For our appointed time, which we have set and specified. The meaning of the preposition 'for' is exclusivity, as if it were said: and His coming is exclusive to our appointed time. Just as you say: I came to him ten days past the month. And Allah spoke to him without an intermediary. [Mahamud said: 'Its meaning is that He spoke to him without an intermediary... etc.' Ahmad said: 'This is a clear statement from him that creates speech, as is the belief of the Mu'tazila. What is specific to this verse, and the response to it, is that it was presented as a favor to Musa by Allah's choosing him and designating him for His speech. Likewise, Allah, the Exalted, said after verses including: 'Indeed, I have chosen you over the people with My messages and My speech, so take what I have given you and be among the grateful.' If Allah's speech to him meant creating letters and sounds in some bodies and Musa listening to that, then everyone would be equal to Musa in that. Rather, the companions of the Prophet, blessings and peace be upon him, were more deserving of this distinction and more entitled to the privilege than Musa, peace be upon him, because they heard the speech in the mentioned manner from the best of bodies and the purest in creation in the Messenger of Allah, blessings and peace be upon him. Their distinction was more apparent and their privilege more abundant. We know for certain from the context of this verse that Musa, peace be upon him, is distinguished by this privilege. Therefore, it can only be understood as the belief that he heard the eternal speech that exists in the essence of Allah, glorified and exalted is He, without an intermediary, nor letters, nor anything else. Just as we accept, from reason, that one can see the essence of the Creator, glorified and exalted is He, even if He is not a body, we also accept that one can hear His speech even if it is not letters or sounds.

And the discussion on this belief is lengthy, and the journey is vast. This point is specific to this verse, and Allah is the Grantor of success.

Will You destroy us for what the foolish among us have done, distancing ourselves from their actions and denouncing them and misleading their opinion? There is no comfort for the Qadarites in citing this as evidence against the denial of Musa, peace be upon him, regarding the permissibility of seeing [Allah]. The destruction that was caused was indeed due to the worship of the calf, according to the majority of the interpreters. Even if the reason was their request to see [Allah], it is not because it is impermissible for Allah. But rather, Allah, glorified and exalted is He, informed that it does not occur in this worldly life, and the news is true. This was after Musa asked to see [Allah]. When they asked, having heard the news of its impossibility, their request was contrary to what is known, thus denying the news. For this reason, Musa, peace be upon him, deemed them foolish and distanced himself from the request for what Allah informed that it does not occur. Even if their request for seeing [Allah] was before Allah's informing them of its impossibility, Musa, peace be upon him, deemed them foolish for proposing to Allah this specific sign and for making their faith contingent upon it, as they said, 'We will not believe in you until we see Allah openly.' Do you not see that their saying, 'We will not believe in you until you cause a spring to gush forth from the earth for us,' was indeed a permissible request? Nevertheless, they were reprimanded for proposing to Allah something that faith does not depend upon. These three discussions clarify to you the poor understanding of al-Zamakhshari due to his desires and his blindness to the path of guidance. And Allah is the Grantor of success.

That is, 'Show me Yourself so that I may look at You.' If you say: Seeing is the same as looking, how then was it said: 'Show me so that I may look at You?' I say: The meaning of 'Show me Yourself' is to make me capable of seeing You by manifesting Yourself to me so that I may look at You and see You. If you say: How did He say 'You will not see Me' and did not say 'You will not look at Me,' in light of His saying 'Look at You'? I say: When He said 'Show me' meaning 'Make me capable of the vision which is perception,' it was understood that the request is for the vision, not for the looking that does not involve perception. Thus, it was said: 'You will not see Me,' and He did not say 'You will not look at Me.' If you say: How did Musa, peace be upon him, request that—he who is among the most knowledgeable of people about Allah and what is permissible and what is not, and about His transcendence above the vision that is perception through some senses? This is only valid for that which is in a direction. What is not a body or an attribute cannot be in a direction. The denial of the Jabriyyah of its impossibility is not necessary in minds, for it is not the first of their contradictions and transgressions. How could he have requested it when he said—when the tremor took those who said 'Show us Allah openly'—'Will You destroy us for what the foolish among us have done?' up to His saying 'You mislead whom You will by it'? He distanced himself from their actions and called them foolish and misguided. I say: The request for vision was only to rebuke those whom he called foolish and misguided. He distanced himself from their actions to confront them with the truth. When they requested to see [Allah], he denied them and informed them of their error, and he alerted them to the truth. They persisted and continued in their obstinacy, saying: 'There must be, and we will not believe in you until we see Allah openly.' He wanted them to hear the text from Allah regarding the impossibility of that, which is His saying 'You will not see Me,' so that they may be certain and remove from themselves what had entered them of doubt. For this reason, he said:

