The Holy Quran with Five Volume Commentary (Vol 4) — Page 430
CH. 26 ASH-SHU'ARĀ' PT. 19 آنْ أَرْسِلْ مَعَنَا بَنِي إِسْرَاءِ يْلَ 18. To tell thee to send the children of Israel with us. قَالَ اَلَمْ نُرَبِّكَ فِيْنَا وَلِيْدًا وَلَبِثْتَ فِيْنَا Pharaoh said, “Did we not. 19 SUGJATJE مِنْ عُمُرِكَ سِنِينَ bring thee up among us as a child? And thou didst stay among us many years of thy life. وَفَعَلْتَ فَعْلَتَكَ الَّتِي فَعَلْتَ وَأَنْتَ مِنَ And thou didst do thy deed. 20 الْكُفِرِينَ قَالَ فَعَلْتُهَا إِذَا وَّ أَنَا مِنَ الصَّالِيْنَ which thou didst, and thou art of the ungrateful. ’2718 21. Moses said, 'I did do it then, and I was one of the erring. 2 2719 "20:41; 28:16. used are in the dual number. In Arabic it is permissible sometimes to use singular predicate for a subject in the dual or plural number, as they say wolds i. e. those two are my messengers and my agents, the words. being in the singular وكيل and رسول The Arabs also sayi. e. those are my messengers (Bayān). Elsewhere in the Quran (26:78) a similar construction has been used as desi. e. they are my enemies, the word being in the singular but giving the sense of a plural. 2718. Commentary: The reference in the verse seems to be to an Egyptian having been killed by Moses. Pharaoh regards himself and his people, the Egyptians, as the great benefactors of the Israelites and accuses Moses of gross ingratitude in having killed an Egyptian, his own and that of his people's benefactor. It seems impudent on Pharaoh's part to have called himself a benefactor of the Israelites whom he had kept in 2344 bondage and had treated them worse than animals, exacting from them the hardest and most humiliating labour. It is to this impudence of Pharaoh that Moses drew his attention in the verse under comment. 2719. Important Words: ضال the erring) is the plural of) ضالين which is the active participle from J which means, he erred; he did not find the way; he was perplexed and did not know what to do; he was confounded or perplexed and unable to see his right course; he was lost; he was lost in love (Aqrab, Lane & Lisān). Commentary: The verse signifies that when the Israelite called Moses for help against the Egyptian, he did not know what to do, and being anxious to help the Israelite (28:16-21) gave the Egyptian a blow with his closed fist which caused his death. The death was accidental and not deliberate because ordinarily a blow with the fist does