Tā-Hā (20:36-44)

{He said, "You have been granted your request, O Moses"} (20:36)

Know that the request (سُؤْل) is the act of asking, in the sense of what is requested (مفعول), like saying khubz (bread) in the sense of makhbūz (baked bread), and akl (eating) in the sense of ma’kūl (eaten food).

When Moses (peace be upon him) asked his Lord for those eight matters, and it was known that fulfilling his commission required their fulfillment, God Almighty answered him so that he would be more capable of delivering the message to the extent required.

He said: {You have been granted your request, O Moses}. God counted this among His great favors upon him because of the many aspects of benefit it contained.

Then He said: {And We had already conferred favor upon you another time}. By this, He drew attention to several points:

1. It is as if God said: I looked after your welfare even before you asked; how then would I not grant you what you desire after you have asked?
2. I had already nurtured you. If I were to deny you what you seek now, it would be a rejection after acceptance and mistreatment after kindness—how would that befit My generosity?
3. Since We gave you everything you needed in past times and elevated you from a low state to a high rank, this indicates that We appointed you to a high station and a great mission. How would it befit such a rank to deny what is requested?

Here are two questions:

Answer: It was mentioned so that Moses (peace be upon him) would know that these favors he received were not something he deserved; rather, God singled him out for them purely through His grace and benevolence.

Answer: He did not mean by “another time” just one instance of favor, because this phrase can be used for both few and many things.

Know that the favors mentioned here are eight.

The First Favor: {When We inspired to your mother what We inspired} (20:37)

{When We inspired to your mother what We inspired: "Put him in the chest and cast him into the river, and the river shall cast him onto the bank, and an enemy of Mine and an enemy of his shall take him."}

Regarding {When We inspired}: The majority agree that the mother of Moses (peace be upon him) was not among the Prophets or Messengers, so this inspiration cannot mean the revelation given to Prophets. How could it be otherwise when a woman is not fit for judging or leading prayer? According to Imam Shafi'i (may God have mercy on him), she is not even permitted to marry herself off, so how could she be fit for prophethood? This is supported by the verse: {And We sent not before you except men to whom We revealed} (Al-Anbiyā’: 7), which is explicit on this matter. Furthermore, the word waḥy (inspiration) in the Qur'an does not always mean prophethood, as seen in: {And your Lord inspired to the bee} (An-Naḥl: 68) and {And when I inspired the disciples} (Al-Mā’idah: 111).

They differed regarding the meaning of this inspiration:

1. First View: It refers to a dream the mother of Moses saw, the interpretation of which was to place Moses in the chest, cast him into the sea, and that God Almighty would return him to her.
2. Second View: It refers to a decisive resolution that suddenly struck her heart. Whoever reflects on what she faced would see the path closest to salvation, and this sudden thought is called waḥy.
3. Third View: It means ilhām (inspiration/intuition). However, if we investigate ilhām, it means an idea crossing the mind and overpowering the heart, making this view identical to the second view.

These three views are challenged because casting him into the river is close to destruction, equivalent to the fear of being killed by Pharaoh. How could one undertake one danger for protection from the other?

Answer: Perhaps she knew through experience (استقراء) that her dreams were true, so the likelihood of safety resulting from casting him into the river was stronger in her estimation than the child falling into Pharaoh's hands.

4. Fourth View: Perhaps it was revealed to one of the Prophets of that time, like Shu'ayb (peace be upon him) or another, who then informed her, either verbally or in writing. This is challenged by the fact that if this were the case, she would not have experienced the intense fear she did. Answer: That fear was a natural consequence of being human, just as Moses (peace be upon him) feared Pharaoh even though God commanded him to go to him repeatedly.
5. Fifth View: Perhaps previous Prophets, like Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob (peace be upon them), had informed her of this, and that news reached her.
6. Sixth View: Perhaps God sent an angel to her, not in the capacity of a Prophet, just as He sent one to Mary, as stated: {So We sent to her Our spirit, and he appeared to her as a flawless man} (Maryam: 17).

