Surah Al-A'raaf (7) — Ayah 143

(Ayah 143) ➊ {وَ لَمَّا جَآءَ مُوْسٰى لِمِيْقَاتِنَا:} Miqat means the appointed time. Since there was an invitation from Allah and a promise of attendance from Musa (peace be upon him), therefore {’’ وٰعَدْنَا ‘‘} (form of Mufa‘alah) is used, which occurs between two parties.

➋ { وَ كَلَّمَهٗ رَبُّهٗ:} That is, He spoke without any intermediary. See Surah Al-Baqarah (2:253) and An-Nisa (4:164). This was their second occasion of speaking with Allah. The first occasion is mentioned in Surah Ta-Ha (12), when he went to get fire and was honored with prophethood. Without an intermediary, because through an angel or by casting into the heart, every prophet was spoken to, which is called “revelation.” Then what was the distinction of Musa (peace be upon him)? Because of this, all people on the Day of Resurrection will mention it to Musa (peace be upon him) and request intercession, saying that Allah spoke to you. Those influenced by the polytheist Greek philosophers’ beliefs said that Allah cannot speak, so here such speech is meant in which there were neither words nor sound. Someone should ask them: from which verse of the Noble Qur’an or hadith did you learn this? The Noble Qur’an has used the word “speech” for Musa (peace be upon him) and also “call.” See Surah Ash-Shu‘ara (10). The deniers of Allah’s speech said, by speech is meant “internal speech” which occurs in the heart. But that cannot be heard, and that also occurs in the hearts of the mute; you can call it thought, reflection, intention, etc., but how did it become speech without words being uttered? What value have you given to Allah that you declared Him incapable of speaking and made Him equal to the mute! These people do not even accept the Qur’an as Allah’s speech, rather they call it a creation, that the meanings and concepts present within Allah’s essence, Allah created such words in the air to convey those meanings to Musa (peace be upon him) which express those concepts. Therefore, the Qur’an is not Allah’s speech, it is His creation. The purpose was that creation can perish, so a trick to get rid of the Qur’an could be that the Qur’an was Allah’s creation, it perished, so now there is no need to act upon it. There is only one question for these people, which Imam Ahlus-Sunnah Ahmad ibn Hanbal (may Allah have mercy on him) repeatedly and continuously asked them: tell us, where did Allah say this in the Qur’an?! Or present any statement of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) as proof for this? Religion can never be established merely by the confusion of philosophers’ minds. So those who call the speech of Allah a creation and deny it as an attribute of Allah could never fulfill this demand till the end, nor can they.

➌ {قَالَ رَبِّ اَرِنِيْۤ اَنْظُرْ اِلَيْكَ …:} From the delight of Allah’s speech without the intermediary of an angel, such longing arose in the heart of Musa (peace be upon him) that he requested Allah: O Lord! Show Yourself to me so that I may look at You. He said: «{ لَنْ تَرٰىنِيْ }» “You will never see Me.” That is, in this world, Allah has not placed in any eye the power to bear the vision of Allah. As for seeing Allah in the Hereafter, that is established for the believers by the verses of the Noble Qur’an and numerous authentic hadiths. For further details, see Surah Al-Qiyamah (22, 23). Shah Abdul Qadir (may Allah have mercy on him) has written at this place: “It is certain that in the Hereafter Allah will be seen; misguided people deny it, for it is not destined for them.” (Mawduh)

➍ { وَ لٰكِنِ انْظُرْ اِلَى الْجَبَلِ:} That is, when I manifest Myself to the mountain, then look if... By making him witness this, Allah comforted Musa (peace be upon him) that in this world, no one can bear to see Allah, so that he would not be disheartened at his request not being accepted.

➎ {فَلَمَّا تَجَلّٰى رَبُّهٗ لِلْجَبَلِ … : ’’ تَجَلّٰى ‘‘} This is from {’’جَلَا يَجْلُوْ جَلْوَةً‘‘} in the form of Tafa‘‘ul. {’’جَلَا ‘‘} means to manifest, to remove the veil, as the poet has said:
{وَجَلَا السُّيُوْلُ عَنِ الطُّلُوْلِ كَأَنَّهَا ¤ زُبُرٌ تُجِدُّ مُتُوْنَهَا اَقْلَامُهَا}
“The floods have revealed the ancient ruins in such a way as if they are books whose pens renew their texts.”
{’’ تَجَلّٰى ‘‘} means “became manifest.” { ’’ دَكًّا ‘‘} is a verbal noun. {’’ دَكَّ يَدُكُّ ‘‘ } (n) and { ’’ دَقَّ يَدُقُّ‘‘ } have nearly the same meaning, that is, to crush something into pieces. Here {’’ دَكًّا ‘‘} is an absolute object, meaning {’’دَكَّهُ دَكًّا‘‘} that it was crushed into pieces. In the Noble Qur’an it is said: «{ اِذَا دُكَّتِ الْاَرْضُ دَكًّا دَكًّا }» [ الفجر : ۲۱ ] and «{ وَ حُمِلَتِ الْاَرْضُ وَ الْجِبَالُ فَدُكَّتَا دَكَّةً وَّاحِدَةً } » [ الحآقۃ : ۱۴ ]{ ’’اَرْضٌ دَكَّاءٌ ‘‘} also refers to land that is level and even, that is, when the Lord manifested to the mountain, that manifestation made the mountain level with the ground, and Musa (peace be upon him) could not even bear to see the state of the mountain, let alone Allah’s manifestation, rather he fell unconscious. Some people have interpreted {’’ صَعِقًا ‘‘} to mean that he fell dead, although {’’ صَعِقًا ‘‘} also comes in this meaning, but the words {’’ فَلَمَّاۤ اَفَاقَ ‘‘} (when he regained consciousness) indicate that Musa (peace be upon him) did not die but fell unconscious. Anas (may Allah be pleased with him) relates from the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) regarding Allah’s statement: «{ فَلَمَّا تَجَلّٰى رَبُّهٗ لِلْجَبَلِ جَعَلَهٗ دَكًّا }» [ الأعراف : ۱۴۳] He (peace and blessings be upon him) said (to explain), he placed his thumb near the tip of his finger (and said), “So the mountain crumbled.” [ ابن أبی عاصم فی السنۃ : ۴۸۰، و صححہ الألبانی ]

