Surah Al-Qasas (28) — Ayah 23

(Ayah 23) ➊ { وَ لَمَّا وَرَدَ مَآءَ مَدْيَنَ …:} That is, when he reached Madyan, he saw at its well a crowd of people watering their animals. Madyan is also the name of a tribe, descended from Madyan son of Ibrahim. In this respect, Musa (peace be upon him) also had a familial connection with them, because he too was from the descendants of Yaqub (peace be upon him), the grandson of Ibrahim (peace be upon him). (Ibn Ashur)
➋ { وَ وَجَدَ مِنْ دُوْنِهِمُ امْرَاَتَيْنِ تَذُوْدٰنِ: ’’ذَادَ يذُوْدُ ذَوْدًا‘‘} To keep away. Musa (peace be upon him) saw that two women were standing apart from the men at one side, keeping their sheep and goats away from the water, so that they would not mix with the other people's goats to drink water and then get lost. They did not have enough strength to push away the crowd or to draw the heavy bucket themselves.
➌ { قَالَ مَا خَطْبُكُمَا:} Musa (peace be upon him) felt compassion for their situation and asked them, "Why are you standing here? Why don't you water (your animals)?"
➍ { قَالَتَا لَا نَسْقِيْ حَتّٰى يُصْدِرَ الرِّعَآءُ:’’ الرِّعَآءُ ‘‘ ’’رَاعِيٌّ‘‘} is the plural of 'رَاعِيٌّ' (ra'in), shepherds. {’’أَصْدَرَ يُصْدِرُ‘‘} To water and then take back. They said, "We do not water (our animals) until these shepherds have watered their animals and taken them back, because our father is very old and weak, he is not able to come here, nor can he draw water, nor can we draw the heavy bucket. When the shepherds leave, we will give our animals the leftover water, or later draw a little water in the bucket and give it to them." The commentators have mentioned the names of these women as "Safura" and "Liya," but this is not established from any reliable source.
➎ { وَ اَبُوْنَا شَيْخٌ كَبِيْرٌ:} It is commonly believed about the father of these women that he was Shu'ayb (peace be upon him). This is based on nothing except that Shu'ayb (peace be upon him) was sent to the people of Madyan, but how does this prove that the elder of Madyan who hosted Musa (peace be upon him) was also Shu'ayb (peace be upon him)? The scholars say that the time of Shu'ayb (peace be upon him) was much before Musa (peace be upon him), because he said to his people: «{ وَ مَا قَوْمُ لُوْطٍ مِّنْكُمْ بِبَعِيْدٍ }» [ ھود : ۸۹ ] "And the people of Lut (also) are not far from you." And everyone knows that Lut and Ibrahim (peace be upon them) lived in the same era, and Ibrahim (peace be upon him) passed away centuries before Musa (peace be upon him). Ibn Kathir says: "This is further supported by the fact that if that elder had been Shu'ayb (peace be upon him), it is most likely that his name would have been mentioned in the Qur'an. In some hadiths, the name is explicitly mentioned in the story of Musa (peace be upon him), but none of their chains are Sahih, as we will mention ahead." (Ibn Kathir) In the books of Bani Israel, his name is given as "Thiron," in one place as "Ra'uwail," in another as "Yitro," and in one place as "Hobab." Some scholars of Islam have mentioned his name as "Yathri," but it is apparent that this cannot be known without an established report, which is not present here.

23-1. That is, when he reached Madyan, he saw at its well a crowd of people who were watering their animals. Madyan was the name of this tribe and was from the descendants of Ibrahim (peace be upon him), while Musa (peace be upon him) was from the lineage of Yaqub (peace be upon him), who was the grandson of Ibrahim (peace be upon him) (the son of Ishaq, peace be upon him). Thus, there was also a genealogical connection between the people of Madyan and Musa (Aysar al-Tafasir). and this was also the place of residence and mission of Shu'ayb (peace be upon him).

23-2. Seeing two women standing with their animals held back, Musa (peace be upon him) felt compassion in his heart and asked them, "What is the matter, why are you not watering your animals?" "Raa'" is the plural of "ra'i" (shepherd).

23-3. So that we do not mix with the men.

23-4. Our father is old, so he cannot come to the watering place to give water.

And when he arrived at the well of Madyan, he found a group of people watering (their flocks), and apart from them he found two women holding back their flocks. He asked, "What is your situation?" They replied, "We cannot water (our animals) until the shepherds move away, and our father is a very old man [32]."

[32]
The Crowd at the Well of Madyan:

After traveling for eight days, he (Musa ؑ) reached the well of Madyan. There he saw that many people had gathered to water their animals. Two strong men would barely manage to draw water from a heavy bucket, and after watering their animals, they would leave, then other men would come and start drawing water from the well, and there was a crowd. There were also one or two girls standing, holding back their goats. Prophet Musa ؑ went to them and asked, "Why are you standing here in this condition?" They said: "We are waiting for these shepherds to water their animals and leave, then we will water ours. We are the ones who bring these goats to graze, because our father is very old and weak. He is not able to come here, nor can he draw water, and we cannot draw such a heavy bucket. When the shepherds leave, we will water our animals with whatever water is left, or later we will draw a little water at a time and give it to them."