Surah Al-Ahzaab (33) — Ayah 69

(Ayah 69) ➊ { يٰۤاَيُّهَا الَّذِيْنَ اٰمَنُوْا لَا تَكُوْنُوْا كَالَّذِيْنَ اٰذَوْا مُوْسٰى :} It was mentioned above that there is a curse upon those who harm Allah and His Messenger, and for them is a humiliating punishment. From the very beginning of the Surah, the mention of the hypocrites harming the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) has been ongoing, which sometimes took the form of saying during the Battle of Ahzab that Allah and His Messenger promised us victory and help only to deceive us, sometimes by asking permission to leave the battlefield and go home, and sometimes by saying that now there is no way for Muslims to remain in Madinah. Besides this, their friendship with the Jews and other disbelievers and their desire for their victory was extremely distressing for the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him). Painful remarks about his personal life were in addition to this, such as objecting to his having more than four wives, or his marriage to Zainab (may Allah be pleased with her), the wife of his adopted son Zaid (may Allah be pleased with him). At the end of the Surah, Allah Almighty again forbids the believers from harming the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) by saying that you should not be like those who harmed Musa (peace be upon him).

➋ The words of those who harmed Musa (peace be upon him) have been mentioned at several places in the Quran. Obviously, not all the Children of Israel were like this, so Allah Almighty forbade being like those who harmed Musa (peace be upon him). Their attitude was extremely distressing for Musa (peace be upon him), as they would often outright refuse to obey his commands, and for this they would use the word {’’لَنْ‘‘} (never), which is used for strong negation, for example: « لَنْ نَّصْبِرَ عَلٰى طَعَامٍ وَّاحِدٍ » [ البقرۃ : ۶۱ ], « لَنْ نُّؤْمِنَ لَكَ حَتّٰى نَرَى اللّٰهَ جَهْرَةً » [ البقرۃ : ۵۵ ], and: «لَنْ نَّدْخُلَهَاۤ اَبَدًا مَّا دَامُوْا فِيْهَا» [ المائدۃ : ۲۴ ] When Harun (peace be upon him) forbade them from worshipping the calf, they said: « لَنْ نَّبْرَحَ عَلَيْهِ عٰكِفِيْنَ حَتّٰى يَرْجِعَ اِلَيْنَا مُوْسٰى» [ طٰہٰ : ۹۱ ] "We will remain devoted to it until Musa returns to us." Sometimes they would procrastinate in obeying commands, as when they were ordered to slaughter a cow, first they said {’’ اَتَتَّخِذُنَا هُزُوًا ‘‘}, then kept asking question after question about the nature of the cow. This was their attitude towards their benefactor who endured hardships from Pharaoh for their sake for a long time, through whom Allah Almighty delivered them from the slavery of Pharaoh and granted them the blessing of freedom. Through his supplication, they received manna and quails, the shade of clouds was provided, and twelve springs of water were made to flow for them.

➌ { فَبَرَّاَهُ اللّٰهُ مِمَّا قَالُوْا :} From these words, it is understood that the harm of these people reached the point of making accusations and slanders against the noble person of Musa (peace be upon him). However, Allah Almighty made his innocence from all their accusations as clear as daylight, because he was of great status with Allah Almighty. It was not possible that Allah would allow any stain to be attached to him.

➍ An example of the harm from the Children of Israel to Musa (peace be upon him) is mentioned in this hadith narrated from Abu Hurairah (may Allah be pleased with him), that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "Musa (peace be upon him) was very modest and very private. Because of his intense modesty, no part of his skin was ever visible. Some of those who harmed him among the Children of Israel said: 'Musa hides his body so much, there must be some defect in it, or he has leucoderma, or his testicles are swollen, or he has some other disease.' Allah Almighty wanted to make clear Musa's innocence from what they said about him. One day, when he was alone, he placed his clothes on a stone and began to bathe. When he finished and went to take his clothes, the stone ran off with his clothes. Musa (peace be upon him) picked up his staff and ran after the stone, saying, 'O stone! My clothes, O stone! My clothes.' Until the stone reached a gathering of the Children of Israel, and they saw him naked. They saw that he was the most beautiful of Allah's creation and completely free from the defects they had mentioned. In short, the stone stopped, so Musa (peace be upon him) took his clothes and put them on, and began to strike the stone with his staff. By Allah! Because of his striking, three or four or five marks appeared on the stone. This is the meaning of Allah Almighty's statement: « يٰۤاَيُّهَا الَّذِيْنَ اٰمَنُوْا لَا تَكُوْنُوْا كَالَّذِيْنَ اٰذَوْا مُوْسٰى فَبَرَّاَهُ اللّٰهُ مِمَّا قَالُوْا وَ كَانَ عِنْدَ اللّٰهِ وَجِيْهًا » [ الأحزاب : ۶۹ ] [ بخاري، أحادیث الأنبیاء، باب : ۳۴۰۴ ]

➎ Sometimes, when the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) was harmed by someone who appeared to be a Muslim, he mentioned the harm given to Musa (peace be upon him) and his patience over it. Abdullah bin Mas'ud (may Allah be pleased with him) says that the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) distributed some wealth, so a man said: "There was no intention of seeking Allah's pleasure in this distribution." I came to the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) and informed him of this, and he became angry, so much so that I saw anger on his face. Then the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: [ يَرْحَمُ اللّٰهُ مُوْسٰي قَدْ أُوْذِيَ بِأَكْثَرَ مِنْ هٰذَا فَصَبَرَ ] [ بخاري، أحادیث الأنبیاء، باب : ۳۴۰۵ ] "May Allah have mercy on Musa, he was harmed with more than this, yet he was patient."

