Tafseer of The Stories · Al-Qasas · 28:11
And she said to his sister, "Follow him"; so she watched him from a distance while they perceived not.
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 word of the Most High: وَقَالَتْ لأُخْتِهِ قُصِّيهِ فَبَصُرَتْ بِهِ عَنْ جُنُبٍ وَهُمْ لا يَشْعُرُونَ ("And she said to his sister: follow his track. She saw him from afar, while they did not perceive it") (verse 11)
The Most High says: وَقَالَتْ — the mother of Mūsā said to the sister of Mūsā, after she had placed him in the river: قُصِّيهِ — that is, follow the track of Mūsā; trace his footsteps. One says in Arabic: "qaṣaṣtu āthāra al-qawm" — I followed the footprints of the people, when one traces their tracks.
What we have said about this, the exegetes said likewise.
Mention of who said that:
Muḥammad ibn ʿAmr related to me, saying: Abū ʿĀṣim related to us, saying: ʿĪsā related to us; and al-Ḥārith related to me, saying: al-Ḥasan related to us, saying: Warqāʾ related to us — both on the authority of Ibn Abī Najīḥ, on the authority of Mujāhid, concerning لأُخْتِهِ قُصِّيهِ : he said: follow his track to see what is done with him.
Al-Qāsim related to us, saying: al-Ḥusayn related to us, saying: Ḥajjāj related to me, on the authority of Ibn Jurayj, on the authority of Mujāhid: قُصِّيهِ — that is, follow his track.
Ibn Ḥumayd related to us, saying: Salama related to us, on the authority of Ibn Isḥāq: وَقَالَتْ لأُخْتِهِ قُصِّيهِ — he said: follow his track.
Bishr ibn Muʿādh related to us, saying: Yazīd related to us, saying: Saʿīd related to us, on the authority of Qatāda: وَقَالَتْ لأُخْتِهِ قُصِّيهِ — that is, look at what they do with him.
Mūsā related to us, saying: ʿAmr related to us, saying: Asbāṭ related to us, on the authority of al-Suddī: وَقَالَتْ لأُخْتِهِ قُصِّيهِ — that is, follow his track.
Al-ʿAbbās ibn al-Walīd related to me, saying: Yazīd informed us, saying: al-Aṣbagh ibn Zayd informed us, saying: al-Qāsim ibn Abī Ayyūb related to us, saying: Saʿīd ibn Jubayr related to me, on the authority of Ibn ʿAbbās: وَقَالَتْ لأُخْتِهِ قُصِّيهِ — that is, follow his track and seek him out; do you hear anything about him — is my child still alive, or have the water-creatures and the fish of the river eaten him? — while she had forgotten what Allah had promised her.
As for فَبَصُرَتْ بِهِ عَنْ جُنُبٍ ("she saw him from afar"): the Most High says: the sister of Mūsā followed his track and saw him at a distance: she did not draw near to him and did not go to him, so that no one would know that she had anything to do with him. One may say in Arabic: "baṣartu bihi" or "abṣartuhu" — both forms are well-known Arabic expressions. And one says: "abṣartu ʿan junubin" and "ʿan janābatin", as the poet said:
"I visited Ḥurayth from afar (ʿan janābatin), but Ḥurayth denied my gift."
He means by "ʿan janābatin": from afar.
What we have said about this, the exegetes said likewise.
Mention of who said that:
Muḥammad ibn ʿAmr related to me, saying: Abū ʿĀṣim related to us, saying: ʿĪsā related to us; and al-Ḥārith related to me, saying: al-Ḥasan related to us, saying: Warqāʾ related to us — both on the authority of Ibn Abī Najīḥ, on the authority of Mujāhid, concerning عَنْ جُنُبٍ : he said: at a distance.
Al-Qāsim related to us, saying: al-Ḥusayn related to us, saying: Ḥajjāj related to me, on the authority of Ibn Jurayj, on the authority of Mujāhid: عَنْ جُبٍ — he said: at a distance. Ibn Jurayj said: عَنْ جُنُبٍ — she stood on the bank of the land, while Mūsā was being carried along by the Nile, and the two of them moved parallel; thus she would look now at him and now at the people, while he had been placed in a chest of pitch, sealed front and back, and she had shut him up in it.
Al-Qāsim related to us, saying: al-Ḥusayn related to us, saying: Ḥajjāj related to me, on the authority of Abū Sufyān, on the authority of Maʿmar, on the authority of Qatāda: فَبَصُرَتْ بِهِ عَنْ جُنُبٍ — he said: she saw him while she stood to the side of him, without going to him.
Al-ʿAbbās ibn al-Walīd related to me, saying: Yazīd informed us, saying: al-Aṣbagh ibn Zayd informed us, saying: al-Qāsim ibn Abī Ayyūb related to me, saying: Saʿīd ibn Jubayr related to me, on the authority of Ibn ʿAbbās: فَبَصُرَتْ بِهِ عَنْ جُنُبٍ — and "al-junub" means: that a person's gaze goes toward something far off, while it is right next to him without his perceiving it.
As for وَهُمْ لا يَشْعُرُونَ ("while they did not perceive it"): that is, the people of Faraʿūn did not perceive that the sister of Mūsā was his sister.
What we have said about this, the exegetes said likewise.
Mention of who said that:
Muḥammad ibn ʿAmr related to me, saying: Abū ʿĀṣim related to us, saying: ʿĪsā related to us; and al-Ḥārith related to me, saying: al-Ḥasan related to us, saying: Warqāʾ related to us — both on the authority of Ibn Abī Najīḥ, on the authority of Mujāhid: وَهُمْ لا يَشْعُرُونَ — he said: the family of Faraʿūn.
Al-Qāsim related to us, saying: al-Ḥusayn related to us, saying: Ḥajjāj related to me, on the authority of Ibn Jurayj, on the authority of Mujāhid — likewise.
Bishr related to us, saying: Yazīd related to us, saying: Saʿīd related to us, on the authority of Qatāda: فَبَصُرَتْ بِهِ عَنْ جُنُبٍ وَهُمْ لا يَشْعُرُونَ — that she was his sister; he said: she looked at him as though she were not seeking him.
Mūsā related to us, saying: ʿAmr related to us, saying: Asbāṭ related to us, on the authority of al-Suddī: وَهُمْ لا يَشْعُرُونَ — that she was his sister.
Ibn Ḥumayd related to us, saying: Salama related to us, on the authority of Ibn Isḥāq: وَهُمْ لا يَشْعُرُونَ — that is, they did not know that she had anything to do with him.
