Taha: (95 - 98)

Know that when Moses (peace be upon him) finished addressing Aaron (peace be upon him) and clarified the excuse for the delay, he turned to the Samaritan. It is possible that the Samaritan was present with Aaron. When Moses finished speaking with Aaron, he began to speak with the Samaritan. Alternatively, the Samaritan might have been far away and came later, or Moses went to him to address him.

Moses (peace be upon him) said: {What is your matter?} (Mā khaṭbukumā). Khaṭb is the verbal noun of khaṭaba (to seek/demand something). When one asks someone doing something, "What is your khaṭb?" it means, "What is your demand or purpose for doing this?" This phrasing is used to rebuke him and magnify his deed.

Then the Samaritan mentioned his excuse for this: {O Samaritan, you have seen what they did not see} (Yā sāmiriyyu baṣartu bimā lam yubṣirū bih).

Issue 1: Recitation of Baṣartu

There are two readings for this phrase:

1. With a kasra (i-vowel) on the bā’ of baṣartu (بِصِرْتُ): Read by the majority, meaning "I saw/perceived."
2. With a fatḥa (a-vowel) on the bā’ of baṣartu (بَصِرْتُ) and a tā’ (تُبْصِرُوا) instead of a yā’ (يُبْصِرُوا): Read by Hamzah and Al-Kisā’ī, meaning "You (plural) did not see." The majority read it with a yā’ (يُبْصِرُوا), meaning "They (the Israelites) did not see."

Issue 2: The Meaning of Baṣartu (Seeing/Perceiving)

There are two main opinions regarding the meaning of ibṣār (seeing/perceiving):

1. Knowledge/Awareness: Abū ‘Ubaydah said it means "I knew what they did not know." Hence, the saying, "A baṣīr man" means a knowledgeable man. This is the view of Ibn ‘Abbās (may Allah be pleased with him). Al-Zajjāj supported this, stating that abṣartuhu means "I saw him," while baṣartu bihi means "I became insightful/knowledgeable concerning it."
2. Physical Sight: Others said it means "I saw what they did not see." In this case, baṣartu bihi means abṣartuhu (I saw it). The intent is that he saw the mount of Gabriel’s (peace be upon him) steed, took a handful of dust from where its hoof had trodden, and then said: {So I seized a handful from the track of the messenger and cast it} (Faqabaḍtu qabḍatan min athari ar-rasūli fanabadhtuhā).

• Qabḍatan: Al-Ḥasan read it as qubḍatan (with a ḍamma on the qāf), meaning the thing taken (like ghurfah or ḍaffah). Qabḍah (with fatḥa) refers to the act of grasping.
• Qabṣatan: It was also read as qabṣatan (with a ṣād instead of a ḍād). Ḍād involves the whole palm, while ṣād involves the tips of the fingers. This is analogous to khaḍm (biting with the whole mouth) versus qaḍm (biting with the front teeth).
• Athar: Ibn Mas‘ūd read: "from the track of the messenger's horse" (min athari farasi ar-rasūli).

The majority of commentators state that the Messenger refers to Gabriel (peace be upon him), and his "track" (athar) is the dust taken from where his steed’s hoof landed.

They differed on when the Samaritan saw him:

• Most said: He saw him on the day the sea split.
• ‘Alī (peace be upon him) narrated: Gabriel descended to take Moses to Mount Ṭūr, and the Samaritan saw him among the people.

They also differed on how the Samaritan was singled out to see and recognize Gabriel:

• Ibn ‘Abbās (via Al-Kallabī): The Samaritan recognized him because he saw him in his infancy and was saved from the killing decree when Pharaoh ordered the slaughter of the Israelite male infants. A woman would give birth and hide her child from Pharaoh’s people. The angels would take these infants and raise them until they mingled with the people. The Samaritan was one of those whom Gabriel took, placed his finger in the child's mouth, and suckled him with honey and milk. Thus, he kept visiting him until he recognized him when he saw him again.
  • Based on this, Ibn Jurayj says the meaning of {you have seen what they did not see} is "I saw what they did not see." If the word is interpreted as knowledge, the meaning is: "I knew that the dust from Gabriel’s horse had a property of bringing life."

Al-Aṣfahānī’s Alternative View (Closer to Verification)

Abū Muslim Al-Aṣfahānī argued that the Quran does not explicitly state what the commentators mentioned. He proposed another interpretation:

• The Messenger refers to Moses (peace be upon him), and his track (athar) refers to his Sunnah and established practice. A man might say, "So-and-so follows the track/practice of so-and-so."
• Interpretation: When Moses rebuked the Samaritan and asked him about the reason for misleading the people regarding the calf, the Samaritan replied: {I have seen what they did not see}, meaning, "I knew that what you are upon is not the truth. And I seized a handful from your track, O Messenger—meaning, something from your Sunnah and religion—and I cast it away."
• In response, Moses informed him of the punishment awaiting him in this world and the Hereafter. Moses used the language of reporting on an absent person while addressing him directly, similar to saying to a leader while facing him, "What does the Prince say about this?"
• The Samaritan addressing Moses as "Messenger" despite his disbelief is similar to the verse where they said to the Prophet, "O you to whom the Reminder was sent down, indeed you are mad" (Al-Ḥijr: 6), even if they did not believe in the revelation.

