Tafsir of Ta-Ha 20:16

{ فلا يصدنك عنها } This is an address to Moses, peace be upon him. Some have claimed that it is addressed to our Prophet (may Allah bless him and grant him peace) in wording, and to his nation in meaning, but this is far-fetched.

{ عنها } That is, from the Hour. The intent is: from remembering it and keeping watch over it. It is also said: from believing in its coming. The former is considered more likely, as it is more befitting the status of Moses (peace be upon him), even if the prohibition is by way of stirring and inciting. That the pronoun in { عنها } refers to the Hour is the manifest interpretation, and likewise the pronoun in { بها } in His saying: { who does not believe in it }.

It is said: both pronouns refer to the prayer. It is said: the pronoun in { عنها } refers to the prayer, and the pronoun in { بها } refers to the Hour. It is said: both refer to the phrase "There is no god but I." It is said: the first refers to worship, and the second to the Hour. It is said: they both refer to the aforementioned qualities.

The prepositional phrase is placed before the agent for the reason mentioned more than once: to show importance to what is placed first, and to create anticipation for what comes later. Also, because there is a type of length in the postponed part, the advancement of which might impair the excellence of the noble arrangement.

Although the prohibition appears outwardly to be a prohibition against the disbeliever hindering Moses (peace be upon him) from the Hour, it is in reality, in the most eloquent and emphatic manner, a prohibition to Moses (peace be upon him) against becoming hindered from it. For forbidding the causes and premises of a thing that lead to it is a prohibition of it by demonstrative method, and an invalidation of causality from its root, as in His saying: { Let not... provoke you }, etc. Since the hindrance of the disbeliever is a cause for his [Moses'] being hindered, the prohibition of it is a prohibition of its origin and its instigator, and an absolute invalidation of it.

It is permissible that it is a prohibition against the cause, meaning that he is forbidden from showing leniency toward the disbelievers, for that is a cause for them to hinder him, as in the saying: "Let me not see you here," where the intent is to forbid the addressee from being present before him, which would necessitate seeing him. It is as if it were said: Be firm of resolve and rigid of temperament, so that it may not appear to those who disbelieve in the Hour and deny the Resurrection that they can hope to hinder you, given the state you are in. In this is an incitement to firmness in religion and an avoidance of the leniency that encourages those who disbelieve.

{ واتبع هواه } That is, what his soul desires of fleeting sensory pleasures, and thus it hindered him from faith.

{ فتردى } That is, so you perish. For neglecting the Hour and neglecting to acquire what saves one from its conditions inevitably leads to destruction.

The scholar al-Tibi mentioned that it is possible to interpret { who does not believe } as the one who turns away from the worship of Allah the Exalted, who is reckless in worldly life and immersed in its pleasures and lusts, based on the evidence of { and followed his desire }, etc. The prohibition of hindering is interpreted as a prohibition against looking at the enjoyments of the flowers of worldly life, so that it may be on the scale of His saying: { And We have certainly given you seven of the often repeated [verses] and the great Qur'an. Do not extend your eyes toward that by which We have given enjoyment to [certain] categories of them }, etc. Following desire is interpreted as the inclination toward clinging to the earth, like His saying: { But he clung to the earth and followed his desire. } This means: Devote yourself to My worship and do not pay attention to what the disbelievers are in, for it is destructive; for that which We have granted you and chosen for you is the ultimate objective. There is great incitement here to engage in worship and an eloquent warning against leaning toward the world and its bliss. This is not devoid of beauty, even if it is contrary to the manifest [apparent] meaning.

{ فتردى } It is possible that it is in the accusative case as a response to the prohibition, or that it is nominative as the predicate of a deleted subject, meaning: "Then you will perish because of that." Yahya recited { فتردى } with a kasra on the ta.