Tafseer of Taa-Haa · Taa-Haa · 20:11
And when he came to it, he was called, "O Moses,
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 statement concerning the explanation of the words of Allah the Exalted: فَلَمَّا أَتَاهَا نُودِيَ يَا مُوسَى ("And when he came to it, he was called: O Mūsā!") (20:11)
Allah the Exalted says: When Mūsā came to the fire, his Lord called him: يَا مُوسَى * إِنِّي أَنَا رَبُّكَ فَاخْلَعْ نَعْلَيْكَ ("O Mūsā! Verily, I am your Lord, so take off your sandals").
As Ibn Ḥumayd related to us, saying: Salama related to us, on the authority of Ibn Isḥāq, on the authority of Wahb ibn Munabbih, who said: Mūsā set out toward the fire. Then he saw it in a bush of the ʿulayq — and some of the People of the Book say: in a bramble bush (ʿawsaǧa). When he drew near, it withdrew from him. When he saw that it drew back, he himself withdrew from it and felt a fear in his soul on account of it. But when he wished to return, it drew near to him, and then he was addressed from the bush. When he heard the voice, he was reassured. And Allah, blessed and exalted, said: يَا مُوسَى * إِنِّي أَنَا رَبُّكَ فَاخْلَعْ نَعْلَيْكَ إِنَّكَ بِالْوَادِ الْمُقَدَّسِ طُوًى ("O Mūsā! Verily, I am your Lord, so take off your sandals. Verily, you are in the holy valley Ṭuwā"). And he took them off and left them behind.
The scholars (ahl al-ʿilm) differed concerning the reason why Allah commanded Mūsā to take off his sandals. Some of them said: He commanded him to do this because they were made of the skin of a dead donkey, and He deemed it unfitting that he should tread the holy valley with them, and He desired that the blessing of the valley should touch him.
Mention of those who said this:
Muḥammad ibn Bashshār related to us, saying: ʿAbd al-Raḥmān related to us, saying: Sufyān related to us, on the authority of ʿĀṣim, on the authority of Abū Qilāba, on the authority of Kaʿb, that he saw them taking off their sandals — فَاخْلَعْ نَعْلَيْكَ إِنَّكَ بِالْوَادِ الْمُقَدَّسِ طُوًى — and he said: they were of the skin of a dead donkey, and Allah desired that the holiness should touch him.
Ibn Ḥumayd related to us, saying: Yaḥyā ibn Wāḍiḥ related to us, saying: al-Ḥusayn related to us, on the authority of Yazīd, on the authority of ʿIkrima, concerning His word فَاخْلَعْ نَعْلَيْكَ : he said: they were of the skin of a dead donkey.
Bishr related to us, saying: Yazīd related to us, saying: Saʿīd related to us, on the authority of Qatāda: he said: it was related to us that his sandals were of donkey skins; so he took them off and went to Him.
Al-Ḥasan related to us, saying: ʿAbd al-Razzāq informed us, saying: Maʿmar informed us, on the authority of Qatāda, concerning His word فَاخْلَعْ نَعْلَيْكَ : he said: they were of the skin of a donkey, and he was told to take them off.
Al-Qāsim related to us, saying: al-Ḥusayn related to us, saying: Ḥajjāj related to me, on the authority of Ibn Jurayj. And ʿUmar ibn ʿAṭāʾ informed me on the authority of ʿIkrima; and Abū Sufyān, on the authority of Maʿmar, on the authority of Jābir al-Juʿfī, on the authority of ʿAlī ibn Abī Ṭālib: فَاخْلَعْ نَعْلَيْكَ — he said: they were of the skin of a donkey, and he was told to take them off. He said: and Qatāda said the same.
Others said: they were of cattle hides, but Allah desired that Mūsā should tread the earth with his bare feet, so that its blessing might reach him.
Mention of those who said this:
Al-Qāsim related to us, saying: al-Ḥusayn related to us, saying: Ḥajjāj related to me, saying: Ibn Jurayj said: al-Ḥasan said: they were — that is, the sandals of Mūsā — of cattle hide; but Allah desired only that his feet should directly touch the blessing of the earth. It had been sanctified twice. Ibn Jurayj said: it was said to Muǧāhid: it is claimed that his sandals were of the skin of a donkey or of a carcass. He said: no, rather he was commanded to touch the blessing of the earth directly with his feet.
Yaʿqūb related to me, saying: Abū Bishr — that is, Ibn ʿUlayya — said: I heard Ibn Abī Naǧīḥ saying concerning His word فَاخْلَعْ نَعْلَيْكَ إِنَّكَ بِالْوَادِ الْمُقَدَّسِ طُوًى : he says: let your feet touch the blessing of the valley.
Abū Jaʿfar says: The more correct of the two opinions concerning this is the statement of the one who said that Allah the Exalted commanded him to take off his sandals so that his feet might directly touch the blessing of the valley, since it was a holy valley.
We say this because it is the more correct of the two interpretations, since in the outward text of the revelation (al-tanzīl) there is no indication that he was to take them off on account of their being of the skin of a donkey or on account of their impurity, and there is no report concerning that from anyone whose word may serve as proof. Moreover, His word إِنَّكَ بِالْوَادِ الْمُقَدَّسِ طُوًى — which immediately follows it — constitutes a clear proof that he gave the command to take them off only for the reason we have mentioned.
And had the report which Bishr related to us — he said: Khalaf ibn Khalīfa related to us, on the authority of Ḥumayd ibn ʿAbd Allāh ibn al-Ḥārith, on the authority of Ibn Masʿūd, on the authority of the Prophet of Allah ﷺ, who said: "On the day that Allah spoke to Mūsā, he was wearing a woolen garment and a woolen cloak, woolen trousers, and sandals of the skin of a non-ritually slaughtered donkey" — been authentic, we would have turned to it and not to any other. But in its chain of transmission (isnād) there is an objection that requires careful examination.