➏ {قَالَ سُبْحٰنَكَ تُبْتُ اِلَيْكَ:} You are pure (that anyone could see You in this world). I repent (from having requested to see You without Your permission).

➐ { وَ اَنَا اَوَّلُ الْمُؤْمِنِيْنَ:} And I am the first to believe, that is, in You and Your greatness and majesty, or in the fact that no one can see You before the Resurrection. Shah Abdul Qadir (may Allah have mercy on him) says: “Allah honored Musa (peace be upon him) by speaking to him directly without an angel; he longed to see (Allah) as well, but could not bear it. From this it is known that seeing Allah is possible, because manifestation occurred to the mountain, but the existence of this world could not bear it, whereas the existence of the Hereafter will bear it, and there seeing is certain.” (Mawduh)

143. 1. When Musa (Moses) ﷺ went to the Mount and there Allah spoke to him directly, Musa ﷺ expressed his desire to see Allah by saying رَ بِ اَرِنِیْ. In response, Allah said لَنْ تَرٰنِیْ — "You will never see Me." Based on this, a sect among the Muslims said that لَنْ is used for absolute negation (perpetual negation), so seeing Allah is neither possible in this world nor in the Hereafter. However, this sect's view is against authentic ahadith. It is established from numerous authentic and strong narrations that on the Day of Resurrection, the believers will see Allah, and in Paradise too, they will be honored with the vision of Allah. This is the belief of all Ahl al-Sunnah. This narration pertains only to this world; no human eye in this world is capable of seeing Allah. But in the Hereafter, Allah will grant such strength to those eyes that they will be able to bear the manifestation of Allah.

143. 2. That is, even the mountain could not bear the manifestation of the Lord, and Musa ﷺ fell unconscious. It is mentioned in a hadith that on the Day of Resurrection, all people will fall unconscious, (According to Imam Ibn Kathir, this unconsciousness will occur on the plain of gathering when Allah the Exalted descends to pass judgment) and when they regain consciousness, I will be the first person to regain consciousness, and I will see Musa (Moses) ؑ holding the leg of the Throne. I will not know whether he regained consciousness before me or if he was exempted from the unconsciousness of the plain of gathering in exchange for his unconsciousness at Mount Tur. (Sahih Bukhari)

143. 3. Of Your greatness and majesty, and of the fact that I am Your humble servant, I am not capable of bearing Your vision in this world.

143. And when Musa came at the appointed time and place set by Us, and his Lord spoke to him [138], Musa said: "My Lord! Show Yourself to me so that I may look at You." Allah said: "You will never be able to see Me. But look at the mountain; if it remains firm in its place, then you will be able to see Me." Then when his Lord manifested Himself to the mountain, He made it crumble to dust, and Musa fell down unconscious. When he recovered, he said: "Glory be to You! I turn to You in repentance, and I am the first of the believers."

[138]
The Request of Sayyiduna Musa (Moses) ؑ for the Vision (of Allah) and His Falling Unconscious:

After forty days and nights of continuous worship and spiritual exercise, Allah granted Musa ؑ the special and unique honor of direct conversation. The pleasure Musa ؑ experienced from hearing Allah’s words directly was so profound that it stirred in his heart the desire to see the One speaking. Spontaneously, he requested to see Allah, saying: “O Lord! Remove this veil and these barriers so that I may behold You.” The reply came: “You will never be able to bear My vision with this mortal body and these perishable eyes. If you are so eager, then look at that mountain. I will cast a small portion of My manifestation upon it. If the mountain can withstand that manifestation and remains in its place, then perhaps you too will be able to bear it.” And Allah knew well that neither the mountain nor Musa ؑ would be able to withstand this manifestation, as He had already stated. This was said only so that Sayyiduna Musa ؑ would not feel disheartened. Thus, when Allah cast His manifestation upon the mountain, it was shattered into pieces and leveled to the ground, and Musa ؑ, who was standing nearby witnessing this scene, fell unconscious from terror. When he regained consciousness, the first thing he said was: “I repent from having made such an inappropriate request, I acknowledge Your greatness and majesty, and I believe that in this mortal world and with these perishable eyes, seeing You is impossible.” However, when this mortal world is transformed and human faculties—especially the eyes—are changed in such a way that they can bear the vision of Allah, then people will experience a state of unconsciousness similar to what befell Musa ؑ in this world, as is made clear by the following hadith.