مِنْهَا بِخَبَرٍ أَوْ جَذْوَةٍ مِنَ النَّارِ لَعَلَّكُمْ تَصْطَلُونَ ٢٩
(28:29) So when Moses had fulfilled the term, and he journeyed with his family, he perceived on the side of the mountain a fire. He said to his family: Wait, I have seen a fire, maybe I will bring to you from it some news or a brand of fire, so that you may warm yourselves.
The beginning part of this verse, which reads So when Moses had fulfilled the term means his completing his term of service with Shuʿayb. It is transmitted that he spent the longer of the two terms. The verbal noun al-īnās means “vision,” “sight,” “view,” “perception” while the phrase jadhwatun min al-nār (“a brand of fire”) which occurs in this verse means “a bit of the fire” or “a piece of the fire.” The verbal noun al-iṣṭilāʾ means “to warm oneself.”
The context attests that the anecdote described in this verse occurred during a bitterly cold night when they had lost their way. At that point in time, Moses saw a fire on the side of the mountain which they had come close to. Thus he instructed his family to tarry so that he may go towards what he saw, for perhaps he would find someone there who would inform him of the right path or he may take a piece of the fire so that they could all warm themselves with it. In Sūrah al-Ṭāhā where the story of Moses is related, there occurs in place of this verse the following verse: When he saw fire, he said to his family: Stop, for I see a fire, haply I may bring to you therefrom a live coal or find guidance at the fire (). This is most indicative of them having had lost their way. Similarly, Moses’ usage of the plural imperative verb umkuthū (“wait all of you”) when addressing his family testifies that there were, along with his wife, others with whom such a plural address was valid and appropriate.
فَلَمَّا أَتَاهَا نُودِيَ مِنْ شَاطِئِ الْوَادِ الْأَيْمَنِ فِي الْبُقْعَةِ الْمُبَارَكَةِ مِنَ الشَّجَرَةِ أَنْ يَا مُوسَىٰ إِنِّي أَنَا اللَّهُ رَبُّ الْعَالَمِينَ ٣٠
(28:30) And when he came to it, he was called from the right side of the valley, from the bush, [which was] in the blessed spot, saying: O Moses! Surely I am Allah, the Lord of the worlds.
It is recorded in al-Mufradāt that the phrase shāṭiʾi al-wādī which occurs in this verse means “the side of the valley.” He (al-Rāghib) writes:
The original meaning of the word al-wādī is a place from which water streams forth and consequently the crevice between two mountains is called wādī (“a valley”) while its plural is awdiya.
The term al-buqʿah that occurs in this verse means “a patch of earth or a piece of land that is different in appearance from the area around it or different in state from the area around it.” And the meaning of the term al-ayman which occurs in this verse means “the right side (al-ayman), in contrast to the left (al-aysar),” and it occurs as an adjective describing and qualifying the term “side” (shāṭiʾi ). Hence what some have opined regarding this adjective, which is that it means “auspicious, fortunate, good, and lucky” (al-ayman), in contradistinction to “inauspicious, ominous, ill-omened, and unfortunate” (al-ashʾām) is inconsequential.
The blessed spot was a special piece of land or a special patch of earth on the right side of the valley where there was a bush from which Moses was called. Its blessedness was due to it being honored and distinguished by divine closeness and divine speech. Moses had been ordered to remove his shoes in it due to its sanctity and this is related by God in this account as it occurs in Sūrah al-Ṭāhā: Therefore put off your shoes; you are in the sacred valley, Ṭuwā (). There is no doubt that the meaning of the verse is that the bush was the place from which the call and the speech of God arose or sprang forth, from one perspective or facet of meaning. However, the speech, which was the speech of God, was not situated or located in the bush, nor did it in-here or exist in the bush as does the speech of a speaker among us, which exists and is located in us. Therefore the bush served as nothing but a veil by which God veiled Himself and spoke to Moses from beyond it in a manner that was suitable and befitting His Sacred Being as well as appropriate and befitting with regards to the meaning of “veiling Himself.” This is while in reality God encompasses everything. He says: And it is not for any mortal that Allah should speak to him except by revelation or from behind a veil, or by sending a messenger and revealing by His permission what He pleases; He is High, Wise ().
