Tafsir of Al-Ma'idah 5:25

(He said) Moses, peace be upon him, when he saw from them what he saw of stubbornness, spoke by way of expressing grief, sorrow, and complaint to Allah the Almighty, along with that tenderness of heart through which mercy is invoked and victory is brought down. The intention here is not merely to inform; likewise, every statement addressed to the Knower of the Unseen is intended to convey a meaning other than the mere communication of a judgment or its implication. Thus, his statement is neither a rejection of what Allah the Almighty commanded nor an excuse for not entering.

(My Lord, I do not possess except myself and my brother) Aaron, peace be upon him—and it is a conjunction to "myself"—meaning: no one obeys me in Your obedience or agrees with me in carrying out Your command except myself and my brother. He did not mention the two men whom Allah the Almighty had favored, even though they agreed with him when he called, because he saw the fickleness of the people and the instability of their opinions; it is as if he did not trust them or rely upon them.

It is said: The intention is not to restrict, but to explain how few are those who agree with him, likening his situation to that of one who possesses only himself and his brother. It is permissible that "my brother" is intended to mean "he who fraternizes with me in the religion," thus including the two men. This is not complete except through interpreting it as every person who shares brotherhood with him in the religion, or as the genus of "brother," though there is remoteness in this.

Regarding "my brother" (أخى), there are other grammatical possibilities: First, that it is in the accusative case as a conjunction to the noun of inna (إنى). Second, that it is in the nominative case as a conjunction to the subject (the hidden 'I') of "possess" (أملك) due to the separation. Third, that it is an elliptical subject whose predicate is omitted. Fourth, that it is a conjunction to the position of the distant noun of inna, because it comes after the completion of the predicate, and the majority permit this in such a case. Fifth, that it is in the genitive case as a conjunction to the genitive pronoun (the 'ya' in "my-self"), according to the view of the Kufans.

Then, there is no necessity in some of these cases for a unification of the object; rather, another object is estimated for the conjunction, meaning: "and I do not possess my brother except himself." Thus, the objection is refuted—that which was said: that it necessitates from his conjunction to the noun of inna or the subject of "possess" that Moses and Aaron, peace be upon them, do not possess anything except the self of Moses alone; for the meaning is not that, as is hidden to no one. It is not a conjunction of sentences with an estimation of "and my brother does not possess except himself," as was imagined. The verification of this is that a conjunction to the operative of a verb does not necessitate anything except participation in the meaning of that [verb] and its general conceptual scope, not its specific personal entity with its particular attachments, for that depends on context.

(Therefore, separate between us) meaning himself and his brother, upon them be prayer and peace. The fa (therefore) is for the sequential arrangement of the separation and the supplication for it upon what preceded it. It is recited "f-afriq" with a kasra under the 'ra'.

(And between the disobedient people) meaning those who have departed from Your obedience, by judging for us what we deserve and against them what they deserve, as is reported from Ibn Abbas and al-Dahhak, may Allah the Almighty be pleased with them. Al-Jubba'i said: He, peace be upon him, asked his Lord to separate [them] by distancing them in the Hereafter, by placing him and his brother in Paradise and placing them in the Fire. The majority of commentators hold the first view, and it is strengthened by the fact that the supplication is followed by His saying, the Almighty: [continues].