Arguments supporting Abū Muslim’s view (though contrary to commentators):

1. Gabriel is not famously known by the title "The Messenger" (Ar-Rasūl) without prior mention, making the definite article (al-) an indication of hidden knowledge.
2. It requires an implied element: "a handful from the track of the messenger's horse," and omission contradicts the default.
3. It requires forcing an explanation for how the Samaritan alone recognized Gabriel and knew that the dust from his horse's hoof had this specific property. The story of Gabriel raising him is far-fetched; if he recognized Gabriel in his maturity, he would certainly know Moses was a truthful Prophet, making his attempt to mislead illogical. If he recognized him in infancy, what benefit does that early nurturing provide for later recognition?
4. If some disbelievers could be privy to dust with such a property, critics of miracles could argue that Moses performed miracles because he knew of some other substance with a similar property. This would entirely close the door on miracles, allowing critics to claim that miracles occurred because they knew of specific remedies that produced the apparent miracle.

{Thus my soul suggested to me} (Wa kadhālik sawwalat lī nafsī): Meaning, "I did what my soul prompted me to do." Sawwalat is derived from su’āl (asking/prompting). The meaning is: "No one compelled me to do what I did; rather, I followed my own desire."

When Moses heard this, he responded by contrasting the Samaritan's fate in this world and the Hereafter with the fate of his "god" (the calf).

His worldly fate: {So go! For indeed, in life it is for you to say, "No touching!"} (Fadh-hab fa-inna laka fī al-ḥayāti an taqūla lā massāsa).

1. Interpretation 1: "I will not touch you, nor will you touch me." It is said that if anyone touched him, they would contract a fever (ḥummā), so he would cry out "No touching!" out of fear of the fever.
2. Interpretation 2: The command means he is forbidden from mixing with anyone, and no one should mix with him. Muqātil said Moses expelled him and his family from the settlement of the Israelites, driving them out to the wilderness. Al-Wāḥidī objected, saying that if a man is ostracized, people say to him "No touching," not that he says it. This objection is weak, because if a man is isolated and asked about his condition, he can reply, "No touching," meaning, "No one touches me, and I touch no one." This interpretation is better aligned with the flow of speech than the first.
3. Interpretation 3 (Abū Muslim): It might refer to the prohibition of marrying women. This would be part of God’s punishment, cutting off his lineage so he would have no children to comfort him, thus depriving him of the two adornments of this life mentioned in the Quran (wealth and children).

• Lā massāsa was also read as lā massāsa (with fatḥa on the lām), functioning as a proper noun for a single instance of touching.

His Hereafter fate: {And indeed, for you is an appointment you will not fail to meet} (Wa inna laka maw‘idan lan tukhlafa-hu). Maw‘id means a promise—this is your punishment in this world, and then you have the promise of the punishment of the Hereafter. You are among those who have lost both this world and the next, which is the manifest loss.

• Readings of Lan Tukhlafa-hu:
  • The people of Medina and Kūfa read it with a fatḥa on the lām (lan tukhlafa-hu): "God will not fail to bring that promise to you; it will not be delayed."
  • Ibn Kathīr, Abū ‘Amr, and Al-Ḥasan read it with a kasra on the lām (li-n takhlufa-hu): "It (the appointment) will come to you, and it will not escape you."
  • Abū ‘Ubayd preferred opening the lām (lan tukhlafa-hu), as if saying, "a true appointment that has no failure."
  • Ibn Mas‘ūd read it with a nūn (lan nukhlifa-hu), as if Moses was quoting God’s words directly, similar to the explanation given for la-ahibu laka (in Sūrat Maryam).

{And look at your god whom you remained devoted to} (Wānẓur ilā ilāhika alladhī ẓallta ‘alayhi ‘ākifā).

Al-Mufaḍḍal mentioned that ẓallta can be read with a fatḥa or kasra on the ẓā’, just like fa-ẓalltum tafakahūn (Al-Wāqi‘ah: 65). The original form is ẓalaltu, and Arabs prefer dropping the first lām when the second lām is quiescent. If the ẓā’ is kasra, the vowel of the dropped lām is transferred to it; if the ẓā’ is fatḥa, it remains as is. They do the same with doubled letters, saying massathu or massastuhu.

Then Moses said: {We will surely burn it and then scatter it into the sea completely} (Lanaḥriqan-nahu thumma lanansifannahu fī al-baḥri nasfā).

Regarding {We will surely burn it} (Lanaḥriqan-nahu), there are two interpretations:

1. Burning with Fire: This implies the calf turned into flesh and blood, as gold cannot be burned by fire. Al-Suddī said Moses ordered the calf slaughtered, blood flowed out, then it was burned, and its ashes scattered. Ibn Mas‘ūd’s version reads: "We will surely slaughter it and then burn it."
2. Grinding/Filing: Ḥaraqahu can mean "to file it down with a file" (mibrad). This reading implies it did not turn into flesh and blood, as metal cannot be filed down in that state. Alternatively, it turned to flesh, was slaughtered, and then its bones were filed down until they could be scattered.

• The common reading is with a ḍamma on the nūn and a shadda on the rā’ (lanaḥriqan-nahu): "We will surely burn it with fire."
• Abū Ja‘far and Ibn Muḥayṣin read it with a fatḥa on the nūn and a light ḍamma on the rā’ (lanaḥriqan-nahu): "We will surely file it down."

Moses (peace be upon him), having refuted the Samaritan’s claims, returned to establishing the true religion: {Indeed, your god is only Allāh, other than Whom there is no deity. His knowledge encompasses all things} (Innamā ilāhukum Allāhu alladhī lā ilāha illā huwa wasi‘a kulla shay’in ‘ilma). Muqātil said: He knows who worships Him and who does not worship Him.

[Continuation of the Narrative]