Some exegetes have held that the bush was the place of the speech because speech is a presentation or a demonstration that requires a place or a location to exist in or to be situated in. The weakness of this opinion should be clear given what we said above. Similar in weakness is the claim that this discourse indicates the most superior of the prophetic stations since this method of communication involves the prophets being able to hear the speech of God without any intermediary or a messenger who is sent forth [in the form of an angel]. The weakness of this claim lies in the fact that this particular discourse was from behind a veil—namely, the bush—and a veil is an intermediary, while the apparent meaning of the verse of Ṣūrah al-Shūra cited here-to-before is that the most superior form of divine communication is revelation that takes place without the intermediary of a veil or that of a messenger sent forth.
Saying: O Moses! Surely I am Allah, the Lord of the worlds: This verse contains information about the transcendent being of God which is identified here by the name “Allah.” God is described by the quality of the unity of lordship, while absolutely negating any kind of association of another being with God. This is because God is the Master of the entire universe. Thus the Master is the master-manager of His kingdom and the One who deserves worship from His subjects. He does not leave out anything in His universe which could be subject to the authority of other than Him such that there could be a lord other than Him, and a god and one worshiped other than Him.
Thus the latter part of this verse contains an abridged form of God’s call to Moses which God had expressed in detail in Sūrah al-Ṭāhā in respect of the three theological principles, these being: monotheism, prophethood, and resurrection, where He says: Surely I am Allah. There is no Allah but I; therefore, serve Me and keep up prayer for My remembrance: Surely the hour is coming ().
وَأَنْ أَلْقِ عَصَاكَ ۖ فَلَمَّا رَآهَا تَهْتَزُّ كَأَنَّهَا جَانٌّ وَلَّىٰ مُدْبِرًا وَلَمْ يُعَقِّبْ ۚ يَا مُوسَىٰ أَقْبِلْ وَلَا تَخَفْ ۖ إِنَّكَ مِنَ الْآمِنِينَ ٣١
(28:31) And saying: Cast down your staff. So when he saw it in motion as if it were a serpent, he turned back retreating and did not return. O Moses! Come forward and fear not; you are of those who are secure.
An explanation for this verse has already been given in Sūrah al-Naml. As for the part of this verse that says: O Moses! Come forward and fear not; you are of those who are secure, this contains an implied elision which consists of the words: It was said to him… Thus this address contains an assurance to Moses, and this address brings to light the meaning of God’s statement at this point in the narrative which occurs in Sūrah al-Naml, which says O Moses! Fear not; the messengers shall not fear in My presence (), in that it was an assurance the meaning of which was: “You are a person sent forth as a messenger, and messengers sent forth are secure near Me. They are not subject to rebuke or censure with regards to anything.”
الرَّهْبِ ۖ فَذَانِكَ بُرْهَانَانِ مِنْ رَبِّكَ إِلَىٰ فِرْعَوْنَ وَمَلَئِهِ ۚ إِنَّهُمْ كَانُوا قَوْمًا فَاسِقِينَ ٣٢
(28:32) Put your hand into the opening of your bosom, it will come forth white without evil, and draw your hand to yourself to ward off fear: so these two shall be two arguments from your Lord to Pharaoh and his chiefs, they are a transgressing people.
The imperative “put your hand into the opening of your bosom” means insert it into it, while the meaning of the term al-sūʾu (“evil”) in this verse refers to leprosy in light of what is suggested and opined. Apparently, this qualifying detail occurs as a critical allusion to what occurs in this part of the narrative in the present-day Torah, which reads: “Then his Lord said to him also: ‘insert your hand into your sleeve’ and so he inserted his hand into his sleeve and then brought it out when lo! His hand was whitely leprous like snow!” As for the part of this verse that says and draw your hand to yourself to ward off fear: so these two shall be two arguments from your Lord to Pharaoh and his chiefs, they are a transgressing people, the term al-rahb means “fear” [as do al-rahab and al-ruhb], while the term al-janāḥ which occurs in this verse is variously defined as “the hand” or “the upper arm or shoulder.”
