Tafseer of The Forgiver · Ghafir · 40:28
And a believing man from the family of Pharaoh who concealed his faith said, "Do you kill a man [merely] because he says, 'My Lord is Allah' while he has brought you clear proofs from your Lord? And if he should be lying, then upon him is [the consequence of] his lie; but if he should be truthful, there will strike you some of what he promises you. Indeed, Allah does not guide one who is a transgressor and a liar.
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.
His statement: وَقَالَ رَجُلٌ مُؤْمِنٌ مِنْ آلِ فِرْعَوْنَ يَكْتُمُ إِيمَانَهُ (And a believing man from the people of Pharaoh, who concealed his faith, said) — the people of knowledge differed concerning this believing man. Some of them said: he belonged to the people of Pharaoh, except that he had believed in Mūsā, and he concealed his faith from Pharaoh and his people out of fear for his life.
* The mention of who said this:
Muḥammad related to us, saying: Aḥmad related to us, saying: Asbāṭ related to us, on the authority of al-Suddī: وَقَالَ رَجُلٌ مُؤْمِنٌ مِنْ آلِ فِرْعَوْنَ (And a believing man from the people of Pharaoh said). He said: he was the cousin of Pharaoh.
And it is said: he is the one who escaped along with Mūsā. Whoever made this statement and adopted this interpretation, for him it is correct to pause — when the reciter wishes to pause — at His statement: مِنْ آلِ فِرْعَوْنَ (from the people of Pharaoh), for that is a complete report that is finished.
And others said: no, the man was an Israelite, but he concealed his faith from the people of Pharaoh.
The correct course according to this statement is, for whoever wishes to pause, that he places his pause at His statement: يَكْتُمُ إِيمَانَهُ (who concealed his faith), for His statement: مِنْ آلِ فِرْعَوْنَ (from the people of Pharaoh) is a further specification of His statement: يَكْتُمُ إِيمَانَهُ (who concealed his faith), so that its completion is His statement: "who concealed his faith". And it has been mentioned that the name of this believing man from the people of Pharaoh was Jibrīl. Thus Ibn Ḥumayd related to us, saying: Salama related to us, on the authority of Ibn Isḥāq.
And the more correct of the two statements concerning this, in my view, is the statement that al-Suddī made, namely that the believing man was from the people of Pharaoh, that they had heeded his words, listened to him in what he said, and refrained from killing Mūsā when he forbade them from killing him. And he said what he said, and he said to them: I only show you what I myself see, and I only guide you to the path of righteousness. Had he been an Israelite, it would have been likely that this speaker and his words would be punished immediately for what he said, for they used not to take to heart the counsel of the Children of Israel, because they regarded them as enemies of themselves. How then with his words about killing Mūsā, if they were to find a way to that? But because he belonged to the notables of his people, they listened to his word and refrained from what they had intended to do with Mūsā.
His statement: أَتَقْتُلُونَ رَجُلا أَنْ يَقُولَ رَبِّيَ اللَّهُ (Will you kill a man because he says: my Lord is Allah?) — He says: will you, O people, kill Mūsā because he says: my Lord is Allah? The "أن" (because) is here in the accusative for what I have described. وَقَدْ جَاءَكُمْ بِالْبَيِّنَاتِ (while he has come to you with the clear proofs) — He says: while he has come to you with the clear signs that confirm the truthfulness of what he says concerning that. And those clear proofs among the signs are his hand and his staff.
As Ibn Ḥumayd related to us, saying: Salama related to us, on the authority of Ibn Isḥāq: وَقَدْ جَاءَكُمْ بِالْبَيِّنَاتِ مِنْ رَبِّكُمْ (while he has come to you with the clear proofs from your Lord) — with his staff and his hand.
His statement: وَإِنْ يَكُ كَاذِبًا فَعَلَيْهِ كَذِبُهُ (And if he is a liar, then his lie is upon himself) — He says: and if Mūsā lies in his claim that Allah has sent him to you to command you to worship Him and to abandon the religion upon which you are, then the sin of his lie falls only upon himself, not upon you. وَإِنْ يَكُ صَادِقًا يُصِبْكُمْ بَعْضُ الَّذِي يَعِدُكُمْ (and if he is truthful, then a part of what he warns you of will strike you) — He says: and if he is truthful in that claim, then there will strike you what he has warned you of in the way of punishment for your persisting in the religion upon which you persist. You have therefore no need to kill him, by which you would only increase the wrath of your Lord against you, on top of His wrath because of your disbelief. إِنَّ اللَّهَ لا يَهْدِي مَنْ هُوَ مُسْرِفٌ كَذَّابٌ (Truly, Allah does not guide one who is excessive and a great liar) — He says: truly, Allah does not grant guidance to the truth to one who transgresses the bounds to the doing of what it is not for him to do, a liar who lies about Him and says concerning Him the false and the untrue.
And the people of interpretation differed concerning the meaning of the excessiveness (isrāf) which the believer mentioned in this place. Some of them said: by it shirk is meant, and he intended: truly, Allah does not guide one who associates partners with Him and fabricates concerning Him.
* The mention of who said this:
Bishr related to us, saying: Yazīd related to us, saying: Saʿīd related to us, on the authority of Qatāda: إِنَّ اللَّهَ لا يَهْدِي مَنْ هُوَ مُسْرِفٌ كَذَّابٌ (Truly, Allah does not guide one who is excessive and a great liar): a polytheist who has been excessive against himself through shirk.
And others said: by it is meant one who is a killer, a shedder of blood without right.
* The mention of who said this:
Muḥammad related to us, saying: Aḥmad related to us, saying: Asbāṭ related to us, on the authority of al-Suddī: إِنَّ اللَّهَ لا يَهْدِي مَنْ هُوَ مُسْرِفٌ كَذَّابٌ (Truly, Allah does not guide one who is excessive and a great liar). He said: the excessive one is the man of blood, and it is said: they are the polytheists.
And the correct of the statement concerning this is that one says: truly, Allah has reported concerning this believer that he, by his statement إِنَّ اللَّهَ لا يَهْدِي مَنْ هُوَ مُسْرِفٌ كَذَّابٌ (Truly, Allah does not guide one who is excessive and a great liar), gave a general import. Shirk belongs to excessiveness, and the shedding of blood without right belongs to excessiveness, and both matters were combined in Pharaoh. The correct course is therefore that one takes this in a general sense, just as Allah, whose praise is exalted, has reported concerning the one who spoke it that he made the statement in a general sense.
