Tafseer of Taa-Haa · Taa-Haa · 20:85
[Allah] said, "But indeed, We have tried your people after you [departed], and the Samiri has led them astray."
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.
قَالَ هُمْ أُولاءِ عَلَى أَثَرِي — he says: my people are following close behind me, they are catching up with me. وَعَجِلْتُ إِلَيْكَ رَبِّ لِتَرْضَى — he says: I, however, hastened and went ahead of them, O my Lord, so that You would be pleased with me.
For Allah the Exalted had asked Moses: what caused you to hasten ahead of your people? — because, as has been related to us, when He had saved him and the Children of Israel from Pharaoh and his people, and had led them through the sea, and had promised them the right side of Mount al-Ṭūr, Moses hastened to his Lord while Hārūn remained with the Children of Israel, guiding them along the track of Moses.
As Ibn Ḥumayd related to us, he said: Salama related to us, on the authority of Ibn Isḥāq: Allah promised Moses — after He had destroyed Pharaoh and his people, and had saved him and his people — thirty nights, and then completed that with ten, so that the appointed time of his Lord was forty nights, in which He met with him with what He willed. Moses appointed Hārūn as his deputy over the Children of Israel, while the Sāmirī was with him, to guide them along the track of Moses and to make them join up with him. When Allah spoke to Moses, He said to him: مَا أَعْجَلَكَ عَنْ قَوْمِكَ يَا مُوسَى قَالَ هُمْ أُولاءِ عَلَى أَثَرِي وَعَجِلْتُ إِلَيْكَ رَبِّ لِتَرْضَى .
As Yūnus related to me, he said: Ibn Wahb informed us, he said: Ibn Zayd said concerning His words وَعَجِلْتُ إِلَيْكَ رَبِّ لِتَرْضَى : he said: in order to please You.
