Surah 28:27
Show Full Scripture Context (28:25-28) — 4 Verses
فَجَآءَتۡهُ إِحۡدَىٰهُمَا تَمۡشِي عَلَى ٱسۡتِحۡيَآءٖ قَالَتۡ إِنَّ أَبِي يَدۡعُوكَ لِيَجۡزِيَكَ أَجۡرَ مَا سَقَيۡتَ لَنَاۚ فَلَمَّا جَآءَهُۥ وَقَصَّ عَلَيۡهِ ٱلۡقَصَصَ قَالَ لَا تَخَفۡۖ نَجَوۡتَ مِنَ ٱلۡقَوۡمِ ٱلظَّـٰلِمِينَ
Then one of the two women came to him, walking shyly. She said, ‘My father calls you, so that he may pay you a reward for your watering (our flocks) for us.’ When he had come to him and recounted the story to him, he said, ‘Do not fear! You have escaped from the people who are evildoers.’
قَالَتۡ إِحۡدَىٰهُمَا يَـٰٓأَبَتِ ٱسۡتَـٔۡجِرۡهُۖ إِنَّ خَيۡرَ مَنِ ٱسۡتَـٔۡجَرۡتَ ٱلۡقَوِيُّ ٱلۡأَمِينُ
One of the two women said, ‘My father! Hire him, (for) surely the best man whom you can hire is the strong (and) the trustworthy one.’
قَالَ إِنِّيٓ أُرِيدُ أَنۡ أُنكِحَكَ إِحۡدَى ٱبۡنَتَيَّ هَٰتَيۡنِ عَلَىٰٓ أَن تَأۡجُرَنِي ثَمَٰنِيَ حِجَجٖۖ فَإِنۡ أَتۡمَمۡتَ عَشۡرٗا فَمِنۡ عِندِكَۖ وَمَآ أُرِيدُ أَنۡ أَشُقَّ عَلَيۡكَۚ سَتَجِدُنِيٓ إِن شَآءَ ٱللَّهُ مِنَ ٱلصَّـٰلِحِينَ
He said, ‘Surely I wish to marry you to one of these two daughters of mine, on (the condition) that you hire yourself to me for eight years. But if you complete ten, that will be of your own accord, (for) I am not about to make it a hardship for you. You will find me, if God pleases, one of the righteous.’
قَالَ ذَٰلِكَ بَيۡنِي وَبَيۡنَكَۖ أَيَّمَا ٱلۡأَجَلَيۡنِ قَضَيۡتُ فَلَا عُدۡوَٰنَ عَلَيَّۖ وَٱللَّهُ عَلَىٰ مَا نَقُولُ وَكِيلٞ
He said, ‘That is between me and you. No matter which of the two terms I fulfill, (let there be) no enmity against me. God is guardian over what we say.’
When the two women came back quickly with the sheep, their father was surprised that they returned so soon. He asked them what had happened, and they told him what Musa, peace be upon him, had done. So he sent one of them to call him to meet her father. Allah says:
meaning, she was walking like a free woman, as it was narrated from the Commander of the faithful, 'Umar, may Allah be pleased with him: “She was covering herself from them with the folds of her garment.” Ibn Abi Hatim recorded that 'Amr bin Maymun said, 'Umar, may Allah be pleased with him, said: “She came walking shyly, putting her garment over her face. She was not one of those audacious women who come and go as they please.” This chain of narrators is Sahih.
This is an example of good manners: she did not invite him directly lest he have some suspicious thoughts about her. Rather she said: “My father is inviting you so that he may reward you for watering our sheep,” i.e., give you some payment for that.
means, he told him about his story and why he had to leave his country.
He was saying: 'calm down and relax, for you have left their kingdom and they have no authority in our land.' So he said:
"And said one of them: "O my father! Hire him! Verily, the best of men for you to hire is the strong, the trustworthy.""
One of the two daughters of the man said this, and it was said that she was the one who had walked behind Musa, peace be upon him. She said to her father:
Ibn Abi Hatim recorded that 'Ali bin Rabah Al-Lakhmi said, “I heard 'Utbah bin An-Nadar As-Sulami, the Companion of the Messenger of Allah narrating that the Messenger of Allah said:
«Musa, peace be upon him, hired himself out for the purpose of keeping chaste and to feed himself.»
And Allah tells us about Musa, peace be upon him:
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:
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,
{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:
«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.