Surah Taa-Haa (20) — Ayah 96

(Ayah 96){ قَالَ بَصُرْتُ بِمَا لَمْ يَبْصُرُوْا بِهٖ … :} I have studied many tafsirs for the explanation of this verse, and have also asked many scholars; I am quoting what is written in some tafsirs. Hafiz Ibn Kathir (may Allah have mercy on him) says: {’’ بَصُرْتُ بِمَا لَمْ يَبْصُرُوْا بِهٖ ‘‘} (I saw what they did not see) meaning I saw Jibreel (peace be upon him) when he came to destroy Pharaoh, so {’’ فَقَبَضْتُ قَبْضَةً مِّنْ اَثَرِ الرَّسُوْلِ ‘‘} (so I took a handful from the footprint of the Messenger) meaning from the footprint of the horse of Jibreel (peace be upon him). This is the well-known explanation among many or most of the commentators. (Ibn Kathir) As Hafiz Ibn Kathir (may Allah have mercy on him) mentioned, most commentators have given this explanation, and some have even considered any other explanation as a deviation from the interpretation of the Salaf, meaning that Samiri put that handful of dust into the calf’s statue, and thus the sound of a cow started coming from it. But there is no evidence for this explanation in the Qur’an, hadith, or the context of the verses. From the beginning of the surah until here, there is no mention of Jibreel (peace be upon him) so that, by considering the definite article, Jibreel (peace be upon him) could be meant. Nor is there anywhere in the entire Qur’an where {’’ الرَّسُوْلِ ‘‘} (with the definite article) is used for Jibreel (peace be upon him) so that it could be considered his title. Then, there is no mention of a horse anywhere. The statements of some Tabi’een cannot be used as evidence here, because they were neither present at the time nor did they mention where they got this explanation from. If they took it from an earlier book, as appears to be the case, then we cannot believe in it, because the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) forbade both affirming and denying such reports. A doubtful matter cannot be considered knowledge, nor can the explanation of the Qur’an (in which there is no doubt) be considered knowledge of tafsir if it is based on something doubtful. The questions that arise from this explanation, such as how did Samiri recognize Jibreel (peace be upon him) among all the people? How did he know what miracle was in that handful? etc., have all been answered with further stories that have no basis.

Many commentators have adopted the explanation of Abu Muslim Isfahani (Mu’tazili), who says that what the commentators have stated is not explicitly mentioned in the Qur’an. Therefore, another interpretation can be that by {’’ الرَّسُوْلِ ‘‘} is meant Musa (peace be upon him), and by taking a handful from the footprint of the Messenger is meant that I took some part from his Sunnah and his way. Sometimes a person says: {’’فَلَانٌ يَقْفُوْ أَثَرَ فُلَانٍ وَ يَقْتَصُّ أَثَرَهُ‘‘} “So-and-so follows in the footsteps of so-and-so and walks behind his footprints,” when he follows his way. The meaning would be that when Musa (peace be upon him) reproached Samiri and asked him the reason for leading the people astray, he said {’’ بَصُرْتُ بِمَا لَمْ يَبْصُرُوْا بِهٖ ‘‘} meaning I realized that the path you people are on is not the truth, so {’’ فَقَبَضْتُ قَبْضَةً مِّنْ اَثَرِ الرَّسُوْلِ ({وَقَدْ كُنْتُ} “Before this, O Messenger, I had adopted some part of your religion and way, {’’ فَنَبَذْتُهَا ‘‘} then I abandoned that way and my soul made the worship of the calf attractive to me.” Upon this, Musa (peace be upon him) informed him of the punishment in this world and the Hereafter, and he mentioned the Messenger in the third person just as a person, while talking to his leader, says, “What does the Amir say about this? And what does the Amir command?” As for his calling Musa (peace be upon him) a Messenger despite denying his messengership, it is just as Allah Almighty has mentioned the saying of the disbelievers: « {وَ قَالُوْا يٰۤاَيُّهَا الَّذِيْ نُزِّلَ عَلَيْهِ الذِّكْرُ اِنَّكَ لَمَجْنُوْنٌ} » [ الحجر : ۶ ] “And they said, O you upon whom the reminder has been sent down! Indeed, you are mad.” Even though they did not accept the revelation of the reminder upon him. Razi writes that what Abu Muslim has mentioned is closer to the truth, and there is no fault in it except that it opposes the (earlier) commentators. Then Razi mentioned several things in support of this. Many later commentators have also adopted this explanation, but to interpret {’’ فَقَبَضْتُ قَبْضَةً ‘‘} after {’’ بَصُرْتُ بِمَا لَمْ يَبْصُرُوْا بِهٖ ‘‘} with {’’ وَقَدْ كُنْتُ قَبَضْتُ ‘‘} is forced, and similarly, for following someone, {’’ يَقْفُوْ‘‘} and {’’يَقْتَصُّ أَثَرَهُ ‘‘} are well-known, but for this meaning, neither Abu Muslim nor Razi nor any later scholar has presented any precedent in the Arabic language for the use of {’’ يَقْبِضُ قَبْضَةً مِنْ أَثَرِهِ ‘‘}. Abu Muslim’s objection to the first explanation that it is not explicitly stated in the Qur’an also applies to this explanation, as it is also not explicitly stated in the Qur’an, and this meaning has been extracted only by force.

