Al-Qur'an Surah Al-A'raf Verse 143

Mufti Taqi Usmani

When Mūsā came at Our appointed time and his Lord spoke to him, he said, “My Lord, show (Yourself) to me that I may look at You.” He said: “You shall never see Me. But look at the mount. If it stays at its place, you will see Me.” So when his Lord appeared to the Mount, He made it smashed, and Mūsā fell down unconscious. When he recovered, he said: “Pure are You. I repent to You, and I am the first to believe (that no one can see You in this world.)”

Dr. Mustafa Khattab, the Clear Quran

When Moses came at the appointed time and his Lord spoke to him, he asked, “My Lord! Reveal Yourself to me so I may see You.” Allah answered, “You cannot see Me! But look at the mountain. If it remains firm in its place, only then will you see Me.” When his Lord appeared to the mountain, He levelled it to dust and Moses collapsed unconscious. When he recovered, he cried, “Glory be to You! I turn to You in repentance and I am the first of the believers.”

Ruwwad Translation Center

When Moses came at Our appointed time and his Lord spoke to him, he said, “My Lord, reveal Yourself to me so that I may look at You.” Allah said, “You will not be able to see Me. But look at the mountain; if it stays firm in its place, only then will you see Me.” When his Lord appeared to the mountain, it was leveled to dust and Moses fell unconscious. When he recovered, he said, “Glory be to You! I repent to You and I am the first of the believers.”

A. J. Arberry

And when Moses came to Our appointed time and his Lord spoke with him, he said, 'Oh my Lord, show me, that I may behold Thee!' Said He, 'Thou shalt not see Me; but behold the mountain -- if it stays fast in its place, then thou shalt see Me.' And when his Lord revealed Him to the mountain He made it crumble to dust; and Moses fell down swooning. So when he awoke, he said, 'Glory be to Thee! I repent to Thee; I am the first of the believers.'

Abdul Haleem

When Moses came for the appointment, and his Lord spoke to him, he said, ‘My Lord, show Yourself to me: let me see You!’ He said, ‘You will never see Me, but look at that mountain: if it remains standing firm, you will see Me,’ and when his Lord revealed Himself to the mountain, He made it crumble: Moses fell down unconscious. When he recovered, he said, ‘Glory be to You! To You I turn in repentance! I am the first to believe!’

Abdul Majid Daryabadi

And when Musa came at Our appointment, and his Lord spake unto him, he said my Lord! shew Thyself unto me, that I may look at Thee! He said: thou canst not see Me: but look at the yonder mount; if it stands in its place, then thou wilt see Me. Then when his Lord unveiled His glory unto the mount, it turned it to dust, and Musa tell down thunderstruck. Then when he recovered, he said: hallowed be Thou! I turn unto Thee repentant, and I am the first of the believers,

Abdullah Yusuf Ali

When Moses came to the place appointed by Us, and his Lord addressed him, He said; "O my Lord! show (Thyself) to me, that I may look upon thee." Allah said; "By no means canst thou see Me (direct); But look upon the mount; if it abide in its place, then shalt thou see Me." When his Lord manifested His glory on the Mount, He made it as dust. And Moses fell down in a swoon. When he recovered his senses he said; "Glory be to Thee! to Thee I turn in repentance, and I am the first to believe."

Abul Ala Maududi

And when Moses came at Our appointment, and his Lord spoke to him, he said: 'O my Lord! Reveal Yourself to me, that I may look upon You!' He replied: 'Never can you see Me. However, behold this mount; if it remains firm in its place, only then you will be able to see Me.' And as soon as his Lord unveiled His glory to the mount, He crushed it into fine dust, and Moses fell down in a swoon. And when he recovered, he said: 'Glory be to You! To You I turn in repentance, and I am the foremost among those who believe.'

Ahmed Ali

When Moses arrived at the appointed time and his Lord spoke to him, he said: "O Lord, reveal Yourself to me that I may behold You." "You cannot behold Me," He said. "But look at the mountain: If it remains firm in its place you may then behold Me." But when his Lord appeared on the mountain in His effulgence, it crumbled to a heap of dust, and Moses fell unconscious. When he came to, he said: "All glory to You. I turn to You in repentance, and I am the first to believe."

Ahmed Raza Khan

And when Moosa presented himself upon Our promise, and his Lord spoke to him, he said, “My Lord! Show me Your Self, so that I may see You”; He said, “You will never be able to see Me, but look towards the mountain – if it stays in its place, then you shall soon see Me”; so when his Lord directed His light on the mountain, He blew it into bits and Moosa fell down unconscious; then upon regaining consciousness he said, “Purity is to You! I incline towards You, and I am the first Muslim.”

