Tafsir of Al-Qasas 28:44

"And you were not on the western side"—this begins the clarification that the revelation of the Noble Quran occurred exactly at the time when the need for it was felt and when wisdom absolutely dictated it. It also includes verification that it is a truthful revelation from Allah, the Exalted. The explanation is that witnessing what has been detailed regarding those events is only possible through personal presence (observation) or by learning from someone who did witness them. Since both are negated, it becomes clear that it is, inevitably, by revelation from the Knower of the Unseen.

It has been said: It is not hidden that establishing it as revelation is not completed solely by negating that it was through hearsay or by learning it from some of the People of the Book who were contemporary to him—may Allah bless him and grant him peace—as the polytheists claimed: "It is only a human being who teaches him." Perhaps the reason he did not address the negation of that [learning from the People of the Book], but instead addressed the negation of what is more obviously non-existent, is to indicate how clearly false that claim is and the exaggeration involved in asserting it, as the need to report its negation is greater for the former two matters than for the latter. Moreover, the Almighty has negated in another place his learning from some of the People of the Book. Perhaps it is known from that, that it was not by way of hearsay. Even if we were to say it is not known, the evidence for it is very manifest; therefore, none of the polytheists clung to the claim that any of them had witnessed those events—so reflect upon this.

The meaning, according to what some have adopted, is: You were not present on the western side of the mountain or the western place where the appointment (Miqat) took place and where Allah, the Exalted, gave the tablets of the Torah to Moses, peace be upon him. The wording here is a case of omitting the described noun (mawsuf) and putting its adjective (sifa) in its place. According to some, it is a case of attributing the described noun to the adjective, which the Kufans permitted, as in "the mosque of the Jami" (Masjid al-Jami'). The original is "on the western side," thus the "side" and "the western" become identical in this interpretation, and it is a part of the west in the first interpretation.

"When We decreed the command to Moses"—that is, We made a covenant with him and confirmed the matter of his prophethood through revelation and the giving of the Torah.

"And you were not among the witnesses"—that is, among those present for the revelation to him, or those who witnessed the revelation to him—peace be upon him—who were the seventy chosen for the appointment, so that you would see what transpired regarding the affair of Moses at his appointment and inform the people. A "witness" (shahid) comes from "witnessing" (shahada), either in the sense of "presence" (hudur) or its well-known meaning.

A difficulty arises with intending the first meaning (presence), which is the necessity of redundancy, for presence has already been negated first in His saying: "And you were not on the western side." The same applies to intending the second meaning, due to the necessity of something similar, since the negation of presence requires the negation of being a witness in that sense. Hence, it is said: The intent of the first is the negation of his being personally present for any purpose, and the intent of the second is the negation of his being among the group who were brought to be present so they could see what occurred there for Moses, peace be upon him, because the intent by "the witnesses" is a specific group known to have been in that state.

It is also said: The intent by "the witnesses" is the angels—peace be upon them—for "witness" has come as a name for an angel, as in Al-Qamus. It is as if it were said: You were not present on the western side when We decreed the matter of Moses's prophethood by revelation, nor were you among the angels who descend and ascend by the command of Allah and His revelation to His prophets, and who have a knowledge of events that other humans do not have, such that you would have knowledge of what happened to Moses, peace be upon him, and report it to the people.

Ibn Abbas said, as in Al-Tafsir al-Kabir and Al-Bahr: The implied meaning is that you were not present in that place, and even if you had been, you would not have witnessed those events, for it is possible to be there and yet not witness or see.

It is also said—and this is the preference of Abu Hayyan—that the meaning is: "And you were not among those who witnessed" all that We have informed you of. It is a negation of his—peace and blessings be upon him—witnessing everything that happened to Moses, so it is a generalization after a specification.

Others said: The intent is "and you were not among the witnesses" of that time, so it is a negation of his presence and witnessing that time, regardless of whether it was on the western side or elsewhere; the conclusion is a negation of physical existence at that time, and thus it is an escalation in the negation.

It is also said the intent is: "And you were not," at that time, arranged in the ranks of those who are described by witnessing, which are those who existed physically wherever they were. Its conclusion is the same as the previous one, even if they differ in the method of intent, and the determination that "witnessing" in the former [the second "witnesses"] is in the sense of "presence." Perhaps the former [the simple reading] is more manifest than that; indeed, if someone were to claim it is more manifest than all that has been said, it would not be far-fetched.

The state of those statements and the back-and-forth contained within them is not hidden from you, and there is doubt in the heart regarding the validity of the attribution of what is narrated from Ibn Abbas—may Allah be pleased with both of them—to him. So, ponder all of that, and Allah, the Exalted, will take charge of your guidance.