وَلَمَّا جَآءَ مُوسَىٰ لِمِيقَـٰتِنَا وَكَلَّمَهُۥ رَبُّهُۥ قَالَ رَبِّ أَرِنِىٓ أَنظُرْ إِلَيْكَ ۚ قَالَ لَن تَرَىٰنِى وَلَـٰكِنِ ٱنظُرْ إِلَى ٱلْجَبَلِ فَإِنِ ٱسْتَقَرَّ مَكَانَهُۥ فَسَوْفَ تَرَىٰنِى ۚ فَلَمَّا تَجَلَّىٰ رَبُّهُۥ لِلْجَبَلِ جَعَلَهُۥ دَكًّا وَخَرَّ مُوسَىٰ صَعِقًا ۚ فَلَمَّآ أَفَاقَ قَالَ سُبْحَـٰنَكَ تُبْتُ إِلَيْكَ وَأَنَا۠ أَوَّلُ ٱلْمُؤْمِنِينَ 143
Translations
And when Moses arrived at Our appointed time and his Lord spoke to him, he said, "My Lord, show me [Yourself] that I may look at You." [Allāh] said, "You will not see Me, but look at the mountain; if it should remain in place, then you will see Me." But when his Lord appeared to the mountain, He rendered it level, and Moses fell unconscious. And when he awoke, he said, "Exalted are You! I have repented to You, and I am the first [among my people] of the believers."
Transliteration
Wa-lamma jaa'a Musa li-miqatina wa-kallamahu Rabbuhu qala Rabbi arini anzur ilayka qala lan tarani wa-lakin unzur ila-l-jabali fa-in istaqarra makanuhu fa-sawfa tarani fa-lamma tajalla Rabbuhu li-l-jabali ja'alahu dakkan wa-kharra Musa sa'iqan fa-lamma afaqa qala subhanaka tubtu ilayka wa-ana awwalu-l-mu'minin
Tafsir (Explanation)
When Musa (Moses) requested to see Allah directly, he was told that no created being can bear such a vision in this world. Allah instead showed the manifestation of His divine attributes to the mountain as a test, and the mountain was utterly destroyed, demonstrating the overwhelming nature of Allah's majesty. When Musa regained consciousness, he immediately repented and testified to Allah's transcendence, affirming his faith. Classical scholars like Ibn Kathir emphasize that this ayah teaches the impossibility of seeing Allah in the dunya (worldly life) and confirms it as a gift reserved for the believers in Paradise.
Revelation Context
This ayah is part of the narrative in Surah Al-A'raf describing Musa's journey and his encounter with Allah at Mount Sinai when he went to keep the appointment (miqat) for receiving the Torah. The context demonstrates Musa's deep desire for spiritual closeness to his Lord and Allah's mercy in guiding him toward understanding divine reality. This narrative follows Musa's call to prophethood and precedes the story of the golden calf.
Related Hadiths
Sahih Muslim records that the Prophet Muhammad (ﷺ) said: 'You will not see your Lord until you die.' Additionally, a hadith in Sahih Bukhari mentions that the people of Paradise will see Allah, contrasting the impossibility of seeing Him in this life. These traditions clarify that direct vision of Allah is exclusive to the Hereafter.
Themes
Key Lesson
This ayah teaches us that our desire to draw closer to Allah must be tempered with understanding of His infinite transcendence and our finite human limitations. It encourages believers to show sincere repentance and humility when confronted with their weakness, while maintaining unwavering faith in Allah's existence and ultimate reward for the faithful.
Related Ayahs
قَالَ ٱدْخُلُوا۟ فِىٓ أُمَمٍ قَدْ خَلَتْ مِن قَبْلِكُم مِّنَ ٱلْجِنِّ وَٱلْإِنسِ فِى ٱلنَّارِ ۖ كُلَّمَا دَخَلَتْ أُمَّةٌ لَّعَنَتْ أُخْتَهَا ۖ حَتَّىٰٓ إِذَا ٱدَّارَكُوا۟ فِيهَا جَمِيعًا قَالَتْ أُخْرَىٰهُمْ لِأُولَىٰهُمْ رَبَّنَا هَـٰٓؤُلَآءِ أَضَلُّونَا فَـَٔاتِهِمْ عَذَابًا ضِعْفًا مِّنَ ٱلنَّارِ ۖ قَالَ لِكُلٍّ ضِعْفٌ وَلَـٰكِن لَّا تَعْلَمُونَ
[Allāh] will say, "Enter among nations which had passed on before you of jinn and mankind into the Fire." Every time a nation enters, it will curse its sister until, when they have all overtaken one another therein, the last of them will say about the first of them, "Our Lord, these had misled us, so give them a double punishment of the Fire." He will say, "For each is double, but you do not know."
وَٱذْكُرُوٓا۟ إِذْ جَعَلَكُمْ خُلَفَآءَ مِنۢ بَعْدِ عَادٍ وَبَوَّأَكُمْ فِى ٱلْأَرْضِ تَتَّخِذُونَ مِن سُهُولِهَا قُصُورًا وَتَنْحِتُونَ ٱلْجِبَالَ بُيُوتًا ۖ فَٱذْكُرُوٓا۟ ءَالَآءَ ٱللَّهِ وَلَا تَعْثَوْا۟ فِى ٱلْأَرْضِ مُفْسِدِينَ
And remember when He made you successors after the ʿAad and settled you in the land, [and] you take for yourselves palaces from its plains and carve from the mountains, homes. Then remember the favors of Allāh and do not commit abuse on the earth, spreading corruption."
قُلْ إِنَّمَا حَرَّمَ رَبِّىَ ٱلْفَوَٰحِشَ مَا ظَهَرَ مِنْهَا وَمَا بَطَنَ وَٱلْإِثْمَ وَٱلْبَغْىَ بِغَيْرِ ٱلْحَقِّ وَأَن تُشْرِكُوا۟ بِٱللَّهِ مَا لَمْ يُنَزِّلْ بِهِۦ سُلْطَـٰنًا وَأَن تَقُولُوا۟ عَلَى ٱللَّهِ مَا لَا تَعْلَمُونَ
Say, "My Lord has only forbidden immoralities - what is apparent of them and what is concealed - and sin, and oppression without right, and that you associate with Allāh that for which He has not sent down authority, and that you say about Allāh that which you do not know."
فَمَنْ أَظْلَمُ مِمَّنِ ٱفْتَرَىٰ عَلَى ٱللَّهِ كَذِبًا أَوْ كَذَّبَ بِـَٔايَـٰتِهِۦٓ ۚ أُو۟لَـٰٓئِكَ يَنَالُهُمْ نَصِيبُهُم مِّنَ ٱلْكِتَـٰبِ ۖ حَتَّىٰٓ إِذَا جَآءَتْهُمْ رُسُلُنَا يَتَوَفَّوْنَهُمْ قَالُوٓا۟ أَيْنَ مَا كُنتُمْ تَدْعُونَ مِن دُونِ ٱللَّهِ ۖ قَالُوا۟ ضَلُّوا۟ عَنَّا وَشَهِدُوا۟ عَلَىٰٓ أَنفُسِهِمْ أَنَّهُمْ كَانُوا۟ كَـٰفِرِينَ
And who is more unjust than one who invents about Allāh a lie or denies His verses? Those will attain their portion of the decree until, when Our messengers [i.e., angels] come to them to take them in death, they will say, "Where are those you used to invoke besides Allāh?" They will say, "They have departed from us," and will bear witness against themselves that they were disbelievers.