As for {what We inspired}, it means: "We inspired to your mother what must be inspired." This inspiration was obligatory because the event was momentous, and there was no way to know the underlying wisdom except through revelation.

Regarding {Put him}: There are several points:

• Issue 1: An (that) is the mufassirah (explanatory particle) because waḥy here means speech.
• Issue 2: Qadhf (casting) is used to mean throwing or placing, as in {And He cast terror into their hearts} (Al-Aḥzāb: 26).
• Issue 3: It is narrated that she made a chest, lined it with carded cotton, placed Moses (PBUH) inside, sealed its lid and cracks with pitch, and cast it into the Nile. A large river flowed from the Nile into Pharaoh's palace. While Pharaoh was sitting by the pool with his wife Asia, a chest came floating. When Pharaoh saw it, he ordered the servants and maids to retrieve it. They opened it and found a boy with the most beautiful face. When Pharaoh saw him, he loved him. The rest of the story will follow in Surah Al-Qasas. Muqātil said that the one who made the chest was Hizqil, the believer from Pharaoh's people.
• Issue 4: Al-Yamm (the sea/river) means the sea, and here it refers to the Nile of Egypt, according to everyone. Al-Yamm is a name applied to both the sea and a large river.
• Issue 5: Al-Kisā’ī said that sāḥil (bank) is an active participle meaning what is acted upon (passive), named so because the water yasḥaluhu (scours/pushes) it onto the bank.
• Issue 6: The author of Al-Kashshāf said that all the pronouns refer back to Moses (PBUH). If some refer to him and others to the chest, it results in a disjointed structure. If one argues that what was cast into the sea and what was cast onto the bank is the chest, we say there is no harm in saying that Moses (PBUH) in the belly of the chest was cast and cast, so that the pronouns do not diverge and cause disunity.
• Issue 7: Since God’s decree was that the water of the river should carry the chest and cast it onto the bank, He used a metaphorical path, treating the river as if it possessed discernment, commanding it to obey the command and follow the rule. Hence, {and the river shall cast him onto the bank}.

Regarding {and an enemy of Mine and an enemy of his shall take him}: There are discussions here:

• Discussion 1: {shall take him} is the response to the command: "Cast him, and the river shall take him."
• Discussion 2: Concerning the manner of taking, there are two views:
  1. Pharaoh's wife was such that she sent maids to fetch water, saw the chest, ordered it brought, and thus took the chest. In this sense, Pharaoh's "taking" means accepting and favoring it.
  2. The sea cast the chest onto a part of the bank where Pharaoh's pool was located, and the river carried it to his pool, where he saw it and took it.
• Discussion 3: There is a problem with {an enemy of Mine and an enemy of his}, as Moses (PBUH) at that time was not in a position to be an enemy. Answer: His enmity toward God is clear due to his disbelief and tyranny. As for his enmity toward Moses (PBUH), it is possible in the sense that if he had discovered him then, he would have killed him, or it refers to the enmity that would eventually result from his destiny.

The Second Favor: {And I cast upon you love from Me} (20:39)

There are two views:

1. First View: "And I cast upon you a love that is from Me." Al-Zamakhsharī said that {from Me} either relates to {cast} (meaning: I loved you, and whoever God loves, hearts love him), or it relates to an omitted word, which is the second view.
2. Second View: The omitted word is an adjective for love: "And I cast upon you a love originating from Me and created by My power, which is why Pharaoh's wife loved you, saying: {A delight to my eye and yours; do not kill him} (Al-Qaṣaṣ: 9)." It is narrated that he had a trace of beauty on his face and charm in his eyes that no one who saw him could resist. This is like His saying: {And I will instill in them affection} (Maryam: 96).