My Lord, show me that I may look at You. If you say: Why did he not say: Let them see You? [He returned to his words. He said: If you say: Why did he not say: Let them see You ... etc.?] Ahmad said: This other statement is of the first type, and the closest evidence for its rejection is that if the request for vision was for them, so that if they heard it, Allah, the Exalted, would prevent them from it, they would be certain that it was impossible. Then the request would be pointless and not beneficial for this purpose, because their situation cannot be without. They are either believers in Moses, or disbelievers in him. If they are believers in him, then his informing them that Allah, the Exalted, cannot be seen and that it is not permissible for Him, would suffice to achieve the objective without the need for Moses, peace be upon him, to ask Allah to show His essence, knowing that this is impossible. If they are disbelievers in Moses, peace be upon him, then the objective would not be achieved either, because if Allah prevented him from seeing, it would only be established for them by Moses saying about Allah that He prevented that, and they are disbelievers in Moses, peace be upon him. How would it benefit them for someone else to inform them from Allah about its impossibility? This is the clearest evidence, because Moses, peace be upon him, only requested the vision for himself, believing in its permissibility for Allah, the Exalted. So Allah informed him that this does not occur in this world, even if it is permissible. I said: Because Allah, the Exalted, only spoke to Moses, peace be upon him, while they were listening. When they heard the speech of the Lord of Glory, they wanted to see the essence of Moses along with it, just as they heard His words and heard them with him, a desire based on a faulty analogy. Therefore, Moses said: Show me that I may look at You. And because when he was reprimanded for what he requested, and it was denied to him in his prophethood and his closeness to Allah, the Exalted, and he was told: That will not be, it was more appropriate for others to be denied. And because the messenger is the leader of his nation, what he is addressed with or what he addresses returns to them. And His saying: 'that I may look at You' and what it contains of the meaning of confrontation [He returned to his words. He said: And His saying: 'that I may look at You' and what it contains of the meaning of confrontation ... etc. Ahmad said: And his claim that looking necessitates corporeality has already been rejected. As for his exoneration of Moses, peace be upon him, from the attribution of the belief in the impossibility of vision to him, it is unnecessary.]

