Tafsir of Ta-Ha 20:12

The hamza of anna (that) is pronounced with a kasra according to the reading of the majority. Ibn Kathir and Abu ‘Amr read it with a fatha, based on the estimation of a preposition—meaning bi-anni (that I am)—with the preposition and its object attached, as Abu al-Baqa’ and others have stated, to the verb nu-diya (it was called out). Calling out can be linked by the preposition anna; al-Asadi recited: "I called out in the name of Rabi’ah ibn Mukarram that (anna) the one who is called by his name is trustworthy." It is not hidden from one with refined taste, however, the state of the structure under this derivation, and that it is only pleasant if the vocative is not a separator.

It is also said: It is based on the estimation of a preposition of causality, and its attachment to the command verb that follows—a claim that is as you see. It is preferred that the speech is based on the estimation of i‘lam (know), meaning: "Know that I am your Lord," etc. The repetition of the first-person pronoun is for the purpose of emphasizing the indication, verifying knowledge, and dispelling doubt.

It is asserted that his knowledge—peace be upon him—that the one who called him was Allah the Exalted was obtained through necessity, created within him by the Exalted. Others say: It was through deduction based on the supernatural sign he witnessed before the call. Others say: It was through what he obtained of that after the call. It is narrated that when he was called, "O Moses," he said, "Who is the speaker?" He replied, "I am your Lord." Then the accursed Iblis whispered to him, "Perhaps you are hearing the voice of a devil." Moses—peace be upon him—replied, "I knew it was the speech of Allah the Exalted because I heard it from all directions with all my limbs." The supernatural aspect of this consists of two matters: hearing it from all directions, and that occurring with all his limbs—both those meant for hearing and those not meant for it. It is said: The supernatural aspect is a single matter, which is the hearing with all limbs, and that is what is intended by "hearing from all directions." In any case, the validity of the deduction for the intended goal is apparent, except that there is obscurity regarding the authenticity of this report; I have not seen a chain of transmission for it that can be relied upon, and the presence of Satan and his whispering to Moses—peace be upon him—in that sacred valley and glorious presence is extremely far-fetched.

The Mu‘tazilah necessitated that the knowledge be through deduction from the supernatural sign, and they did not permit it to be by necessity. They said: If necessary knowledge that this call was the speech of Allah the Exalted had been attained, then necessary knowledge of the existence of a Creator—Powerful and Knowing—would have been attained. This is because it is impossible for an attribute to be known by necessity while the Essence is known by deduction. If the existence of the Creator—Exalted be He—were known by necessity, Moses—peace be upon him—would have ceased to be subject to religious obligation (mukallaf), because the attainment of necessary knowledge contradicts obligation. By consensus, he did not cease to be subject to obligation, so we know that Allah the Exalted made him know it through the supernatural sign. Regarding its specific nature, there is disagreement. Some said: We have no need to know what that supernatural sign was.

Ahmad and others narrated from Wahb that when the awe overwhelmed him, he was called from the tree: "O Moses." He answered quickly, not knowing who was calling him; his quick answer was only from being comforted by the familiarity. He said: "Here I am, here I am! I hear Your voice and sense Your presence, but I do not see Your location; so where are You?" He replied: "I am above you, with you, in front of you, behind you, and closer to you than yourself." When Moses—peace be upon him—heard this, he knew that this was not befitting anyone except his Lord, so he became certain of Him and said, "It is thus, my God. Is it Your speech I hear, or Your messenger?" He said, "Rather, I am the One who speaks to you."

The derivation of this tradition according to the school of the Predecessors (Salaf) and the Sufis is clear—that certainty is not attained merely by hearing attributes that should not belong to anyone but Allah the Exalted, once the door of whispering is opened. Furthermore, this tradition is manifest in that Moses—peace be upon him—heard the verbal speech directly from Him without an intermediary, which is why he was distinguished by the title al-Kalim (the Interlocutor). This is the school of a group of the Sunnis, and they hold that such speech is eternal. They responded to the claim that "speech" necessitates temporality because one part does not exist unless the previous part has passed, by stating that this only applies to articulation with an instrument or organ, namely the tongue; but if it is without them, it exists all at once. What is witnessed in letters inscribed by a seal ring does not involve a pen. Those who hold this view must interpret the words of the Exalted ("When he came to it, he was called," etc.) by saying: "The meaning is, when he came to it, he was made to hear the call," or something similar; otherwise, the coming of the fire is temporal, and that which is built upon a temporal event is itself temporal.

Therefore, the scholars of Transoxiana—from the Sunnis who hold that the speech Moses heard was eternal—claimed that it was a temporal voice created by Allah in the tree. The innovators unanimously agreed that verbal speech is temporal, but some of them permitted temporal events to subsist within the Essence of the Exalted, while others did not, claiming that what Moses heard was created by Allah the Mighty and Majestic in one of the bodies, such as a tree or otherwise.