Al-Qāḍī said the first view is closer because, in his infancy, he cannot be described by the love of God in the sense related to religion, as that applies to the accountable person deserving reward. Rather, what we mentioned regarding his physical beauty was pleasing and delightful, and so was his situation with Pharaoh and his wife. God facilitated his upbringing by them to the utmost degree.

However, one could argue that the first possibility is stronger because the second requires an omission: "And I cast upon you a love originating from Me and created by My power." The first view needs no such omission.

As for the objection that love for God does not occur in infancy, we disagree. The meaning of God's love reverts to conveying benefit to His servants, and this meaning was present for him in his infancy. God knew this would continue until the end of his life, so He used the term love.

The Third Favor: {And that you might be brought up under My eye} (20:40)

Al-Qaffāl said it means: "That you might be raised according to My will." The metaphor here is that when someone makes something for a person while present and watching, they make it as the person likes, and they cannot act contrary to their intention. So it is here.

There are two views on the nature of this metaphor:

1. First View: The eye means knowledge ('ilm). "That you might be raised under My knowledge." Since the one who knows a thing guards it from harm just as the one watching it guards it, the word eye is used metaphorically for knowledge due to their similarity in this aspect.
2. Second View: The eye means protection (ḥirāsa), because the one looking at a thing guards it from what harms it. The eye is metaphorically the cause of protection, so the cause is used metaphorically for the effect, like His saying: {Indeed, I am with you both, listening and seeing} (Tā-Hā: 46). One says, "God's eye is upon you" when praying for protection and safeguarding for someone.

Al-Qāḍī said the apparent meaning of the Qur'an indicates that {And that you might be brought up under My eye} means protection and safeguarding, like His saying: {When your sister walks and says, 'Shall I direct you to one who will care for him?' So We returned you to your mother that her eye might be cooled and she not grieve} (Al-Qaṣaṣ: 22). This serves as an explanation of God's safeguarding of him.

Here are two further discussions:

• Discussion 1: The wāw (and) in {And that you might be brought up under My eye} has three possibilities:
  1. It is as if it means: "And I cast upon you love from Me," and then {When your sister walks} relates to the beginning of the speech, which is {And We had already conferred favor upon you another time when We inspired to your mother what We inspired... and when your sister walks}.
  2. It is possible that {And that you might be brought up under My eye} relates to what follows it, {When your sister walks}. We mentioned similar possibilities for {and that he might be among the certain} (Al-An'ām: 75).
  3. The wāw might be superfluous, meaning: "And I cast upon you love from Me, so that you might be brought up," but this is weak.
• Discussion 2: It was recited with a kasra (i) and a sukūn (no vowel) on the lām and in the jazm mood, as a command. It was also recited with a fatḥa (a) on the tā’ and in the naṣb mood, meaning: "And let your action and conduct be under My knowledge."

The Fourth Favor: {When your sister walks} (20:40)

Know that the operative word for {When your sister walks} is either I cast or that you might be brought up.

It is narrated that when the news spread in Egypt that Pharaoh's people had taken a boy from the Nile who would not suckle from any woman presented to him (because God had forbidden all but his mother), they were forced to search for women. When Moses' sister saw this, she came to them disguised and said: {Shall I direct you to a household who will rear him for you?} (Al-Qaṣaṣ: 12). Then she brought the mother, and he accepted her breast, and he returned to his mother through this subtle plan of God.

As for {So We returned you to your mother}: It means We brought you back. In another place, He says: {So We returned him to his mother} (Al-Qaṣaṣ: 13), similar to {Say, "My Lord, send me back"} (Al-Mu'minūn: 99), meaning "Send me back to the world."

As for {that her eye might be cooled and she not grieve}: The intent of returning you to her was to bring her joy and remove her sorrow. If one asks: Why did He not say, "So that she not grieve and her eye be cooled"? Because the removal of grief does not necessarily imply the attainment of joy. However, when He said "that her eye might be cooled" first, the subsequent {and she not grieve} is redundant, as joy necessitates the removal of sorrow.

