And what has hastened you, what has made you hurry away from them in denial? He had gone with the leaders to the mountain at the appointed time. Then he advanced ahead of them, longing for the words of his Lord and the fulfillment of what was promised, based on his effort and his assumption that this was closer to the pleasure of Allah, glorified and exalted is He. He overlooked that He, the Exalted, has not timed His actions except in consideration of the dictates of wisdom and knowledge of the interests related to each time. The intended people are the leaders. There is no valid reason for the saying of those who allowed that all his people are meant and that he had parted from them before the appointed time, which is rejected by his saying, 'They are indeed following me.' And from Abu Amr and Ya'qub: 'athari' with a kasra, and from Isa ibn Umar: 'athari' with a damma. And also from him: 'awli' with a shortening. And 'ithar' is more eloquent than 'athar.' As for 'athar,' it is heard in the context of the sword's edge, recorded in the fundamentals. It is said: 'ithar' of the sword and 'aathar' is strange in meaning. If you say: 'What has hastened you?' it is a question about the reason for the haste. It was said by Mahmoud: 'If you say: He was asked about the reason for the haste...' Ahmad said: 'Indeed, Allah, glorified and exalted is He, intended by His question about the reason for the haste, while He knows, to teach Musa the etiquette of travel, which is that the leader of the people should delay behind them in the march so that his gaze encompasses his group and he can oversee them. This meaning cannot be achieved by his advancing ahead of them. Do you not see how Allah, glorified and exalted is He, taught this etiquette to Lut when He said: 'And follow their backs'? He commanded him to be the last of them. Moreover, Musa, peace be upon him, neglected this matter in his eagerness for the pleasure of Allah, glorified and exalted is He, and his haste toward the appointed time. This is the nature of one who is promised what pleases him; he wishes he could fly to it with the wings of birds, and there is no swifter than the promise of Allah to him, blessings and peace be upon him. Therefore, the response that fits is to say: 'I sought to increase Your pleasure or my longing for Your words and the fulfillment of Your promise.' And his saying, 'They are indeed following me,' as you see, does not fit this. I say: What was included in what the Lord of Glory confronted him with are two things: the first is the denial of the haste itself, and the second is the question about the reason for the objection and what prompted it. Thus, the most important matter for Musa was to present an excuse and to lay out the reason for what he was reproached for. He argued that there was only a slight advance from me, which is not usually considered significant or worthy of attention. There is nothing between me and those who preceded me except a short distance, which is the same distance by which the delegation's leader and their foremost advance. Then he followed this with a response to the question about the reason, saying: 'And I hastened to You, my Lord, that You may be pleased.' And it can be said: He was confused when faced with the awe of Allah's reproach, which distracted him from the appropriate response that aligns with the limits of the speech.