Some suggest that the meaning of the imperative in and draw your hand to yourself to ward off fear means that Moses should gather his hands to his chest when the turning of the staff into a snake causes fear in him so that the fear in his heart would dissipate. It is also suggested that when Moses cast the staff and it became a snake, he spread out his hands in fear like a person warding off harm, and these were his two arms. Thus he was told: “gather your hands to yourself,” meaning “do not spread out your hands in fear of the snake, for you are secure from its harm.” Both these suggestions, as you can see, are made on the basis that and draw your hand to yourself to ward off fear is a continuation of or a complement to what is said in the previous verse: Cast down your staff. So when he saw it in motion as if it were a serpent, he turned back retreating and did not return. O Moses! Come forward and fear not; you are of those who are secure… ()…and draw your hand to yourself to ward off fear (). However such a consideration or opinion militates against the interposition of Put your hand into the opening of your bosom, it will come forth white without evil. This speech intervenes between these two sentences as a separating disconnect and without a conjunctive particle. It is also suggested that the imperative and draw your hand to yourself to ward off fear means that he should be resolute and determined with respect to what God wants of him, and to be diligent in carrying out the responsibility of messengership lest fear, which could overcome him in certain situations, prove a hurdle and a hindrance in the attainment of God’s objective. However, it is not implausible that the meaning of the imperative is an instruction to Moses to adopt the characteristics of modesty and humility since it is in the nature of a proud and arrogant person who is enamored of himself to draw apart his arms from his sides like a person who stretches himself in arrogance in his gait. Thus this imperative, according to some interpretations, could be in the meaning of the instruction which God had given His Prophet Muḥammad in favor of humbleness towards the believers, as is mentioned in: and make yourself gentle to the believers ().
قَالَ رَبِّ إِنِّي قَتَلْتُ مِنْهُمْ نَفْسًا فَأَخَافُ أَنْ يَقْتُلُونِ ٣٣
(28:33) He said: My Lord! Surely I killed one of them, so I fear lest they should slay me.
This speech refers to Moses’ killing of the Copt by means of a blow with the entirety of his fist. Thus he feared that the Copts would kill him in retaliation.
وَأَخِي هَارُونُ هُوَ أَفْصَحُ مِنِّي لِسَانًا فَأَرْسِلْهُ مَعِيَ رِدْءًا يُصَدِّقُنِي ۖ إِنِّي أَخَافُ أَنْ يُكَذِّبُونِ ٣٤
(28:34) And my brother, Aaron, he is more eloquent of tongue than I, therefore send him with me as an aider, verifying me: I fear that they would reject me.
Majmaʿ al-Bayān says:
The (Arabic) expression fulānun ridʾun li-fulānin means “so-and-so is a ridʾun for so-and-so” if the former helps and aids the latter and strengthens his back [that is, “one backs and supports the other”].
Moses’ statement I fear that they would reject me serves to explain and justify his request to have Aaron sent along with him, while the context shows that Moses feared that the Copts would belie him. Consequently, this would anger him making him incapable of expressing his argument clearly due to a stutter that he suffered from in speech, and it does not mean that he made the request for Aaron to accompany him so that the Copts would not belie him. This is because the person who would belie him would not care to belie Aaron along with him. The evidence for this interpretation is what is related in Sūrah al-Shuʿarāʾ at this juncture of the narrative: He said: O my Lord! Surely I fear that they will reject me, and my breast straitens, and my tongue is not eloquent; therefore, send Thou Aaron [to help me] (). Hence the meaning obtained is that Moses said: “My brother Aaron is more eloquent than I in speech, therefore send him along with me as my helper so that he may clarify and illustrate my truthfulness with regards to my claim if the Copts argue and dispute with me. This is because I fear they shall belie me and I shall consequently fail to express the truth of my claim.”
قَالَ سَنَشُدُّ عَضُدَكَ بِأَخِيكَ وَنَجْعَلُ لَكُمَا سُلْطَانًا فَلَا يَصِلُونَ إِلَيْكُمَا ۚ بِآيَاتِنَا أَنْتُمَا وَمَنِ اتَّبَعَكُمَا الْغَالِبُونَ ٣٥
(28:35) He said: We will strengthen your arm with your brother, and We will give you both authority so that they shall not reach you due to Our signs; you two and those who follow you shall be uppermost.
The expression in this verse which reads [We will] strengthen your arm with your brother means “to strengthen and fortify Moses by means of Aaron,” while the expression so they shall not reach you [both] refers to the Copts’ inability to overcome Moses and Aaron by killing them or something similar. This is as if there were two parties in competition with each other where one of the two parties was always ahead and foremost while the other could not even get to the first or reach it let alone overtake it.