Answer: The meaning is that her eye is cooled because of your return to her, and her sorrow is removed because the milk of others does not enter your interior.

The Fifth Favor: {And you killed a man, so We saved you from distress} (20:40)

This refers to when you killed a man after reaching maturity—the man whom he killed by striking him when the Israelite sought his help against the Copt. Distress came to him from two aspects:

1. The distress of worldly punishment, which is Pharaoh's retribution, as God recounts: {So he became in the city, fearful and awaiting} (Al-Qaṣaṣ: 18).
2. The distress of God's punishment for killing him without God's command. God saved him from both distresses: from Pharaoh, by enabling his migration to Midian, and from the punishment of the Hereafter, because He forgave him for it.

The Sixth Favor: {And We tested you with trials} (20:41)

There are two discussions here:

• Discussion 1: Regarding {with trials} (futūn), there are two views:
  1. It is a verbal noun (maṣdar) like ʿukūf (devotion) and julūs (sitting), meaning: "And We tested you truly," following their grammatical rule of emphasizing statements with verbal nouns, like {And God spoke to Moses directly} (An-Nisā’: 164).
  2. It is a plural of fitnah (trial) or fitnah (singular feminine noun) where the feminine tā’ is dropped, like ḥujūz (plural of ḥajza) and budūr (plural of budra). Meaning: "We tested you with various kinds of trials."

Here are two questions:

Answer (Two aspects):

1. Fitnah means intensifying affliction. One says fatana fulān ʿan dīnihi (so-and-so was severely tested from his religion) when the affliction intensifies to the point of apostasy. God says: {And among people is he who says, "We believe in God," but when he is harmed for the sake of God, he considers the trial of people to be like the punishment of God} (Al-ʿAnkabūt: 10). And: {Or do people think that they will be left alone saying, "We believe," and they will not be tried?} (Al-ʿAnkabūt: 2-3). The shaking mentioned in the verse, and the touching of affliction and hardship, is the trial (fitnah and futūn). Since the intensification of affliction necessitates greater reward, God counted it among the favors.
2. {And We tested you with trials} means: "We purified you thoroughly," from the saying: fatantu adh-dhahab min al-fiḍḍah (I refined the gold from the silver) when one intends purification.

Sa'īd ibn Jubayr asked Ibn 'Abbās about al-futūn. Ibn 'Abbās said: "We will start a new day for you, O Ibn Jubayr." Then, the next morning, Ibn 'Abbās began reciting the verses concerning Moses (PBUH) from the beginning of his story: the story of Pharaoh, his killing of the Israelites' sons, the casting of Moses into the river, the taking by Pharaoh's family, his refusal to suckle from strangers, the incident where Moses grabbed Pharaoh's beard and put the hot coal in his mouth, the killing of the Copt, his flight to Midian, becoming a hired laborer for Shu'ayb (PBUH), his return to Egypt, taking the wrong path on a dark night, and seeking comfort from the fire of the tree. At the end of each part, Ibn 'Abbās would say, "This is part of the futūn, O Ibn Jubayr."

Answer: No, because fattān is a blameworthy attribute in common usage, and the names of God are based on divine decree (tawqīfī), especially concerning what might imply something inappropriate.

The Seventh Favor: {So you remained for years among the people of Midian. Then you came at a measure, O Moses} (20:40)

Know that the implied structure is: "{And We tested you with trials}, so you left in fear for the people of Midian, and you remained for years among them."

Regarding the duration of his stay: Abu Muslim said it is explained in the verses: {And when he directed his face toward Midian... so when Moses had completed the term} (Al-Qaṣaṣ: 22-29), which is either ten or eight years, based on {if you should serve me for eight years... but if I complete ten, it is of your own accord} (Al-Qaṣaṣ: 27). Wahb said Moses stayed with Shu'ayb (PBUH) for twenty-eight years, ten of which were the dowry for his wife. The verse indicates he stayed ten years, but it does not negate an addition beyond ten.

