In the Name of Allah, the Gracious, the Merciful
Pasted below are extracts from QUR’AANIC STUDIES – A Modern Tafsir.
These are my English renderings of Qur’aanic Verses 18:60 to 18:82 and my study
note # 16 thereon:
60. And when Moses said to the youth
accompanying him, “I will not stop until I reach the confluence of two rivers
even if I have to continue this journey for a long time.”
61. So when they reached the
confluence, they forgot their fish, and it burrowed its way into the sea.
62. But when they had gone farther, he
said to his young companion, “Take out our breakfast. We have certainly met
with fatigue in this journey of ours.”
63.
The youth said, “You know when we took some rest on the rock, I forgot about
the fish – and nothing but the Satan made me forget to tell you about it –
when, strangely, it found its way into the river!”
64. Moses said, “That was the spot we had sought for!” They then
retraced their footsteps back to the spot.
65. There they found one of Our devotees. We had favoured him with
mercy from Us and We had given him some knowledge from Us.
66. Moses said to him, “May I follow
you so that you teach me of the right knowledge you have been taught?”
67. He said, “You can never have
patience with me.”
68. “And how
can you have patience in matters over which you do not have comprehensive
knowledge?”
69. He said, “Allah
willing, you shall find me patient and I shall not disobey you in any matter.”
70. He said, “If you would follow me,
question me not about any thing until I myself speak to you about it.”
71. And both of them went out on a
journey. And there arose no problem between them until when they boarded a boat
he (Moses’ new companion) made a hole in it. Moses said, “Have you made a hole
in it to drown the people thereon? Certainly you have done a grave thing.”
72. Moses’ companion said, “Did I not
say that you will not be able to have patience with me?”
73. Moses said, “Hold me not
responsible for a thing I forgot, and burden me not with difficulty in my
affair.”
74. And they both went
on until, when they met a boy, he (Moses’ companion) killed him. Moses said,
“Have you killed an innocent person otherwise than for manslaughter? Certainly
you have done a condemnable thing.”
75.
Moses’ companion said, “Did I not tell you that you will not be able to have
patience with me?”
76. Moses
said, “If I ask you about anything after this, keep me not in your company.
Verily, you shall have then an excuse, provided by me, for you to do so.”
77. And they both went on until, when
they came to a town, they requested its people to give them some food, but they
refused to feed them as guests. They then found in it a wall which was about to
collapse and Moses’ companion set it right. Moses said, “You could certainly
have taken some wages for it.”
78.
Moses’ companion said, “This shall be the parting between me and you. I will
now inform you of the true perspective of my actions over which you could not
have patience.”
79. “As for the
boat, it belonged to some poor men who worked on the river. And I wished to
make it defective as there was, across them, a king who seized every boat by
force.”
80. “And as for the boy,
his parents were believers, and we feared lest he should trouble them with
disobedience and ingratitude.”
81.
So we desired that their Lord would give them in his place a boy better than
him in purity and more compassionate.
82.
“And as for the wall, it belonged to two orphaned boys in the city, and there
was beneath it a treasure belonging to them, and their father was a righteous
man. So your Lord desired that they should attain their maturity and take out
their treasure as a mercy from your Lord. And I did not do it of my own accord.
This is the true perspective of my actions over which you could not have
patience.”16
16. Verses 60 to 82 of this
Qur’aanic Chapter give an account of an extraordinary story. It gives us humans
a glimpse of the compassionate divine Hand operating behind the scenes in all
human affairs in this world. We are unable to understand apparent injustices of
events like a poor man’s boat turning suddenly defective and a youth suddenly
dying, or the apparent mystery of a poor man’s crumbling wall getting
straightened with unexpected help. But the apparent injustices in this world
are all a façade to test the believers’ faith in their Lord. They should
entertain no doubts that Justice will ultimately prevail over Injustice and Truth
over Falsehood.
Guide
us to the Right Path, Allah!
Mohammad Shafi
Friday, the 30th December, 2016
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