Ali Quli Qarai

When Moses arrived at Our tryst and his Lord spoke to him, he said, ‘My Lord, show [Yourself] to me, that I may look at You!’ He said, ‘You shall not see Me. But look at the mountain: if it abides in its place, then you will see Me.’ So when his Lord disclosed Himself to the mountain, He levelled it, and Moses fell down swooning. When he recovered, he said, ‘Immaculate are You! I turn to You in penitence, and I am the first of the faithful.’

Ali Ünal

And when Moses came to Our appointed time, his Lord spoke to him. (Then, in the rapture of nearness to God arising from his being addressed by Him) he said: "My Lord, show me Yourself, so that I may look upon You!" He (God) said: "You cannot see Me (with your eyes in the world). But look at that mountain: if it remains firm in its place, then you will see Me." And the moment his Lord manifested His glorious Majesty to the mountain, He made it crumble to dust, and Moses fell down in a faint (as if struck by lightning). When he awoke, he said: "All-Glorified are You (in that You are absolutely above having any defects and any resemblance with the created)! I turn to You in repentance (for my desire to see You), and I am the first of the (true) believers (who realize that You are beyond any resemblance to any creature and beyond the grasp of any creature’s senses).

Amatul Rahman Omar

And when Moses came at the time and place appointed by Us, and his Lord spoke to him, he said, `My Lord! reveal Yourself to me that I may look at You.´ He said, `You cannot stand My revelation. Yet look at the mountain, and if it stands firm in its place, (only) then you shall stand My revelation.´ Then when his Lord manifested His glory to the mountain, He sent it crashing down into pieces and Moses fell down unconscious, so that when he recovered he said, `Glory be to You! I turn towards You and I am the first to believe.´

English Literal

And when Moses came to Our appointed time/appointed time or place, and his Lord conversed/spoke (to) him, he said: "My Lord show me/make me understand, I look/see to you." He said: "You will never/not see me, and but/however look to the mountain , so if it settled/established/affixed (in) its place/position, so you will/shall see me." So when his Lord uncovered/revealed/shined to the mountain, He made it crushed/destroyed/leveled/flattened, and Moses fell down fainting from thunderous noise/thunderstruck, so when he recovered/woke up, he said: "Your praise/glory, I repented to you, and I am first (of) the believers."

Faridul Haque

And when Moosa presented himself upon Our promise, and his Lord spoke to him, he said, "My Lord! Show me Your Self, so that I may see You"; He said, "You will never be able to see Me, but look towards the mountain - if it stays in its place, then you shall soon see Me"; so when his Lord directed His light on the mountain, He blew it into bits and Moosa fell down unconscious; then upon regaining consciousness he said, "Purity is to You! I incline towards You, and I am the first Muslim."

Hamid S. Aziz

And when Moses came to Our appointment, and his Lord spoke unto him, he said, "O my Lord! Show me Thyself, that I may look on Thee!" Allah said, "Thou canst not see Me; but look upon the mountain. If it remains steady in its place, you have seen Me;" But when his Lord appeared unto the mountain He made it dust, and Moses fell down in a swoon! And when he woke he said, "Glory unto Thee! I turn repentant unto Thee, and I am the foremost of those who believe."

Hilali & Khan

And when Musa (Moses) came at the time and place appointed by Us, and his Lord spoke to him, he said: "O my Lord! Show me (Yourself), that I may look upon You." Allah said: "You cannot see Me, but look upon the mountain if it stands still in its place then you shall see Me." So when his Lord appeared to the mountain, He made it collapse to dust, and Musa (Moses) fell down unconscious. Then when he recovered his senses he said: "Glory be to You, I turn to You in repentance and I am the first of the believers."

Maulana Mohammad Ali

And We appointed for Moses thirty nights, and completed them with ten, so the appointed time of his Lord was complete forty nights. And Moses said to his brother Aaron: Take my place among my people, and act well and follow not the way of the mischief-makers.

Mohammad Habib Shakir

And when Musa came at Our appointed time and his Lord spoke to him, he said: My Lord! show me (Thyself), so that I may look upon Thee. He said: You cannot (bear to) see Me but look at the mountain, if it remains firm in its place, then will you see Me; but when his Lord manifested His glory to the mountain He made it crumble and Musa fell down in a swoon; then when he recovered, he said: Glory be to Thee, I turn to Thee, and I am the first of the believers.

Mohammed Marmaduke William Pickthall

And when Moses came to Our appointed tryst and his Lord had spoken unto him, he said: My Lord! Show me (Thy Self), that I may gaze upon Thee. He said: Thou wilt not see Me, but gaze upon the mountain! If it stand still in its place, then thou wilt see Me. And when his Lord revealed (His) glory to the mountain He sent it crashing down. And Moses fell down senseless. And when he woke he said: Glory unto Thee! I turn unto Thee repentant, and I am the first of (true) believers.