Hence the meaning obtained is that God said: “We shall strengthen, fortify, and help you by means of your brother Aaron, and We shall establish for you both authority and an upper hand over them. Thus they shall not overcome you both because of Our signs due to which We shall grant you both victory and triumph.” Then, God said: you two and those who follow you shall be uppermost. This terminal speech in the verse serves to clarify and explain the speech preceding it, which was: He said: …We will give you both authority so that they shall not reach you due to Our signs. Hence the latter part of this verse sheds light that the authority to be granted would encompass Moses and Aaron as well as those who follow them from among mankind. Consequently, it becomes clear by this explanation that the term sulṭān (“authority”) in this verse refers to subjugation, dominance, having an upper hand, and triumph. However, it is also suggested that this term (sulṭān) refers to the concept of al-ḥujja (“conclusive proof which would render all excuses untenable”), in which case it would be more appropriate that due to Our signs be considered as relating to the (terminal) part of this verse, which is you two and those who follow you shall be uppermost rather than to its immediately preceding part, which is so that they shall not reach you. And they (that is, exegetes) have mentioned many other interpretations for this verse which would be futile to present here.
فَلَمَّا جَاءَهُمْ مُوسَىٰ بِآيَاتِنَا بَيِّنَاتٍ قَالُوا مَا هَٰذَا إِلَّا سِحْرٌ مُفْتَرًى وَمَا سَمِعْنَا بِهَٰذَا فِي آبَائِنَا الْأَوَّلِينَ ٣٦
(28:36) So when Moses came to them with Our clear signs, they said: This is nothing but forged enchantment, and we have never heard of this from our fathers of old.
This verse conveys that the enchantment or magic (siḥr) mentioned in this verse was described as being forged (muftarā).
This is nothing but forged enchantment: is a reference to the divine signs that Moses came to them with. Hence the meaning is that what Moses had come forth with, of extraordinary and unusual signs, was nothing but forged magic and an enchantment that he had concocted and contrived, and then falsely attributed to God. And we have never heard of this from our fathers of old refers to the divine call Moses had come forth with and supported and proved with divine signs. The possibility that this terminal part of the verse refers to the divine signs [rather than to the divine call] is less probable since the repetition of the demonstrative pronoun hādhā (“this”) in the terminal part of this verse (and we have never heard of this from our fathers of old) does not agree with such an interpretation. Additionally, the Pharaoh and his people had claimed that they would bring forth something similar to it as God narrates of the Pharaoh in So we too will produce before you magic like it (). Their apparent lack of knowledge or familiarity with magic and its lack of precedent in the form of an example does not detract from them being able to claim it. Hence the meaning obtained is that they claimed: “What Moses had come forth with was an innovated religion while it had not been reported from our forefathers that they had adopted it at any given time.” This meaning corresponds with what is related in the next verse, which conveys the speech of Moses: And Moses said: My Lord knows best who comes with guidance from Him and whose shall be the good end of the abode; the unjust shall not be successful ().
وَقَالَ مُوسَىٰ رَبِّي أَعْلَمُ بِمَنْ جَاءَ بِالْهُدَىٰ مِنْ عِنْدِهِ وَمَنْ تَكُونُ لَهُ عَاقِبَةُ الدَّارِ ۖ إِنَّهُ لَا يُفْلِحُ الظَّالِمُونَ ٣٧
(28:37) And Moses said: My Lord knows best who comes with guidance from Him and whose shall be the good end of the abode; the unjust shall not be successful.
According to the context, this verse is Moses’ response to their speech, which was and we have never heard of this from our fathers of old (), which they made in refutation of Moses’ call. Moses’ response is in the form of a challenge, as if he were saying: “My Lord—who is the Lord of the universe and to who belongs the creation and the command—knows best who comes with guidance and whose end shall be good. He is the One who sent me forth as a messenger with guidance, which is the religion of monotheism, and has promised me that whosoever accepts and follows my religion shall have a good end where the proof for that is the clear signs which I have come forth with, from Him.”
