His saying, exalted and majestic is He: "He said, 'My Lord, indeed I have wronged myself, so forgive me.' And He forgave him. Indeed, He is the Most Forgiving, the Most Merciful." "He said, 'My Lord, by Your favor upon me, I will never be a supporter of the criminals.'" "So he became in the city fearful, expecting. And behold, the one who had sought his help the day before was calling for him. Moses said to him, 'Indeed, you are a manifestly astray.'"

Then, the regret of Moses, peace be upon him, led him to humility before his Lord, glorified and exalted is He, and to seek forgiveness for his sin. So He forgave him his mistake. Qatadah said: 'By Allah, he knew the way out and sought forgiveness.'

The judge Abu Muhammad, may Allah have mercy on him, said: And he, peace be upon him, continued to repeat that to himself, even though he knew that he had been forgiven, until on the Day of Resurrection he would say: "And I killed a soul which I was not commanded to kill," according to what has been confirmed in the hadith of intercession.

Then he, peace be upon him, made a covenant with his Lord, exalted and majestic is He: "My Lord, by Your grace upon me and because of Your kindness and forgiveness, I am committed not to be a helper to the criminals." This is the best interpretation. Al-Tabari said: "Indeed, it is an oath; he swore by the grace of Allah, blessed and exalted is He." And he weakens it by the form of the response to the oath; for he is not firmly established in his saying: "I will never be." Because the oath is not received with 'I will not,' and the 'fa' prevents 'I will not' from being treated like 'no' or 'not.' So reflect on that. Al-Tabari argued that in the reading of Abdullah: "So do not make me a supporter."

The judge Abu Muhammad, may Allah have mercy on him, said: And the people of virtue and knowledge used this verse as evidence for prohibiting the service of the people of injustice and assisting them in anything of their affairs. They saw that it encompasses that, as stated by Ata ibn Abi Rabah.

And His saying, exalted is He: "So he became in the city fearful," indicates that he was always in a state of fear at all times, just as you say: Zayd became knowledgeable. And "expecting" means: he has a watcher over his actions regarding the killing, so he is being cautious. Ibn Abbas, may Allah be pleased with them, said: So he passed by while in a state of expectation, and behold, that Israelite who had fought the Egyptian the day before was fighting another of the Egyptians. And the killing of the Egyptian had been concealed from the people and kept secret. So when the Israelite saw him, he called out to him, meaning he cried out to him for help. And from this is the saying of the poet:

'When a caller comes to us in distress, the cry is like the beating of the drums.'

So when Moses, peace be upon him, saw him fighting that other man, he greatly disapproved of that and said to him, admonishing and reproaching: "Indeed, you are a manifestly astray." And Moses' intention, despite that, was to support the Israelite. So when he approached them and the Israelite was alarmed by him and feared that he might strike him, he was frightened by the strength he had seen the day before and witnessed the affair of the slain.