20:47 Taa-Haa (Taa-Haa)

أي: فأتياه بهذين الأمرين، دعوته إلى الإسلام، وتخليص هذا الشعب الشريف بني إسرائيل -من قيده وتعبيده لهم، ليتحرروا ويملكوا أمرهم، ويقيم فيهم موسى شرع الله ودينه. { قَدْ جِئْنَاكَ بِآيَةٍ } تدل على صدقنا { فَأَلْقَى } موسى { عَصَاهُ فَإِذَا هِيَ ثُعْبَانٌ مُبِينٌ* وَنَزَعَ يَدَهُ فَإِذَا هِيَ بَيْضَاءُ لِلنَّاظِرِينَ } إلى آخر ما ذكر الله عنهما. { وَالسَّلَامُ عَلَى مَنِ اتَّبَعَ الْهُدَى } أي: من اتبع الصراط المستقيم، واهتدى بالشرع المبين، حصلت له السلامة في الدنيا والآخرة.

"فأتياه فقولا إنا رسولا ربك" قد تقدم في حديث الفتون عن ابن عباس أنه قال مكثا على بابه حينا لا يؤذن لهما حتى أذن لهما بعد حجاب شديد وذكر محمد بن إسحاق بن يسار أن موسى وأخاه هارون خرجا فوقفا بباب فرعون يلتمسان الإذن عليه وهما يقولان إنا رسولا رب العالمين فآذنوا بنا هذا الرجل فمكثا فيما بلغني سنتين يغدوان ويروحان لا يعلم بهما ولا يجترئ أحد على أن يخبره بشأنهما حتى دخل عليه بطال له يلاعبه ويضحكه فقال له أيها الملك إن على بابك رجلا يقول قولا عجيبا يزعم أن له إلها غيرك أرسله إليك قال ببابي ؟ قال نعم قال أدخلوه فدخل ومعه أخوه هارون وفي يده عصا فلما وقف على فرعون قال إني رسول رب العالمين فعرفه فرعون وذكر السدي أنه لما قدم بلاد مصر ضاف أمه وأخاه وهما لا يعرفانه وكان طعامهما ليلتئذ الطفيل وهو اللفت ثم عرفاه وسلما عليه فقال له موسى يا هارون إن ربي قد أمرني أن آتي هذا الرجل فرعون فأدعوه إلى الله وأمرك أن تعاونني قال افعل ما أمرك ربك فذهبا وكان ذلك ليلا فضرب موسى باب القصر بعصاه فسمع فرعون فغضب وقال من يجترئ على هذا الصنيع الشديد فأخبره السدنة والبوابون بأن ههنا رجلا مجنونا يقول إنه رسول الله فقال علي به فلما وقفا بين يديه قالا وقال لهما ما ذكر الله في كتابه وقوله "قد جئناك بآية من ربك" أي بدلالة ومعجزة من ربك والسلام على من اتبع الهدى أي والسلام عليك إن اتبعت الهدى ولهذا لما كتب رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم إلى هرقل عظيم الروم كتابا كان أوله " بسم الله الرحمن الرحيم من محمد رسول الله إلى هرقل عظيم الروم سلام على من اتبع الهدى أما بعد فإني أدعوك بدعاية الإسلام فأسلم تسلم يؤتك الله أجرك مرتين " وكذلك لما كتب مسيلمة إلى رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم كتابا صورته من مسيلمة رسول الله إلى محمد رسول الله سلام عليك أما بعد فإني قد أشركتك في الأمر فلك المدر ولي الوبر ولكن قريش قوم يعتدون.فكتب اليه رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم " من محمد رسول الله إلى مسيلمة الكذاب سلام على من اتبع الهدى أما بعد فإن الأرض لله يورثها من يشاء من عباده والعاقبة للمتقين " ولهذا قال موسى وهارون عليهما السلام لفرعون.

Musa's fear of Fir`awn and Allah's strengthening Him

Allah, the Exalted, informs that Musa and Harun pleaded to Allah, expressing their grievance to him:

إِنَّنَا نَخَافُ أَن يَفْرُطَ عَلَيْنَآ أَوْ أَن يَطْغَى

(Verily, we fear lest he should hasten to punish us or lest he should transgress.) They meant that Fir`awn might seize them unexpectedly with a punishment, or transgress against them by tormenting them, when they actually did not deserve it. Ad-Dahhak reported from Ibn `Abbas that he said that transgress here means, "To exceed the bounds."

قَالَ لاَ تَخَافَآ إِنَّنِى مَعَكُمَآ أَسْمَعُ وَأَرَى

(He (Allah) said: "Fear not, verily, I am with you both, hearing and seeing.") meaning; "Do not fear him (Fir`awn), for verily, I am with you and I hear your speech and his speech as well. I see your place and I see his place as well. Nothing is hidden from Me of your affair. Know that his forehead is in My Hand, and he does not speak, breathe, or use any force, except by My leave and after My command. I am with you by My protection, My help and My support."

فَأْتِيَاهُ فَقُولاَ إِنَّا رَسُولاَ رَبِّكَ

(So go you both to him, and say: "Verily, we are both Messengers of your Lord...")

Musa admonishes Fir`awn

Concerning his statement,

قَدْ جِئْنَـكَ بِـَايَةٍ مِّن رَّبِّكَ

(indeed, We have come with a sign from your Lord!) meaning with evidence and a miracle from your Lord.

