Surah Taa-Haa (20) — Ayah 9

(Ayah 9 to 11) ➊ { وَ هَلْ اَتٰىكَ حَدِيْثُ مُوْسٰى:} After mentioning the greatness of the Qur’an and alluding to the hardship and suffering of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) in the course of da’wah and preaching, now from here the story of Musa (peace be upon him) is being narrated. The purpose is to console you (peace and blessings be upon him), because at the time this surah was revealed, the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) was facing similar circumstances in Makkah as Musa (peace be upon him) had faced before. In addition, the previous verse had mentioned the oneness of Allah with { ’’ اَللّٰهُ لَاۤ اِلٰهَ اِلَّا هُوَ ‘‘ }, and now the intention is to further clarify that every prophet came with this same message. Especially among the previous prophets, the one whose stories are most well-known was also informed of this in the first revelation: « { اِنَّنِيْۤ اَنَا اللّٰهُ لَاۤ اِلٰهَ اِلَّاۤ اَنَا فَاعْبُدْنِيْ }» [ طٰہٰ : ۱۴ ] and at the end of the surah, the same thing is repeated: «{ اِنَّمَاۤ اِلٰهُكُمُ اللّٰهُ الَّذِيْ لَاۤ اِلٰهَ اِلَّا هُوَ وَسِعَ كُلَّ شَيْءٍ عِلْمًا }» [ طٰہٰ : ۹۸ ] “Your deity is only Allah, there is no deity except Him, He has encompassed everything in knowledge.”
{’’ وَ هَلْ اَتٰىكَ حَدِيْثُ مُوْسٰى ‘‘} This is connected to {’’ مَاۤ اَنْزَلْنَا عَلَيْكَ الْقُرْاٰنَ لِتَشْقٰۤى ‘‘}, meaning the revelation is not a cause of misery for you, but rather a cause of happiness, just as this blessing was a cause of happiness for Musa (peace be upon him). And has the news of Musa reached you, how did the beginning of this happiness come to him? The question is to arouse the desire to hear his story, not to ask. The mention of seeing the fire is to further arouse interest, so that it is known what happened after seeing the fire. This incident occurred when, after spending ten years in exile in Madyan, Musa (peace be upon him) was returning to Egypt with his family. Part of this story has already been mentioned in Surah Yunus and Surah A’raf. The earlier part of this story is mentioned in Surah Qasas.
➋ “When he saw a fire” shows that it was nighttime and the season was cold. The family was with him and everyone needed a fire to spend the night. In Surah Qasas (29) and Surah Naml (7) it is said: «{ لَعَلَّكُمْ تَصْطَلُوْنَ }» “so that you may warm yourselves.” From {’’ اَوْ اَجِدُ عَلَى النَّارِ هُدًى ‘‘} it is known that Musa (peace be upon him) had lost his way, and the firestone (flint) was not with him, or if it was, due to the intensity of the cold or the dampness of the wood, the fire was not lighting. There is also a relevance in drawing attention through fire in the darkness, that in the same way, Musa (peace be upon him) will become a source of the light of guidance in the darkness of misguidance. [ التحریر و التنویر ]
➌ { اِنِّيْۤ اٰنَسْتُ نَارًا : ’’ آنَسَ ‘‘} (af’al) He saw clearly, that is why the pupil of the eye is called “insan al-‘ayn,” because it is through it that something is clearly perceived. With the emphasis of {’’ إِنَّ ‘‘} and the use of the word {’’ اٰنَسْتُ ‘‘}, it is apparent that Musa (peace be upon him) is mentioning with full certainty the sighting of a very great fire, because the tanween of {’’ نَارًا ‘‘} is also for magnification. This fire was to draw the attention of Musa (peace be upon him), which he saw burning in a tree, and from the tree itself came the voice that indeed, I am your Lord. This was not the personal light of Allah. The proof of this is that when Musa (peace be upon him) requested to see Allah, the answer was {’’ لَنْ تَرٰنِيْ ‘‘}. For details, see Surah A’raf (143).
➍ {لَعَلِّيْۤ اٰتِيْكُمْ مِّنْهَا بِقَبَسٍ : ’’ قَبَسٌ‘‘} is a verbal noun meaning the thing taken, i.e., something taken. When a burning flame is taken from a fire on the tip of a stick or reed to light a fire, it is called {’’قَبَسٌ‘‘} and also {’’جَذْوَةٌ‘‘}. One meaning of {’’جَذْوَةٌ‘‘} is also “ember.” (Qamus)
➎ { هُدًى :} means someone to show the way, or that in the light of the fire, the signs of the path may be found. Allah made Musa (peace be upon him) utter exactly what was going to happen in reality, so he received the flame of faith that saved him from the coldness of disbelief, and he also obtained guidance to the straight path.
➏ { ’’ نُوْدِيَ ‘‘} (he was called) This voice was coming from a tree. For details, see Surah Qasas (30). The use of the passive verb is also to arouse curiosity as to who was calling and what was said.

The exegesis of this verse has been done along with the previous verse.

9. And has the story of Moses [8] reached you?

[8] From the style of the Quran, it appears that the story of Musa (Moses) ؑ is being narrated in such detail for the first time in this surah, and due to the specific style of the Quran, many of the objections of the Quraysh—which they used to raise from time to time—are answered automatically within it.