Muhammad Sarwar

During the appointment, the Lord spoke to Moses. He asked the Lord to show Himself so that he could look at Him. The Lord replied, "You can never see Me. But look at the mountain. If the mountain remains firm only then will you see Me." When the Lord manifested His Glory to the mountain, He turned it into dust and Moses fell down upon his face senseless. After regaining his senses, Moses said, "Lord, You are all Holy. I repent for what I asked you to do and I am the first to believe in You."

Qaribullah & Darwish

And when Moses came at the appointed time and his Lord spoke to him, he said: 'Lord, let me see, that I can look at You' He replied: 'You shall not see Me. But look at the mountain; if it remains firm in its place, then shall you see Me' And when his Lord was revealed to the mountain and caused it to be crushed and leveled whereupon Moses fell down senseless, and when he recovered, he said: 'Exaltations to You! I repent to You. I am the first of believers'

Safi-ur-Rahman al-Mubarakpuri

And when Musa came at the time and place appointed by Us, and his Lord (Allah) spoke to him; he said: "O my Lord! Show me (Yourself), that I may look upon You." Allah said: "You cannot see Me, but look upon the mountain; if it stands still in its place then you shall see Me." So when his Lord appeared to the mountain, He made it collapse to dust, and Musa fell down unconscious. Then when he recovered his senses he said: "Glory be to You, I turn to You in repentance and I am the first of the believers."

Wahiduddin Khan

And when Moses came at Our appointed time and his Lord spoke to him, he said, "My Lord, show Yourself to me so that I may look at You." He replied, "You cannot see Me, but look at the mountain; if it remains firmly in its place, then only will you see Me." And when his Lord manifested Himself on the mountain, He broke it into pieces and Moses fell down unconscious. And when he recovered, he said, "Glory be to You, I turn towards You, and I am the first to believe."

Talal Itani

And when Moses came to Our appointment, and his Lord spoke to him, he said, “My Lord, allow me to look and see You.” He said, “You will not see Me, but look at the mountain; if it stays in its place, you will see Me.” But when his Lord manifested Himself to the mountain, He turned it into dust, and Moses fell down unconscious. Then, when he recovered, he said, “Glory be to you, I repent to you, and I am the first of the believers.”

Tafsir jalalayn

And when Moses came at Our appointed time, that is, the time at which We had promised to speak to him, and his Lord spoke with him, without any intermediary, with speech which he heard from all directions, he said, `My Lord! Show me, Yourself, that I may behold You!' Said He, `You shall not see Me, that is to say, you do not have the power to see me, the use of this expression [lan tarn, `you shall not see Me'] instead of lan ur, `I shall not be seen', implies that it is possible to see God, exalted be He; but behold the mountain, which is stronger than you are, and if it remains, stays fixed, in its place, then you shall see Me', that is, [then] you shall remain fixed [able] to see Me, otherwise, you will not have the capacity [for it]. And when his Lord revealed Himself, that is, [when] He manifested of His Light the equivalent of half a nail of a little finger, as stated in one hadth verified by al-Hkim, to the mountain He levelled it to the ground (read dakkan or dakk'a, meaning madkkan) and Moses fell down senseless, having lost consciousness at the awesomeness of what he had seen. And when he recovered his senses he said, `Glory be to You!, in Your transcendence. I repent to You, for having asked You what I was not commanded [to ask], and I am the first of the believers', of my time.

Tafseer Ibn Kathir

Musa asks to see Allah

Allah tells;

وَلَمَّا جَاء مُوسَى لِمِيقَاتِنَا وَكَلَّمَهُ رَبُّهُ قَالَ

And when Musa came at the time and place appointed by Us, and his Lord (Allah) spoke to him; he said;

Allah said that when Musa came for His appointment and spoke to Him directly, he asked to see Him,

رَبِّ أَرِنِي أَنظُرْ إِلَيْكَ قَالَ لَن تَرَانِي

"O my Lord! Show me (Yourself), that I may look upon You."

Allah said;"You cannot see Me,"

`You cannot' (Lan) by no means indicates that seeing Allah will never occur, as (the misguided sect of) Al-Mutazilah claimed.

The Hadiths of Mutawatir grade narrated from the Messenger of Allah, affirm that the believers will see Allah in the Hereafter. We will mention these Hadiths under the explanation of Allah's statement,

وُجُوهٌ يَوْمَيِذٍ نَّاضِرَةٌ

إِلَى رَبِّهَا نَاظِرَةٌ

Some faces that Day shall be radiant. Looking at their Lord. (75;22-23)

In earlier Scriptures, it was reported that Allah said to Musa, "O Musa! No living soul sees Me, but will perish, and no solid but will be demolished."