And Moses said: My Lord knows best who comes with guidance from Him: Moses meant himself here, while the meaning of “guidance” in this verse refers to the religious call which he came forth with. In and whose shall be the good end of the abode, the meaning of the phrase ʿāqibatu al-dār (“the good end of the abode”) refers either to paradise in the hereafter which the fortunate shall inhabit just as God says while describing the inhabitants of paradise in and He has made us inherit the land; we may abide in the garden where we please () or it refers to the (life of this) world just as the following verse states: Moses said to his people: Ask help from Allah and be patient; the land is Allah’s; He causes such of His servants to inherit it as He pleases, and the end is for those who guard [against evil] (). Or it refers to a more general interpretation than the foregoing, whereby it includes both the life of this world and the hereafter. The third interpretation is the most preferred interpretation followed by the second interpretation, which Moses’ explanation supports, such as in the verse: And Moses said: …the unjust shall not be successful.
And Moses said: …the unjust shall not be successful: This serves as an attempt at exposing the Pharaoh and his people, denying that the good end of the abode shall be theirs since they had established a mode of life based on tyranny which consisted of deviating from social justice which human nature guides towards, and which is in conformity with the cosmos.
Some exegetes have suggested that And Moses said: My Lord knows best who comes with guidance from Him and whose shall be the good end of the abode; the unjust shall not be successful is conjoined to the statement of rejection of the Pharaoh and his people [in the previous verse] which reads they said: This is nothing but forged enchantment, and we have never heard of it from our fathers of old (). And this is in order to relate both statements so that the listeners may weigh them both and distinguish between them as to which is valid and which is not; however, what we have suggested above which is that Moses’ speech is in the form of a refutation of their statement is more in conformity with the literary context.
وَقَالَ فِرْعَوْنُ يَا أَيُّهَا الْمَلَأُ مَا عَلِمْتُ لَكُمْ مِنْ إِلَٰهٍ غَيْرِي فَأَوْقِدْ لِي يَا هَامَانُ عَلَى الطِّينِ فَاجْعَلْ لِي صَرْحًا لَعَلِّي أَطَّلِعُ إِلَىٰ إِلَٰهِ مُوسَىٰ وَإِنِّي لَأَظُنُّهُ مِنَ الْكَاذِبِينَ ٣٨
(28:38) And Pharaoh said: O chiefs! I do not know of any Allah for you besides myself; therefore kindle a fire for me, O Hāmān, to bake the mud, then prepare for me a lofty building so that I may obtain knowledge of Moses’ Allah, and I think him to be one of the liars.
This verse conveys an attempt by the Pharaoh at exposing Moses as a fraud and a liar by negating what he had brought forth of the true call, which was supported by miraculous signs. The Pharaoh intended to say that the truth of what Moses called to was not evident to him just as what he had brought forth of unusual and extraordinary signs as miracles from God was not convincing to him, and that he did not know for his people a god other than himself.
Thus Pharaoh’s speech, narrated in And Pharaoh said: O chiefs! I do not know of any Allah for you besides myself is in the style of a concerted attempt at projecting feigned fairness and honesty so that he would win over their acceptance. This is also apparent from his statement narrated in another place in the Qur’an: I do not show you aught but that which I see [myself], and I do not make you follow any but the right way (). Hence the meaning obtained is that the Pharaoh gave the impression to the chiefs that it did not appear to him from Moses’ call and signs that there existed a God who was the lord of the universe. Neither was he convinced that there was a god other than himself. Thereafter he ordered Hāmān to construct a tower for him so that he might get to know the god of Moses. Therefore it becomes apparent that Pharaoh’s speech in And Pharaoh said: O chiefs! I do not know of any Allah for you besides myself… was in the rhetorical style of concerted negation and exclusion. This is because Moses was establishing godhead and divinity in favor of God and negating it from other than God while the Pharaoh was negating godhead from God and establishing it for himself. As for the rest of the deities that the Pharaoh and his people worshiped, there is no mention of them.
