Tafsir of Al-A'raf 7:154

Al-A'raf (The Heights): Verse 154

Know that when the Almighty explained what occurred from Him in anger, He explained in this verse what occurred from Him when the anger subsided.

In this verse, there are several issues:

There are several opinions:

The First Opinion: This expression is metaphorical (isti'arah). It is as if anger was empowering him to do what he did, commanding him: "Say this and that to your people, cast down the Tablets, and take hold of your brother's head." When the anger ceased, it was as if it became silent.

The Second Opinion: This is the view of 'Ikrimah. The meaning is: Moses became silent from anger, and his heart became quiet, just as they say: "I put the cap on my head" (أدخلت القلنسوة في رأسي), meaning: I put my head into the cap.

The Third Opinion: The intended meaning of sakata (سكت) here is stillness and cessation (al-sukūn wa al-zawāl). Based on this, saying {Anger subsided from Moses} is permissible. However, saying ṣamāta (صمت - became silent/closed his mouth) is not permissible, because sakata means to become still, whereas ṣamāta means to close one's mouth from speaking, which is not appropriate for anger.

The apparent meaning of the verse indicates that when the Prophet (peace be upon him) realized that his brother Aaron had not been negligent and his excuse became clear to him, his anger subsided. This was the time when he said: {My Lord, forgive me and my brother} (Al-A'raf: 151). Just as he prayed for his brother, he signaled the cessation of his anger. This is because the prayer for his brother was the opposite of the two actions he performed out of anger (casting down the Tablets and seizing Aaron's beard), thus making the opposite of those two actions a sign of his anger subsiding.

This refers to the Tablets mentioned in the Almighty's saying: {And he cast down the Tablets} (Al-A'raf: 15). The apparent meaning suggests that nothing from them was broken or nullified, and the narration that six-sevenths of the Torah was raised to heaven is not the case.

Regarding the phrase: {And in their transcript} (وفى نسختها): Naskh (نسخ) means transfer and transformation. If you write a book letter by letter from another book, you say: "I transcribed that book," as if you transferred what was in the original to the second book.

Ibn Abbas said: When Moses (peace be upon him) cast down the Tablets, they broke. He fasted for forty days, then Allah Almighty returned the Tablets with the exact content of the first ones. Based on this, His saying {And in their transcript} means: and in what was transcribed from them.

However, if we maintain that the Tablets were not broken and Moses took them as they were after casting them down—and there is no doubt they were written from the Preserved Tablet (Al-Lawh Al-Mahfūẓ)—then they are also considered a naskh (transcript) in this context.

His saying: {a guidance and a mercy} (هدى ورحمة): meaning guidance away from misguidance, and mercy from punishment, {for those who fear their Lord} (للذين هم لربهم يرهبون), meaning those who are fearful of their Lord.

If it is asked: The structure implies "for those who fear their Lord" (للذين يرهبون ربهم), so what is the benefit of the preposition lām (ل) in {for their Lord} (لربهم)?

We answer with several points:

1. Delaying the verb from its object can weaken it. Thus, the lām is added for reinforcement, similar to His saying: {You interpret the vision} (Yusuf: 43) [where the lām is used in the structure li-al-ru'yā tu'abbirūn].
2. It is the lām of purpose (lām al-ajal). The meaning is: for those who fear their Lord for His sake (لأجل ربهم), not for ostentation or reputation.
3. The preposition can sometimes be added to the object even when the verb is transitive. For example, you can say "I read in the Surah" (قرأت في السورة) or "I read the Surah" (قرأت السورة). Similarly, you can say "He threw his hand" (ألقى يده) or "He threw with his hand" (ألقى بيده). In the Quran, we have: {Did he not know that Allah sees?} (Al-'Alaq: 14) and in another place: {And they know that Allah...}. Based on this, in {for their Lord} (لربهم), the lām is an auxiliary particle (ṣilah) and an emphasis, similar to His saying: {It has followed you} (ردف لكم). We have mentioned similar examples in our commentary on His saying: {And do not believe except in one who follows your religion} (Al 'Imran: 73).