➏ In some tafsirs, it is mentioned regarding this harm that the Children of Israel accused Musa (peace be upon him) of killing Harun (peace be upon him), so Allah Almighty sent His angels, who lifted the body of Harun (peace be upon him) and showed it, and there was no such sign on it. In this way, Allah Almighty declared Musa (peace be upon him) innocent. But this story is not narrated from the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him); obviously, it is an Israelite narration, which we can neither declare true nor false.

69. 1. Its explanation has come in the hadith in this way: Hazrat Musa (peace be upon him) was extremely modest, so he never exposed his body in front of people. The Banu Isra'il began to say that perhaps there are spots of vitiligo or some such affliction on Musa's (peace be upon him) body, which is why he always remains covered in clothing. Once, Hazrat Musa (peace be upon him) went to bathe in solitude, took off his clothes, and placed them on a stone. The stone (by Allah's command) ran away with the clothes. Hazrat Musa (peace be upon him) ran after it. Until he reached a gathering of Banu Isra'il, they saw Hazrat Musa (peace be upon him) naked, and all their doubts were removed. Musa (peace be upon him) was extremely handsome and beautiful, free from every kind of spot and defect. In this way, Allah Almighty miraculously cleared him of the accusation and doubt that was made against him by Banu Isra'il through the stone (Sahih Bukhari). Regarding Hazrat Musa (peace be upon him), the believers are being made to understand that you should not hurt our last Prophet, Hazrat Muhammad ﷺ, as Banu Isra'il did, and do not say such things about him that would cause him distress and anxiety. For example, on one occasion during the distribution of war booty, a person said that justice and fairness were not observed in it. When these words reached him, he became angry, so much so that your blessed face turned red. He said, "May Allah's mercy be upon Musa (peace be upon him), he was hurt much more than this, but he remained patient" (Sahih Bukhari).

O you who believe! Do not be like those who hurt Musa. Then Allah cleared him of what they said, and he was highly honored [108] in the sight of Allah.

[107] This verse is also supported and authenticated by the following hadith: Sayyiduna Abdullah bin Mas'ud ؓ narrates that when the Messenger of Allah ﷺ distributed the spoils of war (after the Battle of Hunayn), a man said: "This distribution is not intended for Allah's pleasure." I went to the Messenger of Allah ﷺ and informed him of this. Signs of anger appeared on his blessed face, and he said: "May Allah have mercy on Musa ؑ; he was hurt with even greater harm than this, but he remained patient." [بخاری۔ کتاب الجہاد باب ماکان النبیﷺ یعطی المؤلفۃ قلوبھم وغیرھم من الخمس ونحوہ]
And the following hadith presents the explanation of this verse:

The Harm Inflicted Upon Musa ؑ by Bani Israel:

Sayyiduna Abu Hurairah ؓ says that the Messenger of Allah ﷺ said: "The Children of Israel used to bathe naked, looking at one another. But Musa ؑ used to bathe alone. The Children of Israel said: 'By Allah, nothing prevents Musa from bathing with us except that he suffers from a hernia (skin disease).' By chance, one day Musa ؑ began to bathe and placed his clothes on a stone. The stone ran away with his clothes, and Sayyiduna Musa ؑ chased after it, saying: 'O stone, my clothes! O stone, my clothes!' until the Children of Israel saw Sayyiduna Musa ؑ (naked) and said: 'By Allah! Musa ؑ has no disease.' (The stone stopped), Musa ؑ took his clothes and began to strike the stone. Abu Hurairah ؓ says: 'By Allah, there are six or seven marks on that stone.'" [بخاری۔ کتاب الغسل۔ باب من اغتسل عریاناً]
Now, it is evident that those who deny supernatural events or miracles cannot accept this explanation. However, there is enough flexibility in the words of this hadith that even they can accept it, as follows: "Hajar" means both "stone" and "mare" (female horse) (according to Munjid). In this sense, the incident would be as follows: Musa ؑ was riding a mare. At a secluded place, he began to bathe, placed his clothes on the mare, and when he went to take his clothes after bathing, the mare ran off. Musa ؑ chased after her, saying "O stone, my clothes! O stone, my clothes!" until some people saw him naked and realized that he was completely free from blemish and the alleged disease. In this way, Allah Almighty cleared Musa ؑ of their accusation. As for the statement of Sayyiduna Abu Hurairah ؓ that he swears there are six or seven marks on the stone, this is his own statement, not a Prophetic saying ﷺ that would be binding to accept. Furthermore, Qarun also bribed a prostitute to falsely accuse Sayyiduna Musa ؑ of adultery with her. But when Sayyiduna Musa ؑ asked her by Allah, such awe overcame her that she openly denied it and confessed that she had made the accusation at Qarun's instigation. And the harm caused by Bani Israel to Musa ؑ in this way becomes an even graver crime, considering that it was through him that Bani Israel were delivered from the slavery of Pharaoh. Their condition in Egypt was like that of the Shudras in India, or even worse than that, as they lived their lives there.

[108] The second meaning of ﴿وَجِيْهًا﴾ is a person of such dignity and awe that even if people have some objection against him, they cannot say anything to his face and instead talk behind his back. The same word has been used by Allah Almighty for Sayyiduna Isa, saying ﴿وَجِيْهًا فِيْ الدُّنْيَا وَالآخِرَةِ﴾ [3: 45] meaning Isa was dignified in this world and will be dignified in the Hereafter as well. Thus, in this world, the Jews made accusations regarding his birth, but no one dared to say anything to his face. In this verse, the address is probably directed towards the hypocrites who mingled among the Muslims. Otherwise, it is impossible for sincere believers to hurt their beloved and greatest benefactor.