Question 1: His saying: **{And what hastened you}** is an interrogation, which is impossible for God. **Answer:** It is a form of reprimand expressed as a question, and there is no impossibility in using this form.

Question 2: Moses, peace be upon him, was either forbidden from this precedence or not. If he was forbidden, then this precedence was a sin, which implies that prophets commit sins. If he was not forbidden, then this reprimand from God, the Exalted, was not justified. **Answer:** Perhaps, peace be upon him, he did not find an explicit text regarding this matter, but he proceeded based on his own *ijtihad* (independent reasoning) and erred in that reasoning, thus deserving the admonishment.

Question 3: He said: **{and I hastened}**, and haste is generally blameworthy. **Answer:** Haste is praiseworthy in religion. God, the Exalted, says: **{And hasten to forgiveness from your Lord and a Garden}** (Al 'Imran: 133).

Question 4: His saying: **{that you may be pleased}** indicates that he did this to attain God's pleasure, which is false for two reasons. First, it implies a renewal of God's attribute. Second, before this pleasure was attained, it must be said that God was not pleased with Moses, as attaining the already existent is impossible. Since He was not pleased, it implies He was displeased with him, which is unsuitable for the status of the prophets, peace be upon them. **Answer:** The meaning intended is the attainment of the *perpetuity* of pleasure, just as His saying **{then he was guided}** means the perpetuity of guidance.

Question 5: His saying: **{and I hastened to You}** indicates that he went to the appointed time before the time God had set for him, otherwise it would not be called hastening. Furthermore, he thought that disobeying God's command was a means to attain His pleasure, which is unfitting for the most ignorant of people, let alone the intimate confidant of God. **Answer:** This is explained by what we mentioned: that it was through *ijtihad* in which he erred.

Question 6: His saying: **{to You}** implies that God is in a location, as "to" indicates the limit of a destination. **Answer:** We agree that God was not in the mountain. The meaning is "to the place You promised me."

Question 7: **{What hastened you}** asks about the reason for the haste. The appropriate answer would have been: "I sought an increase in Your pleasure and longed for Your speech." However, His saying **{They are here upon my track}** does not align with this, as you can see. **Answer:** There are two ways to respond: 1. God's question encompasses two things: first, a denial of the haste itself, and second, an inquiry into the reason for preceding them. The most important matter for Moses, peace be upon him, was answering the second part. He said: "Nothing occurred from me except a slight precedence that is usually not considered significant, and there is only a small gap between me and those I preceded, the kind of gap a delegation usually has over their people." Then he followed up with the answer to the question about haste, saying: **{and I hastened to You, my Lord, that You might be pleased}**. 2. When Moses, peace be upon him, was overwhelmed by the majesty of God's reprimand, he became bewildered and unable to give the appropriate, structured answer according to the rules of discourse.