• Moses called on the Mountain

• None can by any means see God with his physical eyes

• Moses given the Torah

Al-A’raaf Verses 142 - 147

وَوَٰعَدْنَا مُوسَىٰ ثَلَـٰثِينَ لَيْلَةً وَأَتْمَمْنَـٰهَا بِعَشْرٍ فَتَمَّ مِيقَـٰتُ رَبِّهِۦٓ أَرْبَعِينَ لَيْلَةً وَقَالَ مُوسَىٰ لِأَخِيهِ هَـٰرُونَ ٱخْلُفْنِى فِى قَوْمِى وَأَصْلِحْ وَلَا تَتَّبِعْ سَبِيلَ ٱلْمُفْسِدِينَ

And We made appointment with Moses for thirty nights and completed it with ten (more), Thus was completed the term of his Lord forty nights, and (before he went up) said Moses unto his brother Aaron: “Take1thou my place among my people, Act rightly and follow not the path of the mischief-makers” (7:142)2

وَلَمَّا جَآءَ مُوسَىٰ لِمِيقَـٰتِنَا وَكَلَّمَهُۥ رَبُّهُۥ قَالَ رَبِّ أَرِنِىٓ أَنظُرْ إِلَيْكَ قَالَ لَن تَرَىٰنِى وَلَـٰكِنِ ٱنظُرْ إِلَى ٱلْجَبَلِ فَإِنِ ٱسْتَقَرَّ مَكَانَهُۥ فَسَوْفَ تَرَىٰنِى فَلَمَّا تَجَلَّىٰ رَبُّهُۥ لِلْجَبَلِ جَعَلَهُۥ دَكًّا وَخَرَّ مُوسَىٰ صَعِقًا فَلَمَّآ أَفَاقَ قَالَ سُبْحَـٰنَكَ تُبْتُ إِلَيْكَ وَأَنَا۠ أَوَّلُ ٱلْمُؤْمِنِينَ

And when came Moses at Our appointment and spake unto him his Lord, said: he3“O’ My Lord! Show (Thyself) unto me, that I may look towards Thee;” He (God) said: (O’ Moses!) never shalt thou see me, but look towards the mountain, if it remaineth firm in its place, then soon wilt thou see me, but when his Lord did manifest His glory unto the mountain4, He made it crumble, and fell Moses down senseless: and when he recovered (his senses) said he: “Glory be to Thee (O’ My Lord!) I turn unto Thee (repentant) I am the first of the believers.”5(7:143)6

قَالَ يَـٰمُوسَىٰٓ إِنِّى ٱصْطَفَيْتُكَ عَلَى ٱلنَّاسِ بِرِسَـٰلَـٰتِى وَبِكَلَـٰمِى فَخُذْ مَآ ءَاتَيْتُكَ وَكُن مِّنَ ٱلشَّـٰكِرِينَ

He7said: “O’ Moses! Verily I have chosen thee above the people with My messages and with My words (discourse); take then what8I give thee and be thou of the grateful ones.” (7:144)

وَكَتَبْنَا لَهُۥ فِى ٱلْأَلْوَاحِ مِن كُلِّ شَىْءٍ مَّوْعِظَةً وَتَفْصِيلًا لِّكُلِّ شَىْءٍ فَخُذْهَا بِقُوَّةٍ وَأْمُرْ قَوْمَكَ يَأْخُذُوا۟ بِأَحْسَنِهَا سَأُو۟رِيكُمْ دَارَ ٱلْفَـٰسِقِينَ

And wrote We for him, in the Tablets lessons of every kind and explanation of every thing; and (said unto Moses): “Hold9thou these with firmness and bid thy people to hold fast what is best10thereof; Soon will I show you the abode of the wicked.” (7:145)

سَأَصْرِفُ عَنْ ءَايَـٰتِىَ ٱلَّذِينَ يَتَكَبَّرُونَ فِى ٱلْأَرْضِ بِغَيْرِ ٱلْحَقِّ وَإِن يَرَوْا۟ كُلَّ ءَايَةٍ لَّا يُؤْمِنُوا۟ بِهَا وَإِن يَرَوْا۟ سَبِيلَ ٱلرُّشْدِ لَا يَتَّخِذُوهُ سَبِيلًا وَإِن يَرَوْا۟ سَبِيلَ ٱلْغَىِّ يَتَّخِذُوهُ سَبِيلًا ذَٰلِكَ بِأَنَّهُمْ كَذَّبُوا۟ بِـَٔايَـٰتِنَا وَكَانُوا۟ عَنْهَا غَـٰفِلِينَ

Soon will I (allow to) turn away from my signs those (who) unjustly pride11in the earth; while (even) if they see all the signs they will not believe in it; and (even) if they see the right way, they will not adopt it for a way; And if they see the way of error, they will adopt12it for a way; this is because they belied Our signs and were heedless of them. (7:146)13

وَٱلَّذِينَ كَذَّبُوا۟ بِـَٔايَـٰتِنَا وَلِقَآءِ ٱلْـَٔاخِرَةِ حَبِطَتْ أَعْمَـٰلُهُمْ هَلْ يُجْزَوْنَ إِلَّا مَا كَانُوا۟ يَعْمَلُونَ

And those who belie Our signs and the meeting of the hereafter, vain shall be their (good) deeds; shall they be recompensed save for what they have wrought? (7:147)

Commentary

Verse 142

“And Moses went into the midst of the cloud, and sat him up into the mount: and Moses was in the mount forty days and forty nights.” Exodus 24/18.

