Tafsir of Ta-Ha 20:83

{وما أعجلك} What is it that hastened you away from them? This is by way of disapproval. He had set out with the leaders (al-nuqaba’) toward the Mount at the appointed time, but he preceded them out of longing for the speech of his Lord and to hasten the fulfillment of what he was promised, based on his own judgment and his belief that this was closer to the pleasure of Allah Almighty. He overlooked the fact that He, the Almighty and Exalted, only sets times for His actions based on the requirements of wisdom and knowledge of the interests pertaining to every moment.

The "people" here refers to the leaders. There is no sound basis for the view of those who suggest it refers to all his people and that he left them before the appointed time; the verse {They are close upon my tracks} rejects this.

Regarding "al-athari" (on my tracks):

• Abu ‘Amr and Ya‘qub read it as ithari (with a kasra).
• ‘Isa ibn ‘Umar read it as uthari (with a damma).
• Also from him: ula (shortened).
• Al-ithr is more eloquent than al-athar. As for al-athar, it is heard in the context of the "ferend" (pattern) of a sword and is recorded in the linguistic sources; it is said: ithr al-sayf and atharuhu. Its usage in the sense of "tracks" is rare.

If you ask: "{What has hastened you} is a question about the cause of the haste, so the answer that should correspond to it is: 'Seeking an increase in Your pleasure,' or 'Longing for Your speech and the fulfillment of Your promise.' But his saying {They are close upon my tracks} does not seem to correspond to it."

I say: What the Lord of Might addressed him with contained two things:

1. Disapproval of the haste itself.
2. A question regarding the cause of the disapproved act and what motivated it.

It was most important for Moses to present his excuse and establish the reason for the very thing he was rebuked for. So, he excused himself by saying that he had only preceded them by a small distance, which is not usually counted or given importance in custom. There was only a short distance between him and those he preceded, such as a leader or vanguard might cover. Then, he followed this with the answer to the question regarding the cause, saying: {And I hastened to You, my Lord, that You might be pleased}.

One might say: He was bewildered by the awe of Allah’s rebuke, and that distracted him from providing an answer that strictly corresponds to the logical order of the speech.

{He said: "Then indeed, We have tested your people after you, and the Samiri has led them astray."}