Tafseer of The Heights · Al-A'raaf · 7:142
And We made an appointment with Moses for thirty nights and perfected them by [the addition of] ten; so the term of his Lord was completed as forty nights. And Moses said to his brother Aaron, "Take my place among my people, do right [by them], and do not follow the way of the corrupters."
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 saying of Allah: "And We appointed for Mūsā thirty nights and We completed them with ten, so that the appointed term of his Lord became forty nights."
Abū Jaʿfar said: He, exalted be His remembrance, says: And We appointed for Mūsā, for Our confidential discourse, thirty nights. And it has been said: they were thirty nights of Dhū al-Qaʿda. "And We completed them with ten," He says: and We completed the thirty nights with ten nights, as a supplement up to forty nights.
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And it has been said: the ten with which He completed those up to forty were the ten of Dhū al-Ḥijja.
* Mention of those who said that:
15062 — Ibn Wakīʿ related to us, saying: my father related to us, on the authority of Sufyān, on the authority of Layth, on the authority of Mujāhid: "And We appointed for Mūsā thirty nights and We completed them with ten," he said: Dhū al-Qaʿda and the ten of Dhū al-Ḥijja.
15063 — ... he said: Jarīr related to us, on the authority of Layth, on the authority of Mujāhid: "And We appointed for Mūsā thirty nights and We completed them with ten," he said: Dhū al-Qaʿda and the ten of Dhū al-Ḥijja. On that they differed.
15064 — Al-Muthannā related to me, saying: Abū Ḥudhayfa related to us, saying: Shibl related to us, on the authority of Ibn Abī Najīḥ, on the authority of Mujāhid: "And We appointed for Mūsā thirty nights," that is Dhū al-Qaʿda and ten of Dhū al-Ḥijja, and that is His saying: "so that the appointed term of his Lord became forty nights."
15065 — Muḥammad ibn ʿAbd al-Aʿlā related to me, saying: al-Muʿtamir ibn Sulaymān related to us, on the authority of his father, he said: Ḥaḍramī asserted that the thirty which Mūsā's Lord had appointed for him were Dhū al-Qaʿda, and the ten of Dhū al-Ḥijja with which Allah completed the forty.
15066 — 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: "And We appointed for Mūsā thirty nights," he said: Dhū al-Qaʿda. "And We completed them with ten," he said: the ten of Dhū al-Ḥijja. Ibn Jurayj said: Ibn ʿAbbās said the like of that.
15067 — Al-Ḥārith related to me, saying: ʿAbd al-ʿAzīz related to us, saying: Abū Saʿd related to us, saying: I heard Mujāhid say concerning His saying: "And We appointed for Mūsā thirty nights and We completed them with ten," he said: Dhū al-Qaʿda and the first ten of Dhū al-Ḥijja.
15068 — ... he said: ʿAbd al-ʿAzīz related to us, saying: Isrāʾīl related to us, on the authority of Abū Isḥāq, on the authority of Masrūq: "And We completed them with ten," he said: the ten of the sacrificial feast (al-aḍḥā).
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And as for His saying: "so that the appointed term of his Lord became forty nights," by it He means: thus the term which Allah had appointed for Mūsā was completed to forty nights, and reached it fully. As:—
15069 — Al-Qāsim related to us, saying: al-Ḥusayn related to us, saying: Ḥajjāj related to me, on the authority of Ibn Jurayj: "so that the appointed term of his Lord was completed," he said: thus the appointed term of his Lord reached forty nights.
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The explanation of the saying of Allah: "And Mūsā said to his brother Hārūn: 'Be my successor among my people and set things in order, and do not follow the way of those who spread corruption.'" (7:142)
Abū Jaʿfar said: He, exalted be His remembrance, says: When the appointment with his Lord drew near, he said to his brother Hārūn: "Be my successor among my people," he says: be my deputy among them until I return.
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Of this one says: "khalafahu yakhlufuhu khilāfatan" (he succeeded him, he succeeds him, in succession).