As for his convincing in detailing his superiority, peace be upon him, in knowledge of Allah and His attributes over Wasil ibn Ata, Amr ibn Ubaid, al-Nazzam, Abu al-Hudhayl, and the two Shaykhs, it is a deficiency from his lofty position. The least of the common people who follow the Sunnah is more favored by Allah than the people of innovation and desires, even if they fill the earth with hypocrisy and fill their writings out of obstinacy against the people of the Sunnah and in discord. So how about the one who spoke to Allah, blessings and peace be upon him? The words that are purely of resemblance and embodiment are evidence that it is a translation of their proposal and a narration of their saying. The one who possesses the camel is too exalted to make Allah something that can be looked at, in opposition to the sense of sight. How could it be for one who is more profound in knowledge of Allah, glorified and exalted is He, than Wasil ibn Ata, Amr ibn Ubaid, al-Nazzam, Abu al-Hudhayl, the two Shaykhs, and all the theologians? If you say: What is the meaning of 'lan'? I say: It is the affirmation of the negation that 'la' gives. Ahmad said: 'Lan', as he said, shares in the negation with 'la' and is distinguished by the quality of its affirmation. As for al-Zamakhshari's inference from that, that seeing is incompatible with the state of the Creator, glorified and exalted is He, then the use of 'state' for Allah, glorified and exalted is He, is something that should be avoided. His citing that 'lan' indicates the impossibility of what is negated by it rationally is often refuted by many verses, such as His saying: 'Say, you will never go out with me.' This does not negate their going out rationally. And 'None will believe from your people except those who have believed.' 'You will not follow us.' All of these are rationally permissible, were it not that the news prevented their occurrence. So seeing is likewise. This is because 'la' negates the future. You say: 'I will not do it tomorrow.' If you affirm its negation, you say: 'I will not do it tomorrow.' The meaning is that His action contradicts my state, as in His saying: 'They will not create a fly even if they gather for it.' His saying: 'The sight cannot comprehend Him' is a negation of seeing in what is to come. 'And you will not see Me' is an affirmation and clarification, because what is negated contradicts His attributes. If you say: How does the qualification in His saying 'But look at the mountain' connect to what preceded it? I say: It connects to it in the sense that looking at Me is impossible, so do not seek it, but rather look at another sight: to look at the mountain that shakes you and those for whom you sought the vision, how I will act upon it and how I will make it leveled due to your request for vision. To magnify what you have undertaken by what I show you of the greatness of its effect, as if He, glorified and exalted is He, established at the request for vision what is similar to the attribution of a child. Ahmad said: The attribution of the possibility of seeing to Allah, glorified and exalted is He, is like the attribution of a child to Him, and this is derived from the previous belief that has been proven false. He has no role in this section except to pursue the doubts against the impossibility of seeing, capturing them from every direction. The truth is that the leveling of the mountain was only because Allah, glorified and exalted is He, showed him a sign from the kingdom of the heavens. The world does not settle for showing anything from the kingdom of the heavens. This is what has been narrated from the Salaf regarding this verse. Its meaning, according to Abu al-Hasan, may Allah have mercy on him, is that He acted in a manner He called manifestation, and the anger was either because they sought a corporeal vision in a direction, or because they concealed the news that He cannot be seen in this world, or because they disbelieved in the proposal or in the totality. His saying: 'And the mountains will crumble' is due to their calling for the Most Merciful a child. If his place were to settle as it was, stable and going away. Ahmad said: The meaning of 'if it were to settle' is that it remained as it was going away. This is one of the tricks of the Qadarites in denying the vision. They say: Allah has made it conditional upon an impossible condition, which is the stability of the mountain at the time of its being leveled, and what is conditional upon the impossible is impossible. This is a false trick, for what is conditional is the stability of the mountain as stability, and that is possible and permissible. The attachment of knowledge that it does not settle for him does not lift the possibility of its stability, and the attachment of knowledge does not change the known nor transfer its ruling from possibility to impossibility or vice versa. Then the evidence for the people of the Sunnah is directed, and we say: The stability of the mountain is possible, and the occurrence of seeing is made conditional upon it, and what is conditional upon the possible is possible. The Mu'tazila believe that what contradicts the known cannot be possible, and we say it is possible, but what the will is attached to its existence. Our saying is more appropriate with manners and more fortunate with reverence in speech. In its directions, 'And you will see Me' is a condition for the existence of vision by the existence of what cannot be from the stability of the mountain in its place when it is leveled and made equal to the earth. This is a discourse intertwined with one another, presented in a strange style and a wonderful pattern. Do you not see how he escaped from looking at the sight with the word of qualification? Then how he built the threat of the trembling that occurs due to the request for sight upon the condition of the existence of vision? I mean His saying: 'If it were to settle in its place, you will see Me.' When his Lord manifested to the mountain, when His power appeared to him and His command and will confronted him, He made it leveled, meaning leveled, a source meaning the one acted upon, like the strike of the prince. The leveling and striking are two brothers, like doubt and division. It has been read as 'dakka'. 'Dakka' is the name for the elevated mound of the earth, like 'dakka' or a flat land. From it is their saying: 'A humble camel.' And from al-Shabi: Al-Rabi' ibn Khuthaym said to me: 'Stretch out your hand flat,' meaning extend it level. Yahya ibn Wathab read it as 'dakka,' meaning cut off leveled, the plural of 'dakka.' And Moses fell down unconscious from the horror of what he saw. 'And he fell down unconscious' is from the form: 'I did it, so he did it.' It is said: 'I struck him, so he fell.' Its origin is from the lightning. It is called 'the striking one,' from 'sakhata' if he struck him on his head, and its meaning is: he fell unconscious as if dead. It has been narrated that the angels passed by him while he was unconscious. Ahmad said: This narration is only brought by those who are obstinate against the impossibility of seeing, using it as support and a means for their false belief. The proper approach is to accuse the one who transmitted it of error and to glorify the angels, peace be upon them, from humiliating Moses, the one who spoke to Allah, by poking him with their feet and mocking him in speech. When he regained consciousness from his fainting, he said: 'Glory be to You! I glorify You from what is not permissible for You regarding seeing and other than that. I repent to You from seeking vision, and I am the first of the believers that You are not seen nor comprehended by anything of the senses.' If you say: If the request for vision was for the purpose you mentioned, then what did he repent from?

