Tafsir of Al-A'raf 7:155

Surah Al-A'raf (The Heights), Verse 155

وَٱخْتَارَ مُوسَىٰ قَوْمَهُۥ سَبْعِينَ رَجُلًا لِّمِيقَٰتِنَا ۖ فَلَمَّآ أَخَذَتْهُمُ ٱلرَّجْفَةُ قَالَ رَبِّ لَوْ شِئْتَ أَهْلَكْتَهُم مِّن قَبْلُ وَإِيَّىَ ۖ أَتُهْلِكُنَا بِمَا فَعَلَ ٱلسُّفَهَآءُ مِنَّا ۖ إِنْ هِىَ إِلَّا فِتْنَتُكَ ۖ تُضِلُّ بِهَا مَن تَشَآءُ وَتَهْدِى مَن تَشَآءُ ۖ أَنْتَ وَلِيُّنَا فَٱغْفِرْ لَنَا وَٱرْحَمْنَا ۖ وَأَنْتَ خَيْرُ ٱلْغَٰفِرِينَ >

Issue 1: The Meaning of Ikhtiyār (Choosing)

• Linguistic Derivation: Ikhtiyār (اختيار) is derived from Khayr (خير - good/best). It means taking the best and the preferred option.
• Grammatical Transformation: The original form was likely ukhtīra (أُخْتِيرَ). Since the yā’ (ي) became mobile and had a fatḥah (ـَ) before it, it was converted to an alif (ا), similar to qāla (قال) and bāʿa (باع).
• Equivalence of Active/Passive: Due to this transformation, the forms for the active agent (mukhtār - chooser) and the passive object (mukhtār - chosen) became identical in spelling, although the original forms were distinct (mukhtīr and mukhtīr).
• Philosophical Basis of Choice: Sound faculties are inherently capable of both action and inaction, and capable of doing the opposite of an action. As long as this equilibrium remains, it is impossible for a choice to lean toward one side without a deciding factor (a murajjiḥ), as this would imply preference without a preference-giver, which is impossible.
• When a person judges that an action has a superior benefit or advantage over its alternative, this judgment causes the action to become preferable to inaction. Therefore, an action cannot proceed from a living being unless they judge that action to be better than leaving it undone. This is why animal action is termed ikhtiyāriyyah (optional/chosen action).
• Addressing an Objection: If someone argues that a person might commit self-harm (like suicide or jumping from a height), even though they know it is evil, the response is that the person only undertakes it if they believe that this act will save them from a greater harm. The lesser harm (the act itself) is thus considered better (less evil) than the greater harm it averts.

Issue 2: The Grammar of "Moses Chose Seventy Men from His People"

• Grammarians' View: Many grammarians state the meaning is: "Moses chose seventy men from his people" (ikhtāra mūsā min qawmihi). The preposition min (from) was omitted, and the verb became transitive directly to the second object.
  • They cite the parallel: "I chose Zayd from the men" (ikhtartu min ar-rijāli Zaydan) versus "I chose the men Zayd" (ikhtartu ar-rijāla Zaydan).
  • They quote Al-Farazdaq: "And among us is he whom men chose for generosity..."
• Abu Ali's Explanation: Some verbs require one preposition for the second object, but usage expands to drop the preposition, making the verb directly transitive to that second object. Examples include:
  • Ikhtartu min ar-rijāli Zaydan $\rightarrow Ikhtartu ar-rijāla Zaydan.
  • Astagfiru Allāha min dhanbī (I seek forgiveness from God for my sin) \rightarrow Astagfiru Allāha dhanbī (I seek forgiveness for my sin, as the poet said).
  • Amartu Zaydan bil-khayr (I commanded Zayd to good) \rightarrow$ Amartu Zaydan al-khayr (I commanded Zayd the good).
• My (Al-Razi's) Alternative View: The intended meaning could be: "Moses chose his people for Our appointment," where "his people" refers to the respected ones among them (using the general term for the specific intended group). The phrase {seventy men} then acts as an ʿaṭf bayān (apposition/clarification) for "his people." This interpretation avoids the grammatical complexities mentioned above.