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"And set things in order (wa-aṣliḥ)," he says: and bring them to order by urging them to obedience to Allah and His worship. As:—
15070 — Al-Qāsim related to us, saying: al-Ḥusayn related to us, saying: Ḥajjāj related to me, on the authority of Ibn Jurayj, he said: "And Mūsā said to his brother Hārūn: 'Be my successor among my people and set things in order,'" and it belonged to his setting things in order that he should not allow the calf to be worshipped.
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And His saying: "and do not follow the way of those who spread corruption," he says: and do not tread the path of those who spread corruption on the earth, by disobedience to their Lord and by their aid to the wrongdoers in their disobedience to their Lord; but tread the path of those who obey their Lord.
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And Allah's promise to Mūsā, peace be upon him, was after He had destroyed Firʿawn and had saved the Children of Israel from him, according to what the people of knowledge have said. As:—
15071 — Al-Qāsim related to us, saying: al-Ḥusayn related to us, saying: al-Ḥajjāj related to me, on the authority of Ibn Jurayj, concerning His saying: "And We appointed for Mūsā thirty nights," the verse, he said: He says: that was after He had finished with Firʿawn and before the Ṭūr, when Allah had saved Mūsā, peace be upon him, from the sea and had drowned the people of Firʿawn, and he escaped to the good land. Allah caused the manna and the quails to descend upon them there, and his Lord commanded him that he should meet Him. When he desired the meeting with his Lord, he appointed Hārūn as successor over his people, and he promised them that he would come to them after thirty nights — an appointment from himself, without command of his Lord and without His fixing of it. He set out to meet his Lord. When thirty nights were completed, the enemy of Allah, al-Sāmirī, said: "Mūsā will not come to you, and nothing will set you in order but a god whom you worship!" Then Hārūn implored them and said: "Do not do that; wait out this night of yours and this day of yours; if he comes, then it is well, and if not, then do what seems good to you!" They said: "Well!" When they awoke the next morning and did not see Mūsā, al-Sāmirī repeated his words of the previous day. He (the transmitter) said: and Allah added the term after the term which He had fixed between them, namely ten, "so that the appointed term of his Lord became forty nights." Hārūn returned and implored them whether they would not also wait out that day of theirs; if he came, then it was well, and if not, then they would do what seemed good to them. After that al-Sāmirī repeated his words to them for the third time, and Hārūn returned and implored them to wait. When they did not see ... [here the report breaks off]
15072 — Al-Qāsim said: al-Ḥusayn said: Ḥajjāj related to me, saying: Abū Bakr ibn ʿAbdallāh al-Hudhalī related to me, saying: al-Sāmirī went to Hārūn when Mūsā had departed, and said: "O prophet of Allah, on the day we departed from the Copts we borrowed much jewelry from their adornment, and the troops who are with you have hastened to sell and spend that jewelry, while it was only a loan from the people of Firʿawn — and they are no longer alive so that we might return it to them. We do not know, perhaps your brother, the prophet of Allah Mūsā, when he comes, will have an opinion about it: either he will make it into an offering which the fire consumes, or he will make it for the poor and not for the rich!" Hārūn said to him: "Excellent is what you have seen and what you have said!" Then he gave orders to a herald who called out: "Whoever has anything of the jewelry of the people of Firʿawn with him, let him bring it to us!" They brought it to him, and Hārūn said: "O Sāmirī, you have the most right to keep this treasure under your custody!" Then al-Sāmirī took it into safekeeping. This enemy of Allah, the corrupt one, was a goldsmith, and he forged from it a calf, a body. Then he cast into its interior a handful of earth from the track of the horse of Jibrīl, peace be upon him, which he had seen in the sea. Thereupon it began to low, but it lowed only a single time. And he said to the Children of Israel: "Mūsā has remained behind after the thirty nights only because he is seeking this!" هَذَا إِلَهُكُمْ وَإِلَهُ مُوسَى فَنَسِيَ (This is your god and the god of Mūsā, but he has forgotten) [Ṭā Hā: 88]. He says: that Mūsā, peace be upon him, has forgotten his Lord.