Surah Al-Qasas · سُوْرَةُ الْقَصَصِ · Juz 20

Q 28:15

وَدَخَلَ ٱلْمَدِينَةَ عَلَىٰ حِينِ غَفْلَةٍ مِّنْ أَهْلِهَا فَوَجَدَ فِيهَا رَجُلَيْنِ يَقْتَتِلَانِ هَـٰذَا مِن شِيعَتِهِۦ وَهَـٰذَا مِنْ عَدُوِّهِۦ ۖ فَٱسْتَغَـٰثَهُ ٱلَّذِى مِن شِيعَتِهِۦ عَلَى ٱلَّذِى مِنْ عَدُوِّهِۦ فَوَكَزَهُۥ مُوسَىٰ فَقَضَىٰ عَلَيْهِ ۖ قَالَ هَـٰذَا مِنْ عَمَلِ ٱلشَّيْطَـٰنِ ۖ إِنَّهُۥ عَدُوٌّ مُّضِلٌّ مُّبِينٌ

Translations

And he entered the city at a time of inattention by its people and found therein two men fighting: one from his faction and one from among his enemy. And the one from his faction called for help to him against the one from his enemy, so Moses struck him and [unintentionally] killed him. [Moses] said, "This is from the work of Satan. Indeed, he is a manifest, misleading enemy."

Sahih International · EN

Il entra dans la ville à un moment d'inattention de ses habitants; il y trouva deux hommes qui se battaient, l'un était de ses partisans et l'autre de ses adversaires. L'homme de son parti l'appela au secours contre son ennemi. Moïse lui donna un coup de poing qui l'acheva. - [Moïse] dit: «Cela est l'œuvre du Diable. C'est vraiment un ennemi, un égareur évident».

Muhammad Hamidullah · FR

Tafsir

Moses entered the city at a time when its inhabitants were unaware, and saw two men arguing and brawling. One was from the Israelites: Moses’s tribe, while the other was a Copt: Pharaoh’s people, who were Moses’s enemies. The one who was from the Israelites sought assistance from Moses against the Copt, so Moses struck him with a punch and because of his power, it killed him. Moses said, “This is from the adornment and deception of Satan. Indeed, Satan is a deceiving enemy of whoever follows him; he is open in his enmity. Whatever has happened here is due to his enmity and deception; he wants me to err.”

Al-Mukhtasar fi Tafsir al-Quran · Tafsir Center for Quranic Studies

Read Ibn Kathir (Ibn Kathir (abridged, English))

And when he reached maturity, and was complete, We bestowed on him Hukm and knowledge. And thus do We reward the doers of good (14)And he entered the city when its people were unaware: and he found there two men fighting, – one of his party, and the other of his foes. The man of his (own) party asked him for help against his foe, so Musa struck him with his fist and he died. He said: "This is of Shaytan's doing, verily, he is a plain misleading enemy. (15)He said: "My Lord! Verily, I have wronged myself, so forgive me." Then He forgave him. Verily, He is the Oft-Forgiving, the Most Merciful (16)He said: "My Lord! For that with which You have favored me, I will nevermore be a helper of the criminals! (17) How Musa killed a Coptic Man Having described Musa's beginnings, Allah then tells us that when he reached maturity, and was complete in stature, Allah gave him Hukm and religious knowledge. Mujahid said that this means prophethood. وَكَذَٰلِكَ نَجْزِي الْمُحْسِنِينَ (And thus do We reward the doers of good.) Then Allah describes how Musa reached the status that was decreed for him, that of Prophethood and speaking to Allah, as a direct consequence of killing the Coptic, which was the reason why he left Egypt and went to Madyan. Allah says: وَدَخَلَ الْمَدِينَةَ عَلَىٰ حِينِ غَفْلَةٍ مِنْ أَهْلِهَا (And he entered the city when its people were unaware.) Ibn Jurayj narrated from 'Ata' Al-Khurasani, from Ibn 'Abbas, "That was between Maghrib and 'Isha'." Ibn Al-Munkadir narrated from 'Ata' bin Yasar from Ibn 'Abbas, "That was in the middle of the day." This was also the view of Sa'id bin Jubayr, 'Ikrimah, As-Suddi and Qatadah. فَوَجَدَ فِيهَا رَجُلَيْنِ يَقْتَتِلَانِ (and he found there two men fighting,) meaning, hitting one another and struggling with one another. هَٰذَا مِنْ شِيعَتِهِ (one of his party,) meaning, an Israelite, وَهَٰذَا مِنْ عَدُوِّهِ (and the other of his foes.) meaning, a Coptic. This was the view of Ibn 'Abbas, Qatadah, As-Suddi and Muhammad bin Ishaq. The Israelite man asked Musa, peace be upon him, for help, and Musa took advantage of the fact that people were not paying attention, so he went to the Coptic man and فَوَكَزَهُ مُوسَىٰ فَقَضَىٰ عَلَيْهِ (so Musa struck him with his fist and he died.) Mujahid said, "This means he punched him with his fist." And then he died. قَالَ (He said) refers to Musa. هَٰذَا مِنْ عَمَلِ الشَّيْطَانِ ۖ إِنَّهُ عَدُوٌّ مُضِلٌّ مُبِينٌ - قَالَ رَبِّ إِنِّي ظَلَمْتُ نَفْسِي فَاغْفِرْ لِي فَغَفَرَ لَهُ ۚ إِنَّهُ هُوَ الْغَفُورُ الرَّحِيمُ - قَالَ رَبِّ بِمَا أَنْعَمْتَ عَلَيَّ ("This is of Shaytan's doing, verily, he is a plain misleading enemy." He said: "My Lord! Verily, I have wronged myself, so forgive me." Then He forgave him. Verily, He is the Oft-Forgiving, the Most Merciful. He said: "My Lord! For that with which You have favored me,) meaning, 'what You have given me of prestige, power and blessings – ' فَلَنْ أَكُونَ ظَهِيرًا (I will nevermore be a helper of the criminals!) 'those who disbelieve in You and go against Your commands.'

Arabic text: Tanzil (Uthmani). Translations: Sahih International (en), Muhammad Hamidullah (fr). tanzil.net