Tafsir of Al-Qasas 28:18

"And he was in the city in the morning, fearful" — fearing that harm might befall him — "anticipating" — watching for that, or for news as to whether they had discovered what he had done. It is narrated that he, peace be upon him, had buried the Copt in the sand after he died. It is also said: fearful of harm from Pharaoh, anticipating the victory of his Lord, Exalted and Majestic is He. It is also said: anticipating that his people would hand him over; or anticipating the guidance of his people; or fearful of his Lord, Exalted and Majestic is He, anticipating forgiveness. All of these, as you can see, are interpretations. The immediate understanding of what has been said is that "in the city" is linked to "became" (asbaha), the subject of which is the pronoun of Moses, peace be upon him, and "fearful" is its predicate, with the sentence "anticipating" being a second predicate or a state (hal) of the pronoun in "fearful."

Abu al-Baqa said: "Anticipating" is a state that replaces the first state, or is an emphasis of it, or is a state of the pronoun in "fearful." There is the possibility that "became" (asbaha) is complete (i.e., meaning "dawned"), and the possibility that it is incomplete (i.e., a linking verb), with "in the city" being the predicate. It is not hidden from you which of these is the most appropriate.

"And behold, the one who sought his help the day before" — that is, the Israelite for whose sake he, peace be upon him, killed the Copt — "cried out to him for help" — meaning he sought his aid against another Copt by raising his voice. It is derived from al-surakh (shouting/screaming), and was later used metaphorically for seeking aid because such acts are rarely devoid of shouting; it became so common that it turned into a conventional literal meaning. It is said: the meaning of "cried out to him for help" is that he requested the removal of his distress. "And behold" (idha) is for surprise, and what follows is the subject (mubtada') and the sentence "cried out to him for help" is the predicate. Abu al-Baqa permitted the sentence to be a state (hal) and the predicate to be "and behold" (idha).

"The day before" refers to the day prior to the day of the second call for help. In the Hawashi al-Shihabiyyah, it is noted that if his entry into the city occurred between the two evenings, then "yesterday" (al-ams) is a metaphor for the proximity of time. It is declinable (mu'rab) due to the entry of the definitive article 'al', which is common for it when 'al' is added. It is rarely indeclinable with 'al', as in the poet's saying: "And I was detained today and the yesterday before it, until the sun nearly set."

"Moses said to him" — that is, to the Israelite who was seeking his help — "You are indeed a transgressor" — meaning clearly astray, or "manifestly in error," because you caused the killing of one man and are now fighting another, or because your habit is to quarrel. Some of the great scholars chose this latter interpretation, saying that the first meaning does not suit the saying of the Exalted, "So when he wanted..." because recalling his involvement in the aforementioned killing would be a motive for restraint, not for taking action. This was refuted by stating that his remembrance is a confirmed fact, due to the saying of the Exalted: "fearful, anticipating." The motive for him to do what he did was his compassion for the oppressed among his people and his zeal to support the truth.

It is also said that the pronoun in "to him" and the address in "you are indeed" refers to the Copt, as indicated by His saying "cried out to him for help." However, this is contrary to the apparent meaning and is made unlikely by the use of the explicit noun in the saying of the Exalted: [referring to the subsequent verse].