Therefore kindle a fire for me, O Hāmān, to bake the mud, then prepare for me a lofty building (ṣarḥan)…: What is meant by the phrase “kindle a fire to bake the mud” is “to ignite or light a fire over the mud or clay in order to make bricks from it,” which would then be used in construction, while the term al-ṣarḥ that occurs in this verse refers to a lofty structure [such as a tower]. This meaning is understood from the expression ṣarḥ al-shayʾ which means “something rising to prominence when it becomes apparent and manifest.” Thus the verse refers to an imperative to bake bricks and to construct a lofty palace with them. As for the part of this verse which reads so that I may obtain knowledge of Moses’ Allah (), the Pharaoh attributed the word “god” to Moses in light of the fact that it was Moses who was calling towards Him. This speech is in the form of mentioning the conclusion in place of the introduction, the implication being: “Build a lofty palace for me so that I may ascend to its highest levels and look at the heavens, perhaps [then] I shall get to know the Allah of Moses.” This implies that the Pharaoh thought that God had a body and resided in one of the levels or stations of the heavens or space. Thus he hoped that if he looked from atop the highest level of the palace he would be able to get to know God. Alternatively, his statement aimed to blind, deceive, and misguide the people by obscuring the matter for them thereby rendering it confusing. It is also possible that he meant that an observation center be built for him so that he could observe the heavenly bodies and see if there existed things in the heavens that could prove to him the sending forth of a messenger or the truth of what Moses was describing. What supports this interpretation is what is related in another place in the Qur’an: And the Pharaoh said: O Hāmān! Build for me a tower that I may attain the means of access—the means of access to the heavens—then reach the Allah of Moses, and I think him to be a liar… ().
The Pharaoh’s words and I think him to be one of the liars () indicate a progression on Pharaoh’s part from ignorance, which the beginning part of this verse indicates in And Pharaoh said: O chiefs! I do not know of any Allah for you besides myself, towards a supposition of God’s non-existence. However, he was lying by uttering this statement and was saying it merely to deceive and beguile the people, to render the matter obscure and confusing, for them for Moses had addressed him with the following words: Truly you know that none but the Lord of the heavens and the earth has sent down these as clear proof… ().
Some commentators have said that the Pharaoh’s words O chiefs! I do not know of any Allah for you besides myself are in the form of negating the thing to be known [that is, God] by negating knowledge of it, in the sense that if God existed He would have manifested and revealed Himself, in which case this statement would resemble Say: Do you [presume to] inform Allah of what He knows not in the heavens and the earth? (). However, this interpretation does not agree with the verse’s ending.
وَاسْتَكْبَرَ هُوَ وَجُنُودُهُ فِي الْأَرْضِ بِغَيْرِ الْحَقِّ وَظَنُّوا أَنَّهُمْ إِلَيْنَا لَا يُرْجَعُونَ٣٩
(28:39) And he was unjustly proud in the land, he and his hosts, and they deemed that they would not be brought back to Us.
This verse describes their state which was the state of one for whom the idea of not returning to God held greater sway, and greater weight and preponderance, while in their hearts and innermost beings they were convinced of it as God says in And they denied them unjustly and proudly… ().
فَأَخَذْنَاهُ وَجُنُودَهُ فَنَبَذْنَاهُمْ فِي الْيَمِّ ۖ فَانْظُرْ كَيْفَ كَانَ عَاقِبَةُ الظَّالِمِينَ ٤٠
(28:40) So We caught hold of him and his hosts, then We cast them into the sea, and see how was the end of the unjust.
The verbal noun al-nabdh that occurs in this verse means “to cast,” “to throw,” while al-yamm refers to “the sea” or “great waters,” and the meaning of the rest of the verse is clear. This verse contains a sense of slighting and making light of their matter, subjecting it to scorn, disdain and derision, and rendering the punishment that befell them as frighteningly alarming, which is clearly apparent.
وَجَعَلْنَاهُمْ أَئِمَّةً يَدْعُونَ إِلَى النَّارِ ۖ وَيَوْمَ الْقِيَامَةِ لَا يُنْصَرُونَ ٤١
(28:41) And We made them Imams who call to the fire, and on the day of resurrection they shall not be assisted.