وَلَـكِنِ انظُرْ إِلَى الْجَبَلِ فَإِنِ اسْتَقَرَّ مَكَانَهُ فَسَوْفَ تَرَانِي

Allah said;"You cannot see Me, but look upon the mountain; if it stands still in its place then you shall see Me."

Allah said here,

فَلَمَّا تَجَلَّى رَبُّهُ لِلْجَبَلِ جَعَلَهُ دَكًّا وَخَرَّ موسَى صَعِقًا

So when his Lord appeared to the mountain, He made it collapse to dust, and Musa fell down unconscious.

In his Musnad Imam Ahmad recorded from Anas bin Malik that;

the Prophet said about Allah's saying;
فَلَمَّا تَجَلَّى رَبُّهُ لِلْجَبَلِ
(And when his Lord appeared to the mountain),

هكذا

Like this, then he held out the tip of his little finger.

At-Tirmidhi recorded this in the chapter of Tafsir for this Ayah, then he said; "This Hadith is Hasan Sahih Gharib."

This was also recorded by Al-Hakim in his Mustadrak through the route of Hamad bin Salamah, and he said; "This Hadith is Sahih according to the criteria of Muslim and they did not record it."

And As-Suddi reported that Ikrimah reported from Ibn Abbas about Allah's saying,
فَلَمَّا تَجَلَّى رَبُّهُ لِلْجَبَلِ
(And when his Lord appeared to the mountain),

Only the extent of the little finger appeared from Him,
جَعَلَهُ دَكًّا
(He made it collapse) as dust;
وَخَرَّ موسَى صَعِقًا
(And Musa fell down unconscious) fainting from it.

Ibn Jarir recorded these because of the relation to the word Al-Ghashi.

فَلَمَّا أَفَاقَ

Then when he (Musa) recovered his senses, (after he lost consciousness),

قَالَ سُبْحَانَكَ

he said;"Glory be to You,"

thus, praising, glorifying and honoring Allah since no living soul could see Him in this life and remain alive.

Musa' statement,

تُبْتُ إِلَيْكَ

"I turn to You in repentance,"

According to Mujahid,

means, from asking you to look at you,

وَأَنَاْ أَوَّلُ الْمُوْمِنِينَ



"and I am the first of the believers."

among the Children of Israel, according to Ibn Abbas, Mujahid, and Ibn Jarir preferred this view.

Or, according to another narration from Ibn Abbas, the meaning of,
وَأَنَاْ أَوَّلُ الْمُوْمِنِينَ
(and I am the first of the believers), is that

`none shall see You (in this life).'

Allah said,
وَخَرَّ موسَى صَعِقًا
(And Musa fell down unconscious),

Abu Sa`id Al-Khudri and Abu Hurayrah narrated a Hadith from the Prophet that is suitable to mention here.

As for the Hadith from Abu Sa`id, Al-Bukhari recorded in his Sahih that he said;

A Jew came to the Prophet after his face was smacked, and said, "O Muhammad! One of your companions from Al-Ansar smacked me on the face."

The Prophet said,
ادْعُوه
(Summon him)and he was summoned.

The Prophet asked him,

لِمَ لَطَمْتَ وَجْهَهُ



Why did you smack his face?

He said, "O Allah's Messenger! I passed by that Jew and heard him swearing, `No, by He Who has chosen Musa over mankind!'

I said, `Over Muhammad too', and I became angry and struck his face."

The Prophet said,

لَاا تُخَيِّرُونِي مِنْ بَيْنِ الاْاَنْبِيَاءِ فَإِنَّ النَّاسَ يَصْعَقُونَ يَوْمَ الْقِيَامَةِ فَأَكُونُ أَوَّلَ مَنْ يُفِيقُ فَإِذَا أَنَا بِمُوسَى اخِذٌ بِقَايِمَةٍ مِنْ قَوَايِمِ الْعَرْشِ فَلَا أَدْرِي أَفَاقَ قَبْلِي أَمْ جُوزِيَ بِصَعْقَةِ الطُّور

Do not prefer me above the Prophets. Verily, on the Day of Resurrection, people will be struck unconscious, and I (feel that I) am the first to wake up. Thereupon I will find that Musa is holding onto a pillar of the Throne (Arsh of Allah). I will not know if he woke up before me or he received his due (because of his) unconsciousness on (Mount) At-Tur.

Al-Bukhari recorded this Hadith in many locations of his Sahih, as did Muslim and Abu Dawud.

As for the Hadith from Abu Hurayrah, Imam Ahmad and the Two Sheikhs (Al-Bukhari and Muslim) collected his narration