Tafseer of The Stories · Al-Qasas · 28:25
Then one of the two women came to him walking with shyness. She said, "Indeed, my father invites you that he may reward you for having watered for us." So when he came to him and related to him the story, he said, "Fear not. You have escaped from the wrongdoing people."
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 words of Allah the Exalted: فَجَاءَتْهُ إِحْدَاهُمَا تَمْشِي عَلَى اسْتِحْيَاءٍ قَالَتْ إِنَّ أَبِي يَدْعُوكَ لِيَجْزِيَكَ أَجْرَ مَا سَقَيْتَ لَنَا فَلَمَّا جَاءَهُ وَقَصَّ عَلَيْهِ الْقَصَصَ قَالَ لا تَخَفْ نَجَوْتَ مِنَ الْقَوْمِ الظَّالِمِينَ (25) (Then one of the two came to him, walking shyly. She said: "My father invites you so that he may reward you for what you have watered for us." When he came to him and told him his story, he said: "Fear not, you have escaped from the wrongdoing people.")
Allah the Exalted — exalted be His remembrance — says: one of the two women for whom he had watered came to Mūsā and walked with bashfulness before Mūsā, her face covered with her garment.
And in a sense like what we have said about this, the exegetes have spoken.
* Mention of who said this:
Abū al-Sāʾib and al-Faḍl ibn al-Ṣabbāḥ related to us, they said: Ibn Fuḍayl related to us, on the authority of Ḍirār ibn ʿAbd Allāh ibn Abī al-Hudhayl, on the authority of ʿUmar ibn al-Khaṭṭāb — may Allah be pleased with him — concerning His word: فَجَاءَتْهُ إِحْدَاهُمَا تَمْشِي عَلَى اسْتِحْيَاءٍ ; he said: she covered herself with the sleeve of her bodice, or the sleeve of her shift.
Ibn Wakīʿ related to us, he said: Abū Usāma related to us, on the authority of Ḥammād ibn ʿAmr al-Asadī, on the authority of Abū Sinān, on the authority of Ibn Abī al-Hudhayl, on the authority of ʿUmar — may Allah be pleased with him; he said: she held her hand over her face and covered herself.
Ibn Bashshār related to us, he said: ʿAbd al-Raḥmān related to us, he said: Sufyān related to us, on the authority of Abū Isḥāq, on the authority of Nawf, concerning فَجَاءَتْهُ إِحْدَاهُمَا تَمْشِي عَلَى اسْتِحْيَاءٍ ; he said: she covered her face with her hands.
He said: Yaḥyā related to us, on the authority of Sufyān, on the authority of Abū Isḥāq, on the authority of Nawf — like the foregoing.
Ibn Wakīʿ related to us, he said: my father related to us, on the authority of Sufyān, on the authority of Abū Isḥāq, on the authority of Nawf, concerning فَجَاءَتْهُ إِحْدَاهُمَا تَمْشِي عَلَى اسْتِحْيَاءٍ ; he said: she held her hands before her face — and my father placed his hand before his face.
Ibn Bashshār related to us, he said: ʿAbd al-Raḥmān related to us, he said: Isrāʾīl related to us, on the authority of Abū Isḥāq, on the authority of ʿAmr ibn Maymūn, concerning فَجَاءَتْهُ إِحْدَاهُمَا تَمْشِي عَلَى اسْتِحْيَاءٍ ; he said: she was not a brazen woman who went in and out everywhere — she held her garment before her face and said: إِنَّ أَبِي يَدْعُوكَ لِيَجْزِيَكَ أَجْرَ مَا سَقَيْتَ لَنَا .
Ibn Wakīʿ related to us, he said: my father related to us, on the authority of Isrāʾīl, on the authority of Abū Isḥāq, on the authority of ʿAmr ibn Maymūn, on the authority of ʿUmar ibn al-Khaṭṭāb — may Allah be pleased with him — concerning فَجَاءَتْهُ إِحْدَاهُمَا تَمْشِي عَلَى اسْتِحْيَاءٍ ; he said: she was not a brazen woman who went in and out everywhere — she held her hand before her face and said: إِنَّ أَبِي يَدْعُوكَ لِيَجْزِيَكَ أَجْرَ مَا سَقَيْتَ لَنَا .
Ibn Bashshār related to us, he said: ʿAbd al-Raḥmān related to us, he said: Sufyān related to us, he said: Qurra ibn Khālid related to us; he said: I heard al-Ḥasan say, concerning His word: فَجَاءَتْهُ إِحْدَاهُمَا تَمْشِي عَلَى اسْتِحْيَاءٍ ; he said: she was far from shamelessness.
