6. THE REQUEST TO SEE ALLAH
Allah, Most High, says, And We appointed for Moosa thirty nights and added (to the period) ten (more), and he completed the term, appointed by his Lord, of forty nights. And Moosa said to his brother Haroon, “Replace me among my people, act in the Right Way (by ordering the people to obey Allah and to worship Him Alone) and follow not the way of the mufsidoon (mischief- makers).” And when Moosa came to the meeting appointed by Us, and his Lord spoke to him, he said, “O, my Lord! Show me (Yourself), that I may look upon You.” Allah said, “You cannot see Me, but look upon the mountain, if it stands still in its place, then you shall see Me.” So when his Lord appeared to the mountain, He made it collapse to dust, and Moosa fell down unconscious. Then, when he recovered his senses he said, “Glory be to You, I turn to You in repentance and I am the first of the Believers.” He (Allah) said, “O, Moosa I have chosen you above men by My Messages, and by My speaking (to you). So hold that which I have given you and be of the grateful.” And We wrote for him on the Tablets the lesson to be drawn from all things and the explanation of all things (and said), “Hold unto these with firmness, and enjoin your people to take the better therein. I shall show you the home of fasiqoon. I shall turn away from My Ayat those who behave arrogantly on the Earth, without a right, and (even) if they see all the Ayat, they will not believe in them. And if they see the way of righteousness (Monotheism, piety, and good deeds), they will not adopt it as the way, but if they see the way of error (polytheism, crimes and evil deeds), they will adopt that way, that is because they have rejected Our Ayat and were heedless (to learn a lesson) from them. Those who deny Our Ayat and the Meeting in the Hereafter (Day of Resurrection,), vain are their deeds. Do they expect to be rewarded with anything except what they used to do?” (Soorah Al-A‘raf 7:142-147)
A number of the Salaf, including ‘Abdullah Ibn ‘Abbas (May Allah be pleased with him), Masrooq and Mujahid said that the thirty nights referred to were the whole month of Dhul-Qa‘dah and he completed forty days by remaining for ten days of Dhul-Hijjah; based on this reckoning, Allah’s Words would have been spoken to him on the day of ‘Eid An-Nahr. And on the same day, Allah, the Almighty, the All-Powerful, completed for Muhammad (Peace and Blessings of Allah be upon him) His Religion and confirmed His Evidence and His Proof. What is meant is that when Moosa (Peace be upon him) had completed the appointed time period, during which he fasted – it was said that he did not taste food and when the month was over, he took some tree bark and chewed it in order to improve the smell of his breath. Then Allah commanded him to remain for a further ten nights, making a total of forty nights; this is why it was authentically reported in the Hadith: “The smell of the fasting person’s breath is sweeter to Allah than the odour of musk.”
Before leaving, Moosa (Peace be upon him) had appointed his beloved, respected and honored brother, Haroon (Peace be upon him), to be leader of the Children of Isra’eel in his absence; Haroon (Peace be upon him) was his full brother and his minister in supplicating to Allah, and so he advised him and commanded him – and his status as a Prophet does not make this incompatible or incongruous – Allah, Most High, says, And when Moosa came to the meeting appointed by Us (Soorah Al-A‘raf 7:143) means at the time he was commanded to attend and his Lord spoke to him. (Soorah Al-A‘raf 7:143). That is, Allah spoke to him from behind a screen, which allowed him to hear what was said to him, and He called him, confided in him and brought him near. This was indeed, a high rank, a strong position, a noble office and an exalted station – may abundant blessings and peace be upon him in the life of this world and in the Hereafter. When he was given this elevated status and sublime rank and he heard the (Divine) Speech, he asked Allah to raise the screen, saying to the Almighty, Whom no eyes may behold and Whose Evidence is Strong, “O, my Lord! Show me (Yourself), that I may look upon You.” Allah said, “You can not see Me” (Soorah Al-A‘raf 7:143). Then Allah, Most High, explained to him that he could not withstand Allah’s revealing Himself, because the mountain, which was stronger, of greater size and firmer than a human being, could not withstand His revealing Himself to it, which is why He says, “…but look upon the mountain, if it stands still in its place, then you shall see Me.” (Soorah Al-A‘raf 7:143)
‘Abdullah Ibn ‘Abbas (May Allah be pleased with him) said, regarding the Words of Allah, Most High: No vision can grasp Him (Soorah Al-An’am 6:103), “This refers to His Light; it is His Light which, if it is revealed to anything, it cannot withstand it.” This is why He, Most High, said to Moosa (Peace be upon him), So when his Lord appeared to the mountain, He made it collapse to dust, and Moosa fell down unconscious. Then, when he recovered his senses he said, “Glory be to You, I turn to You in repentance and I am the first of the Believers.” (Soorah Al-A‘raf 7:143)
Mujahid said, regarding the Words of Him, Most High: “…but look upon the mountain, if it stands still in its place, then you shall see Me.” (Soorah Al-A‘raf 7:143), “(It means:) Because it (the mountain) is larger than you and stronger; but when his Lord revealed Himself to the mountain, and he saw that the mountain could not withstand it and collapsed into dust, he fell to the ground unconscious.”
