Commentary
'In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful' The Exalted, He said: "O you who have believed, do not be like those who harmed Moses, and Allah cleared him of what they said. And he was with Allah a person of high rank." "O you who have believed, fear Allah and speak a word of appropriate justice." "He will amend for you your deeds and forgive for you your sins. And whoever obeys Allah and His Messenger has certainly attained a great attainment." Those who harmed Moses were a group from the Children of Israel. People have differed regarding the harm that was done and Allah cleared him of it. One group said: It is the story of Qarun and his introducing the immoral woman to claim against Moses, then her clearing Moses and her revealing the involvement of Qarun. The story has been mentioned previously in the account of Qarun. Ali ibn Abi Talib, may Allah be pleased with him, said: It is that Moses and Aaron, peace be upon them, went out from the investigation of the wilderness to a mountain, and Aaron died there. Then Moses came alone, and a group said: He killed him. So Allah sent angels who carried Aaron, peace be upon him, until they paraded him among the tribes of the Children of Israel, and they saw a great sign that indicated the truth of Moses, peace be upon him, and there was no trace of [killing] in him. It has been narrated that he came to life and informed them of his matter and the innocence of Moses. Ibn Abbas, Abu Huraira, and a group said: It is what was included in the hadith of the Prophet, blessings and peace be upon him, who said: "The Children of Israel used to bathe naked, and Moses, peace be upon him, would cover himself a lot and conceal his body. So a group said: He is afflicted with leprosy or has a disease. One day, Moses bathed alone and placed his clothes on a rock. The rock fled with his clothes, and Moses followed it saying: 'My clothes, O rock! My clothes, O rock!' He passed by a group of the Children of Israel who saw him free from what they suspected of him..." The hadith is lengthy and was narrated by Al-Bukhari. So Allah cleared him of what they said. And "the person of high rank" means the honored one. The majority read: "And he was with Allah," while Ibn Mas'ud read: "And he was a servant of Allah." Then Allah advised the believers to speak a word of appropriate justice, and that encompasses all good things. And Ikrimah said: He meant: "There is no deity except Allah," and the appropriate justice encompasses all of this. Although the apparent meaning of the verse indicates that it refers specifically to what is contrary to the harm that was said against the Messenger, blessings and peace be upon him, and against the believers. Then He promised, the Exalted, that He would reward for the appropriate saying by amending deeds and forgiving sins. The rest of the verse is clear.
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