وَالسَّلَـمُ عَلَى مَنِ اتَّبَعَ الْهُدَى

(And peace will be upon him who follows the guidance!) meaning, `peace be upon you if you follow the guidance.' Because of this, when the Messenger of Allah ﷺ wrote a letter to Heraclius, the emperor of Rome, beginning with,

«بِسْمِ اللهِ الرَّحْمنِ الرَّحِيمِ، مِنْ مُحَمَّدٍ رَسُولِ اللهِ إِلَى هِرَقْلَ عَظِيمِ الرُّومِ، سَلَامٌ عَلَى مَنِ اتَّبَعَ الْهُدى، أَمَّا بَعْدُ، فَإِنِّي أَدْعُوكَ بِدِعَايَةِ الْإِسْلَامِ، فَأَسْلِمْ تَسْلَمْ يُؤْتِكَ اللهُ أَجْرَكَ مَرَّتَيْن»

(In the Name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful. From Muhammad, the Messenger of Allah ﷺ, to Heraclius the emperor of Rome. Peace be upon him who follows the guidance. Thus, to proceed: Verily, I invite you with the invitation of Islam. So accept Islam and you will be safe, and Allah will give you a double reward.) Due to this, Musa and Harun said to Fir`awn,

فَأْتِيَاهُ فَقُولاَ إِنَّا رَسُولاَ رَبِّكَ فَأَرْسِلْ مَعَنَا بَنِى إِسْرَءِيلَ وَلاَ تُعَذِّبْهُمْ قَدْ جِئْنَـكَ بِـَايَةٍ مِّن رَّبِّكَ وَالسَّلَـمُ عَلَى مَنِ اتَّبَعَ الْهُدَى - إِنَّا قَدْ أُوحِىَ إِلَيْنَآ أَنَّ الْعَذَابَ عَلَى مَن كَذَّبَ وَتَوَلَّى

(And peace will be upon him who follows the guidance! Truly, it has been revealed to us that the torment will be for him who denies, and turns away.) In His flawless revelation, Allah has revealed to us that torment is prepared exclusively for those who reject the signs of Allah and turn away from His obedience. As Allah says,

فَأَمَّا مَن طَغَى - وَءاثَرَ الْحَيَوةَ الدُّنْيَا - فَإِنَّ الْجَحِيمَ هِىَ الْمَأْوَى

(Then for him who transgressed all bounds, and preferred the life of this world, Verily, his abode will be Hellfire.) 79:37-39 Allah, the Exalted, also says,

فَأَنذَرْتُكُمْ نَاراً تَلَظَّى - لاَ يَصْلَـهَآ إِلاَّ الاٌّشْقَى - الَّذِى كَذَّبَ وَتَوَلَّى

(Therefore I have warned you of a blazing Fire. None shall enter it save the most wretched. Who denies and turns away.) 92:14-16 Allah also says,

فَلاَ صَدَّقَ وَلاَ صَلَّى - وَلَـكِن كَذَّبَ وَتَوَلَّى

(So he neither believed nor prayed! But on the contrary, he belied and turned away.) 75:31-32 This means that he denied with his heart and turned away by his actions.

So go to him and say “Truly we are two messengers of your Lord so let the Children of Israel go with us to Syria and do not continue to chastise them in other words release them from your exploitation of them in those oppressive works of yours such as digging construction and the lifting of heavy objects. We have verily brought you a sign a definitive argument from your Lord as proof of our truthfulness in delivering the Message; and may peace be upon him who follows right guidance that is to say may he be secure from God’s chastisement.

Allah said,إِنَّنِي مَعَكُمَا أَسْمَعُ وَأَرَ‌ىٰ "I am surely with you both. I hear and I see." - 20:46) Here the word "with you" is used in the sense of divine help and support which human senses cannot perceive.

Sayyidna Musa (علیہ السلام) called upon the Pharaoh to embrace the True Faith and also to deliver the Bani Isra'il from bondage

This shows that the prophets have the duty of guiding mankind towards their salvation as well as to liberate their people from worldly and economic bondages. Therefore, in this verse Sayyidna Musa (علیہ السلام) is reminded of both these duties.

God created everything; and everything is performing the functions assigned to it by Him

This point calls for some elucidation which is given in the following lines. The guidance which Allah gives to the prophets and which is in the nature of a duty imposed upon them is a special kind of guidance which is addressed only to human beings and Jinns who are gifted with intellect. There is also another kind of guidance known as guidance of Takwin (creation) which every created thing possesses. Allah has given to fire, water, earth and air, and their compounds a special kind of feeling and perception which are not of the same nature as given to human beings and Jinns. This is the reason why the laws governing things which are permissible and those which are forbidden do not apply to them. Through this feeling and perception Allah has assigned duties to all created things and in obedience to this command of Takwin and guidance, the earth, the sky and every other created thing is busy performing its allotted tasks. Air, water, fire and earth are all fulfilling the purpose for which they were created. They do not deviate from their destined course except by the command of Allah. And when He so commands the fire turns into a bed of flowers (as for Sayyidna Ibrahim علیہ السلام), and water acts as fire as for the people of Sayyidna Nuh أُغْرِ‌قُوا فَأُدْخِلُوا نَارً‌ا - 71:25). Who has taught a newly born baby to draw milk from its mother's breast or to cry when hungry or in pain? It is this same Divine guidance which every created thing receives without any formal training.

In brief, every created thing has been programmed, by Allah, with a guidance of Takwin (creation) which it is genetically bound to follow and deviating from the same is beyond its power. The other kind of guidance which is given to the human beings and to Jinns is not inherent in the nature and thus, is not compulsory but optional. It is this freedom of choice which renders them liable to reward for good deeds and to punishment for their sins. The verse