Issue 3: Details of the Selection

• It is mentioned that Moses selected twelve tribes from his people, six men from each tribe, totaling seventy-two.
• He then asked two men to stay behind, leading to an argument. He promised those who stayed the same reward as those who went. Caleb and Joshua remained behind.
• It is also narrated that he could only find sixty elders. God revealed to him to choose ten young men instead. When he chose them, they miraculously became elders. He commanded them to fast, purify themselves, and purify their clothes before they proceeded to the appointed meeting place (Mīqāt).

Issue 4: The Nature of This Appointment (Mīqāt)

There are differing opinions among exegetes regarding whether this appointment was for the place where God spoke to Moses and Moses requested the vision, or for another location.

• Opinion 1: It was for the Appointment of Speaking and Seeing the Vision.
  • They argue that Moses took these seventy to Mount Sinai. When he approached, a pillar of cloud enveloped the mountain. Moses entered it and told the others to draw near. When they entered the cloud, they prostrated. They heard God commanding and forbidding Moses.
  • When the cloud lifted, they approached Moses and demanded to see God openly ({They asked Moses for a greater thing than that: 'Show us Allah clearly'} [Al-Baqarah: 55]). The thunderbolt (ṣāʿiqah) that struck them is what is meant by the rajfah (earthquake/tremor) mentioned in this verse.
  • Moses then prayed: {My Lord, if You had willed, You could have destroyed them before and me as well. Will You destroy us for what the foolish among us have done?} The "foolishness" here refers to their demand to see God openly.

• Opinion 2: This Mīqāt was different from the one for Speaking and Seeking the Vision.
  • This view has several sub-points regarding why they were punished:
    1. Although these seventy did not worship the Calf, they did not actively oppose those who did while they were engaged in that worship.
    2. They did not strongly forbid the worship of the Calf.
    3. When they went to the Mīqāt to repent, they prayed, "Grant us what You have not granted anyone before us, nor grant it to anyone after us." God disliked this presumption, and the tremor seized them.
  • Arguments supporting Opinion 2:
    1. Literary Flow: God mentioned the Mīqāt of speaking/seeing, then the story of the Calf, and then this story. The natural flow of eloquence suggests completing one narrative before moving to the next. Interspersing parts of one story with another (as in Opinion 1) creates confusion.
    2. Moses's Plea: In the first Mīqāt, the only transgression mentioned was the demand to see God openly ({They said, 'Show us Allah clearly'}). If the tremor here was due to that, Moses should have said, "Will You destroy us for what the foolish among us say?" Since he said, {for what the foolish among us have done}, it implies the tremor was due to their action (worshipping the Calf), not just their speech.
    3. Difference in Divine Response: In the first Mīqāt, God struck Moses unconscious (ṣaʿaqa) and made the mountain crumble (dukkan). In this verse, only the people were seized by the rajfah. How could Moses be seized by the tremor if he was the one who said, "If You had willed, You could have destroyed them before and me"? The distinct consequences suggest two separate events.
  • Argument supporting Opinion 1 (Rebuttal): They argue that in the first instance, God said, {And when Moses came to Our appointment} (Al-A'rāf: 143), implying that the term Mīqāt is specific to that event. Therefore, when this verse says, {Moses chose seventy men for Our appointment}, it must refer to the exact same appointment.
  • Razi's Conclusion: This rebuttal is weak, and the arguments supporting Opinion 2 are stronger.

• Opinion 3 (Narrated from Ali, may God be pleased with him): Moses and Aaron went to the foot of the mountain. Aaron died there. When Moses returned, the people accused him of killing Aaron. Moses then chose seventy men and went to Aaron. God revived Aaron, who declared no one killed him. It was then that the tremor seized the seventy men.

Issue 5: The Nature of the Tremor (Rajfah)

• View 1: The Tremor Caused Death.
  • Al-Suddi narrated that Moses feared returning to the Israelites after the best among them died, worrying they would never trust him again. God revived them.
  • In this context, Moses's plea, {if You had willed, You could have destroyed them before and me as well}, means Moses feared the Israelites would suspect him of killing the seventy if he returned without proof of their death. He wished God had destroyed them all before they left so the Israelites would have witnessed it and not suspected him.