The phrase “to call to the fire” that occurs in this verse refers to the call that deserves the punishment of the fire due to disbelief and disobedience since it is this that shall be presented to the sinners on the Day of Resurrection as “the fire” in which they shall be punished and tormented. Or the intent of the expression “the fire” refers to what leads to deserving it, figuratively speaking, in the sense of mentioning the effect for the cause. And We made them Imams who call to the fire… means “rendering them precursors to the deviation, whom the subsequent generations would follow as an example.” There is no harm in such a rendition since it is in the form of a figurative speech which renders them forerunners to disbelief and infidelity and not those who initiated disbelief in a matter. It is also suggested that the meaning of “rendering them imams who call to the fire” is to name them or to designate them as such in a manner similar to this verse: And they make the angels—who are the servants of the Beneficent Allah—female [divinities] (wa jaʿalū al-malāʾikata alladhīna hum ʿibād al-raḥmāni ināthan, ). However, the meaning of the succeeding verse, which will be discussed shortly, does not agree with such an interpretation. Additionally, the use of the word “made” (al-jaʿl) to mean “to name” (al-tasmiyah) in the verse under discussion comes across as unacceptable. And on the day of resurrection they shall not be assisted means they shall not benefit from the intercession of any helper.
وَأَتْبَعْنَاهُمْ فِي هَٰذِهِ الدُّنْيَا لَعْنَةً ۖ وَيَوْمَ الْقِيَامَةِ هُمْ مِنَ الْمَقْبُوحِينَ ٤٢
(28:42) And We caused a curse to follow them in this world, and on the day of resurrection they shall be of those made to appear hideous.
This verse expresses a necessary consequence of the characteristics with which God has described the Pharaoh and his people in the previous verse. Hence the Pharaoh and his people, due to their being leaders who call to the fire, whom the subsequent generations would follow and whom the latter would take as exemplars in disbelief and disobedience would have the effects of the latter’s deviation and error arising from the latter’s disbelief and disobedience continue to follow and dog them, and they would shoulder the burden similar to that of those who emulated and followed them. Therefore, a continuous curse and damnation would follow and dog them as long as disbelief and disobedience continued after them. Thus this verse has the meaning of: And most certainly they shall carry their own burdens, and other burdens with their own burdens… (); And We write down what they have sent before and their footprints… ().
Rendering the word laʿnah (“a curse”) in an indefinite form indicates intensity and continuity. And so, while they would fail to obtain the intercession of any helper, their state would be such that souls would abhor and shun them, and people would flee from them; none would come near them. This has the meaning of repulsiveness, and God has described their repulsive and sorry state in many places in the Qur’an.
Examining Narrations
- It is narrated from Ibn ʿAbbās:
The Messenger of God was asked: “Which of the two terms did Moses complete?”
He replied: “The fuller, the more complete, and more drawn-out one.”
Author’s comment: A report with the same meaning has been transmitted via Abū Dharr from the Messenger of God.
- It is narrated from Muqsim:
I met al-Ḥasan b. ʿAlī b. Abī Ṭālib and asked him: “Which of the two terms did Moses complete? The first or the second?”
He replied: “The second one.”
- It is narrated from Imam al-Bāqir:
When Moses had completed the term and began the journey towards the house accompanied by his family, he lost the way, and then saw fire. He said to his family: Wait, I have seen a fire ().
- It is narrated from Imam al-Bāqir:
God said in the story of Moses: Put your hand into the opening of your bosom; it will come forth white without evil (). This means “without being leprous.”
- ʿAlī b. Ibrāhīm al-Qummī relates with respect to And my brother, Aaron, he is more eloquent of tongue than I, therefore send him with me as an aider, verifying me ():
The narrator said: “I asked Imam al-Bāqir: How long did Moses remain away from his mother till God returned him to her?”
He replied: “For three days.”
I asked: “Was Aaron Moses’ brother from the same mother and father?”
He replied in the affirmative: “Have you not heard God saying [relating Aaron’s words]: O son of my mother! Seize me not by my beard or by my head ()?”
I asked: “So who was the older of the two?”
He replied: “Aaron.”
I asked: “So did the revelation come down to them both?”
He replied: “The revelation would come down to Moses and he would in turn intimate it to Aaron.”
I said: “Tell me about the rules, judgments, commands, and prohibitions—were these for both of them?”
He replied: “Moses was the one who used to converse with his Lord and write down knowledge and judge between the Children of Israel while Aaron would take his place when Moses would be absent from his community having gone to converse with God.”
I asked: “So which one of the two died before the other?”
He replied: “Aaron died before Moses while both of them died during the period when the Children of Israel were subjected to the tribulation of being lost.”
I asked: “Did Moses have a son?”
He replied: “No, the son was that of Aaron and the progeny was his.”