Mūsā related to us, he said: ʿAmr related to us, he said: Asbāṭ related to us, on the authority of al-Suddī, concerning تَمْشِي عَلَى اسْتِحْيَاءٍ ; he said: she came to him walking with bashfulness before him.
Ibn Ḥumayd related to us, he said: Salama related to us, on the authority of Ibn Isḥāq, concerning فَجَاءَتْهُ إِحْدَاهُمَا تَمْشِي عَلَى اسْتِحْيَاءٍ ; he said: she held her hand on her forehead.
As for His word: قَالَتْ إِنَّ أَبِي يَدْعُوكَ لِيَجْزِيَكَ أَجْرَ مَا سَقَيْتَ لَنَا — Allah the Exalted — exalted be His remembrance — says: the woman who had come shyly to Mūsā said: my father invites you so that he may reward you (yuthībaka) for your wage (ajr) for what you have watered for us.
As for His word: فَلَمَّا جَاءَهُ وَقَصَّ عَلَيْهِ الْقَصَصَ — He says: Mūsā went with her to her father. When he reached the father and told him his story about what had occurred with Firʿawn and his people of the Copts, the father said to him: لا تَخَفْ — fear not, for you are نَجَوْتَ مِنَ الْقَوْمِ الظَّالِمِينَ — you have escaped from the wrongdoing people — that is to say: from Firʿawn and his people, for he has no authority in our land where you now are.
And in a sense like what we have said about this, the exegetes have spoken.
* Mention of who said this:
Al-ʿAbbās related to me, he said: Yazīd informed us, he said: al-Aṣbagh related to us, he said: al-Qāsim related to us, he said: Saʿīd ibn Jubayr related to us, on the authority of Ibn ʿAbbās, who said: the father of the two girls was amazed at the speed with which they returned with their sheep — full and sated — and said: "Something remarkable has happened with you today."
Abū Jaʿfar said: I think he said: "They told him the news." When Mūsā came to him and spoke with him, قَالَ لا تَخَفْ نَجَوْتَ مِنَ الْقَوْمِ الظَّالِمِينَ — neither Firʿawn nor his people has authority over us, and we are not in his kingdom.
Mūsā related to us, he said: ʿAmr related to us, he said: Asbāṭ related to us, on the authority of al-Suddī, who said: when the two girls returned quickly to their father, he questioned them, and they told him the news about Mūsā. He sent one of the two to him. She came to him walking with bashfulness, ashamed before him. She said: إِنَّ أَبِي يَدْعُوكَ لِيَجْزِيَكَ أَجْرَ مَا سَقَيْتَ لَنَا . He rose with her and said to her: "You go ahead"; she walked before him, and the wind blew her garment up, so that he saw her backside. Mūsā said to her: "Walk behind me, and point out the way to me if I lose the track." When he reached the old man and told him the story, قَالَ لا تَخَفْ نَجَوْتَ مِنَ الْقَوْمِ الظَّالِمِينَ .
Bishr related to us, he said: Yazīd related to us, he said: Saʿīd related to us, on the authority of Qatāda, concerning فَجَاءَتْهُ إِحْدَاهُمَا تَمْشِي عَلَى اسْتِحْيَاءٍ قَالَتْ إِنَّ أَبِي يَدْعُوكَ لِيَجْزِيَكَ أَجْرَ مَا سَقَيْتَ لَنَا ; he said: Muṭarrif said: "By Allah, if the Prophet of Allah had had anything with him, he would not have followed the offered milk-drink of the two women; but only need brought him to that." فَلَمَّا جَاءَهُ وَقَصَّ عَلَيْهِ الْقَصَصَ قَالَ لا تَخَفْ نَجَوْتَ مِنَ الْقَوْمِ الظَّالِمِينَ .
Ibn Ḥumayd related to us, he said: Salama related to us, on the authority of Ibn Isḥāq, who said: they returned to their father at an hour at which they did not usually return, and he found this strange, questioned them, and they told him the news. He said to one of the two: "Hasten to him." She came to him with bashfulness. She said: إِنَّ أَبِي يَدْعُوكَ لِيَجْزِيَكَ أَجْرَ مَا سَقَيْتَ لَنَا . He rose with her — as I have been told — and said to her: "Walk behind me, and describe the way to me if I get it wrong, and I will walk before you; for we do not look at the backs of women." When he reached him, he told him the news and what had driven him out of his land. فَلَمَّا جَاءَهُ وَقَصَّ عَلَيْهِ الْقَصَصَ قَالَ لا تَخَفْ نَجَوْتَ مِنَ الْقَوْمِ الظَّالِمِينَ . And she had told her father of his word: "We do not look at the backs of women."