We have mentioned in the Tafseer the narration of Imams Ahmad and At-Tirmidhi – which was declared authentic by Ibn Jareer At-Tabari and Al-Hakim – on the authority of Anas (May Allah be pleased with him), who reported that the Messenger of Allah (Peace and Blessings of Allah be upon him) recited So when his Lord appeared to the mountain, He made it collapse to dust. He indicated by placing his thumb on the top joint of his little finger (how much of Himself Allah had revealed to the mountain) and this caused the mountain to sink to the ground.”
As-Suddi narrated on the authority of ‘Ikrimah, who reported on the authority of ‘Abdullah Ibn ‘Abbas (May Allah be pleased with him) that he said that what Allah revealed of Himself it was no more than the extent of a little finger and it caused the mountain to turn to dust. …and Moosa fell down unconscious. That is, it caused him to swoon. Qatadah said, “(He fell down) dead.” But the first interpretation is the correct one, because He says, Then, when he recovered his senses… (Soorah Al-A‘raf 7:143) – and one can only recover or awake from a faint (not from death) – he (Moosa (Peace be upon him)) said, “Glory be to You…” (Soorah Al-A‘raf 7:143). This is an acknowledgement that Allah is Above such a thing (as being seen by His creation) and glorification and exaltation of Him. “I turn to You in repentance…” (Soorah Al-A‘raf 7:143). That is, I shall not ask to see You again after this. “…and I am the first of the Believers” (Soorah Al-A‘raf 7:143) means, the first to believe that You cannot be seen by any living thing without it being killed and (You cannot be revealed to) any dry (inanimate) thing without it tumbling to the ground.
And it has been authentically reported in the Saheehain on the authority of Abu Sa’eed Al-Khudri (May Allah be pleased with him) that he said, “The Messenger of Allah (Peace and Blessings of Allah be upon him) said, ‘Do not ascribe to me superiority over the other Prophets, for on the Day of Resurrection the people will become unconscious and I will (feel that) I am the first to regain consciousness. Then I will see Moosa holding one of the legs of the Throne. I will not know whether he has come to his senses before me or that the shock he had received at the Mountain, (during his worldly life) was sufficient for him’.
And He, Most High, says, He (Allah) said, “O, Moosa I have chosen you above men by My Messages, and by My speaking (to you).” (Soorah Al-A‘raf 7:144). That is, in that time, not the times before him, because Ibraheem, Al-Khaleel (Peace be upon him) was superior to him, as we made clear earlier, in the story of Ibraheem (Peace be upon him). Nor does it include the time after him, because Muhammad (Peace and Blessings of Allah be upon him) is superior to both of them, as evinced by the story of Al-Isra, where his superiority over all of the Messengers and Prophets was made clear. And it was also confirmed that he said, “The entire creation will turn to me, including even Ibraheem (Peace be upon him) (for intercession).”
And He, Most High, says, “So hold that which I have given you and be of the grateful” (Soorah Al-A‘raf 7:144) means, so take what I have given you of the Message and (My) Speech and do not ask for more than that, and be grateful for it.
And He, Most High, says, And We wrote for him on the Tablets the lesson to be drawn from all things and the explanation of all things. (Soorah Al-A‘raf 7:145). The Tablets were of precious stone; and it has been reported in the Saheeh that Allah wrote for him the Tawrah with His Hand and in it there are admonitions against sin and details of all that they needed to know regarding what is lawful and what is unlawful, punishments and rulings. “Hold unto these with firmness.” (Soorah Al-A‘raf 7:145). That is, with a firm resolve and a sincere intention. “…and enjoin your people to take the better therein.” (Soorah Al-A‘raf 7:145) means to take them and act upon them in the best manner. “I shall show you the home of fasiqoon.” (Soorah Al-A‘raf 7:145). That is, you (Children of Isra’eel) will see the consequences for those who turn away from obedience to Allah, disobey His Commands and believe His Messengers. I shall turn away from My Ayat (Verses of the Qur’an) (Soorah Al-A‘raf 7:146) It means that, I shall deprive the hearts of those who are too proud to obey Me, and arrogant with people without right, from understanding the Signs and proofs that testify to My Might, Law and Commandments. Those who behave arrogantly on Earth, without a right, and (even) if they see all the Ayat, they will not believe in them. (Soorah Al-A‘raf 7:146) That is, no matter what miracles and supernatural phenomena they witnessed, they would not agree to be guided by them. And if they see the way of righteousness (monotheism, piety, and good deeds), they will not adopt it as the Way. (Soorah Al-A‘raf 7:146) That is, they will not travel it or follow it. …but if they see the way of error (polytheism, crimes and evil deeds), they will adopt that way, that is because they have rejected Our Ayat and were heedless (to learn a lesson) from them (Soorah Al-A‘raf 7:146) means We have turned them away from following the Straight Path because of their rejection of Our Ayat, their disregard of them, their refusal to believe in them, reflect on their meaning and act upon them. Those who deny Our Ayat and the Meeting in the Hereafter (Day of Resurrection,), vain are their deeds. Do they expect to be rewarded with anything except what they used to do? (Soorah Al-A‘raf 7:147)
By Ibn Katheer
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