An Urdu commentator has suggested that Samiri was a mischief-maker. He made a calf and, by some device, produced a sound like that of a calf from it. Then he went further and, in front of Musa (peace be upon him), fabricated a deceptive story, claiming that he saw what others did not see, and also invented the tale that this miracle occurred due to a handful of dust from the footprint of the Messenger. The Messenger may have been Jibreel, or he may have used the word Messenger for Musa (peace be upon him) himself, which was another trick of his, as he wanted to mentally bribe Musa (peace be upon him) in this way. (Summary) But it is not understandable that such a majestic prophet as Musa (peace be upon him) would remain silent after receiving a mental bribe in front of the whole nation and only suffice with announcing his punishment, without clarifying his lie and deception to the people.

Another rationalist has interpreted {’’ بَصُرْتُ بِمَا لَمْ يَبْصُرُوْا بِهٖ ‘‘} as meaning that he said he had a mystical vision that only he experienced, that as soon as Jibreel (peace be upon him) arrived, he took a handful of dust from his (or his horse’s) footprint and put it into the calf, which made it speak, but now, after your rebuke, I have realized that this was merely a deception of my own soul. (Summary) It is astonishing how far these gentlemen go in making up explanations. The reality is that interpreting “seeing” as a mystical vision is nothing but the Qadiani style of interpretation. Then how could it be that Musa (peace be upon him) would not expose this deception in front of the people? I see safety only in this: that if the details of a verse are not clear from the words of the Qur’an or from the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him), then instead of believing in a report from the People of the Book or forcibly extracting a meaning, it should be considered among the mutashabihat (ambiguous matters), and one should have general faith in it and leave its details to Allah, because Allah Himself has said: « {هُوَ الَّذِيْۤ اَنْزَلَ عَلَيْكَ الْكِتٰبَ مِنْهُ اٰيٰتٌ مُّحْكَمٰتٌ هُنَّ اُمُّ الْكِتٰبِ وَ اُخَرُ مُتَشٰبِهٰتٌ فَاَمَّا الَّذِيْنَ فِيْ قُلُوْبِهِمْ زَيْغٌ فَيَتَّبِعُوْنَ مَا تَشَابَهَ مِنْهُ ابْتِغَآءَ الْفِتْنَةِ وَ ابْتِغَآءَ تَاْوِيْلِهٖ وَ مَا يَعْلَمُ تَاْوِيْلَهٗۤ اِلَّا اللّٰهُ وَ الرّٰسِخُوْنَ فِي الْعِلْمِ يَقُوْلُوْنَ اٰمَنَّا بِهٖ كُلٌّ مِّنْ عِنْدِ رَبِّنَا وَ مَا يَذَّكَّرُ اِلَّاۤ اُولُوا الْاَلْبَابِ} » [ آل عمران : ۷ ] “He is the One Who has sent down to you the Book; in it are verses that are precise—they are the foundation of the Book—and others that are ambiguous. As for those in whose hearts is deviation, they follow what is ambiguous from it, seeking discord and seeking its interpretation. But no one knows its interpretation except Allah. And those firm in knowledge say, ‘We believe in it; all is from our Lord.’ And none will be reminded except those of understanding.” After all, we do not know the details of the disjointed letters, the attributes of Allah Almighty, the barrier of Dhul-Qarnayn, the beast of the earth, Gog and Magog, and many other matters of the Qur’an, yet we have faith in them. If there had been any benefit for us in knowing the details of Samiri’s answer, Allah Almighty would surely have mentioned it. So our faith is that even though we do not know the details, whatever our Lord has said is the truth.