Al-Ash‘ari said: Allah the Exalted made Moses hear His Nafsi (Self-subsistent) Speech, which is neither letter nor sound, and the intellect has no path to knowing that. Some have verified this by stating that he—peace be upon him—received that speech through a spiritual reception, just as the angels receive the speech of the Exalted, not through an organ. Then the spirit emanated it by means of the power of the intellect onto the psychological faculties, and it inscribed it in the common sense in the form of specific words. Thus, through the strength of his perception, it was as if he were hearing it from the outside; this is like how a sleeper sees himself speaking and being spoken to. The way to address the presence of Satan in the report mentioned earlier regarding this view is that it is possible that it was like this, or that it was by discernment, from the fact that his state was that of one listening and contemplating what he was hearing—and that is as you see.

Remove them from your feet. The na'l (sandal) is well known, and it is feminine; its diminutive is nu'aylah. It is also called na'l with a fatha on the ‘ayn.

He was commanded to do so because they were made from the hide of a dead donkey that had not been tanned, as is narrated from al-Sadiq (may Allah be pleased with him), ‘Ikrimah, Qatadah, al-Suddi, Muqatil, al-Dahhak, and al-Kalbi. It is also narrated that they were from donkey hide in a gharib (uncommon) hadith; al-Tirmidhi extracted via his chain from the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him): "On the day his Lord spoke to him, Moses wore a woolen cloak, a woolen tunic, a woolen kummah—meaning a small cap—and woolen trousers, and his sandals were of donkey hide." From al-Hasan, Mujahid, Sa‘id ibn Jubayr, and Ibn Jurayj, it is narrated that they were of the hide of a cow that had been slaughtered, but he was commanded to remove them so his feet would touch the ground, and thus the blessing of the sacred valley would reach him.

Al-Asamm said: Because being barefoot is more conducive to humility and good manners; that is why the pious predecessors used to circumambulate the Ka‘bah barefoot. It is not hidden that this is prohibited by those who maintain the superiority of praying with sandals on, as has come in some traditions—perhaps al-Asamm did not hear of that, or he would have responded to it.

Abu Muslim said: Because He, the Exalted, secured him from fear and caused him to stand in a pure place, and he only wore them out of protection from filth and fear of insects. It is also said: The meaning is, "Empty your heart of family and wealth," or "of the world and the Hereafter." The justification for this is that na'l (sandal) refers to everything one relies upon, and it was used for what was mentioned as a form of belittlement; this is why na'l is used for a wife, as in books of language. It is not hidden from you that this is far-fetched, even if it is justified by what was mentioned, as it is more appropriate for the style of isharah (mystical allusion). The fa (so) is for the sequence of the command upon what preceded it, for His Lordship over him is among the causes and impetuses for the command. His saying, "Indeed, you are in the sacred valley," is a justification for the requirement of removing them, and an explanation for the cause of the command due to the honor and sanctity of the place. It is narrated that when he was commanded to remove them, he cast them behind the valley.

It is written with a damma on the ta' and is ghayr munawwan (non-nunated). The Kufans and Ibn ‘Amir read it with a damma and tanwin. Al-Hasan, al-A‘mash, Abu Haywah, Ibn Abi Ishaq, Abu al-Sammal, and Ibn Muhaysin read it with a kasra and tanwin. Abu Zayd narrated from Abu ‘Amr with a kasra and non-nunated. It is a proper noun for that valley, thus it is an appositive (badal) or an explanatory clause (‘atf bayan). Those who nunated it interpret it as "a place," and those who did not interpret it as "a tract of land," making it diptote (mamnu' min al-sarf) due to being a proper noun and feminine. It is said that Tuwa with a damma and non-nunated is diptote due to being a proper noun and the pattern of ‘adl (alteration), like Zufar and Qutham. Others say it is for being a proper noun and being of foreign origin. Qutrub said: It is said tuwa from the night, meaning "sanctified for you an hour of the night," which is the hour he was called; thus it would be linked to "sacred." In al-‘Aja’ib by al-Kirmani, it is said it is an Arabicized word meaning "at night"—as if he intended the saying of Qutrub. It is said it is a man's name in Hebrew, and as such, it would be a vocative. Al-Hasan said: Tuwa with a kasra and tanwin is an infinitive (masdar) like thunya, in wording and meaning, and according to him, it is also linked to "sacred," meaning "sanctified time after time." It is also permitted that it is linked to "was called," meaning "he was called twice." Ibn al-Sayyid said: It is what is folded of the skin of a snake, and it is said "he did the thing tuwa" meaning "twice," so it is used as an infinitive. Al-Tabarsi cited for ‘Adi ibn Zayd: "O censurer, for the blame, not in its true essence, is because of tuwa—a repetition of your error." Al-Raghib mentioned that when it means "twice," it is with a fatha on the first letter, and it is also read with a kasra. It is not hidden from you that the most apparent view is that it is a name for the valley in all the readings.