Surah Al-Qasas 28:29-42 - Quran Translation Commentary

29. Then, when Moosa had fulfilled the term,⁵⁸ and was travelling⁵⁹ with his family, he saw in the distance at the side of Mount Tur⁶⁰ a fire and said to his family: “Wait⁶¹ here, verily I see fire, perhaps I may bring news⁶² from there or a fire brand that you may warm yourself.”⁶³

30. And when he reached there, he was called from the right side of the valley in the blessed region from the tree: “O Moosa ! I am Allah, the Lord of the Worlds;⁶⁴

31. “And cast down your staff. And when he saw it writhing as if it were a serpent,⁶⁵ he turned his back and fled and did not look back,⁶⁶ (and it was said to him): “O Moosa! Come near and do not fear. You are quite safe.⁶⁷

32. ”Put your hand in your bosom. It will come out white without a blemish.⁶⁸ And draw back your arm close to your side to ward off fear.⁶⁹ These are two signs ⁷⁰ from your Lord for Firaun and his nobles. Verily they are an evil-doing people.”

33. He said: “My Lord! Verily I have killed one of their men and I fear that they will slay me.⁷¹

34. ”My brother Haroon is more eloquent than me in speech. Therefore, send Him with me as a helper to confirm ⁷² me. Verily I fear that they will disbelieve me.”

35. He said: “We will strengthen your arm with your brother and We will give to you both authority so that they will not reach you.⁷³ (Go) with Our signs. You two and those who follow you will be victorious.”⁷⁴

36. Then when Moosa came to them, they said: “This is nothing but deceitful magic. We never heard of this among our forefathers.”⁷⁵

37. Moosa replied: “My Lord knows best as to who brings guidance from Him and whose will be the best end in the Hereafter. The wrong-doers will never prosper.”⁷⁶

38. Firaun said: “O Nobles! I know not of any other god for you except me.⁷⁷! O Haman⁷⁸! Kindle a fire on clay (to make bricks) and build for me a lofty tower so that I may survey⁷⁹ the God of Moosa; and verily, I think him to be a liar.”

39. He and his armies were unjustly proud⁸⁰ in the land and thought that they will never be recalled to Us.⁸¹

40. So We seized him and his armies and hurled them into the sea. ⁸² So look at what was the end of the wrong-doers.

41. And We made them leaders! ⁸³ inviting men to the Fire, and on the Day of Resurrection they will not be helped.⁸⁴

42. And in this world We laid Our curse⁸⁵ on them, and on the Day of Resurrection they will be of the hateful.

Commentary

58. What term Moosa completed is not made clear by the Qur’an, and in the Bible there is no mention at all of the duration of the term. As for the tradition, it is stated in Bukhari, as narrated by Ibn Abbas, that he said that Prophet Moosa completed the term which was longer and better out of the two terms, but in other traditions also similar narratives have been quoted as stated by the Prophet (Sallal Lahu Alaihi Wa Sallam) but these traditions are not reliable on account of their sources. (For details please see Tafseer Ibn Katheer, Vol.II page 386).

59.That is: He was going from Madyan to Egypt with his wife and children so that he may live with his family members.

60. From Madyan at some distance is Mount Tur, which is situated in the Sinai peninsula, and it lies on way from Madyan to Egypt.

61. For the family people the word used is ‘Umkuthu’ (Wait) which is in plural number, which shows that with Prophet Moosa there were not only his wife, but his children also, and it means that his nikah was solemnised before the conclusion of his term of service, and that he was staying with his father in law as his son in law and was rendering service as a shepherd. During this period of service he had children, and after completing his term when he left Madyan, he not only had a wife but also some children.

62. That is: So that I may find the right path, as in the darkness it is not possible to see the path.

63. The night was cold. So Prophet Moosa wanted to bring a burning (lighted) torch to provide some warmth to his family members.

64. For explanation, please see Surah Taha Notes Nos. 10 and 11 and Surah Naml Note No.9.

65.In the text the word used is ‘Jann’ which is used for such a serpent which is very swift in movement. At other places in the Qur’an the word ‘Thu’ban’ and also the word ‘hayyah’ are used which respectively mean python and serpent. These are various terms for the same thing, that is, Prophet Moosa’s staff used to turn into a snake which looked like a python and in movement it was like a serpent which moved very swiftly.

