When they disobeyed him and rebelled against him, and opposed him, and said what they said of the word of disbelief, there remained with him no obedient supporter whom he could trust except Harun. He said, "O my Lord, I do not possess anything to support Your religion except myself..." Al-Mahmoud said: "He said, 'O my Lord, I do not possess anything to support Your religion except myself...'" Al-Ahmad said: "And in the saying of Musa, blessings and peace be upon him, on the night of Isra to our Prophet, blessings and peace be upon him: 'I have tested Bani Israel and experienced them, so return to your Lord and ask Him for relief, for your nation cannot bear that.' His repetition of this saying multiple times is a confirmation of what Al-Zamakhshari mentioned. As for if the two men meant are not Yusha and Kalb - and they were from the giants whom Bani Israel feared - and the meaning of 'they fear' is that Bani Israel fears them - then the pronoun in this case refers to Bani Israel, and the object is omitted. On this basis, there is no doubt that these two men are not from Bani Israel who are obligated to fight the giants. Rather, Musa, blessings and peace be upon him, meant: 'I do not possess from Bani Israel, who are obligated to fight, the command of anyone except myself and my brother.' And Allah knows best. Except myself and my brother. This is from the expression of distress, sorrow, and complaint to Allah, and the heart's tenderness, by which mercy is sought and support is invoked. It is similar to the saying of Yaqub, blessings be upon him: 'I only complain of my distress and sorrow to Allah.' And it has been narrated from Ali, may Allah be pleased with him, that he used to call the people from the pulpit in Kufa to fight the rebels, but only two men responded to him, so he sighed deeply. And he prayed for them and said: 'Where do you stand in relation to what I want?' And he mentioned in the grammatical analysis of 'my brother' several views: that it could be in the accusative case, in conjunction with 'myself' or with the pronoun in 'I do not possess,' meaning: 'and my brother possesses nothing except himself.' Or in the nominative case, in conjunction with the position of 'if' and its subject, as if it were said: 'I do not possess except myself, and Harun likewise possesses nothing except himself,' or with the pronoun in 'I do not possess.' This is permissible for separation. And in the genitive case, in conjunction with the pronoun in 'myself,' which is weak due to the awkwardness of conjunction with the pronoun of the genitive except by repeating the preposition. If you say: 'Wasn't he with the two mentioned men?' I would say: It seems he did not trust them completely and did not feel assured of their steadfastness, due to what he experienced over a long time and the continuity of companionship with his people, their changing conditions, and the hardness of their hearts. Thus, he mentioned only the infallible Prophet, in whom there is no doubt regarding his matter.

It is permissible for him to say that due to his extreme annoyance when he heard from them a minimization of those who agree with him. It is permissible that he means: And whoever supports me in my religion, then separate between us and them by ruling for us what we deserve, and ruling against them what they deserve, which is in the meaning of supplication against them. Therefore, he connected it with his saying: (For it is forbidden to them) in a causal manner, or keep us far from them and free us from their companionship, as in his saying: (And save me from the wrongdoing people). For indeed, the holy land is forbidden to them; they will not enter it nor possess it. If you say: How can this be reconciled with the saying (which Allah has decreed for you)? I say: There are two views. One is that it is meant that He decreed it for you on the condition that you fight its people. When they refused to fight, it was said: For it is forbidden to them. The second is that it is meant that it is forbidden to them for forty years. When the forty years have passed, what was decreed will be. It has been narrated that Moses traveled with those who remained from the Children of Israel, and Joshua was at the forefront. He opened Jericho and stayed there as long as Allah willed, then he passed away, blessings of Allah be upon him. It is said that when Moses died, Joshua was sent as a prophet, and he informed them that he was a prophet of Allah and that Allah commanded him to fight the tyrants. They believed him and pledged allegiance to him, and he marched with them to Jericho, killed the tyrants, and expelled them. All of the Levant became for the Children of Israel. It is said that no one from those who said: (Indeed, we will not enter it) entered the holy land, and they perished in the wilderness. From their descendants arose those who fought the tyrants and entered it. The operative in the context is either (forbidden) or (they wander). The meaning of they wander in the land is that they walk in it, confused, not finding a way. And the wilderness is the desolate area where one gets lost. It has been narrated that they remained for forty years within six parasangs, walking every day earnestly, until when they became weary and in the evening found themselves where they had departed from. The cloud shaded them from the heat of the sun, and at night a column of light appeared to them, illuminating for them, and manna and quails descended upon them. Their hair did not grow long, and if a child was born to them, he had a garment like a fingernail that grew with him. If you say: Why was He bestowing upon them the shade of the cloud and other blessings while they were being punished? I say: Just as some calamities descend upon the disobedient as a trial for them, and upon them at the same time, blessings are abundant. This is like a compassionate father who strikes his son and harms him to teach him manners and culture, yet does not cut off his kindness and goodness. If you ask: Was Moses and Aaron, peace be upon them, with them in the wilderness? I say: There is a difference of opinion regarding that. It is said they were not with them because it was a punishment, and Moses asked his Lord to separate between them and them. It is said they were with them, but it was a source of spirit for them and safety, not punishment, like the fire for Abraham and the angels of punishment. It has been narrated that Aaron died in the wilderness, and Moses died a year later in it. Joshua entered Jericho three months after his death. The leaders died in the wilderness suddenly, except for Caleb and Joshua. So do not grieve for them, for he regretted supplicating against them. It was said: They are deserving of punishment for their corruption, so do not grieve nor regret.