Author’s comment: The last part of the report disagrees with other reports that say that Moses had a son, and the present-day Torah also indicates that.
- Abū ʿAlī al-Faḍl ibn al-Ḥasan al-Ṭabrisī narrates with respect to the verse And he was unjustly proud in the land, he and his hosts… () that one of the Imams said that Allah said:
Pride and grandeur are my robes while might and majesty are my covers (lit. “waist cloth”). Thus I will have anyone who disputes with Me regarding any of these cast into the fire.
- It is narrated from Imam al-Ṣādiq:
The leaders in the Book of God are of two types. God says: And We made them Imams who guided [people] by Our command () and not by the command of the people. They prefer the command and judgment of God to their command and judgment. He said: And We made them Imams who call to the fire (). The second set of leaders prefer their command and judgment to the command and judgment of God, and they follow their whims and desires in contrast to what is in the Book of God.
Discourse
The discussions “Discussion about the Narrative of Moses and Aaron in Several Sections”; “2) The Stories of Moses in the Qur’an”; “3) The Status of Aaron near God and His Devotional Position”; “4) The Story of Moses in the Current Text of the Torah” appear here in the printed volume. Read them in the Al-Mizan App.
In the present-day Torah (Exodus 4:20), it is related that Moses was travelling to Egypt with his wife and children. (Auth.) ↩︎
The particle an, which occurs in this verse (an yā Mūsā innī ana allahu) is known as the explicative particle (an al-tafsīriyya). (Auth.)
This particle is always preceded by a sentence, a clause or a word which has the meaning of “to tell,” “to say” but not containing a derivative of the verbal noun al-qawl (“to say,” “to tell”). Thus in , the explicative particle an is preceded by a sentence which contains the verb nūdiya meaning “he was called out to” or “a voice was uttered calling out to him.” This particle is then followed by a sentence or clause containing a specific speech or discourse which in is: O Moses! Surely I am Allah, the Lord of the worlds. Thus this particle heads a subordinate clause or sentence introducing direct discourse and therefore the intent of the particle is to suggest the meaning of “to say or saying” just as it is translated here. This particle is observed to recur at the beginning of the immediately following verse too—that is, –where it is followed by cast down your staff (). (Trans.) ↩︎
Exodus 4:6. ↩︎
What this means is that instead of reading this part of the verse as follows: He said: … and We will give you both authority, so that they shall not reach you due to Our signs; you two and those who follow you shall be uppermost () where the phrase due to Our signs is considered part of and as relating to the sentence preceding it, it is suggested, in light of the second interpretation of the term sulṭān that this verse should be read as follows: He said: … and We will give you both authority, so that they shall not reach you; due to Our signs you two and those who follow you shall be uppermost (), where the phrase due to Our signs is taken to relate to and to be part of the succeeding sentence. (Trans.) ↩︎
The adjective muftarā is a noun in the form of the passive participle, meaning “something forged, invented or fabricated without foundation.” Alternatively, the adjective muftarā is considered to be in the form of maṣdar mīmī where the term siḥr is described and qualified by it to exaggerate and intensify it. (Auth.)
Maṣdar mīmī is a verbal noun that begins with the letter mīm. (Trans.) ↩︎
This means that the two demonstrative pronouns in this verse are a reference to two separate things, the first being a reference to the divine signs while the second being a reference to the divine call. (Trans.) ↩︎
The full verse is And they serve beside Allah what can neither harm them nor profit them, and they say: These are our intercessors with Allah. Say: Do you (presume to) inform Allah of what He knows not in the heavens and the earth? Glory be to Him, and supremely exalted is He above what they set up (with Him) (). ↩︎
Majmaʿ al-Bayān, on the authority of al-Wāḥidi via his chain of transmission. ↩︎
Al-Durr al-Manthūr, on the authority of Ibn Abī Shayba. ↩︎
Majmaʿ al-Bayān, on the authority of Abū Baṣīr. ↩︎
Ṭibb al-Aʾimma, via its chain of transmission on the authority of Jābir al-Juʿfī. ↩︎
Tafsīr al-Qummī. ↩︎
Jawāmiʿ al-Jāmiʿ. ↩︎
Al-Kāfi, via its chain of transmission on the authority of Ṭalḥa b. Zayd. ↩︎