As for the mountain being crushed, the discussion about its secret has already been mentioned. And as for the glorification of Musa, peace be upon him, it was because it became clear to him that knowledge had preceded the non-occurrence of the vision in this world. And Allah, glorified and exalted is He, is exalted above the occurrence of anything contrary to His known knowledge and the contradiction in His truthful news and words. So when it became clear that what he sought was contrary to the known, he glorified Allah and sanctified His knowledge and news from contradiction. And as for repentance in the case of the prophets, it does not necessitate being from a sin, because their noble position should be free from anything that would lower it. There is no doubt that hesitating in asking about the vision for permission was more complete. It has been reported: 'The sins of the close ones are the good deeds of the righteous.' I said: From his uttering that great saying, even though it was for a correct purpose on his tongue, without permission from Allah, look at how Allah, glorified and exalted is He, magnified the matter of the vision in this verse, and how the mountain trembled for those who sought it and was made crushed, and how they were struck down, and how His interlocutor was not free from the negation of that. The saying 'and His interlocutor was not free from the negation of that' refers to 'negation' which is what flies off from raindrops, and the drops of a bucket, and from sand when stepped on, and from wool when fluffed, and so on. This is as mentioned in the explanation of the Mu'allaqat by the scholar Al-Zawzani. (A) This is an exaggeration in magnifying the matter, and how he glorified his Lord seeking refuge in Him, and repented for uttering that word on his tongue and said, 'I am the first of the believers.' Then he was astonished by those who claimed to be Muslims, claiming to be of the people of the Sunnah and the community. His words returned: 'Then he was astonished by those who claimed to be Muslims, claiming to be of the people of the Sunnah and the community... etc.' Ahmad, may Allah have mercy on him, said: Al-Zamakhshari has shifted in this section to what you will hear of the disparagement of the people of the Sunnah. And were it not for the support of Hassan ibn Thabit, the Ansari, the companion of the Messenger of Allah, blessings and peace be upon him, and his poet and defender, with the Holy Spirit with him, we would have said to those who claim to be the just and the saved: Peace. But just as Hassan defended the Messenger of Allah, blessings and peace be upon him, against his enemies, we defend the companions of the Sunnah of the Messenger of Allah against their enemies, and we say: 'And a group disbelieved in the vision of their Lord... truly, and the promise of Allah, which He will not break. And they claimed to be just, we say: Yes... they were just with their Lord, so let them be foolish. And they claimed to be the saved, no, indeed, if they are not in the blaze, then they are on the edge.' How they took this great matter as a doctrine. And do not be deceived by their covering themselves with the balkan, for it is from the positions of their elders! And the saying is what some of the just said about them: 'A group who named their desires as Sunnah... and a group, by my life, their position is like that of donkeys. They likened Him to His creation and feared... they were horrified by the people, so they covered themselves with the balkan.' Al-Zamakhshari regarding the people of the Sunnah, meaning they are a group who named their own desires as Sunnah, but whoever knows that the basis of the Mu'tazila is reason, and the basis of the community is narration, knows the desire from guidance. And 'donkeys' means like donkeys. 'Their position' means placed upon the burden, an exaggeration in comparison. They likened Him, meaning Allah, the Exalted, to His creation when they said: 'He sees with the eye,' so they feared the condemnation of the people upon them, so they covered themselves with their saying: 'He sees without how.' So the balkan is derived from that.

And another interpretation is that he means by saying, "Show me, that I may look at You," to make Yourself known to me in a clear and evident manner. It is as if he desires to see You through a sign like the signs of the Day of Resurrection, which compel the creation to know You. "I look at You to know You with a knowledge of necessity, as if I am looking at You," as it has come in the hadith: "You will see your Lord just as you see the full moon." [Agreed upon from the hadith of Jarir ibn Abdullah al-Bajali, who said: We were sitting with the Messenger of Allah, blessings and peace be upon him, when he looked at the moon on the night of the full moon. He said: 'Indeed, you will see your Lord just as you see this moon.' - the hadith.] And in the narration of al-Bukhari: "Indeed, you will see your Lord directly." They both agreed upon it from the hadith of Abu Sa'id and Abu Huraira in its meaning. This means: You will know Him with a clear knowledge that is as evident as seeing the moon when it is full and complete. He said: "You will not be able to see Me," meaning you will not be able to know Me in this way, and your strength cannot bear that compelling sign. But look at the mountain, for I will show it a sign from those signs. If it remains firm in its place and does not shake, then you will be able to bear it and apply it. So when his Lord manifested to the mountain, when a sign of His power and greatness appeared to it, He made it crumble to dust, and Moses fell down unconscious from the greatness of what he saw. When he recovered, he said: "Glorified are You! I turn to You in repentance for what I proposed and dared, and I am the first of the believers in Your greatness and majesty, and that nothing can withstand Your might and power."