Know that the phrase {So you remained for years among the people of Midian} following {And We tested you with trials} indicates that his stay in Midian was part of the trials, as he endured many hardships due to poverty and exile, and needed to hire himself out.

As for {Then you came at a measure, O Moses}: There must be an omission in the speech because it is "at a measure of something." They mentioned several possibilities for this omission:

1. It was previously decreed and destined that I would make you My Messenger at a specific time I appointed, and you came exactly at that measure, neither before nor after. This aligns with {Indeed, all things We created in measure} (Al-Qamar: 49).
2. It refers to a measure of time during which Prophets receive revelation, which is the beginning of forty years.
3. The qadr (measure) is the appointed time (maw'id). If it is established that this appointment was set beforehand, it is valid to link it to that, as it is possible that Shu'ayb (PBUH) or other Prophets had designated that time.

If one asks: Why did God mention Moses' arrival at that time as part of His favors? Answer: Because without His success, none of that would have been prepared.

The Eighth Favor: {And I have chosen you for Myself} (20:41)

Iṣṭināʿ is the taking of a craft (ṣunʿ), an active form (ifti'āl) derived from ṣanaʿa (to make). One says iṣṭanaʿa fulānan (so-and-so chose him) meaning he took him as his protégé.

If one asks: Since God is self-sufficient from all things, what is the meaning of {for Myself}?

Answer (Several views):

1. First View: This is a representation (tamthīl). Since God granted him the status of closeness, honor, and direct speech, His situation is likened to one whom a king singles out due to his many virtues, making him worthy of being the closest person to him.
2. Second View (Mu'tazilite): When God obligates His servants, He must be gentle with them. Part of this gentleness is that which is known only through revelation. If He had not chosen him for the message, He would remain accountable for fulfilling an obligation. Thus, Moses (PBUH) became like a deputy for his Lord in fulfilling what was incumbent upon God, making it correct to say: {And I have chosen you for Myself}.

Al-Qaffāl said: {And I have chosen you} originates from the saying: iṣṭanaʿa fulānan when one treats someone well until they are attributed to him, so one says: "This is the protégé of so-and-so," or "the wounded of so-and-so."

{for Myself} means: "So that I may direct you in My commands, lest you be occupied with anything other than what I commanded you—which is establishing My proof and conveying My message—and so that you are in your movements and stillness for Me, not for yourself or anyone else."

Know that after enumerating the eight favors in response to the eight requests, God followed this with a command and a prohibition.

The Command is that God repeated the first command: {Go, you and your brother, with My signs}. Know that after saying {And I have chosen you for Myself}, God immediately followed it by mentioning what He chose him for: conveying the message and delivering it.

Here are some issues:

• Issue 1: The bā’ (with) here means ma'a (together with), because if they went without a sign, belief would not be incumbent upon them. This is one of the strongest proofs for the invalidity of blind following (taqlīd).
• Issue 2: They differed regarding the signs mentioned here into three opinions:
  1. First Opinion: They are the hand and the staff, as they are mentioned here and in all other places where God recounts the story of Moses (PBUH). God never mentioned that he was given any sign before coming to Pharaoh or after coming until he met Pharaoh, except these two signs. God says about him: {Say, "Then produce a sign, if you are of the truthful." So he threw down his staff, and behold, it was a manifest serpent. And he drew out his hand, and behold, it was white to the beholders} (Ash-Shu'arā’: 31-33). And: {Indeed, these are two proofs from your Lord to Pharaoh and his assembly} (Al-Qaṣaṣ: 32). When asked how the plural form is used for two things, they offer responses:
     • The staff was not just one sign but several: its transformation into an animal is one sign; initially, it was small ({it moves as if it were a snake} (An-Naml: 10)), then it grew large (another sign), then it became a serpent (another sign). Furthermore, Moses would put his hand inside its mouth, and it would not harm him (another sign), then it would turn back into wood (another sign). Similarly, the hand: its whiteness is a sign, its radiance is another sign, and their disappearance after appearing is another sign. Thus, it is correct to say they were many signs, not just two.
     • Even if the staff was one thing, it contained many signs, as its transformation into a serpent indicates the existence of an omnipotent, omniscient, wise God, and it indicates Moses' prophethood, and it indicates the possibility of resurrection since inanimate matter turned into a living creature. This is why He said about the Kaaba: {Indeed, the first House established for mankind... In it are manifest signs, [including] the standing place of Abraham} (Āl 'Imrān: 96-97). If one thing can be described as containing signs, two things are more deserving of it.
     • Some say the minimum for a plural is two, as known in the principles of jurisprudence.
  2. Second Opinion: {Go, you and your brother, with My signs} means: "I will support you with My signs, and I will manifest signs through your hands that will refute the arguments of Pharaoh and his people. Go, for My signs are with you," as one says, "Go, for My soldier is with you," meaning "I support you with them when needed."
  3. Third Opinion: God gave him the staff and the hand, and He untied the knot of his tongue, which was also a miracle. Thus, the signs were three.