66. For explanation, please see Surah Naml Note No.10.

67. That is: This snake will not harm you in any way.

68. For explanation, please see Surah Taha Note No.23.

69. For Prophet Moosa all these things were unexpected, particularly in a deserted place in the dark night the turning of the staff into a snake was naturally a frightening factor. Allah showed him a way of removing this fear that he should draw back his hands to his side. This was an extraordinary help from Allah.

70.These two miracles are the clear proof of the fact that you have been sent as a messenger from Allah.

71.That is: When I would go before Firaun I am afraid that he would take steps against me in connection with the old case of killing and the work of my dawah might not get started. Prophet Moosa was going to Egypt and although there was no possibility of raking up the old case and his being punished by Firaun for that, yet he felt that there was danger in going to Firaun, because he was going as a messenger of Allah.

What Prophet Moosa said did not mean that he was seeking excuses for not shouldering stet responsibility of prophethood, but that he was presenting the difficulties which lay ahead of him in his task of presenting dawah, so that those difficulties be removed and his task might become easy.

72. For explanation, please see Surah Taha Note No.30.

73. That is: Your impression and awe will be such on them that they will not be able to do any harm to you.

74. Victorious from the viewpoint of argument and also from the viewpoint of the result. Accordingly in the competition with the magicians Prophet Moosa was victorious, and every scheme of the king failed, and ultimately he with his army was drowned in the sea.

75. That is: This fact that Allah sends His messengers among men for their guidance.

76.The statement of Firaun and his companions that they did not hear anything from their forefathers about prophets was absolutely false, for only a few centuries ago a great prophet like Yusuf had propagated his message in Egypt, and he had also ruled over Egypt. Besides the presence of Bani Israil in Egypt was a living proof of the fact, because they were a nation believing in prophets. How could then the nation of Firaun be unaware of prophets. This was said by Prophet Moosa in reply to their obduracy, that is: if you do not want to understand anything, then wait for the consequences as to who triumphs and who rues the day.

77. From this statement of Firaun it appears that he was a denier of God and claimed himself to be a god. According to him there was no higher authority whose worship was compulsory and who deserved to be obeyed. He considered himself worthy of being worshipped because he was the ruler of Egypt, and he also demanded that he should be obeyed unquestionably. For further explanation please see Surah A’raf Note No.180, Surah Shu’ara Note No.27 and Surah Nazi’at Note No.18.

It may be noted that the prophets had to deal with disbelieving and polytheistic rulers, who enforced their own commands and rules instead of enforcing Allah’s commands and rules. But Qur’an has not stated about any other ruler, except Firaun, that he claimed to be god and the elevated lord. For example take the case of Queen of Sheba, who was a polytheist and had enforced her own commands and rules. Qur’an does not ascribe such a claim to her, as stated about Firaun. Prophet Sulaiman gave an ultimatum to her to bring an end to her polytheistic rule, but nowhere is it stated that she had claimed to be a goddess. Prophet Eesa had also to deal with Caeser’s government, which enforced its own rules, but it is also not said to be a claimant of godhood. Similarly in Makkah the Quraish ruled the roost, but they were also not said to be claiming to be gods. Therefore, it appears that the crime of Firaun was much greater than the crimes of all these rulers and men of power, and he was unique in his claim.

78. For explanation, please see Note No.11.

79. In reality it was not a command to Haman to be obeyed, but it was a statement lampooning the argument of Prophet Moosa that Allah was the Lord of the heavens and the earth. Firaun’s reply was that on the earth your God is not seen, now I will build a lofty tower and would try to locate your God in the heavens. This was an absolutely foolish reply from Firaun, therefore, Prophet Moosa did not deem it necessary to answer. This nonsensical argument of Firaun about God is a clear proof of his low mentality and of his being a very vain and proud person.

80.That is: Firaun had no authority whatever to think himself above the position of a worshipper. If a slave considers himself high and above the position of a worshipping slave then it is his pride, for which there is absolutely no justification.

81.That is: One has neither to appear before God, nor to account for one’s acts, nor to get recompense for them.

82. The event of drowning of Firaun and his army in the sea has been narrated in detail in Surah Yunus and Surah Shu’ara.

83. Whoever will follow the footsteps of Firaun and his companions on the Day of Judgment will be led towards the hell under his leadership only.

84. On the Day of Resurrection neither the astray leaders will help their misguided followers nor these astray followers will be of any help to their misguided leaders. Everyone of them will be quite helpless and stranded.

This is a great warning for the leaders as well as for the general public. Let everybody reflect where he is going and whom he is following.

85.The world sends curses to Firaun and his companions, Muslims, Christians and Jews all condemn them and the world considers Firaun as an aggressor.