Tafseer of The Smoke · Ad-Dukhaan · 44:20
And indeed, I have sought refuge in my Lord and your Lord, lest you stone me.
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.
And His statement: وَإِنِّي عُذْتُ بِرَبِّي وَرَبِّكُمْ أَنْ تَرْجُمُونِ (And indeed, I have sought refuge in my Lord and your Lord, lest you stone me). He says: and indeed, I have sought protection with my Lord and your Lord, and I have asked Him for aid against you, lest you stone me.
The exegetes differed concerning the meaning of the stoning (rajm) against which Mūsā, the prophet of Allah, peace be upon him, sought refuge in his Lord. Some of them said: it is reviling with the tongue.
* Mention of who said that:
Muḥammad ibn Saʿd related to me, saying: my father related to me, saying: my uncle related to me, saying: my father related to me, on the authority of his father, on the authority of Ibn ʿAbbās, concerning His statement وَإِنِّي عُذْتُ بِرَبِّي وَرَبِّكُمْ أَنْ تَرْجُمُونِ (and indeed, I have sought refuge in my Lord and your Lord, lest you stone me). He said: he means stoning with words.
Ibn al-Muthannā related to me, saying: ʿUthmān ibn ʿUmar ibn Fāris related to us, saying: Shuʿba related to us, on the authority of Ismāʿīl ibn Abī Khālid, on the authority of Abū Ṣāliḥ, concerning His statement وَإِنِّي عُذْتُ بِرَبِّي وَرَبِّكُمْ أَنْ تَرْجُمُونِ (and indeed, I have sought refuge in my Lord and your Lord, lest you stone me). He said: the stoning: with words.
Abū Hishām al-Rifāʿī related to us, saying: Yaḥyā ibn Yamān related to us, saying: Sufyān related to us, on the authority of Ismāʿīl, on the authority of Abū Ṣāliḥ وَإِنِّي عُذْتُ بِرَبِّي وَرَبِّكُمْ أَنْ تَرْجُمُونِ (and indeed, I have sought refuge in my Lord and your Lord, lest you stone me). He said: that you would say: he is a sorcerer.
Others said: no, it is stoning with stones.
* Mention of who said that:
Bishr related to us, saying: Yazīd related to us, saying: Saʿīd related to us, on the authority of Qatāda وَإِنِّي عُذْتُ بِرَبِّي وَرَبِّكُمْ أَنْ تَرْجُمُونِ (and indeed, I have sought refuge in my Lord and your Lord, lest you stone me): that is, lest you stone me with stones.
Ibn ʿAbd al-Aʿlā related to us, saying: Ibn Thawr related to us, on the authority of Maʿmar, on the authority of Qatāda أَنْ تَرْجُمُونِ (lest you stone me). He said: lest you stone me with stones.
Others said: no, by His statement أَنْ تَرْجُمُونِ (lest you stone me) is meant: lest you kill me.
And the most correct of these statements is what the apparent meaning of the words indicates, namely that Mūsā, peace be upon him, sought refuge in Allah against Firʿawn and his people stoning him. And the stoning may be an utterance with the tongue, or an act with the hand. The correct view is to say: Mūsā sought refuge in his Lord against all the meanings of their stoning by which harm and evil would befall the one stoned, whether it was reviling with the tongue, or stoning with stones by the hand.