The life and the experience of the Holy Prophet in his apostolic mission, mostly resemble the events of Moses’ life, as an apostle of God. Before Moses went upon the mountain, to receive the commandment, he left behind him his brother Aaron in his place and when the Holy Prophet in obedience to God’s command had to leave Mecca for Madina, he left ‘Ali his cousin-brother, in his bed to act in his place in restoring the deposits which had been entrusted to the Holy Prophet, to their respective owners. When an Apostle of God like Moses could not leave his people without a guide even for forty days how could the Last Apostle of God, Muhammad, have left his people without an Apostolic successor, i.e., a divinely commissioned guide viz. Imam, for all times until the end of the world.

Moses was called upon the mountain to stay there for thirty plus ten, i.e., for a total period of forty nights.

From this is drawn the importance of the number forty days, weeks, months and years, for spiritual attainment and this is supported by authentic traditions and the mystics connect this with forty days when the embryo in the womb starts shaping and four months at which it begins to move in the sense, the relation to the body is similar to the relation of the embryo to the womb that in the progressive developments takes forties from one stage to the other. (A.P.)

Verse 143

The desire of Moses to see God was not because he lacked the belief in Him, but it was for his conviction, particularly of the people who wanted to see God to believe in Him. This is similar to Abraham’s praying to God to show how’ he enlivens the dead and his reply.14 Besides it was not Moses personal desire, it was the demand from the people made on Moses that they wanted to see God with their own eyes.15

The manifestation of the Divine Glory was reserved for the one whom Moses had prophesied16 and for the ‘Comforter’ prophesied by Jesus.17 The Holy Prophet Muhammad who was commissioned to convey to mankind the All-Truth and who would not speak anything of himself but whatever he shall hear from God, that alone shall he speak.18 Moses’ failure to withstand the manifestation of the Divine Glory makes it obvious that the manifestation was not for him, and only in response to his own persistent desire that it was manifested, otherwise he was not destined for the great task.

God can never be seen by any physical eye.19 Besides the use of ‘Lan’ in this verse implies that none can ever see God either at present nor at any time in the future, neither in this world nor in the hereafter.

“Tubto” I repent, stands for Moses seeking pardon for the venture he made in spite of the assurance given to him by God that He would never be able to see Him. Moses not only submits his repentance but also declares his faith in God lest he might be charged for the lack of faith.

To believe in God’s being visible to anyone at any time, is a very poor conception about the absoluteness of God’s Existence. When one can never see the air or the electrical energy which is undoubtedly a creation of God, how can anyone see the Creator Himself. Besides only finite things which can be arrested in vision can be seen and God is Infinite Being. How could an infinite be finite to be brought into the dimensional limits of vision. The best expression about God’s existence is given by the First Holy Imam ‘Ali Ibn Abi Talib in the opening verses of the Prayer of ‘Mashlool’ saying:

“O’ He: O’ the He, O’ the He whom none knows what is He, Where is He, How is He, Save He alone know He.”

The Mystics take the mountain as a figure for human ego, be it true or not it is proved that seeing God either before the manifestation or after it, is not possible. (A.P.).

Manifestation meant here does not mean taking any shape or form i.e., appearances greater signs referred to in verse 53:18. The basis of the impossibility of God’s being seen or sensed or imagined, conceived or encompassed by intellect of any being in this life or the hereafter in any stage in His infiniteness and the finiteness of the beings besides Him. But it should not be confused with the possibility of His being realised by His creatures endowed with consciousness which is termed in Qur’an as ‘Meeting Him’.20 (A.P.).

• 1. Exactly so did the Holy Prophet leave ‘Ali in his place - when he left Mecca on the Divinely Commanded Immigration to Madina and also when he left on the expedition to ‘Tabuk’.
• 2. Refer to verse 2:51.
• 3. Moses.
• 4. ‘Islam’ i.e., Submission - applies to all creatures and not ‘Iman’ i.e., conviction, which is confined to the section of the intellectual beings. Therefore, this term, ‘the First in Submission’ refers to the ‘Order of Creation’ and the ‘First of the Believers’ refers to the ‘Topmost’ or the ‘First’ among the believers of the age in respect of this. Refer to verses 6:104 & 41:53-54.
• 5. That Thou canst by no means be seen.
• 6. Refer to verse 2:55.
• 7. God.
• 8. The ‘Torah’.
• 9. To stick firmly.
• 10. The Best of the Lessons thereof.
• 11. Consider themselves great without justification. With arrogance.
• 12. Refers to the attitude of mind.
• 13. Refer to verse 6:110.
• 14. See verse 2:260.
• 15. See verse 2:55.
• 16. See Deut. 18/18.
• 17. See John 16/7-14.
• 18. See verses 53:13, 53:14.
• 19. Refer to verse 6:104
• 20. Refer to verses 6:104, 41:53 and 41:54.