Al-Ahzab · Madani · ayah 69 of 73

Al-Ahzab 33:69

يَـٰٓأَيُّهَا ٱلَّذِينَ ءَامَنُوا۟ لَا تَكُونُوا۟ كَٱلَّذِينَ ءَاذَوْا۟ مُوسَىٰ فَبَرَّأَهُ ٱللَّهُ مِمَّا قَالُوا۟ ۚ وَكَانَ عِندَ ٱللَّهِ وَجِيهًا

“O you who have believed, be not like those who abused Moses; then Allāh cleared him of what they said. And he, in the sight of Allāh, was distinguished.”

Saheeh International

Essence

Words that unsettle a good man are real harm; do not join in, and trust Allah to clear the one who is wronged.

A reflection

He reached for Musa when it hurt

After the battle of Hunayn the Prophet ﷺ divided the spoils. He gave some newcomers to Islam a hundred camels each, to win their hearts. A man muttered that this division was not made for the sake of Allah. Sahih al-Bukhari and Sahih Muslim record what happened next. The words were carried to him, and his face changed. Then he said: may Allah have mercy on Musa. He was hurt with more than this, and he was patient.

Notice where he went in that moment. Not to a defence of the distribution, though he had his reasons. Not to the man's name, though it was known. He went to a story, and it was this ayah's story. A prophet before him had been talked about by his own people, and had borne it.

One commentary on this ayah lists that very incident among the kinds of harm meant here. Another explains the ayah's place in the passage. The verses before it curse those whose harm of Allah and His Messenger is disbelief (33:57). This ayah turns to believers, and warns them off a lesser harm that falls short of disbelief. Grumbling at his decisions is given as the example.

So the ayah works in two directions. To the believers it says: do not become the people who muttered. To the one being muttered about it says: you are not the first, and you are not alone.

Anyone who leads, teaches or decides for others will meet that sentence one day. It was not fair, they will say, it was not for the right reasons. The Prophet's ﷺ answer was not a counter-attack. It was a name from the past, a prayer for mercy, and patience.

The full entry has 5 more reflections, questions to sit with, and "Live it today" - with the words, the roots and the tafsir alongside. Free, no account, works offline.