Surah Al-Qasas (28) — Ayah 44

(Ayah 44) ➊ In { وَ مَا كُنْتَ بِجَانِبِ الْغَرْبِيِّ … : ’’ بِجَانِبِ الْغَرْبِيِّ ‘‘}, {’’جَانِبٌ‘‘} is a described noun which is annexed to its attribute, and this style is common in Arabic, such as {’’مَسْجِدُ الْجَامِعِ، دِيْنُ الْقَيِّمِ، حَقُّ الْيَقِيْنِ‘‘} and {’’دَارُ الْآخِرَةِ۔‘‘}. Some grammarians who do not consider it permissible to annex a described noun to its attribute, they assume some omitted word in all these places, for example, regarding {’’ بِجَانِبِ الْغَرْبِيِّ ‘‘}, they say that its original form is {’’بِجَانِبِ الْمَكَانِ الْغَرْبِيِّ‘‘}. However, there is no need for this contrivance. Here, the question arises: from which place’s western side is meant by the western side? Because every place is western from some perspective. The answer is that among the Arabs, the determination of directions is based on the Ka‘bah. Using the Ka'bah as a reference point and facing east, the area on the right is called Yemen (right), the area on the left is called Sham (left), and the area in front is called the eastern side. As the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) faced the east and said: [ أَلَا إِنَّ الْفِتْنَةَ هٰهُنَا مِنْ حيْثُ يَطْلُعُ قَرْنُ الشَّيْطَانِ ] [ مسلم، الفتن و أشراط الساعۃ، باب الفتنۃ من المشرق… : ۲۹۰۵۔ بخاري : ۳۵۱۱ ] “Be aware! From this (i.e., the east) side, turmoil will emerge, from where the horn of Satan rises.” And the areas to the west of the Ka‘bah are called “the western side.” Imru’ al-Qais, describing the location of a cloud, said:
{عَلٰي قَطَنٍ بِالشَّيْمِ أَيْمَنُ صَوْبِهِ ¤ وَ أَيْسَرُهُ عَلَي السِّتَارِ فَيَذْبُلِ }
“Upon close observation, its rain’s right side was at the place Qatan, and its left side was at as-Sitar and then Yadhbul.” Here, right and left sides are meant after facing the east.
It should be clear that when Musa (peace be upon him) was called from the Mount, at that time he was on the side of the Mount which, when facing the Ka‘bah, would be its western side, and the valley he was in at that time, in the case of Musa (peace be upon him) facing the Ka‘bah, was on the right side of the mountain, which Allah Almighty has called {’’ الْوَادِ الْاَيْمَنِ ‘‘} and {’’ بِالْوَادِ الْمُقَدَّسِ طُوًى ‘‘}.

➋ In these verses, the proof of the Prophethood of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) and the truth of the Qur’an has been stated: that when We revealed to Musa (peace be upon him) and granted him Prophethood, at that time, O Muhammad! you were neither present on the western side of the Mount, nor among those witnessing the scene, nor did you know how to read or write before this (see Al-‘Ankabut: 48), rather these are matters of the unseen which We have informed you of through revelation, which is proof that you are the true Messenger of Allah, because you neither witnessed these matters yourself nor learned them from anyone. This subject has been mentioned in several places in the Qur’an; in Surah Al ‘Imran it is said: «{ ذٰلِكَ مِنْ اَنْۢبَآءِ الْغَيْبِ نُوْحِيْهِ اِلَيْكَ وَ مَا كُنْتَ لَدَيْهِمْ اِذْ يُلْقُوْنَ اَقْلَامَهُمْ }» [ آل عمران : ۴۴ ] “These are some of the news of the unseen which We reveal to you, and you were not with them when they were casting their pens.” And see also Surah Hud (49 and 100), Yusuf (102), and Ta-Ha (99).

44-1 That is, when We spoke to Musa (علیہ السلام) on Mount Tur and granted him revelation and prophethood, O Muhammad ﷺ, you were neither present there nor among those who witnessed this scene. Rather, these are matters of the unseen which We are informing you of through revelation, which is proof that you are a true messenger of Allah. For you have neither learned these things from anyone nor witnessed them yourself. This subject has also been mentioned in several other places, for example: (ذٰلِكَ مِنْ اَنْۢبَاۗءِ الْغَيْبِ نُوْحِيْهِ اِلَيْكَ ۭ وَمَا كُنْتَ لَدَيْهِمْ اِذْ يُلْقُوْنَ اَقْلَامَھُمْ اَيُّھُمْ يَكْفُلُ مَرْيَمَ ۠وَمَا كُنْتَ لَدَيْهِمْ اِذْ يَخْتَصِمُوْنَ) 3. Aal-e-Imran:44) (تِلْكَ مِنْ اَنْۢبَاۗءِ الْغَيْبِ نُوْحِيْهَآ اِلَيْكَ ۚ مَا كُنْتَ تَعْلَمُهَآ اَنْتَ وَلَا قَوْمُكَ مِنْ قَبْلِ ھٰذَا ړ فَاصْبِرْ ړاِنَّ الْعَاقِبَةَ لِلْمُتَّقِيْنَ) 11. Hud:49) (ذٰلِكَ مِنْ اَنْۢبَاۗءِ الْقُرٰي نَقُصُّهٗ عَلَيْكَ مِنْهَا قَاۗىِٕمٌ وَّحَصِيْدٌ) 11. Hud:10), (ذٰلِكَ مِنْ اَنْۢبَاۗءِ الْغَيْبِ نُوْحِيْهِ اِلَيْكَ ۚ وَمَا كُنْتَ لَدَيْهِمْ اِذْ اَجْمَعُوْٓا اَمْرَهُمْ وَهُمْ يَمْكُرُوْنَ) 12. Yusuf:12), (كَذٰلِكَ نَقُصُّ عَلَيْكَ مِنْ اَنْۢبَاۗءِ مَا قَدْ سَبَقَ ۚ وَقَدْ اٰتَيْنٰكَ مِنْ لَّدُنَّا ذِكْرًا) 20. Taha:99), etc.

And you were not on the western side (of the Mount) when We decreed the command to Moses, nor were you among the witnesses [58].

[57]
The Evidence of Your ﷺ Prophethood from the News of the Unseen:

That is, your not being present there, and then describing those circumstances as if an eyewitness is narrating them, is a strong proof that you are the true Messenger of Allah. Otherwise, apart from divine revelation, you have no other means of knowing these events.
[58] In terms of the context of the subject, its meaning is the same as mentioned above. And if this sentence is considered as a separate incident, then it would mean that you were not among those seventy (70) people who demanded to see Allah from Moses ؑ. Yet you have described that incident to the people as if you were present among them.