This concludes the explanation of the command.

The Prohibition is His saying: {And do not be remiss in My remembrance} (wa lā taniyā fī dhikrī). Tanyā means slackness and falling short. It was also recited with a kasra on the yā’ for conformity. There are several opinions on this:

1. First View: Do not be slack, but rather take My remembrance as a tool to achieve objectives, believing that nothing can be accomplished except through My remembrance. The wisdom is that whoever remembers God's majesty belittles everything else and fears no one. Whoever remembers God's majesty gains spiritual strength from that remembrance and does not weaken in his purpose. Furthermore, the one who remembers God must remember His favors, and one who remembers His favors will not be slack in obeying His commands.
2. Second View: Dhikr (remembrance) here means conveying the message, as dhikr applies to all acts of worship, and conveying the message is the greatest of them, so it deserves to be called dhikr.
3. Third View: {And do not be remiss in My remembrance} concerning Pharaoh. The manner of remembrance is that they remind Pharaoh and his people that God is not pleased with their disbelief, and they remind them of reward, punishment, encouragement, and warning.
4. Fourth View: They should remind Pharaoh of God's bounties, graces, and various acts of kindness toward him.

Then He said: {Go to Pharaoh; indeed, he has transgressed}. There are two questions here:

• Question 1: What is the benefit of this after saying: {Go, you and your brother, with My signs}? Al-Qaffāl offered two views:
  1. {Go, you and your brother, with My signs} might imply that each one is commanded to go individually. So, He said again {Go} to clarify that the intent is for both to engage in this task together, not for Aaron to go alone while Moses stays behind.
  2. {Go, you and your brother, with My signs} is a command to go to all people—the Children of Israel and Pharaoh's people. Then {Go to Pharaoh} is a specific command to go to Pharaoh alone.
• Question 2: {Go to Pharaoh} is an address to Moses and Aaron (peace be upon them), which is problematic since Aaron was not present there, just as in {They said, "Our Lord, indeed we fear that he will rush upon us or that he will transgress"} (Tā-Hā: 45).

Al-Qaffāl answered this in several ways:

1. The speech was directed only to Moses (PBUH), but Aaron was his follower, so the address to him was made as an address to both. Aaron's speech is hypothetical. The address, although directed to Moses alone at that moment, was attributed to both, as in {And when you killed a person} (Al-Baqarah: 72) and {If he returns to the city, the honored will surely expel therefrom the humbled} (Al-Munāfiqūn: 8), where the speaker is attributed to 'Abdullāh ibn Ubayy alone.
2. It is possible that after God said: {You have been granted your request, O Moses}, He paused until Moses met his brother, and then God addressed them both: {Go to Pharaoh}.
3. It is narrated that in the Mus'haf of Ibn Mas'ūd and Hafṣah, it reads: {Our Lord said: Indeed, we fear}, meaning Moses said: "My brother and I fear Pharaoh."