• View 2: The Tremor was not Death, but Extreme Shaking.
  • The people were seized by violent trembling (raʿdah) due to the awe-inspiring situation, nearly dislocating their joints and breaking their backs. Moses feared death, wept, and prayed, and God lifted the tremor from them.

• Regarding Moses's Statement: {Will You destroy us for what the foolish among us have done?}
  • Scholars agree that Moses could not possibly think God would punish the righteous for the sins of the foolish. The statement must be interpreted:
    1. A Denial (Jahd): It is a rhetorical question meaning, "You will not do that," similar to saying, "Do you humiliate those who serve you?" (meaning: You do not).
    2. A Plea for Mercy (Istʿaṭfāf): Al-Mubarrid said it is a request: "Do not destroy us."

• Regarding the Statement: {This is but Your trial (fitnah)}
  • Al-Wāḥidī states that the pronoun hiya (it) refers back to fitnah (trial/tribulation). The meaning is: The trial that the foolish fell into was Your trial. You caused some people to err by it, and You kept others firm upon the truth.
  • He emphasized that everything originates from God, saying: {You cause to err by it whom You will, and You guide whom You will}.
  • Al-Wāḥidī asserts this verse is strong evidence for the doctrine of Divine Decree (Qadar) against the Mu'tazila (who emphasize free will).
  • Mu'tazilite Response: They argue this verse does not support fatalism because God did not say, "You cause Your servants to err from the religion." Furthermore, they argue that idhlāl (causing to err) here refers to the rajfah itself, and God does not cause error by the tremor. They interpret fitnah as a test or severe obligation (like commanding patience during the tremor).

• Regarding: {You cause to err by it whom You will, and You guide whom You will}
  • View 1: God guides those who believe and remain steadfast to Paradise and reward, and He punishes (or lets err) those who do not believe or do not remain steadfast.
  • View 2: Idhlāl (causing to err) means causing destruction (i.e., letting the tremor strike whom He wills and withholding it from whom He wills).
  • View 3: Since this trial acts as the cause for the guidance of some and the misguidance of others, it is permissible to attribute the result to God.

• Al-Razi's Conclusion on Predestination: The rational arguments confirm the necessity of these interpretations:
  1. The power to choose faith or disbelief is only inclined toward one side by a determining factor (dāʿiyah murajjiḥah), and God is the Creator of that factor. When that factor is present, the action must occur. Thus, guidance and misguidance are from God.
  2. Every rational person desires truth and faith. If the matter were purely by their choice, everyone would be a believer, which is not the case. Thus, everything is from God.
  3. If attaining knowledge and guidance were solely the servant's act, then before distinguishing true belief from false belief, the servant could not choose to actualize one over the other. Knowing that one belief is true necessitates that the knowledge of its truth was present first, leading to a self-referential paradox (the thing being conditioned upon itself). Therefore, attaining guidance cannot be created by the servant.

• Following the Plea: God recounts Moses's subsequent words: {You are our Protector, so forgive us and have mercy upon us, and You are the best of those who forgive.}
  • {You are our Protector}: This implies exclusivity (ḥaṣr). There is no protector, helper, or guide except You. This completes the context following {You cause to err... and You guide...}.
  • {so forgive us and have mercy upon us}: This is a request for forgiveness for the great audacity of saying, {This is but Your trial}.
  • {and You are the best of those who forgive}: Forgiveness from others is motivated by seeking praise, reward, or relieving inner distress. Their forgiveness is transactional. However, God forgives out of pure grace and generosity, without seeking compensation or benefit. Therefore, He is definitively {the best of those who forgive}.

{وَٱكْتُبْ لَنَا فِى هَٰذِهِ ٱلدُّنْيَا حَسَنَةً وَفِى ٱلْءَاخِرَةِ ۚ إِنَّا هُدْنَآ إِلَيْكَ ۚ قَالَ عَذَابِىٓ أُصِيبُ بِهِۦ مَنْ أَشَآءُ ۖ وَرَحْمَتِى وَسِعَتْ كُلَّ شَىْءٍۢ ۚ فَسَأَكْتُبُهَا لِلَّذِينَ يَتَّقُونَ وَيُؤْتُونَ ٱلزَّكَوٰةَ وَٱلَّذِينَ هُم بِـَٔايَٰتِنَا يُؤْمِنُونَ}