Al-Qur'an Surah Al-Qasas Verse 28

Mufti Taqi Usmani

He (Mūsā) said, “This is (done) between me and you. Whichever of the two terms I fulfill, there should be no excess against me, and Allah is witness to what we are saying.”

Dr. Mustafa Khattab, the Clear Quran

Moses responded, “˹Then˺ it is ˹settled˺ between you and I. Whichever term I fulfill, there will be no ˹further˺ obligation on me. And Allah is a Witness to what we say.”

Ruwwad Translation Center

Moses said, “Let that be the agreement between me and you. Whichever of the two terms I complete, there will be no further obligation on me, and Allah is Witness over what we say.”

A. J. Arberry

Said he, 'So let it be between me and thee. Whichever of the two' terms I fulfil, it shall be no Injustice to me; and God is guardian of what we say.

Abdul Haleem

Moses said, ‘Let that be the agreement between us- whichever of the two terms I fulfil, let there be no injustice to me- God is witness to what we say.’

Abdul Majid Daryabadi

Musa said: be that between me and thee: whichsoever of the two terms I shall fulfil, it shall be no harshness to me; and of that which we say Allah is Trustee.

Abdullah Yusuf Ali

He said; "Be that (the agreement) between me and thee; whichever of the two terms I fulfil, let there be no ill-will to me. Be Allah a witness to what we say."

Abul Ala Maududi

Moses replied: "So that is agreed between me and you. Whichever of the two terms I fulfil, I trust that I shall not be wronged. Allah is a witness over the covenant we are committing ourselves to."

Ahmed Ali

(Moses) said: "This is (agreed) between you and me. Whichever term I fulfil, no injustice will be done to me. God is witness to our agreement."

Ahmed Raza Khan

Said Moosa, “This is agreed between me and you; there shall be no claim upon me if I fulfil any of these two terms; and Allah is the Trustee upon this word of ours.”

Ali Quli Qarai

He said, ‘This will be [by consent] between you and me. Whichever of the two terms I complete, there shall be no imposition upon me, and Allah is witness over what we say.’

Ali Ünal

(Moses) answered: "So let it be between me and you. Whichever of the two terms I fulfill, let there be no ill-will against me. God is a Guarantor over what we say."

Amatul Rahman Omar

(Moses) said, (accepting the proposal), `This is (a covenant) between us; whichever of the two terms I complete, I will be free from obligation and there shall be no injustice to me, and Allâh is witness over what we have agreed.´

English Literal

He said: "That (is) between me and between you, whichever (of) the two terms/times I accomplished/carried out, so no transgression/aggression (be) on me, and God (is) on what we say a guardian ."

Faridul Haque

Said Moosa, “This is agreed between me and you; there shall be no claim upon me if I fulfil any of these two terms; and Allah is the Trustee upon this word of ours.”

Hamid S. Aziz

Said he, "Verily, I desire to marry you to one of these daughters of mine, on condition that you do serve me for hire eight years; and if you shall fulfil ten it is of your own accord; for I desire not to make it hard for you. Allah willing, you will find me of the righteous."

Hilali & Khan

He [Musa (Moses)] said: "That (is settled) between me and you whichever of the two terms I fulfill, there will be no injustice to me, and Allah is Surety over what we say."

Maulana Mohammad Ali

One of them said: O my father, employ him; surely the best of those that thou canst employ is the strong, the faithful one.

Mohammad Habib Shakir

He said: This shall be (an agreement) between me and you; whichever of the two terms I fulfill, there shall be no wrongdoing to me; and Allah is a witness of what we say.

Mohammed Marmaduke William Pickthall

He said: That (is settled) between thee and me. Whichever of the two terms I fulfil, there will be no injustice to me, and Allah is Surety over what we say.

Muhammad Sarwar

(Moses) said, "Let it be a binding contract between us and I shall be free to serve for any of the said terms. God will bear witness to our agreement."

Qaribullah & Darwish

'So be it between me and you' said Moses. 'Whichever of the two terms I fulfill, it will be no injustice to me. Allah is the Guardian of what we say'

Safi-ur-Rahman al-Mubarakpuri

He (Musa) said: "That (is settled) between me and you: whichever of the two terms I fulfill, there will be no injustice to me, and Allah is Surety over what we say."

Wahiduddin Khan

Moses said, "That is agreed between me and you; whichever of the two terms I fulfil, there will be no blame on me. God is witness to what we say."

Talal Itani

He said, “Let this be an agreement between you and me. Whichever of the two terms I fulfill, there shall be no reprisal against me; and God is witness over what we say.”

Tafsir jalalayn

He, Moses, said, `That, which you have said, is [settled then] between me and you. Whichever of the two terms, the eight or the ten (the m [in ayyam, `whichever of the two'] is extra), in other words, the tending thereof, I complete, there shall be no injustice [done] to me, by demanding [of me] to do more [tending]. And God is Guardian, Keeper or Witness, over what we, you and I, say'. The contract was agreed in this way. Shu`ayb bid his daughter to give Moses a staff with which to beat off predatory beasts from his sheep -- the staffs of the prophets were in his keeping. It was Adam's staff, made from the myrtle of Paradise, that fell into her hands and so Moses took it, with Shu`ayb's knowledge.

Tafseer Ibn Kathir

He said;"That (is settled) between me and you;whichever of the two terms I fulfill, there will be no injustice to me, and Allah is Surety over what we say."

Musa said to his father-in-law,

"The matter is as you say. You have hired me for eight years, and if I complete ten years, that is my choice, but if I do the lesser amount, I will still have fulfilled the covenant and met the conditions."

So he said;
أَيَّمَا الاَْجَلَيْنِ قَضَيْتُ فَلَ عُدْوَانَ عَلَيَّ
(whichever of the two terms I fulfill, there will be no injustice to me),

meaning, `there will be no blame on me. The complete term is permissible but it is still regarded as something extra.'

This is like the Ayah,

فَمَن تَعَجَّلَ فِى يَوْمَيْنِ فَلَ إِثْمَ عَلَيْهِ وَمَن تَأَخَّرَ فَل إِثْمَ عَلَيْهِ

But whosoever hastens to leave in two days, there is no sin on him and whosoever stays on, there is no sin on him. (2;203)

And the Messenger of Allah said to Hamzah bin Amr Al-Aslami, may Allah be pleased with him, who used to fast a great deal and who asked him about fasting while traveling;

إِنْ شِيْتَ فَصُمْ وَإِنْ شِيْتَ فَأَفْطِر

If you wish, then fast, and if you wish, do not fast.

even though it is better to fast, according to the evidence of other reports.

And there is evidence which indicates that Musa, peace be upon him, fulfilled the longer of the two terms.

Al-Bukhari recorded that Sa`id bin Jubayr said;

"A Jew from the people of Hirah asked me; `Which of the two terms did Musa fulfill?'

I said, `I do not know until I go to the scholar of the Arabs and ask him.'

So I went to Ibn Abbas, may Allah be pleased with him, and asked him. He said;

`He fulfilled the longer and better of them, for when a Messenger of Allah said he would do a thing, he did it."'

This is how it was recorded by Al-Bukhari