Regarding {Then speak to him a gentle word}: There are two questions:

• Question 1: Why did God command Moses (PBUH) to be gentle with the disbelieving denier? Answer (Two reasons):
  1. Since Pharaoh had raised him, God commanded him to address him gently out of respect for those rights, which serves as a reminder of the utmost reverence due to parental rights.
  2. It is the habit of tyrants that when admonished harshly, they become more arrogant and defiant. The goal of the mission is to achieve benefit, not to increase harm; hence, God commanded gentleness.
• Question 2: What was this gentle speech? Answer: They mentioned several views:
  1. What God narrated partially: {Say, "Do you wish that you would purify yourself? And I will guide you to your Lord so you fear [Him]?"} (An-Nāzi'āt: 18-19). In this Surah, He also mentioned part of it: {So go to him and say, 'Indeed, we are messengers of your Lord. So send with us the Children of Israel and do not torment them. We have certainly brought you a sign from your Lord, and peace is upon whoever follows guidance} (Tā-Hā: 47).
  2. To promise him eternal youth that does not age, a kingdom that will not be taken away except by death, and that he would retain the pleasure of eating, drinking, and marriage until his death.
  3. To use his kunya (teknonym), which is one of three: Abu al-'Abbās, Abu al-Walīd, or Abu Murrah.
  4. It is narrated from 'Amr ibn Dīnār that he heard Pharaoh lived for four hundred and nine years. Moses (PBUH) said to him: "If you obey me, you will live as long as I have lived, and when you die, you will have Paradise."

The last three views are objected to:

• Regarding the first: If he obtained these three things during that long period, it would amount to coercion into acknowledging God, which is invalid in the context of accountability.
• Regarding the second: Addressing him by his kunya is a simple matter and cannot be the primary purpose of {speak to him a gentle word}; rather, it might be part of what was intended.
• Regarding the third: The objection is similar to the first.

Regarding {Perhaps he will remember or fear}: Know that the meaning is not that God was doubtful, as that is impossible for God. Rather, the meaning is: "Speak to him a gentle word, on the condition that you are hopeful that he will remember or fear."

Know that the states of the heart are three: persistence in truth, persistence in falsehood, and hesitation between the two. Pharaoh was persistent in falsehood, which is the worst category. Therefore, God said: {Then speak to him a gentle word; perhaps he will remember or fear}, so that he might return from his denial to an admission of truth. Even if he does not move from denial to admission, fear might enter his heart, causing him to cease denial, which is better than persisting in denial.

Know that the secret of this command is known only to God, because God knew that he would never believe—his belief would be the opposite of that knowledge which is impossible to remove. Thus, God knew the impossibility of that belief occurring, so how could He command Moses (PBUH) with that gentleness and exaggerate that command by softening his call to God, while knowing the impossibility of that outcome from him? Even the Mu'tazilites dispute this impossibility without offering a strong argument for this question, yet they concede that God knew that belief would not occur and that Pharaoh would gain nothing from Moses' mission except deserving punishment. How can a compassionate and generous one hand a knife to someone he knows for certain will tear his own belly with it, and then say, "I only intended to be kind to him by giving him the knife"? O rational ones, intellects fall short of grasping these secrets; there is no path except submission, abandoning objection, and silence of heart and tongue. It is narrated from Ka'b that he swore by Ka'b that it is written in the Torah: "Speak to him a gentle word, and I will harden his heart so he will not believe."

{They said, "Our Lord, indeed we fear that he will rush upon us or that he will transgress." He said, "Fear not; indeed, I am with you both, listening and seeing. So go to him and say, 'Indeed, we are messengers of your Lord. So send with us the Children of Israel and do not torment them. We have certainly brought you a sign from your Lord, and peace is upon whoever follows guidance. Indeed, it has been revealed to us that the punishment is upon whoever denies and turns away.'"} (20:45-48)