Ghafir · Makki · ayah 27 of 85

Ghafir 40:27

وَقَالَ مُوسَىٰٓ إِنِّى عُذْتُ بِرَبِّى وَرَبِّكُم مِّن كُلِّ مُتَكَبِّرٍ لَّا يُؤْمِنُ بِيَوْمِ ٱلْحِسَابِ

“But Moses said, "Indeed, I have sought refuge in my Lord and your Lord from every arrogant one who does not believe in the Day of Account."”

Saheeh International

Essence

Threatened with death, Musa makes no threat back: he runs to his Lord and theirs from every arrogant denier of the reckoning.

A reflection

The answer to 'leave me to kill him'

Pharaoh had just said: leave me to kill Musa, and let him call on his Lord (40:26). This ayah is Musa's whole reply. Innī ʿudhtu bi-rabbī wa-rabbikum: I have sought refuge in my Lord and your Lord.

He does not argue. He does not threaten back. He does not count his supporters. The commentaries note the word innī, 'truly I', a word of emphasis. It shows, they say, that seeking refuge in Allah is the firm and certain way to repel evil. Musa does not say he will try it. He says, in the past tense, that he has already done it. The refuge is taken before the danger arrives.

The Prophet ﷺ did the same. When he feared a people, he would say: O Allah, we place You at their throats, and we seek refuge in You from their evils. (Abu Dawud 1537; graded sahih by most, weak by one grader.) The picture is striking. He did not place himself between the enemy and his companions. He placed Allah there, at the very throats that might shout or bite.

A woman receives a letter from a landlord who has bullied her for months. She stands in the stairwell, holding the unopened envelope, and quietly asks Allah to stand between her and whatever is inside. Then she opens it. The letter has not changed. She has.

That is what Pharaoh mocked and what Musa did. The threat was real. The sword was real. But a believer's first move against a real threat is not a counter-threat. It is to run to the One who holds the sword-arm as well as the throat. Every other move comes after that, and rests on it.

The full entry has 6 more reflections, questions to sit with, and "Live it today" - with the words, the roots and the tafsir alongside. Free, no account, works offline.