Tafseer of The Stories · Al-Qasas · 28:27
He said, "Indeed, I wish to wed you one of these, my two daughters, on [the condition] that you serve me for eight years; but if you complete ten, it will be [as a favor] from you. And I do not wish to put you in difficulty. You will find me, if Allah wills, from among the righteous."
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: قَالَ إِنِّي أُرِيدُ أَنْ أُنْكِحَكَ إِحْدَى ابْنَتَيَّ هَاتَيْنِ عَلَى أَنْ تَأْجُرَنِي ثَمَانِيَ حِجَجٍ فَإِنْ أَتْمَمْتَ عَشْرًا فَمِنْ عِنْدِكَ وَمَا أُرِيدُ أَنْ أَشُقَّ عَلَيْكَ سَتَجِدُنِي إِنْ شَاءَ اللَّهُ مِنَ الصَّالِحِينَ (27) (He said: "I wish to marry you to one of these two daughters of mine, on condition that you serve me for eight years. If you complete ten of them, then that is your own choice. I do not wish to make it burdensome for you. You will find me, if Allah wills, among the righteous.")
Allah the Exalted — exalted be His remembrance — says: قَالَ — the father of the two women for whom Musa had watered, said to Musa: إِنِّي أُرِيدُ أَنْ أُنْكِحَكَ إِحْدَى ابْنَتَيَّ هَاتَيْنِ عَلَى أَنْ تَأْجُرَنِي ثَمَانِيَ حِجَجٍ — by His word عَلَى أَنْ تَأْجُرَنِي he means: on condition that you give me the pasturing of my livestock for eight years as the reward for my marrying her to you — from the saying: "May Allah reward you (ājara-ka Allāhu)" — He rewards you (fa-huwa yaʾjuru-ka), in the meaning of: Allah gives you your recompense (athāba-ka). The Arabs say: "I paid the day-laborer his wage (ajartu al-ajīr)" in the meaning of: I gave him that — just as one says: "I took it (akhadhtu-hu)" and "I take it (fa-anā ākhidhu-hu)." Some of the Arabic philologists of Basra cite that the Arabic usage is: "ajartu ghulāmī" — "I employed my servant" — (then he is) a hired laborer at the least (maʾjūr), and "ājartu-hu" — (then he is) a hired laborer (muʾjar), in the meaning of: I did something to him.
And some said: "ājara-hu fa-huwa muʾājir" — in the meaning of: I made an agreement with him (fāʿaltu-hu). It is my view that the father of the two women made the bridal gift (mahr) of his daughter whom he married to Musa to be Musa's pasturing of his livestock for eight years. Al-ḥijaj is the plural of ḥijja (year).
As for His word: فَإِنْ أَتْمَمْتَ عَشْرًا فَمِنْ عِنْدِكَ — He says: if you complete the eight years which I had stipulated to you as the condition for marrying my daughter to you, up to ten years, and make them ten years, then that is a favor from your side, and it is not what I had stipulated to you on the occasion of your marriage to my daughter. وَمَا أُرِيدُ أَنْ أَشُقَّ عَلَيْكَ — by requiring of you that you complete the eight years up to ten. سَتَجِدُنِي إِنْ شَاءَ اللَّهُ مِنَ الصَّالِحِينَ — in fulfilling what I have said to you.
As Ibn Ḥumayd related to us, he said: Salama related to us, on the authority of Ibn Isḥāq, concerning سَتَجِدُنِي إِنْ شَاءَ اللَّهُ مِنَ الصَّالِحِينَ : that is, in good companionship and the fulfillment of what I have said.
