Tafsir of Al-Ahzab 33:69

"O you who have believed, do not be like those who harmed Moses, and Allah cleared him of what they said."

It is said that this was revealed regarding the affair of Zaynab bint Jahsh, may Allah be pleased with her, and the Prophet's (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) marriage to her, and the talk heard regarding that which caused him, peace and blessings be upon him, harm. "And Allah cleared him of what they said"—that is, of their statement, or of that which they said. In any case, "the statement" (al-qawl) here is in the sense of "the spoken thing" (al-maqul), and what is intended by it is its substance as it occurred in reality.

Allah the Exalted’s clearing him of that is the manifestation of his, peace be upon him, innocence from it and the falsity of what they attributed to him, because the consequence of their harm was the manifestation of his innocence, as the latter precedes the former. The usage of the verb is metaphorical for the manifestation of his innocence, and the term al-maqul in the sense of the content (al-madmun) is common and frequent. Thus, the meaning is: Allah the Exalted manifested his innocence from the shameful matter they attributed to him, peace be upon him.

It is said: There is no need for what was mentioned, for when Allah the Exalted manifested his innocence of what they fabricated against him, their words regarding him were severed; thus, he was cleared of their statement in the sense that He "acquitted" (barra’ahu) him from their words by cutting them off from him. This is countered by the argument that it involves artificiality, because the severing of their speech is not the primary objective; rather, the intent is its cessation due to the appearance of the contrary. Thus, one must observe the aforementioned point, and the intent by the matter they attributed to him, peace be upon him, is a defect in his body.

Imam Ahmad, al-Bukhari, al-Tirmidhi, and a group narrated via Abu Hurayrah, who said: The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said: "Moses, peace be upon him, was a shy, modest man who would not let any part of his skin be seen out of shyness. Those who harmed him among the Children of Israel harmed him, saying, 'This one does not cover himself this much except for a defect in his skin, either leprosy or an ailment.' Allah the Exalted wanted to clear him of what they said. Moses, peace be upon him, went alone one day and placed his clothes on a stone, then bathed. When he finished, he turned to his clothes to take them, but the stone took off with his garment. Moses, peace be upon him, took his staff and pursued the stone, saying, 'My garment, stone! My garment, stone!' until he reached a gathering of the Children of Israel. They saw him naked, the most beautiful of what Allah had created, and He cleared him of what they were saying. The stone stood still, and he took his garment and put it on, and began striking the stone with his staff." That is the meaning of His saying: "O you who have believed, do not be like those who harmed Moses, and Allah cleared him of what they said."

It is also said: This refers to what they attributed to him, peace be upon him, regarding the killing of Aaron. Ibn Mani’, Ibn Jarir, Ibn al-Mundhir, Ibn Abi Hatim, Ibn Mardawayh, and al-Hakim—who authenticated it—narrated from Ali, may Allah honor his face, that he said regarding this verse: Moses and Aaron, peace be upon them, ascended the mountain, and Aaron died. The Children of Israel said to Moses, "You killed him; he was more loving to us than you and gentler." They harmed him because of that. So, Allah the Exalted ordered the angels to carry him, and they passed by the assemblies of the Children of Israel, and the angels, peace be upon them, spoke of his death, so Allah the Exalted cleared him of it. Then they took him and buried him, and no one knew his grave except the vultures. Allah the Exalted made him deaf and dumb.

In a narration from Ibn Abbas and a group of the Companions, it is said that Allah the Exalted revealed to Moses: "I am taking the soul of Aaron, so come to such and such mountain." They headed toward the mountain and were led to a tree and a house containing a bed with bedding on it and a pleasant scent. When Aaron looked at that mountain, the house, and what was in it, he was delighted. He said, "O Moses, I would like to sleep on this bed." He said, "Sleep on it." He said, "Sleep with me." When they slept, death seized Aaron. When he was taken, the house was raised, that tree departed, and the bed was raised to the heavens. When Moses returned to the Children of Israel, they said, "You killed Aaron out of envy for the love the Children of Israel had for him." Aaron was more abstinent from them and gentler toward them, while Moses had some harshness toward them. When this reached him, he said, "Woe to you! He was my brother; do you think I would kill him?" When they persisted against him, he stood and prayed two units (rak'atayn), then supplicated to Allah the Exalted, and the bed descended until they saw him between the heaven and the earth. So they believed him.

It is also said: It refers to what they attributed to him, peace be upon him, regarding adultery—may he be protected from it. It is reported that Qarun enticed a prostitute to accuse him of having relations with her, and he gave her great wealth. She admitted to the conspiracy between her and Qarun, and what happened was done to him, as detailed in Surah al-Qasas. This opinion is extremely far-fetched compared to what the relative pronoun (al-mawsul) encompasses.

It is also said: It refers to what they attributed to him of magic and madness. And it is said: It refers to what is recounted about them in the Quran, such as their saying: "Go, you and your Lord, and fight; we are sitting right here," their saying: "We will never endure one [kind of] food," and their saying: "Show us Allah outright." It is possible to interpret "what they said" as including everything that has been mentioned.

"And he was, in the sight of Allah, honorable." Meaning, he possessed high status and rank with Him, Exalted is He. Similar in meaning is the statement of Qutrub: "He was of high standing." Similar to it is the statement of Ibn Zayd: "He was accepted." Ibn Abi Hatim narrated from al-Hasan that he said: "Honorable (wajihan) means whose supplication is answered." Some added: He never asked for anything but that it was granted, except for [the request to see] the vision of Allah in this world. It is not hidden that the answering of supplication is among the fruits of high standing. It is also said: His honor, peace be upon him, was that Allah the Exalted spoke to him and titled him "The Interlocutor of Allah" (Kalim Allah).

Ibn Mas'ud, al-A'mash, and Abu Haywah read it as "a servant ('abdan) [of Allah]"—meaning from servitude (al-'ubudah)—with the preposition "li" (for). Thus, 'abdan would be the predicate of kana (he was), and wajihan would be an adjective for it. This is an anomalous (shadhdhah) recitation, and there is debate regarding the validity of reading with anomalous recitations. Ibn Khalawayh said: "I prayed behind Ibn Shanbudh in the month of Ramadan, and I heard him reciting 'And he was a servant of Allah ('abdallahi),' according to the recitation of Ibn Mas'ud." Perhaps Ibn Shanbudh is among those who see the validity of reciting with it absolutely. The same may be possible regarding Ibn Khalawayh. Otherwise, al-Tibi said: The author of al-Rawdah said: "It is valid to use the anomalous recitation if it does not involve a change of meaning, nor an addition of a letter, nor a subtraction." Here, the two meanings are close, as is pointed to by the statement of al-Zamakhshari and the like from Ibn Jinni.