سُوْرَةُ الْاَحْزَابِ
Surah Al-Ahzaab (33) — Ayah 69
يَـٰٓأَيُّهَا ٱلَّذِينَ ءَامَنُوا۟ لَا تَكُونُوا۟ كَٱلَّذِينَ ءَاذَوْا۟ مُوسَىٰ فَبَرَّأَهُ ٱللَّهُ مِمَّا قَالُوا۟ ۚ وَكَانَ عِندَ ٱللَّهِ وَجِيهًا ﴿69﴾
Translation by Dr. Muhammad Muhsin Khan & Dr. Taqi-ud-Din al-Hilali
O you who believe! Be not like those who annoyed Mûsa (Moses), but Allâh cleared him of that which they alleged, and he was honourable before Allâh.
Word by Word — Arabic, Transliteration & Meaning
يَـٰٓأَيُّهَا
yāayyuhā
O you who believe
ٱلَّذِينَ
alladhīna
O you who believe
ءَامَنُوا۟
āmanū
O you who believe
لَا
lā
(Do) not
تَكُونُوا۟
takūnū
be
كَٱلَّذِينَ
ka-alladhīna
like those who
ءَاذَوْا۟
ādhaw
abused
مُوسَىٰ
mūsā
Musa
فَبَرَّأَهُ
fabarra-ahu
then Allah cleared him
ٱللَّهُ
l-lahu
then Allah cleared him
مِمَّا
mimmā
of what
قَالُوا۟ ۚ
qālū
they said
وَكَانَ
wakāna
And he was
عِندَ
ʿinda
near
ٱللَّهِ
l-lahi
Allah
وَجِيهًۭا
wajīhan
honorable
Tafsir al-Quran al-Karim — Hafiz Abdus Salam Bin Muhammad Bhutvi
Tafsir al-Quran al-Karim is a 4-volume Quran commentary by Hafiz Abdus Salam bin Muhammad Bhutvi, a renowned Salafi (Ahl al-Hadith) scholar and Sheikh ul-Hadith from Pakistan. Based on over 45 years of teaching and research, this tafsir follows the methodology of Tafsir bil-Ma'thur — interpreting the Quran through authentic Hadith, statements of the Companions, and the understanding of the early generations (Salaf). It is distinguished by its complete avoidance of Israeliyyat (Judeo-Christian narratives) and unverified reports. The tafsir is originally written in Urdu, translated to English by tohed.com.
(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.
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.
