Tafseer of The Cave · Al-Kahf · 18:73
[Moses] said, "Do not blame me for what I forgot and do not cover me in my matter with difficulty."
Important: The Arabic source text is always authoritative. This translation is a study aid and has not been verified by scholars — do not use it as a basis for religious proof or for deriving rulings (ahkam). When in doubt, always consult the Arabic text and a qualified scholar.
The explanation of the meaning of the words of Allah the Exalted: قَالَ لا تُؤَاخِذْنِي بِمَا نَسِيتُ (verse 73)
Ibn Ḥumayd related to us, saying: Salama related to us, saying: Muḥammad ibn Isḥāq related to me, on the authority of al-Ḥasan ibn ʿUmāra, on the authority of al-Ḥakam, on the authority of Saʿīd ibn Jubayr, on the authority of Ibn ʿAbbās, who said concerning قَالَ لا تُؤَاخِذْنِي بِمَا نَسِيتُ: "That is to say: on account of what I have abandoned of your covenant."
The correct opinion, in my judgment, is to say: Mūsā asked his companion not to hold him accountable for forgetting his covenant in the manner in which he had asked him, and on account of the reason for that — not on account of what he had asked him. This is in accordance with the reliable narration from the Prophet ﷺ regarding the meaning of this. This is what Abū Kurayb related to us, saying: Yaḥyā ibn Ādam related to us, saying: Ibn ʿUyayna related to us, on the authority of ʿAmr ibn Dīnār, on the authority of Saʿīd ibn Jubayr, on the authority of Ibn ʿAbbās, on the authority of Ubayy ibn Kaʿb, on the authority of the Prophet of Allah ﷺ, concerning لا تُؤَاخِذْنِي بِمَا نَسِيتُ: "The first [transgression] of Mūsā was out of forgetfulness."
And His word وَلا تُرْهِقْنِي مِنْ أَمْرِي عُسْرًا: that is to say: "Do not overburden me in my affair with hardship" — he says: "Do not make my affair with you and my accompanying you constrained for me."
